African Americans and Clean Climate: Texas Coalition of Black Democrats must step up

We need an organization strong and powerful enough to hold elected leaders accountable for protecting our health and environment, and advancing our interests.

There has been a major divide between the Republican and Democrat lawmakers when it comes to voting on measures to tackle the climate crisis.  It is true that the fossil fuel industry now almost entirely favors Republicans in campaign contributions. However, the truth remains that at this point, the Black community should prioritize health over material electioneering support.


By Carroll G. Robinson

Studies by researchers with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reveal that Black Americans are subjected to higher levels of air pollution than their white counterparts irrespective of social status.  Most such mucky pollution comes from burning fossil fuels. The study published in the American Journal of Public Health explains disparities in distribution of particulate matter emission sources by race and poverty status. It suggests that black Americans were exposed to significantly more of the small pollution particles associated with various long and heart-related disease and untimely death.

To this end, Black Democrats must be environmentalists. Protecting our planet matters to our health, our children, our seniors, our safety and our prosperity. Climate change, environmental injustice, air pollution, water pollution, flooding and contaminated land are all on-going threats to the health, safety, quality of life, prosperity and the future of Black America. So too is transportation, infrastructure and economic inequality, the education and wealth gaps and food deserts.

The Texas Coalition of Black Democrats must remain a leader in the fight for environmental justice and to end climate change and environmental health disparities. The Texas Coalition of Black Democrats must be not just the leading defenders of our voting rights, but also our health, our children, our elders, our families, our neighborhoods and our planet.

There should be no more crushed concrete plants, landfills or illegal dumping of old tires, garbage and broken furniture in our communities. These are public health, safety, quality of life and environmental justice issues.

Without more explanation about significance of a clean and safe environment, l must conclude; it’s not enough for us to just elect Democrats to public office. We need an organization strong and powerful enough to hold them accountable for protecting our health and environment, and advancing our interests. That organization must be the Texas Coalition of Black Democrats.

Thank you and God Bless Houston. For constructive dialogue, you may contact me directly >>>

Carroll G. Robinson, Esq.

Hon. Robinson is the former Chairman, City of Houston Transportation, Technology and Infrastructure Committee; Former Vice Chairman, Houston-Galveston Area Council Transportation Policy Council (H-GAC TPC) and Associate Professor of Public Administration, Barbara Jordan-Mickey Leland School of Public Affairs, Texas Southern University.

Rudy Giuliani’s son makes $95,000 working as sports liaison for the White House

President Donald Trump employs several of his family members to work within his White House administration and help him run his business. His daughter Ivanka Trump serves as an advisor, and her husband, Jared Kushner, serves as assistant to the president and senior advisor. Trump’s older sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, are executive vice presidents of The Trump Organization.

The Trump administration also employs the son of Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s personal attorney. The White House pays him nearly six figures to serve as a sports liaison.

According to government documents, Giuliani’s son, Andrew H. Giuliani, makes $95,000 per year working for the White House. His official title is “Special Assistant to the President and Associate Director of the Office of Public Liaison.”

In 2009, the Obama Administration’s decision to hire actor Kal Penn to serve as an associate director in what was then called the Office of Public Engagement made headlines. Penn was reportedly paid $41,000 per year. He left the job in 2011 to return to acting full-time.

GP: Mayor Giuliani and son
Andrew and Rudy Giuliani during Rudy’s last weekend as Mayor of New York City on December 31, 2001.Harry Hamburg/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images

The 31-year-old Giuliani has served in the Office of Public Liaison, which acts as “the primary line of communication between the White House and the public,” since March 2017.

He made $77,000 serving as an associate director in 2017, and got a raise in 2018 to $90,700 though his title didn’t change. In the two years he has been employed by the White House, his pay has increased by $18,000.

Andrew reportedly acts as a “liaison to the sports community” and helps coordinate visits from sports teams to the White House.

During his tenure in the role, there have been several controversies in which championship-winning teams that typically visit the White House to celebrate their win were not invited. Several teams have also declined the invitations.

