Latest news with #MarkMcCormick
Agriland
02-06-2025
- General
- Agriland
Concerns grow over re-wilding impact on land value in parts of Northern Ireland
Concerns have been expressed that re-wilding could soon become a reality in many upland parts of Northern Ireland in the not-too-distant future, at the . Driving this process is the lack of succession currently taking place within the farming industry. James McHenry farms close to Glenariffe in north Co. Antrim. He has been a sheep farmer for many years and fears that his way of life could soon become a thing of the past. 'Young people, for the most part, do not see hill farming as an attractive career option,' he said. 'The next few years will see the current generation of farmers passing on. 'In many cases I can predict that the assets of these businesses with a meaningful value will be sold off and the land let go back to nature.' These are issues that have not gone unnoticed amongst policy staff members of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) Northern Ireland. A heathland flower growing on the Garron Plateau in Co. Antrim They want to see meaningful supports made available to hill and upland farmers in recognition of the public good they can deliver in terms of peatland restoration and the encouragement of grazing systems that maximise biodiversity. These debates are taking place at a time when Northern Ireland's Environmental Farming Scheme (EFS) is about to be replaced by new farm support measures. RSPB's Mark McCormick commented: 'Hill farmers must be allowed to invest in the future of their businesses. And this means allowing them to make sustainable incomes. 'The potential of these farm businesses to deliver for the public good is immense. And they must be supported accordingly by central government.' According to the RSPB representative, peatland management and the introduction of bespoke, conservation-friendly grazing systems are equally valuable within a hill farming scenario. He believes that hill farming must be made an attractive career option for young farmers. If this is not achieved then the momentum to maintain the conservation value associated with large swathes of Northern Ireland will be lost. Re-wilding bog walk RSPB Northern Ireland staff recently hosted a visit to the Garron Plateau area of Co. Antrim for members of the Guild of Agricultural Journalists. This area of outstanding natural beauty is home to a significant number of farmers currently accessing the support monies made available through the EFS. And they are deeply concerned that funding has been withdrawn from the scheme for new entrants while replacement measures are agreed.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
New Kansas antisemitism law takes aim at free speech, does nothing to protect Jewish people
Rabbi Moti Rieber (right) sits beside author and activist Mark McCormick at a March 25, 2025, Statehouse hearing. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector) In February, I testified against House Bill 2299, a bill to put the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's definition of antisemitism into statute, focused on university campuses and punishable by prosecution by the state's attorney general, Kris Kobach. A watered-down version (Senate Bill 44), which took out most of the enforcement provisions, passed at the end of the session. Both versions were aimed squarely at the University of Kansas, which had a pro-Palestinian encampment last year and which according to some has become a hotbed of antisemitism. The new law focuses on protest (no masks used 'to harass Jewish students') and curriculum (banning 'incorporating or allowing funding of antisemitic curriculum or activities in any domestic or study abroad programs or classes'). Leaving aside the fact that it is impossible to study Western history and not encounter antisemitism, this language is extremely broad and could and probably would be used to suppress pro-Palestinian speech by students, visiting speakers, or in Muslim or Arab studies classes. This points to the main problem with the IHRA definition of antisemitism: it equates anti-Zionism — opposition to Israel's actions or even Israel itself — with antisemitism, a racialized hatred of Jewish people. This is a popular position among traditional Jewish communal organizations. Kansas City's JCRB/AJC testified in favor of the original bill, which I remind you would have allowed Kobach to identify and prosecute 'antisemitism.' Anti-Zionism and antisemitism can and do overlap — people could hide their antisemitism behind expressions of anti-Zionism, for instance, or they can accuse random Jews of being responsible for Israel's actions — but they are not the same. The many young Jews who took part in campus protests last year can attest to that. (For the rest of this column I will refer to politicized accusations of antisemitism as 'antisemitism.' Actual antisemitism — hatred of Jews — will remain without quotation marks.) The bill raised two questions. First, why didn't it address the explosion of