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»Analysis & Opinion»State of Our Unions 2013: Where We Stand in the Fight for Marriage Equality
State of Our Unions 2013: Where We Stand in the Fight for Marriage Equality
Posted by Marriage Equality USA on February 6, 2013 in Analysis & Opinion
Tipping the Scales – In 2012, Gains Outweighed Losses
Unquestionably, 2012 will be remembered as a watershed moment for marriage, the tipping point when the tide of equality crested the hill of public opinion. Since spring 2012, polls consistently have found that support for equal marriage is the majority position.
Those polls were reflected in unprecedented wins at the ballot box in November 2012. While Minnesotans rejected a constitutional ban, majorities of voters in Maine, Maryland and Washington went further, explicitly ratifying the freedom to marry. In fact, Mainers approved marriage equality by nearly the same margin they hadrejected it just two years earlier, one example among many of the incredibly rapid rate of positive change in public opinion and support.
Loving committed couples began marrying in Maine and Washington in December and in Maryland the first day of January, 2013. Moreover, outcomes like those in Maine, Maryland and Washington are important not just for residents of those states but are vital in further shaping public opinion. Where same-sex couples have the freedom to marry, polls show an increase in acceptance and approval of extending this right. By year's end, almost one in six Americans was living in one of the nine states and the District of Columbia that recognize marriage equality.
The Democratic Party also made history in 2012 when it included language unambiguously supporting marriage equality in its national party platform, the first time a major U.S. political party had done so. Indeed, the platform committee unanimously endorsed the statement.
Across the aisle, many high-profile Republicans like Ken Mehlman, Paul Singer, Ted Olson and others gave generously of their time, energy, talents and dollars to fund marriage equality advocacy, pass equal marriage legislation and litigate marriage bans. One in four self-identified Republican voters bucked the party line to approve marriage equality in Maine, Maryland, Minnesota and Washington; without these voters, equality would not have prevailed.
However, the national Republican Party platform explicitly affirmed the so-called Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and recommended a federal constitutional marriage amendment, despite increased public support for marriage equality, the pro-equality policies of a growing number of states and the rising tide of same-sex couples already legally wed. In light of these factors and the party's defeat in the Presidential election, some Republican insiders may urge the party to modify its position in 2013.
Our community also suffered a painful defeat at the ballot box last May when North Carolina became the 31st state to enact a constitutional amendment prohibiting legal recognition for same-sex couples. While passage of North Carolina's Amendment One was heartbreaking, the wins in four other states meant it was the last time opponents could claim that whenever the public are allowed to vote on marriage, they vote to exclude loving same-sex couples from it. Marriage equality supporters in the South also are redoubling their efforts in light of the vote. In 2013, committed same-sex couples and the Campaign for Southern Equality are advocating for marriage equality through the "We Do" campaign in seven southern states, including North Carolina.
This year, advocates will work to secure full marriage equality in Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Rhode Island and perhaps Minnesota; to pass civil union legislation in Colorado; to repeal existing bans in Minnesota and Ohio; and to hold back potential bans in Indiana and Iowa. Very recently, marriage equality and domestic partnership bills also have been introduced in Wyoming, along with a marriage equality bill in New Mexico. Although we can't yet predict their likelihood of passage, one very positive note is that the Wyoming bills have bipartisan sponsorship.
The Respect for Marriage Act (RFMA), which would overturn DOMA, also will be reintroduced in Congress in early 2013. Although chances for passing are slim given the makeup of the House of Representatives, the number of sponsors and supporters in Congress continues to grow and now includes both Democrats and Republican members.
I Always Rely on the Kindness of Allies
The President of the United States became the most famous, powerful and influential ally for marriage equality last year when, in a May 9 interview with ABC News, he publicly endorsed the freedom to marry, less than a week after Vice President Biden had done so on Meet the Press.
Citing conversations with his own friends, family and neighbors as a decisive factor in his oft-described "evolution" on marriage, President Obama remarked, "[W]hen I think about members of my own staff who are in incredibly committed monogamous relationships, same-sex relationships, who are raising kids together, when I think about those soldiers or airmen or marines or sailors who are out there fighting on my behalf and yet feel constrained, even now that Don't Ask Don't Tell is gone, because they are not able to commit themselves in a marriage, …personally it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same sex couples should be able to get married."
The President went further in his January 21, 2013 inaugural address by placing the movement for LGBT equality squarely among other American civil rights struggles in "Seneca Falls, Selma and Stonewall," and by proclaiming that the ongoing journey to recognize our nation's founding principle and "most evident truth" that all are created equal "is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law – for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well."
It is difficult to overstate the importance of President Obama's support. However, marriage equality wins in 2012 would not have been possible without the perseverance and dedication of allies across the political spectrum and across all walks of life.
In 2012, Governors O'Malley and Gregoire of Maryland and Washington, respectively, provided critical political support both for the initial passage of legislation and throughout the resulting public referenda campaigns. Shamefully, New Jersey governor Chris Christie took an opposing approach, vetoing marriage equality legislation and stating he believes the issue should be put to public referendum. Many criticized him for his position, and legislators have until next January to attempt to override the veto.
The Marriage Equality USA (MEUSA) Campaign for 20 Million More leveraged the organization's grassroots volunteer-driven strategy to forge a strong coalition of advocates and allies – LGBT and straight; Republicans, Democrats and Independents; faith leaders, religious believers and secularists – that put hundreds of volunteers from MEUSA and more than 50 partner organizations door-to-door in the four states and at phone banks across the rest of the country. Similar coalitions and campaigns, some already underway and others in development, will play a key role in passing marriage equality legislation in more states throughout 2013.