Players have declined invitations to the White House from previous presidents — Manny Ramirez refused to visit during George W. Bush’s time in office and Tom Brady skipped out on an invite from the Obamas citing scheduling conflicts.

The son of the former New York mayor was a college golfer. He joined the Duke University golf team in 2006 but was cut from the team in 2008 after he allegedly threw an apple at a teammate and threw and broke a golf club in a parking lot. The then-college student sued the university but the case was dismissed in 2010.

Rudy Giuliani told The Atlantic that hiring Andrew “wasn’t the usual ‘hire my kid’ situation.” “He’s known the president since he was a baby,” he told The Atlantic. “Now, did he know him in the first place because he was the mayor’s son? Sure, but they also had a relationship independent of me.”

“He doesn’t really try to be involved in anything,” an anonymous former senior White House official told The Atlantic. “He’s just having a nice time.”

Andrew Giuliani volunteered for the 2016 Trump presidential campaign and often plays golf with the president, according to reporting from Axios. In 2018, he spoke with Axios about his close relationship with the president:

“The president has been there for me, for the good times, but more importantly through the bad,” Giuliani said in the interview. “That’s just the kind of man he is. I’m grateful that he’s always been willing to give me his advice on personal matters and I consider him to be my good friend and even a father figure. His family is my family.”

Culled from the CNBC

Why the RNC bought $95,000 worth of copies of Donald Trump Jr.’s new book

The Republican National Committee shelled out nearly $95,000 for copies of Donald Trump Jr.’s new book, which helped land it atop the New York Times’ bestseller list.

Records filed with the Federal Election Commission show the party spent $94,800 on “donor mementos” from Books-A-Million on October 29, days before Trump’s book “Triggered: How the Left Thrives on Hate and Wants to Silence Us” hit shelves.

Mike Reed, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee, told the New York Times the money was for orders of Trump’s book. The committee did not return requests for comment.

Trump Jr. : Records filed with the Federal Election Commission show the party spent $94,800 on “donor mementos” from Books-A-Million on October 29, days before Trump’s book “Triggered: How the Left Thrives on Hate and Wants to Silence Us” hit shelves.

The book, published by Center Street, an imprint of Hachette Book Group, debuted at number one on the New York Times’ nonfiction bestseller list and has spent two weeks there. Its entry, however, is denoted by a dagger, indicating some retailers said they received bulk orders.

President Trump praised his eldest son’s new book to his nearly 67 million Twitter followers in the run-up to its publication and after it became available November 5. 

The day before “Triggered’s” release, Mr. Trump called it a “great new book that I highly recommend all to read” and urged his followers to order it.

The Republican National Committee also sent an email to supporters the day Trump’s book came out, giving away signed copies in exchange for a donation of at least $50.

The president frequently uses his Twitter account to promote new books written by his allies. In May, he urged his followers to buy a book by conservative radio host Mark Levin and earlier this month, Mr. Trump lauded a memoir written by Nikki Haley, his former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

Russia Launches New Air Base in Former U.S. Syria Stronghold

The Russian military has announced a new combat helicopter and air defense base in a formerly U.S.-controlled northern Syrian stronghold, the state-run TASS news agency reported.

U.S. troops left the city of Qamishli, the administrative center of the self-proclaimed Kurdish autonomy in northern Syria, last month as Turkey launched an assault against Kurdish forces. Russia and Turkey later clinched a deal pushing the Kurdish YPG fighters south of the frontline and launched joint patrols of the area.

The Russian base — called an aviation commandant’s office — will allow helicopters to expand their area of patrols, its chief Timur Khodzhayev was cited as saying by the state-run TASS news agency.

Khodzhayev said the commandant’s office will ensure “uninterrupted flights, safety of helicopters and protection and defense of the territory,” which expands to the Hasaka province on the Turkish-Iraqi border.

The base includes air defense systems and a flight control room, as well as pre-flight training and medical facilities, Khodzhayev added.

