Latest news with #McCaughey
Epoch Times
4 days ago
- Politics
- Epoch Times
Former NY Official Vows to Root Out CCP Influence If Elected Governor
Betsy McCaughey, who served as lieutenant governor of New York under George Pataki, said she might pursue a gubernatorial bid during a recent event in the Flushing neighborhood of Queens, which is home to the largest Chinese community in New York City. 'I can tell you that I am considering running for governor of New York state, and when I do, the CCP will be out of this state! Period. Driven out! We will not tolerate it,' McCaughey said in a short speech on Aug. 10, using the acronym of the Chinese Communist Party. 'I can tell you the threat of communism is not just in China. It is right here in America.' McCaughey was one of several speakers at a rally hosted by the New York-based nonprofit Global Service Center for Quitting the Chinese Communist Party. The event commemorated the occasion of more than 450 million Chinese people having renounced their ties with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its affiliated organizations. The center was formed as a result of the global 'Tuidang' or ' Quit the CCP ' movement, which was inspired by The Epoch Times' 2004 editorial series 'Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party.' The publication contains numerous topics that are considered taboo in China, including the history of the CCP and its crimes against the Chinese people. In New York City, the center has several booths that assist Chinese people in withdrawing from the CCP. The booths are run by volunteers, all of whom practice Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, a spiritual discipline based on the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance. Falun Gong practitioners have been the target of brutal persecution by the CCP since July 1999. Since then, millions of people have been detained inside prisons, labor camps, and other facilities, with hundreds of thousands tortured while incarcerated and untold numbers persecuted to death, according to the Falun Dafa Information Center. In April, a man attacked the center's booth near the Main Street subway station in Flushing. The incident followed a series of threats the center had received, including bomb attacks and shootings, primarily targeting Falun Gong practitioners and supporters. At the Aug. 10 rally, McCaughey reiterated her commitment to stop the CCP's infiltration in an interview with NTD, the sister media outlet of The Epoch Times. 'The penetration of the CCP—its illegal, secret, and violent ways inside the United States—must be stopped. They intimidate, they injure, they threaten Chinese people here who have left the Party; that must stop,' she said. McCaughey, a Republican, is the founder and chairman of Reduce Infection Deaths and co-founder of SaveNYC. During her speech, McCaughey called the Tuidang movement 'inspiring.' 'It shows that the human spirit can never be conquered. It proves that truth, once spoken, lives on forever,' she said. 'This is not about politics. It is about humanity. It is deep within our core as humans to want freedom. It is about the right to live with dignity, to believe what we choose without fear.' She commended the Chinese people for their courage in quitting the CCP, emphasizing that the United States and the international community support them. 'Together, we can build a future where the truth is not censored, where faith is not punished, and where the horrors of communism are never repeated,' she added. Another speaker at the event was Michael Pastine, assistant vice president and chief information officer of the Information Technology Services at the State University of New York at Old Westbury. Pastine criticized the CCP's control over information, including censoring the internet and rewriting history, as tools to control the minds of the Chinese people. He applauded those who have chosen to quit the CCP. 'Each one of them has broken through the wall of lies. Each one is a digital and spiritual defector—walking away from a system that values power over people, and control over conscience,' he said. Pastine also applauded the millions of people from around the world who have signed the center's ' End CCP ' petition. 'These are not just signatures. They are voices. They are data points in a moral movement that technology cannot suppress,' he said. 'As long as people choose truth, no algorithm, no surveillance system, and no dictatorship can win.'
The 42
03-07-2025
- Business
- The 42
Ulster Rugby secure new naming-rights partner for Ravenhill Stadium
ULSTER RUGBY HAVE secured a new long-term naming-rights sponsorship deal for Ravenhill Stadium. Effective immediately, the home of Ulster Rugby will officially become known as Affidea Stadium (pronounced AF-fi-DAY-ah) after the northern province agreed a partnership with the European healthcare company. In a statement, Ulster said that the new partnership will provide 'a strong platform to invest in the development of players, facilities and fan experience'. Advertisement Affidea, who entered the Irish market in 2007 with the acquisition of MRI Ireland, now operates in over 16 countries and has 410 clinics across Europe. Affidea Ireland have recently expanded their footprint in the north, with plans approved for the company to open a state-of-the-art private hospital in Belfast in 2026. The new facility is set to include an orthopaedic and sports medicine centre of excellence. Ulster CEO Hugh McCaughey said that the province is 'delighted to welcome Affidea as our new stadium naming-rights partner.' 'Affidea shares our passion for high performance, our commitment to the health and wellbeing of people across the province, and our vision for the future of rugby in Ulster,' McCaughey added. 'Together, we will continue to invest in elite and grassroots rugby, and we look forward to seeing the Affidea Stadium become a beacon for sport and community pride in Ulster.' Barry Downes, CEO of Affidea UK and Ireland said: 'Affidea is thrilled to partner with Ulster Rugby, a club with rich heritage, passionate support, and a deep-rooted connection to the local community. 'This partnership represents an exciting opportunity for Affidea to further grow our presence and impact in the province of Ulster. Rugby is a game that inspires excellence, teamwork, and trust, values that align strongly with our approach to healthcare. We're proud to see our name on a stadium that also represents those ideals.' Ireland's senior women's team will play the first game at the newly branded Affidea Stadium on 9 August (. Scott Bemand's side will host Canada 48 hours before the head coach announces his squad for the Rugby World Cup.