antisemitism from the political right, from the poisonous discourse on the former Twitter to neo-Nazis at the Jan. 6, 2021, riot (now pardoned, of course) to white supremacists in close proximity, or even in the Trump administration (including, of course, Donald Trump himself). Second, why is antisemitism on college campuses so unique and terrible that it requires special legislation addressing it, when allowing anti-Black racism on college campuses is practically a MAGA platform plank? This question was raised on the floor of the House, but it wasn't answered. Criminalizing speech critical of Israel in this way has become a significant problem. Campus protests were suppressed last year. Since the start of the second Trump term, people who have criticized Israel's actions in Gaza — without necessarily attacking Israel's 'right to exist' — have been arrested and set for deportation for political speech, a clear violation of the First Amendment. Two of the most prominent examples are Columbia University's Mahmoud Khalil, a leader of pro-Palestine protests there, and Tufts University's Rumeysa Ozturk, who appears to have only co-written an op-ed in a student newspaper. Both columns and protests are political speech protected by the First Amendment. Yes, even for noncitizens. There is no evidence that either of these people have been involved in any actual Jew-hatred, and as I will explain in a moment, protesting Israel's actions in Gaza is justifiable. Accusations of rampant 'antisemitism' in universities is also the cudgel Trump is using to attack their funding and governance. This crackdown is largely a project of the Christian right, as spelled out in the Heritage Foundation's Project Esther, which focuses exclusively on antisemitism on the left and advocates for increased censorship and suppression of protest. 'Antisemitism' has become today's equivalent of McCarthy-era 'communism' — the accusation itself is condemnatory. No further evidence (or thought) is needed. That traditional Jewish communal organizations — particularly the Anti-Defamation League and JCRB/AJC — have allied themselves with this effort in the name of protecting Israel should be an embarrassment. This politicization of 'antisemitism' doesn't do Jews any favors. Not only have we consistently voted, by large majorities, for Democrats, but our very place in this society is built on the foundation of liberal democracy, especially freedom of expression and religion. Jews have prioritized Bill of Rights protections for more than 100 years, including helping found the ACLU. It is a cruel irony indeed that these pillars of Jewish freedom in American society are being dismantled in the name of protecting Jews. To which I say, no thanks. Fortunately it appears that (some) people are catching on to the ruse: Several of the main liberal Jewish denominational bodies recently issued a joint statement 'rejecting the false choice between confronting antisemitism and upholding democracy.' It's a good statement, and it doesn't assume the legitimacy of the 'universities are hotbeds of antisemitism' framing. Other, similar statements have been released. But as the 'Antisemitism Awareness Act' working its way through the U.S. Congress makes clear, this problem will get worse before it gets better. In a moment that pulled back the curtain, a clause was added to that bill that would protect the 'right' to say that 'the Jews' killed Jesus — a calumny that has caused untold injury and death to Jews throughout history and is the very definition of actual antisemitic speech. (Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall, R-MAGA, sounded sympathetic last year.) To be clear: People are criticizing Israel because it is committing significant human rights violations against Palestinians in the West Bank and especially Gaza, and not out of Jew-hatred. Jews are involved in every level of the Palestinian solidarity movement, including encampments. There are already laws to protect people from harassment and violence; Jews don't require special protection. Claiming otherwise has real consequences for real people, including dividing Jews between 'good Jews' who support Israel's actions (and Trump) and 'bad Jews' who don't and should be suppressed. Where antisemitism exists on the left and in the pro-Palestine movement, it should be criticized and condemned, but we shouldn't deploy state power to slay dragons that aren't really there. Policing Trumped-up, politicized charges of 'antisemitism' is something that Christian nationalists, including Kobach and the Heritage Foundation, should not be empowered to do. Rabbi Moti Rieber is executive director of Kansas Interfaith Action, a statewide, multifaith issue-advocacy organization that works on a variety of social, economic and climate justice issues. He writes this column in his private capacity. Through its opinion section, Kansas Reflector works to amplify the voices of people who are affected by public policies or excluded from public debate. Find information, including how to submit your own commentary, here.
