Webinar: Including persons with disabilities in local disaster resilience planning Tuesday 6 December

 

Some one billion people around the world live with some form of disability. In every disaster, a disproportionate number of persons with disabilities suffer and die. Local disaster prevention measures are regularly designed and implemented without including persons with disabilities. Rarely are the unique perspectives and contributions of these communities engaged in local efforts to reduce disaster risk. The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction makes the case for an inclusive, accessible, all-of-society approach to protect lives, livelihoods, and wellbeing as being the most effective pathway towards resilient and sustainable cities.

A new Annex to the Scorecard for the Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities opens the way for local governments to strengthen their capability to design, formulate, and implement policies that include persons with disabilities. This Making Cities Resilient 2030 (MCR2030) webinar coincides with the release of a new Annex for the Disaster Resilience Scorecard for Cities: Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities. The annex provides a ‘window of opportunity’ for municipalities to engage people and communities previously overlooked. The webinar will make the case that utilizing the new tool will prove to be an investment and not a cost for resource-constrained municipalities. The discussion will bring together representatives from local government and civil society. 

Please register for the webinar by scanning the QR Code of by clicking here

Grant Opportunity: $700K. Assistive Technology Program for Farmers with Disabilities

USDA

Department of Agriculture

National Institute of Food and Agriculture Assistive Technology Program for Farmers with Disabilities Synopsis 1

https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=344549

Corruption and Embezzlement. A Global Crisis. The Elephant in the Room that No One Discusses.

 

Investigation Thwarts Brazen Bribery Scheme An attorney, an elected official, and a businessman engaged in an outrageous corruption scheme, but the FBI thwarted their efforts. Nov. 16, 2022 Full Story

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“We were able to intercept him in real time accepting and demanding bribes,” said Special Agent Robert Beeckman, 
who investigated this case out of the FBI’s Detroit Field Office. Agents also saw Reynolds accepting a cash delivery.
 
As a local legislator in the 10th largest Michigan municipality, Reynolds used his connections for capital gain.
 
Reynolds made sure to have connections in the garbage industry, one of the township’s biggest expenses. 

 

On the other end of several phone calls was Chuck Rizzo, president of Rizzo Environmental Services, Inc.
Rizzo’s company had one of the largest and most lucrative garbage businesses in Southeast Michigan.

 

He offered Reynolds bribes to secure favorable contracts. He spoke specifically about securing Reynold’s vote
on an $18 million contract.
 
In exchange for the lucrative contract, Rizzo paid Reynolds’ divorce expenses.  
 
Rizzo asked his lawyer Jay A. Schwartz to provide a variety of services, including advice about how to
commit bribery and divorce counsel for Reynolds. Schwartz agreed. A subpoena of his billing software
confirmed that $40,000 worth of legal services were provided for free. 
 
As the divorce went on, Reynolds fought a custody battle that required a psychological evaluation.
Another wiretap caught Schwartz proposing that a third party could pay for it; however, that person
needed to have one very crucial ability.  
 
“[Schwartz] talked about finding a third party who could hold up on the witness stand if ever
questioned under oath about where the money came from.
 
You have an attorney, an officer of the court, proposing a bribery scheme with a view towards perjury if necessary…
hiding it from a judge,” Beeckman said.
 
Schwartz swindled an unsuspecting family friend into the scheme.  

•  Schwartz was sentenced to 27 months in prison and fined $250,000. 
•  Rizzo was sentenced to 66 months in 2018. 
•  Reynolds was sentenced to 17 years in prison in 2019. 
•  A total of 22 people were indicted in the scheme.  

The FBI prioritizes these cases because systemic corruption can cause a domino effect leading to
general mistrust of authority. 
 
“There are places in the world that have given up. They have corruption at such a level that their governmental systems have completely failed,”      Beeckman said.
 
“The public there has no confidence in the people who run their country.
We’re not there in this country, and we have no intention of getting there.”  
 
Bribery is a federal crime. If you suspect it, contact the FBI.  
 
A common worry is that if you submit a tip, you will be the sole cause of an open
investigation about a public official. This is not accurate.
 
Beeckman confirmed that a public corruption case cannot be opened based on a single source.  
 
“No detail is too small. You could be the person who supplies the last bit of
information that we need—the puzzle piece that makes it all make sense,” he said.  
 

Operation Cross Country Recovers Trafficking Victims

Estimates Will Help Fill in Crime Statistics Gap

Be at Peace. Have a warm, safe, and wonderful Thanksgiving with your most precious gift, Family.

 

Everyday same story: The Story of the Donkey and the Tiger

 

The donkey told the tiger: The grass is blue.  The tiger replied: No, the grass is green​. The discussion became heated, and the two decided to submit the issue to arbitration, and to do so they approached the lion.  Before reaching the clearing in the forest where the lion was sitting on his throne, the donkey started screaming: ′′Your Highness, isn't it true that the grass is blue?"​ The lion replied: "True, the grass is blue"​.  The donkey rushed forward and continued: ′′The tiger disagrees with me and contradicts me and annoys me. Please punish him"​. The king then declared: ′′The tiger will be punished with 5 years of silence"​. The donkey jumped with joy and went on his way, content and repeating: ′′The grass is blue"​.. The tiger accepted his punishment, but he asked the lion:        ′′Your Majesty, why have you punished me, after all, the grass is green?"​ The lion replied: ′′In fact, the grass is green"​. The tiger asked: ′′So why do you punish me?"​ The lion replied: That has nothing to do with the question of whether the grass is blue or green. The punishment is because it is not possible for a brave, intelligent creature like you to waste time arguing with a donkey, and on top of that to come and bother me with that question The worst waste of time is arguing with the fool and fanatic who doesn't care about truth or reality, but only the victory of his beliefs and illusions. Never waste time on discussions that make no sense... There are people who for all the evidence presented to them, do not have the ability to understand, and others who are blinded by..          - ego,         -hatred and         -resentment, and         -the only thing that they want is to be right                even if they aren’t.     When ignorance screams, intelligence shuts up.  Your peace and tranquility are worth more.