Moreover, ongoing market research identified conversations with straight family, friends, neighbors and colleagues who support equality as a particularly crucial component in moving undecided voters to a position of support and to a willingness to vote for love, commitment and marriage. In all four states with ballot initiatives last fall, such outreach by straight allies absolutely was critical to success.
President Obama's bold public support for marriage was cited as a contributing factor throughout the fall election by others who moved from a position of opposition, or from support for lesser and unequal statuses of civil unions or domestic partnerships, to a position of full support for marriage. In Illinois, where we hope equality legislation will pass this year, Governor Quinn changed his position from favoring civil unions to supporting full marriage only after the president's statement. More recently the governor said, in regards to marriage equality and quoting Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., "[I]t's the right time to do the right thing."
The Ball's In Your Court Now
This year, of course, all eyes are on the Supreme Court after its December announcement that it had granted certiorari for two high-profile marriage cases.
On March 26 and 27, respectively, the court will hear oral arguments in Hollingsworth v. Perry, the case addressing California's Proposition 8 repeal of the state constitutional guarantee of equal marriage, and in U.S. v. Windsor, one of roughly a half-dozen cases landing on the high courts' docket last year challenging Section 3 of DOMA. The remaining DOMA cases before the high court appear to be in a holding pattern awaiting resolution of Perry and Windsor. A mounting number of DOMA and marriage equality cases in various circuits specifically have been stayed pending those decisions, including cases contesting the constitutionality of marriage bans in Hawaii and Nevada.
By the end of June the court could hand down any number of decisions in the Perry case ranging from a sweeping nationwide win – e.g., a finding that the U.S. Constitution requires equal marriage for all Americans, regardless of the state in which they live – to a bitterly resounding defeat – e.g., an opinion that the freedom to marry for some citizens not only is neither constitutionally guaranteed nor protected, but in fact may be denied or repealed by public referendum.
Or the court could, to a degree, punt on the merits of the case, either by issuing a narrow opinion overturning Prop. 8 on the grounds that the right to marry once constitutionally recognized may not later be revoked by referendum, or by essentially refusing to rule at all based on a finding that the defendants had no constitutional right to appeal in the first place; that is, they lacked standing. In the case of such a procedural punt, the win for marriage equality would be a correspondingly smaller one – likely restoring marriage only to California, and creating no precedent – but a win nonetheless.
In Windsor, the court has given itself a similar procedural out, as it has asked a third party to brief the court on the issue of standing therein as well. Nonetheless, most analysts expect the court to issue an opinion on the merits regarding DOMA.
A win on the merits in Windsor would require the federal government to recognize the marriages of same-sex couples in those states and the District of Columbia where such marriages are valid. Legally married same-sex couples in those jurisdictions no longer would be denied the more than 1,100 federal rights and protections granted to married couples. A win in Windsor alone, however, would not require other states either to perform or recognize marriages of same-sex couples.
A loss in Windsor, conversely, would require the federal government to continue to discriminate against some married couples in the provision of rights and protections, granting them only to opposite-sex married couples while denying them to same-sex married couples, unless and until DOMA is repealed legislatively via the Respect for Marriage Act.
In an interview with Buzzfeed, Edie Windsor, the plaintiff in the DOMA case, expressed her optimism. "There's a whole world of justice," the 83-year-old widow noted. "And so, I'm not skeptical… I trust the Constitution. Sometimes there's a mistake, but mostly we move forward. I think we're going to win just because I think justice will prevail."
In both Perry and Windsor, the court also has the opportunity to determine the degree of legal scrutiny to be applied to cases involving sexual orientation; that is, whether the constitutionality of laws that restrict rights based on sexual orientation should be examined with a higher degree of scrutiny, as are laws that target race, gender or national origin, and which make such laws much harder to justify, or whether laws restricting rights of lesbian and gay people are subject to lesser scrutiny, as traditionally has been the case.
In the past, the Supreme Court has stopped short of ruling that laws that target sexual orientation need be subjected to the same level of scrutiny as laws based on race or gender, but several of the lower courts in the Prop. 8 and DOMA cases have suggested that sexual orientation merits such heightened scrutiny. Should the high court agree with these lower courts, it would be very difficult in the future to defend any law that restricted rights on the basis of sexual orientation.
While we hope for positive Supreme Court decisions at minimum restoring marriage equality to California and overturning DOMA Section 3, even the least desirable outcomes will not stop our forward movement–at worst, only slow it. The hard work is not yet over, to be sure. And setbacks will occur. But in light of the momentous advancements of this past year and the unwavering commitment of so many advocates and allies, the inevitability of marriage equality for all has perhaps never been more clear. As MEUSA Executive Director Brian Silva said after marriage's historic wins at the ballot box last fall, "There is no turning back now on the road to full equality."
By MEUSA Social Media Director Thom Watson and MEUSA Director of Legal & Policy John Lewis
This article originally appeared in GO Magazine, February 6, 2013: http://www.gomag.com/article/state_of_our_unions_2013/
About Marriage Equality USA
Marriage Equality USA is a volunteer-driven national grassroots organization whose mission is: "To secure legally recognized civil marriage equality for all, without regard to sexual orientation or gender identity, at the state and federal level through grassroots organizing, education, action and partnerships". We are a registered 501(c)3.
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Denver International Airport has revealed its new exhibit by Colorado metal sculptor Kevin Robb as part of its Art and Culture Program.
Robb's exhibition features large photographic wall murals that reflect his public art pieces, while his smaller works are featured in their physical form throughout the gallery.
The exhibit also tells of Robb's personal story about a life-changing stroke in 2004 that left him disabled, and details his artistic journey since then. His free-flowing sculptures are designed to depict moments suspended in time and represent his determination and passion.
The exhibition is located at the terminal gallery on level 5 of the west side of the Jeppesen Terminal, and is showing until June of this year.


