COVID-19 pandemic is a “portal”—a “gateway”—to a new world

 It may be time for us to start thinking of #GlobalWarming as a "Health issue" in the same way that we recognize Covid-19 as clearly a health problem and issue.

Daniel Christian Wahl has pointed out that, "our 'unnatural capitalism' needs to make our language commons which is the means, mode and medium of our communications whole again, so that we mean what we say and say what we mean with the least doubt, uncertainty and ambiguity as is possible."

"In the spirit of the language games being played by the elite ruling class to manufacture and engineer consent and hate, when would anti-life activities, like pollution and despoliation of our planetary and social life support systems and deprivation of universal human life necessities provisioning be seen as bona fide hate crimes and crimes against humanity and applied and implemented and enforced in and by our local, regional and international laws?"

---

“(we can) walk through it, dragging the carcasses of our prejudice and hatred, our avarice, our… dead ideas, our dead rivers and smoky skies behind us. Or we can walk through…ready to imagine another world. And ready to fight for it.”
    - Arundhati Roy

the COVID-19 pandemic is a “portal”—a “gateway”—to a new world. “Historically, pandemics have forced humans to break with the past and imagine their world anew. This one is no different. It is a portal, a gateway between one world and the next.”

https://www.counterpunch.org/2020/05/08/covid-19-and-a-new-better-world/

(Covid-19) underlines the folly of humans battling with each other—the horrible human proclivity to war, the folly of pouring national treasuries into armed conflict.

“Seen from space, the Earth has no borders. The spread of the coronavirus is showing us that what we share is much more powerful than what keeps us apart. All people are inescapably interconnected, and the more we can come together to solve our problems, the better off we will all be. One of the side effects of seeing Earth from the perspective of space is feeling more compassion for others.”
    - former U.S. astronaut Scott Kelly

Regards,

Lloyd Helferty, CED (Chief Ecosystem Director)

Programme Development Director & Sustainable Society Consultant

  co-Founder & Administrator, WE-Energime-Global Cooperation Day Turtle Island

WARNING, WARNING! Hurts Blacks, Latinos, and communities of Color. Shortening Census Period. August 2020

 LULAC Says Shortening Census Period Hurts Latinos

Nation’s Oldest and Largest Latino Civil Rights Organization Says Historically Undercounted Communities Will Suffer Most

Los Angeles, CA - Sindy Benavides, National Chief Executive Officer of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) issued the following statement about the Administration’s decision to end the self-reporting window and door knocking operations one-month earlier for the 2020 Census.

“It is simply inconceivable that we can achieve a full and accurate count by these actions at the time we need it most during a pandemic that is disproportionately impacting Latinos. This is yet another tactic from the Trump Administration to make our community invisible with an incomplete enumeration, which impacts critical funding, representation, and redistricting. Instead of ramping up its work, the Census Bureau cites the COVID-19 pandemic as the reason for deciding to cut short the two most critical aspects of the census. First, there is the self-reporting phase and that is followed by community outreach to contact individuals and families who for one reason or another have not done so.

The latest figures compiled by the National Association of Latino Elected Officials (NALEO), show some very troubling trends that we will not be able to correct without sufficient time allotted. In Puerto Rico, only 18.9% have self-reported. In Texas, 56.1% of Latino households have filled out their surveys and in California, that rate is 62.4%. In fact, across the country and Puerto Rico more than one-third of Latino households are still not counted.”

Non-Response Follow-Up, also called NRFU, is decisive for the 2020 Census to provide a complete picture of hard-to-reach communities. These are people of color, immigrants, individuals with disabilities in rural areas, even young children. Often, these groups are the most overlooked and least counted. The result will be another ten years of denying them their fair share of federal funding and representation.

LULAC opposes shortening the census period and we are advocating for Congress to allocate the $400 million needed to finish the 2020 Census. These funds will help pay for what is the costliest and most labor intensive aspect of the count accessing remote and disaster impacted communities. Still, fair-minded American expect that everyone is afforded an equal opportunity to participate. Anything less violates the constitutionally-guaranteed civil rights of those who are excluded and is unacceptable.”