Bloomberg
02-04-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Stocks Dip On ‘Tariff Day' Tension, TikTok Sale Deadline Nears
US equity futures dip as uncertainty lingers ahead of President Trump's Rose Garden announcement of his latest package of tariffs. The President is also planning a final proposal for divesting TikTok's US operations from its Chinese parent company ByteDance ahead of a sale deadline. Walmart pushes suppliers to keep costs down despite impending levies. "Vibes need to match the data," says TD Bank's Mark McCormick, commenting on deteriorating sentiment. PIIE President Adam Posen calls tariffs an inefficient form of consumption tax, which may cost American families up to $1500 per year.'Bloomberg Brief' delivers the market news, data and analysis you need to set your agenda. (Source: Bloomberg)
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
‘Create something amazing': Topeka event merges community and business opportunity
The Topeka Startup Community event allows aspiring or established entrepreneurs to connect with industry leaders and visionaries to build a thriving ecosystem, writes Mark McCormick. (iStock/Getty Images Plus) Healthy communities have certain things. Schools. Hospitals. Banks or credit unions, or both. Businesses that support little league baseball and Pop Warner football. Community gathering places for recreation and for public discussions. At their best, they have insular qualities, meaning much of what you need already exists there. There's a healthy interconnectedness. They have heartbeats. They breathe. They have organs and strong, economic circulation delivering life-giving oxygen to those organs. In his own way, Michael Odupitan is building just such a community. His Topeka Startup Community event runs from 1 to 4 p.m. Friday at 1301 S.W. Topeka Blvd. The event will allow visitors and aspiring or established entrepreneurs to connect with industry leaders and other visionaries to build a thriving, startup ecosystem. 'Whether you're a founder, investor, or simply passionate about business growth, this is your chance to help create something amazing,' said Odupitan about his event, which is sponsored by the Kauffman Foundation, Kansas State University, and Network Kansas. This event is to develop personal connection, professional collaboration, and business creation in the region, or in short, 'to connect, collaborate, and create.' That's consistent with Omni Circles, the nonprofit Odupitan started in 2019. It is designed for early and mid-stage entrepreneurial development where people can help each other find resources and training, while building a climate of 'ubuntu,' or humanity. Because I am, we are, and because we are, I am. In addition to working space and entrepreneurship support, it also offers free mowing services, mentoring, help finding startup capital, mentoring and more. 'If we're ever going to be a community that thrives, it has to be through economics,' said Odupitan, whose connection to our social fabric developed as a social worker. 'Let's show Topeka we can build a community. We create pathways to success. We help people develop opportunities and we help crate leaders.' Communities without connection wither into painful and even deadly dysfunction. Dying communities tend to have death economies. An abundance of liquor stores and tobacco shops. High-fat, high-calorie fast food. Pawn shops selling guns. Few, if any, employment opportunities. There's often violence. Vast food deserts with no fresh fruit or vegetables, and sadly, funeral homes, an endpoint for chronic illness and violent crime. This is precisely what environments of 'want' or opportunity scarcity create. Odupitan saw this growing up in a high-crime neighborhood in West Palm Beach. He was the youngest of four that his heroic mother Josephine Odupitan raised working multiple odd jobs just so that the ends could see each other if they could not in fact meet. She worked in nursing homes, was a certified nursing assistant, and was always helping and serving other people. 'She was always giving back,' he said. 'That's just the way that she was. She was a joy to be around.' Odupitan lost his mother in 2015. The loss sent his mind plunging. His mother's legacy was one of joyful giving. He wondered what his legacy might be. He spent a lot of years away from his family, in Illinois, in Oklahoma, in the Kansas City metro area, and 15 years in Topeka, trying to achieve but never quite seeing those dreams come to fruition. He ultimately decided to put down roots in Topeka and to build the very thing he did not have growing up, a connected community. The road to parity — economic, social, or otherwise — runs through community business success. Too often, however, Black communities temporarily galvanize behind an emotionally charged incident, like in the aftermath of the 2020 murder of George Floyd in Minnesota. That incident drew people out of their homes and into community activism nationwide. But when that energy faded people defaulted to the old habits of siloed survival. Odupitan suggests not living in such a tragedy driven way but building ties and businesses that last. Communities are not necessarily just expressions of who we are as individuals, but rather, what we share and produce as families and as neighbors. In a nation that tends to promote 'low-road capitalism' where wages stagnate and exploitation often prevails, Odupitan said community entrepreneurs should have a heart for service and for helping people develop and thrive. 'I live for this purpose,' he said. Mark McCormick is the former executive director of The Kansas African American Museum, a member of the Kansas African American Affairs Commission and former deputy executive director at the ACLU of Kansas. Through its opinion section, Kansas Reflector works to amplify the voices of people who are affected by public policies or excluded from public debate. Find information, including how to submit your own commentary, here.