text:
package org.jclouds.collect.internal;

import static com.google.common.base.Throwables.propagate;
import static org.testng.Assert.assertEquals;
import static org.testng.Assert.fail;

import org.jclouds.collect.IterableWithMarker;
import org.jclouds.collect.IterableWithMarkers;
import org.jclouds.reflect.Invocation;
import org.jclouds.rest.internal.GeneratedHttpRequest;
import org.testng.annotations.Test;

import com.google.common.base.Function;
import com.google.common.base.Functions;
import com.google.common.base.Optional;
import com.google.common.collect.ImmutableList;
import com.google.common.collect.ImmutableSet;
import com.google.common.reflect.Invokable;

@Test(testName = "Arg0ToPagedIterableTest")
public class Arg0ToPagedIterableTest {

   private abstract static class TestArg0 extends Arg0ToPagedIterable<String, TestArg0> {
      private TestArg0(GeneratedHttpRequest in) {
         this.setContext(in);
      }
   }

   @Test
   public void testWhenNextMarkerAbsentDoesntAdvance() {
      GeneratedHttpRequest request = args(ImmutableList.of());

      TestArg0 converter = new TestArg0(request) {

         @Override
         protected Function<Object, IterableWithMarker<String>> markerToNextForArg0(Optional<Object> arg0) {
            fail("The Iterable should not advance");
            return null;
         }

      };

      assertEquals(converter.apply(IterableWithMarkers.from(ImmutableSet.of("foo", "bar"))).concat().toSet(),
            ImmutableSet.of("foo", "bar"));
   }