“Military police, special equipment, vehicles and fuel to ensure uninterrupted flights have also been allocated,” he was quoted as saying.

Footage published by the Russian Defense Ministry-run Zvezda news channel shows the first group of helicopters arriving in Qamishli. 

A Pantsir surface-to-air weapon protected the airspace over Qamishli’s civilian airport as an Mi-8 gunship and transport helicopter landed there, it reported. Two Mi-35 attack helicopters provided air support.

“It’s a historic moment, our aviation group will be permanently active at the Qamishli airport as of today,” a Zvezda reporter said.

Russia and Turkey have carried out five joint patrols in northeast Syria since announcing the agreement to remove the Kurdish YPG militia from the area. Ankara sees YPG as terrorists linked to a Kurdish separatist movement within Turkey.

Syrian government forces moved back into border regions held by Kurdish fighters as a result of the Russian-Turkish deal.

Oprah Winfrey Is Looking for African Women Who Are Passionate About Public Service

The Oprah Winfrey Foundation is offering fully funded scholarships to study at New York University
The Fellowship provides full tuition, fees, housing or a housing stipend (if enrolling in the Global EMPA program), travel to and from the United States, and a small stipend to cover books and miscellaneous expenses.

Oprah Winfrey is once again lending her name and influence to help educate and empower more African women.

The mogul — who is fondly known as Mama Oprah in South Africa — announced that the Oprah Winfrey Foundation has launched a fully-funded fellowship aimed at empowering African women who are in public service.

It offers women from African countries the chance to study for free at New York University’s (NYU’s) Wagner graduate school of public service — in the hope of supporting Africa-led solutions to some of the world’s most pressing issues.

The African Women’s Public Service Fellowship — a partnership between Winfrey and NYU — will provide full tuition, fees, housing, travel to and from the United States, and a stipend to cover books and other expenses.

The aim of the fellowship is to “expand the opportunity for African women” who want to change public service in their countries,according to the New York University (NYU).

The opportunity isn’t open, however, to applicants who are looking to fund advanced professional certificates and non-degree programmes, NYU highlights.

To qualify, applicants must also be a citizen and resident in an African country; have a strong academic record; and a proven commitment to public service in their country or around the continent.

The fellowship is applicable to study on these programmes at Wagner: Masters of Public Administration (MPA) in Public & Nonprofit Management & Policy; MPS in Health Policy & Management; Master of Urban Planning, and Executive Master of Public Administration (EMPA) for Public Service Leaders.

Recipients of the fellowship also must commit to returning to their home countries when the programme ends, with the goal of taking on a leadership position in Africa — where they can “meaningfully contribute to the challenges currently confronting Africa,” the university says.

To apply for the opportunity, applicants must send an essay, a one-minute submission video, and fill out this online application form by Dec. 2.

Candidates who make the shortlist will be invited to Skype interviews with the selection committee by mid-February 2020.

The fellowship joins many other education initiatives supported by the Oprah Winfrey Foundation.

Speaking at the Global Citizen Festival: Mandela 100 event that was held in Johannesburg in Dec. 2018, Winfrey said society can change if we all play our part, no matter how small, in helping others.

“I always thought it was because Madiba was a citizen of the world that he really got to see how the power of one leads to the empowering of many,” she said. “He knew when a society is wounded, we all bleed.”

She added: “As Maya Angelou taught me: Your legacy isn’t some big grand gesture that’s waiting to happen, your legacy is every life you touch… I built a school right here in South Africa to help girls become leaders of a new South Africa. Every time one of them succeeds, it is my greatest reward.”

Egyptian TV News Report Alleges Turkey Supplying Weapons to Nigeria’s Boko Haram

Raymond Ibrahim, a Shillman Fellow in Journalism at the David Horowitz Freedom Center, and an expert on the Middle East and Islam, appeared on CBN’s Newswatch to talk more about Turkey’s alleged ties to Islamic terrorism.

Turkey is clearly a terrorist state with a broad reach, according to an Egyptian television news program. Ten.tv reports Turkey is supplying weapons to Boko Haram in Nigeria.