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
‘Create something amazing': Topeka event merges community and business opportunity
The Topeka Startup Community event allows aspiring or established entrepreneurs to connect with industry leaders and visionaries to build a thriving ecosystem, writes Mark McCormick. (iStock/Getty Images Plus) Healthy communities have certain things. Schools. Hospitals. Banks or credit unions, or both. Businesses that support little league baseball and Pop Warner football. Community gathering places for recreation and for public discussions. At their best, they have insular qualities, meaning much of what you need already exists there. There's a healthy interconnectedness. They have heartbeats. They breathe. They have organs and strong, economic circulation delivering life-giving oxygen to those organs. In his own way, Michael Odupitan is building just such a community. His Topeka Startup Community event runs from 1 to 4 p.m. Friday at 1301 S.W. Topeka Blvd. The event will allow visitors and aspiring or established entrepreneurs to connect with industry leaders and other visionaries to build a thriving, startup ecosystem. 'Whether you're a founder, investor, or simply passionate about business growth, this is your chance to help create something amazing,' said Odupitan about his event, which is sponsored by the Kauffman Foundation, Kansas State University, and Network Kansas. This event is to develop personal connection, professional collaboration, and business creation in the region, or in short, 'to connect, collaborate, and create.' That's consistent with Omni Circles, the nonprofit Odupitan started in 2019. It is designed for early and mid-stage entrepreneurial development where people can help each other find resources and training, while building a climate of 'ubuntu,' or humanity. Because I am, we are, and because we are, I am. In addition to working space and entrepreneurship support, it also offers free mowing services, mentoring, help finding startup capital, mentoring and more. 'If we're ever going to be a community that thrives, it has to be through economics,' said Odupitan, whose connection to our social fabric developed as a social worker. 'Let's show Topeka we can build a community. We create pathways to success. We help people develop opportunities and we help crate leaders.' Communities without connection wither into painful and even deadly dysfunction. Dying communities tend to have death economies. An abundance of liquor stores and tobacco shops. High-fat, high-calorie fast food. Pawn shops selling guns. Few, if any, employment opportunities. There's often violence. Vast food deserts with no fresh fruit or vegetables, and sadly, funeral homes, an endpoint for chronic illness and violent crime. This is precisely what environments of 'want' or opportunity scarcity create. Odupitan saw this growing up in a high-crime neighborhood in West Palm Beach. He was the youngest of four that his heroic mother Josephine Odupitan raised working multiple odd jobs just so that the ends could see each other if they could not in fact meet. She worked in nursing homes, was a certified nursing assistant, and was always helping and serving other people. 'She was always giving back,' he said. 'That's just the way that she was. She was a joy to be around.' Odupitan lost his mother in 2015. The loss sent his mind plunging. His mother's legacy was one of joyful giving. He wondered what his legacy might be. He spent a lot of years away from his family, in Illinois, in Oklahoma, in the Kansas City metro area, and 15 years in Topeka, trying to achieve but never quite seeing those dreams come to fruition. He ultimately decided to put down roots in Topeka and to build the very thing he did not have growing up, a connected community. The road to parity — economic, social, or otherwise — runs through community business success. Too often, however, Black communities temporarily galvanize behind an emotionally charged incident, like in the aftermath of the 2020 murder of George Floyd in Minnesota. That incident drew people out of their homes and into community activism nationwide. But when that energy faded people defaulted to the old habits of siloed survival. Odupitan suggests not living in such a tragedy driven way but building ties and businesses that last. Communities are not necessarily just expressions of who we are as individuals, but rather, what we share and produce as families and as neighbors. In a nation that tends to promote 'low-road capitalism' where wages stagnate and exploitation often prevails, Odupitan said community entrepreneurs should have a heart for service and for helping people develop and thrive. 'I live for this purpose,' he said. Mark McCormick is the former executive director of The Kansas African American Museum, a member of the Kansas African American Affairs Commission and former deputy executive director at the ACLU of Kansas. Through its opinion section, Kansas Reflector works to amplify the voices of people who are affected by public policies or excluded from public debate. Find information, including how to submit your own commentary, here.