   @Test
   public void testWhenNextMarkerPresentButNoArgsMarkerToNextForArg0ParamIsAbsent() {
      GeneratedHttpRequest request = args(ImmutableList.of());
      final IterableWithMarker<String> next = IterableWithMarkers.from(ImmutableSet.of("baz"));

      TestArg0 converter = new TestArg0(request) {

         @Override
         protected Function<Object, IterableWithMarker<String>> markerToNextForArg0(Optional<Object> arg0) {
            assertEquals(arg0, Optional.absent());
            return Functions.constant(next);
         }

      };

      assertEquals(converter.apply(IterableWithMarkers.from(ImmutableSet.of("foo", "bar"), "marker")).concat().toSet(),
            ImmutableSet.of("foo", "bar", "baz"));
   }

   @Test
   public void testWhenNextMarkerPresentWithArgsMarkerToNextForArg0ParamIsPresent() {
      GeneratedHttpRequest request = args(ImmutableList.<Object> of("path"));
      final IterableWithMarker<String> next = IterableWithMarkers.from(ImmutableSet.of("baz"));

      TestArg0 converter = new TestArg0(request) {

         @Override
         protected Function<Object, IterableWithMarker<String>> markerToNextForArg0(Optional<Object> arg0) {
            assertEquals(arg0, Optional.of("path"));
            return Functions.constant(next);
         }

      };

      assertEquals(converter.apply(IterableWithMarkers.from(ImmutableSet.of("foo", "bar"), "marker")).concat().toSet(),
            ImmutableSet.of("foo", "bar", "baz"));
   }

   private GeneratedHttpRequest args(ImmutableList<Object> args) {
      try {
         return GeneratedHttpRequest.builder().method("GET").endpoint("http://localhost")
               .invocation(Invocation.create(Invokable.from(String.class.getMethod("toString")), args)).build();
      } catch (Exception e) {
         throw propagate(e);
      }
   }

   private abstract static class TestCallerArg0 extends Arg0ToPagedIterable.FromCaller<String, TestCallerArg0> {
      private TestCallerArg0(GeneratedHttpRequest in) {
         this.setContext(in);
      }
   }

   @Test
   public void testFromCallerWhenNextMarkerPresentButNoArgsMarkerToNextForArg0ParamIsAbsent() {
      GeneratedHttpRequest request = callerArgs(ImmutableList.of());
      final IterableWithMarker<String> next = IterableWithMarkers.from(ImmutableSet.of("baz"));

      TestCallerArg0 converter = new TestCallerArg0(request) {

         @Override
         protected Function<Object, IterableWithMarker<String>> markerToNextForArg0(Optional<Object> arg0) {
            assertEquals(arg0, Optional.absent());
            return Functions.constant(next);
         }

      };

      assertEquals(converter.apply(IterableWithMarkers.from(ImmutableSet.of("foo", "bar"), "marker")).concat().toSet(),
            ImmutableSet.of("foo", "bar", "baz"));
   }

   @Test
   public void testFromCallerWhenNextMarkerPresentWithArgsMarkerToNextForArg0ParamIsPresent() {
      GeneratedHttpRequest request = callerArgs(ImmutableList.<Object> of("path"));
      final IterableWithMarker<String> next = IterableWithMarkers.from(ImmutableSet.of("baz"));

      TestCallerArg0 converter = new TestCallerArg0(request) {

         @Override
         protected Function<Object, IterableWithMarker<String>> markerToNextForArg0(Optional<Object> arg0) {
            assertEquals(arg0, Optional.of("path"));
            return Functions.constant(next);
         }

      };

      assertEquals(converter.apply(IterableWithMarkers.from(ImmutableSet.of("foo", "bar"), "marker")).concat().toSet(),
            ImmutableSet.of("foo", "bar", "baz"));
   }