Ten.tv host Nasha’t al-Deyhi reported on a leak confirming an intercepted phone call from a few years back – confirming the action. 

He reported in part: “Today’s leak confirms without a doubt that Erdogan, his state, his government, and his party are transferring weapons from Turkey to – this is a shock, to where you may ask – to Nigeria; and to whom? – to the Boko Haram organization.”

Raymond Ibrahim is the Shillman Fellow in Journalism at the David Horowitz Freedom Center and an expert on the Middle East and Islam. During an interview on CBN‘s Newswatch, Ibrahim said he’s not surprised by the Ten.tv report. 

“The tape was made in 2014 or 15 and it was reported widely in certain areas, in the US and the west not so much and not much came out of it,” Ibrahim said. “The reason I think is that (Turkish President Recep Tayyip) Erdogan didn’t have his fingers so much in Islamist politics outside of his own nation.”

THIS WAS FOUR YEARS AGO
Turkish President, Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdogan on assured Nigeria of its support in the fight against terrorist, Boko Haram. He gave the assurance at a joint press conference after holding bilateral talks with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

“But now that we’ve seen Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the ISIS Islamic state caliph that was killed recently, and he was found just three miles from the Turkish border, which is, in fact, the last bastion of jihadi-so-called ‘freedom fighters’ attacking the Syrian government,” he told CBN News.

“It has brought it up again, he (Erdogan) is supporting ISIS,” Ibrahim noted. “Now we’re remembering and that was I think the point of the Egyptian show, we’re bringing back to see that there’s some continuity here. He’s involved with some of the worst Islamic terror groups. If you remember, Boko Haram, whose name loosely means ‘western education is forbidden’, (Haram) was basically doing what ISIS was doing and is notorious for – years before ISIS was doing it. 

“One of the things international observers have been noticing, especially increasingly, is that their armaments, their weapons are very sophisticated,” he continued. “It’s even spilled into the Fulani tribesmen in Nigeria and other parts of Africa. For example, in Burkina Faso, also in western Africa the attacks on Christians have become horrific in just the last few months.”

As CBN News reported, a senior State Department official said last week that Turkey is backing forces in Syria who have the same radical ideology as ISIS.

“The problem is that the people doing the fighting are these ill-disciplined Arab militias, some of whom we’ve worked within the past when we were arming the opposition, but many of whom are (a) ill-disciplined, and (b) relatively radical, and their ideology is essentially Islamic ideology,” the official said.

A fragile government in northern Syria called the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAA) released a statement on Tuesday saying that Erdogan seeks to subjugate them through radical Islam.

“Erdogan plans to turn are free, democratic region back into turmoil under radical Islamic occupation,” the government said.

Critics of Erdogan’s invasion say he is trying to revive the Ottoman Empire and establish a new caliphate.

“Their open intention is to restore the original caliphate which was disbanded in 1924,” said Dalton Thomas of Frontier Alliance International.

Recently Turkey’s defense minister posted a map to his social media that shows portions of Greece, Syria, and Iraq as part of a greater Turkey.

Defense Minister Hulusi Akar posted a message alongside the map: “We have no eyes on anyone’s soil. We will only take what’s ours.”

The map reflects the 1920 Ottoman National Pact that includes lands Turkey believes it deserved at the end of World War I.

Houston Judge Surrenders for 7-Count Wire Fraud Indictment

Judge Alexandra Smoots-Thomas surrendered to federal authorities. She’ll make an initial appearance Friday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Peter Bray.

Judge Alexandra Smoots-Thomas, 44, is currently the presiding judge for the 164th District Court for the State of Texas and has jurisdiction over Texas civil cases located within Harris County.

A Houston jurist, 164th District Judge Alexandra Smoots-Thomas, was indicted for wire fraud, according to a Friday news release by U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick.

The judge’s Oct. 24 seven-count indictment was unsealed Friday when Smoots-Thomas surrendered to federal authorities. She’ll make an initial appearance Friday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Peter Bray, the news release said.