BBC News
12-03-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Cyclists' life saved by Tyrone first responder volunteers after heart attack
A County Tyrone man has said he is "eternally grateful" to volunteers for saving his life, after being told there was at least a two-hour wait for an McAdam was cycling with his club on 29 December 2024 when he felt a tightness in his chest and he passed out at the side of the 54-year-old from Coalisland was having a heart Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS) alerted the local Killeeshil/Galbally Community First Responders who treated him and drove him to Craigavon Area Hospital. He was subsequently blue-lighted to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast where he had surgery to remove a clot in his artery and a stent First Responder Schemes are made up of volunteers who live within their local community and complement the aim is to reach a potentially life-threatening emergency in the vital first few minutes before the arrival of an ambulance crew. Mr McAdam said it has been a "whirlwind journey". "I'm here and a big part of that's down to being in the first instance, out with the cycling club the Island Wheelers."If I was on my own somewhere this could have been an entirely different story."The first responders were brought in and got me where I needed to be".When he was in surgery, he said the surgeon showed him a little plastic container with the blood clot in it and told him that "when I see that 99% of people haven't made it"."That really hit home how lucky I was," he said. Ambulance service under pressure Paul McCaughey set up Killeeshil/Galbally CFRs in 2018, as an opportunity to support the local community in a rural was the first of four responders to arrive and tend to Paul McAdam. "Where Paul was at that time, we were alerted to that post code area, and it comes through to us as a SMS text message," he McCaughey was able to pinpoint Mr McAdam's location, "which is great because we know where we're going and we'll get there a lot quicker than an ambulance".He suspected Mr McAdam was having a heart attack and made the decision to take him to hospital as he did not feel Mr McAdam had two hours to wait for an ambulance."A call like that, ideally, should be roughly 20-25 minutes, but in a real world it's not happening because it's [the service is] under so much pressure."Mr McCaughey said what happened to Mr McAdam shows the strain on the health service that they rely on volunteers and communities to do this. Chances of survival There are 22 Community First Responder schemes across Northern Ireland, primarily in rural areas, with a further two in training, and more than 400 Allen, NIAS community resuscitation team manager, said the vital work that CFRs do in their own communities can be "the difference between life and death" and they provide "an essential backup for the ambulance service"."If we refer to the community resuscitation strategy for Northern Ireland where the aim of that is to increase survival for patients in 'out-of-hospital' cardiac arrest, the ambulance service response time target is about eight minutes."Potentially that will be eight minutes with no intervention from anyone other than CFRs, who may well turn up."With every minute that passes without CPR or AED (Automated External Defibrillator) intervention, your chances of survival can drop by 10%."The stark reality of that is when an ambulance arrives, you could be down to a 20% survival chance without CPR and AED through CFR group," he said. Mr McAdam said he is "still emotional" about what happened but said the Killeeshil/Galbally CFRs had saved him."To know that there's somebody there can step in and help out the ambulance service whenever they're under too much pressure can only be a good thing," he said."It's a massive thing that people are prepared to give up their time and no funding and [are] still going out and saving people's lives." What are community first responders? CFRs are alerted to incidents that are considered to be potentially life-threatening medical emergencies, including:people in cardiac arrest—unconscious and not breathingpeople with chest pain who may be having a heart attackthose who are chokingthose who are unconscious for an unknown reason but are breathing normallypeople who are potentially suffering from a do not attend calls where the patient is under 12 years old, trauma-related incidents such as road crashes, calls involving alcohol drugs or potential violence or incidents where the patient is suffering mental health issues.