   private GeneratedHttpRequest callerArgs(ImmutableList<Object> args) {
      try {
         return GeneratedHttpRequest.builder().method("GET").endpoint("http://localhost")
               .invocation(Invocation.create(Invokable.from(String.class.getMethod("toString"))))
               .caller(Invocation.create(Invokable.from(String.class.getMethod("toString")), args)).build();
      } catch (Exception e) {
         throw propagate(e);
      }
   }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
It's a Bird. It's a Plane. It's Supercommittee!
The cheerful first meeting of the bipartisan budget-cutting panel avoids the hard questions.
By David Weigel
Sept 08, 20116:44 PM
Sen. John Kerry and other members of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction
The doors opened, and the staffers marched in first. The reporters followed, quickly overwhelming the space they'd been given. Members of the protest group Code Pink, which materializes whenever more than three cameras are placed on tripods, took their seats and showed off their "billionaire" garb—top hat, evening gown, stacks of funny money. The House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing room was officially open for the first meeting of the supercommittee.
Fine: Technically, it's not the "supercommittee." It's the Special Joint Committee on Deficit Reduction. Its members differ on the adjectives and powers they use to describe it. When Ohio's Republican Sen. Rob Portman leans into his microphone, he calls it "extraordinary."
It had better be. The committeeis tasked to cut $1.5 trillion or more from the next 10 years of budgets. If it fails, that much money will be automatically cut from the budgets, willy-nilly, as if hacked off by a dull ax.
The supermembers appear to take their responsibilities seriously, judging by their effort to find and deliver the best cliché. "The late Spanish philosopher George Santayana," says Republican co-chair Rep. Jeb Hensarling, "once said that those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it."
"The committee members have refrained from drawing lines in the sand," adds Democratic Sen. Patty Murray. She also says that they will not be "boxed in or pigeonholed by special interest groups," that they will be inspired by "people from all walks of life," and that they are "not starting from scratch."
The supermembers wish to remind voters, who may have forgotten the horror of the debt-ceiling showdown, how important their committee is. S&P has downgraded the U.S. credit rating. Stock markets across the world are jittery. Faith in government is at all-time lows. Portman brings his own spin. "The truth," he says, is that "nothing else has worked."
And the supercommittee might not fail! Really, it might not. The combination of back-slapping negotiations and threats of automatic cuts has been tried before. Sort of. In the 1980s, when the idea came out of another joint commission, sequestration looked like a nice incentive for Democrats and Republicans to agree on budget deals. But the Supreme Court challenged the way they'd devised it, and future Congresses just ignored it.
The difficult reality can wait for the backroom. Today was the day for dreams. Each of the committee's 12 members fantasizes about a deal that would be both 1) happily bipartisan and 2) exactly what they wanted.
"We can grow by expanding energy production," says Republican Rep. Fred Upton, chairman of the Energy and Commerce committee, "by harnessing our nation's great resources." Message: Drill here, legalize light bulbs now.
"It's not just spending we need to look at," says Democratic Sen. Max Baucus, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. "It's also revenues." Message: We can raise taxes, or at least nuke some loopholes.
"Tweaks and one-time savings could add up to $1.5 trillion over 10 years," says Portman. "Yet they would leave in place soaring future deficits caused by unreformed entitlements." Message: We should do an end-run around Congress to raise the Social Security retirement age.
All of a sudden, there is a loud din outside the room as 20-odd protesters start screaming call-and-response slogans.
"What do we want? Jobs! When do we need them? Now! Jobs, not cuts!"
The Code Pink protesters leap from their chairs to join the protest. The security staff can't keep the noise out of the room, because the cords piping audio and video out of the room have been duct-taped to the threshold of the door. Republican Rep. Dave Camp, chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, who has talked about starting tax reform in the supercommittee, tries to speak.
"By reducing the burden—"
"Jobs now!"
"We can get our economy back on track."
Camp gives up until the room is cleared. There is bipartisan socializing. John Kerry chats with Pat Toomey. Upton jokes with James Clyburn. The protest ends with no arrests—"You rock!" says an organizer to his crowd of underemployed shouters—and the committee picks back up for more speeches and a vote on the rules.
By noon, the work, if public speeches can be called that, is done. Chris Van Hollen warns that there are only 77 days to power this through, and the members scatter. Toomey tells me he's "cautiously optimistic." Murray, who's being followed by at least 20 reporters, says that when it comes to taxes, "everything is on the table."
Kyl, the Senate minority whip who's retiring next year, finds his way over to another event. The Foreign Policy Initiative, the group co-founded by Bill Kristol to keep Congress hawkish in the Obama era, brings him in for a session about defense spending. Will there be cuts?
"I'm off the committee if we're going to talk about further defense spending," he says.
The 77 days have begun.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Contact: +252 63 4806767
E-mail: info@fathibashe.com
Blog Articles Why Sustainable Development Goals will unlock progress towards Africa's Agenda 2063?
Why Sustainable Development Goals will unlock progress towards Africa's Agenda 2063?
The Agenda 2030 for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) was established based on the eight millennium goals in 2015 by the UN as the new roadmap for global cooperation on development. The SDGs offer a universal agenda that is relevant for all countries and that recognizes the intricate relationship between the economic, social, environmental and political dimensions of development. Agenda 2030 is meant to be adapted to specific contexts and priorities, which vary from country to country and can change over time. Looking at the impact on the goals being created in 2015 is a good time for Africa. Africa is undergoing a rapid socio-economic change and increasing environmental risk from climate change. But if the SDGs are here to make change in Africa its important that they offer solutions to the persistent problems of sustaining economic and social programs. Africa is a continent that has seen changes over the past fifteen years where the economics has changed. The youth are woke in this continent and leaders have left their positions. Ethiopia has now cabinet where 50% are females, Rwanda's president has implemented a lot of infrastructure and other changes. The economic changes in the continent has given little progress on reducing poverty even do people have more money to spend. With crises like Ebola in 2014-2016 that had a negative effect on some countries, and Africa has the fastest growing population in the world. Most of its population is young with a median age of 19.5.