The indictment alleged that the judge embezzled campaign contributions through people and political election committees, promising to use the funds on her reelection campaigns in 2012 and 2016. In reality, she paid for noncampaign expenses such as her mortgage payments, private school tuition, travel, luxury items and cash withdraws, alleged the news release. She concealed her wrongful spending through her campaign treasurer and false Texas Ethics Commission filings, it said.

Wire fraud charges can be punished with up to 20 years in federal prison and a $250,000 maximum fine.

Smoots-Thomas earned her law degree from South Texas College of Law Houston in 2001, and was licensed to practice in 2002, said her State Bar of Texas profile. She does not have any public disciplinary history as an attorney. The Texas Commission on Judicial Conduct also does not list any public discipline for her.

She worked at Brown McCarroll in Houston right out of law school and stayed until 2007, when she opened a solo practice, according to her profile on her campaign website. Her private practice centered around insurance law, commercial litigation, construction litigation and real estate.

Under her former name, Smoots-Hogan, the judge was elected to the 164th Civil District Court in 2008. She was reelected in 2012 and 2016.

In her personal life, Smoots-Thomas is raising two boys, the campaign website said.

According to the judge’s Twitter profile, she was diagnosed with breast cancer in January and needed surgery and chemotherapy. She tweeted in September that she’s progressing well through treatment and “starting to see the light at the end.”

When judges are facing criminal charges, it’s fairly routine for the judicial conduct commission to suspend them from the bench as their cases wind through the criminal justice system, said Austin solo practitioner Lillian Hardwick, who practices judicial ethics law.

If the allegations in the government indictments are proven in court, and Smoots-Thomas is convicted, then it’s the type of crime that could boot her from the bench for good, Hardwick said. She could either resign instead of facing discipline, and promise never to run for election again, or the Texas Supreme Court could remove her, Hardwick explained.

“The judge has to comply with the law, and that has been interpreted as in dispensing the law and in personal behavior,” Hardwick said. “If you look at the constitutional provisions, about willful or persistent conduct that’s inconsistent with the proper performance of judicial duties, nobody would argue this behavior, if proven, is consistent with judicial duty.”

Houston Mayor Race – Turner takes an intimidating lead, set to retain office

Mayoral race collation announcement suspended as incumbent Sylvester Turner takes a commanding lead

Mayor Turner mounts the stage of the third-floor ballroom at the George R. Brown Convention Center in downtown Houston to avow his confidence as the crowd yells, “Four more years!”

International Guardian Houston, TX – As the results from Tuesday’s election gradually trickled in, Houston’s Mayor Sylvester Turner took a commanding lead over his two closest rivals, Anthony Buzbee and Bill King.

With 23 percent of the votes in, as of press time, Mayor Turner led with 47 percent, compared to Tony Buzbee with 29 percent and Bill King with 13 percent. If Mayor Turner doesn’t reach a 50 percent benchmark, he would face the second winner in a runoff election.

But statistical analysis so far shows a minute chance of any runoff. “Mayor Turner needs just three percent to retain his tenure, and his victory is a matter of Time”, a senior aide in his campaign office told International Guardian.

Earlier in the evening, Mayor Turner mounted the stage of the third-floor ballroom at the George R. Brown Convention Center in downtown Houston to avow his confidence as the crowd yelled, “Four more years!”  According to mayor Turner, “The numbers are very, very, very encouraging, in fact, I would say they are super encouraging…We’re almost there. We know it’s going to be a long evening … but today was an incredible day of voting.”

Mayor Turner was surrounded by local and statewide officials, including Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, and U.S. Reps. Sylvia Garcia, Sheila Jackson Lee and Al Green.

His closest rival, Buzbee also made an appearance at a different location telling his supporters,  “We’re gonna make the runoff…we are going to win.”

Turner has been Houston Mayor since 2016 after he defeated King in a runoff election in 2015. Along with the mayoral race, several city council, Houston Community College trustee and Houston Independent School District trustee seats were on the ballot.