What the youth of Africa is in need of is a visionary leadership, regional collaboration, smart planning so that they can take over this continent as the new generation. Political stability in some of the countries like Somalia is important but is still being processed where we can't implement anything until its stabile. Africa is in need of equal rights, human rights implementation, responsive institutions that are focused on achieving prosperity that is sustainable and inclusive. The leaders and institutions need to be accountable for their actions the citizens are asking for transparency and accountability from their governments and political leaders. The use of technology is also increasing where everyone is on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter sharing their ideas of what type of changes they want.
What is the Africa's Agenda 2063?
Africa 2063 is a framework format of the purpose of guiding Africa's development the next fifty years. Which was developed at the African Union Summit in May 2013. The agenda is built on existing African frameworks, programs and declarations, consultations with a broad spectrum of African stakeholders at the grassroots level, synthesis of 35 national and Regional Economic Communities (RECs) strategic and action plans, situational analysis and study of global mega trends. It was adopted by the African Union Summit in January 2015. Agenda 2063 is a concrete and implementable framework with a clear vision, 7 aspirations, 20 goals, 39 priority areas, there are also 174 targets and 200 indicators. Agenda 2063 is divided into 10-year implementation periods. The first 10-year implementation plan covers the period 2013-2023. The agenda focus areas are AU´s pan-African riven where African cultural identity, common heritage, values and ethics are in focus. Also with focus on security including common defense, foreign and security polity for the continent. The agenda is the SDG´s but changed to fit the African context and also to tackle the challenges the continent are facing that are different from other continents like Europe that is developed. If we look at the agenda most of the Projects focus on transport and ICT infrastructure and economic growth, indicating a drive for accelerated growth and economic structural transformation.
The sustainable development goals and millennium development goals are what the agenda 2063 is based on. For example SDG 2 has 8 targets and 14 indicators and is aligned with the following goals contained in Agenda 2063: Goal 1 (a high standard of living, quality of life and well-being); Goal 3 (healthy and well-nourished citizens); goal 4 (transformed economies and job creation); Goal 5 (modern agriculture for increased productivity and production) and Goal 7 (environmentally sustainable climate-resilient economies and communities) and SDG 16 also aligned with the following goals contained Agenda 2063: Goal 11 (democratic, values, practices, universal principles of human rights and the rule of law entrenched); Goal 12 (capable institutions and transformative leadership in place); Goal 13 (peace security and stability is preserved) and Goal 14 (a stable and peaceful Africa) there is therefore a high degree of convergence between both Agendas.
In 2016, the Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development encouraged pan African institutions to adopt a coherent strategy for the effective and coordinated implementation of Agenda 2063 and the 2030 Agenda. The ministers agreed to a single monitoring and evaluation framework, accommodating both Agendas, and a common reporting architecture that will produce a single periodic performance report. They also acknowledged that the implementation of, reporting on and follow-up to both Agendas require a coherent strategy and an integrated set of goals, targets and indicators, along with a harmonized review and reporting platform.
Africa wants to be apart of the change in the world and also be a part of the political decision being made on their behalf. Africa's was colonized for years by different European countries, and a lot of countries experiences civil wars after their independence. We have had countries like Kenya that have change over the past couple of years, Ethiopia has change to and are still in the progress of changing. Eritrea finally opened their boarders and are in talking with other countries. The Sustainable Development Goals where created for the world to work together on the 17 goals so we all can take part of the change going on. For Africa to take part in the change that the rest of the world is implementing they need to change within first therefor I believe the agenda 2063 is a beginning of the new Africa where youth can stay there and the passport can finally give you opportunities to travel and feel free. The world is more global today and we are all connected though values and social media. The goals where made as a platform for the countries in change and create a better legacy to leave behind for the next generation. We need to end poverty and to do so we need to start changing and creating systems, governments that actually work for the people. In Europe the institutions are very strong and if Africa can implement the same institutions based on accountability, trust and responsibility with freedom to vote and no corruption. Where will Africa be in 2063 then?
The reason why sustainable development goals will unlock progress towards Africa's agenda 2063 is because we want to have something to show for when the next meeting is. Africa wants to be a part of the change and competition going on political in the world. Every leader wants to come back to the table with a voice for their country, and also proudly show their results over the past fifteen years. The millennium goals where eight goals we where not ready for to implement because we were still in wars running and scared of using our voices. But now that the stepping stone to create our own agenda has been the SDG goals its time to use them. By the rest of the world signing onto the SDG goals this opens up doors and unlocks potential in African leaders to wanting to change their country. With Africa's population predominately being youth that are not scared of using their voices, opening NGOs and implementing technology companies. They are the change this continent need and the new generation are unlocking their potential to be the change they want to see by being creative. We have more cultural events in the continent, we have summits where we talk about the issues we have and how to change them. The new generation is traveling to important places like New York to share stories from Africa and afro-beats music is being played everywhere so African artist can share their music on Spotify and create living for themselves. The SDGs are like mentioned the stepping stone for the Agenda 2063, also the fact that the world is more global, and youth are more connected. The continent is waking up and talking to leaders about how they need to more responsible and they change the goals to fit the African context which will help them. With the MDG´s they just took them as they were and tried to implement them in the society. This time the change is that the Agenda 2063 is created with the background of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, but the implementation is different and more fitting with the context. With focus on African heritage, culture and the Africa values which is important for our pan-Africanism and how we can create a better connection though the continent.
Fathi BasheSeptember 2, 2019
Fathi Initiative
Copyright © 2021 Fathi Bashe . All Rights Reserved. | Designed by SomSite