The County Clerk’s Office had issued a release indicating a delay in counting process. The Office promised to announce the results as soon as they are available.

Unprecedented delays at County Clerk’s Office punctuate round-the-clock Houston’s election coverage

First boxes of election day results arriving downtown. County Clerk’s office says due to the delays in process, they would not be able to accommodate any media requests for early morning newscasts, including access to the election office.

International Guardian – Houston, TX. A minute-by-minute election coverage of a nerve-wracking 2019 Houston’s citywide election coverage has been interrupted by unprecedented delays at County Clerk’s Office. As of 11:56 p.m. an official report provided results from 176 voting centers while the Central Counting Board worked diligently processing figures in what the County office described as “a secure and efficient manner.”

At 2:30 a.m. however, the county issued a statement:

“Due to the delay in election results, our office will not be able to accommodate any media requests for early morning newscasts, including access to the election office.  The final unofficial results will be emailed as soon as they are available, but the next media availability will not be until 2 p.m. at the Harris County Clerk’s Office at 201 Caroline, 4th floor conference room.”

The delays are anticipated, International Guardian gathered. It may be recalled that late in October, the Secretary of State issued an election advisory requiring Harris County Clerk’s office and law enforcement to drive mobile ballot box cards from each of the 757 Election Day polling sites to the downtown central counting station.

The previous plan, considered more effective, required bringing the cards to ten drop-off sites spread around the county to transmit electronically.

Meanwhile, incumbent, Sylvester Turner currently leads mayoral race over his closest contenders, Anthony Buzbee and Bill King. With 23 percent of the votes in, as of press time, Mayor Turner led with 47 percent, compared to Tony Buzbee with 29 percent and Bill King with 13 percent. If Mayor Sylvester Turner doesn’t reach the 50 percent mark needed to win in Tuesday’s election, a runoff election would be held.

Xenophobia: Ghana Union of Traders Association lock Nigerian owned shops in Kumasi

Angry members of the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) on Thursday stormed shops owned by Nigerians in Kumasi, the Ashanti Region capital, and locked them up. GUTA members have for some time now waged a war on foreigners doing retail business in the country.

They cite Ghanaian laws to justify their action, insisting that they have been left with no choice than to move into the markets and lock the shops up themselves because the law enforcement agencies fail to do their work.

GUTA says foreign retailers flout section 27 of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) Act 865. That law stipulates that the sale of goods or provision of services in a market, petty trading or hawking or selling of goods in a stall at any place must be reserved for Ghanaians.

 Other activities not permitted for non-citizens include:

  • Operation of taxi or car hire service in an enterprise that has a fleet of less than twenty-five vehicles
  • Operation of a beauty salon or a barbershop
  • Printing of recharge scratch cards for the use of subscribers of telecommunication services
  • Production of exercise books and other basic stationery
  • Retail of finished pharmaceutical products
  • Production and retail of sachet water.

GUTA members say this law is being flouted by foreigners, particularly Nigerians, on grounds that the ECOWAS protocol on free movement of goods and persons across the sub-region allows them to trade and do any kind of business in Ghana.

Luv FM’s Asenso Mensah reports that agitated GUTA members on Thursday morning stormed at least five big markets in the Ashanti Region, forced out the foreign retailers and locked their shops.

Foreign traders in Kejetia, Suame Magazine, Adum and Asafo markets were all yanked out of the shops on Thursday, reports Asenso Mensah.

GUTA Public Relations Officer, Albert Mensah Offei, told Joy News that the locking up of retail shops owned by foreigners will soon be extended to other parts of the country.The action by GUTA is the second time this year.

Meanwhile, many say the action by GUTA is retaliation for the Nigerian government’s decision to close its land borders indefinitely. Nigeria says it hopes to cut down on smuggling by closing its borders.

The move has been widely criticised by both regional and international trade associations. GUTA has been among the fiercest critic of the decision by Nigeria to close its borders.

Culled from Joy News

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