text:
Q: Could not find class 'android.support.v4.widget.DrawerLayout',
Could not find class 'android.support.v4.widget.DrawerLayout',
  referenced from method com.example.slid.MainActivity.onCreate

I am unable to resolve this issue, my libraries are updated.

A: That class is in the support-v4 and support-v13 libraries in the Android Support package.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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Friday night DWI Crackdown: Department of public safety gets serious
A record 160 arrests were made last Friday night for driving while intoxicated (DWI), despite repeated warnings from the Minnesota Department of Public Safety (MDPS) that law enforcement would be cracking down.
Authorities announced last Thursday that they planned to have 150 squad cars from more than 70 different agencies on the streets throughout the metro area to catch impaired drivers, urging folks to make arrangements for a sober ride ahead of time.
Twin Cities area drivers seemed undeterred by temperature lows in the mid-30s, overhead message boards cautioning drivers about "enforcement zones," and MDPS's own Twitter account announcing the crackdown ahead of time. MDPS even noted on their twitter feed in real-time, DWI arrests and accidents throughout last Friday night (driver names were not released.)
This special one-day DWI enforcement event, which included MDPS, Office of Traffic Safety, city and county agencies, Minnesota State Patrol and MnDOT was the largest coordinated DWI event ever and yielded nearly 100 of the 160 total arrests right here in the metro area. Extra DWI patrols were also scheduled in many other counties this weekend.
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) alcohol impaired drivers put people at risk 112 million times per year. In Minnesota alone, there are 30,000 DWI arrests each year and 1 in 7 Minnesotans bear a DWI on their record.
With more than 100 deaths and nearly 300 serious injuries a year in Minnesota due to drunk driving, MDPS scheduled and publicized their imminent crackdown for fishing season's opening weekend, in order to send a message to drivers about increased summer driving risks when DWI accidents and fatalities historically rise.
In the last five years, Minnesota saw 288 drunk driving deaths during May–August, accounting for nearly 44% of the state's total drunk driving deaths.


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