# # #

About LULAC
The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) is the nation’s largest and oldest civil rights volunteer-based organization that empowers Hispanic Americans and builds strong Latino communities. Headquartered in Washington, DC, with 1,000 councils around the United States and Puerto Rico, LULAC’s programs, services and advocacy address the most important issues for Latinos, meeting critical needs of today and the future. For more information, visit www.LULAC.org

August 2020 FEMA Authorized to Use Disaster Funds to Supplement Unemployment Benefits

 

FEMA ADVISORY

 

FEMA Authorized to Use Disaster Funds to Supplement Unemployment Benefits

---

 

To help ease the financial burden on those who are unemployed because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, President Trump authorized FEMA to use Stafford Act disaster relief funds to provide supplemental payments for lost wages due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Up to $44 billion in Disaster Relief Funding is available to support this initiative.

FEMA will provide funding to states and territories that request and apply for assistance. Unemployed Americans who have lost wages because of COVID-19 may be eligible for assistance.

On March 13, 2020, President Trump declared a national emergency concerning the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Since then, all 50 states, five territories, the Seminole Tribe of Florida and the District of Columbia were approved for major disaster declarations to assist with additional needs. The new funding for lost wages is in addition to the $8.8 billion FEMA has already obligated in support of COVID-19 efforts. 

FEMA is working closely with the White House and other federal agency partners to develop guidance on the process for states and territories to easily request and receive funds. States and territories may provide eligible individuals $400 per week, with a $300 federal contribution. The states and territories will administer the program and distribute the funds through their regular unemployment insurance system, as a supplemental payment. 

This program will be applied retroactively to the week ending August 1 and continues through no later than December 6, 2020, or until the balance of the Disaster Relief Fund reaches $25 billion, or Congress enacts a replacement unemployment relief program.

Individuals who currently receive at least $100 per week of unemployment compensation benefits, and provide self-certification that they are unemployed, or are unable or unavailable to work due to disruptions caused by COVID-19 are eligible for the supplement through their state or territory unemployment office.

Contact Us

If you have any questions regarding this FEMA Advisory, please contact FEMA Office of External Affairs, Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs Division:

·         Congressional Affairs at (202) 646-4500 or at FEMA-Congressional-Affairs@fema.dhs.gov

·         Intergovernmental Affairs at (202) 646-3444 or at FEMA-IGA@fema.dhs.gov

·         Tribal Affairs at (202) 646-3444 or at FEMA-Tribal@fema.dhs.gov

·         Private Sector Engagement at (202) 646-3444 or at nbeoc@max.gov

Follow Us

Follow FEMA on social media at: FEMA Blog on fema.gov, @FEMA or @FEMAEspanol on Twitter, FEMA or FEMA Espanol on Facebook, @FEMA on Instagram, and via FEMA YouTube channel.

Also, follow Administrator Pete Gaynor on Twitter @FEMA_Pete.

FEMA Mission

 

To help people before, during, and after disasters.

 

 

 

• FEMA_Advisory_LostWages_final_v2a_20200809.pdf

August 2020. You're Invited: Learn About the FY20 Notice of Funding Opportunities for Hazard Mitigation Assistance Grants

 

August 7, 2020 -  Subscribe Special Announcement: You're Invited: Learn About the FY20 Notice of Funding Opportunities for Hazard Mitigation Assistance Grants You're Invited: Learn About the FY20 Notice of Funding Opportunities for Hazard Mitigation Assistance Grants FEMA is offering a series of webinars on the Fiscal Year 2020 (FY20) Notice of Funding Opportunities (NOFOs) for the Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) and the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) grant programs. These webinars are primarily intended for federal, state, tribal and local community officials to provide detailed information about the agency’s funding priorities and review process for FMA and BRIC grants. Registration is limited to 1,500 people for each event. Notice of Funding Opportunity Overview FEMA will offer a webinar on the FY20 NOFOs for the FMA and BRIC grant programs to prospective applicants. This webinar will be offered three times, and applicants may attend any session. Tuesday, August 18 at 2-3:30pm Eastern Time (1 pm Central, 12pm Mountain, 11am Pacific) Thursday, August 20 at 2-3:30pm Eastern Time (1 pm Central, 12pm Mountain, 11am Pacific) Tuesday, August 25 at 2-3:30pm Eastern Time (1 pm Central, 12pm Mountain, 11am Pacific) NOFO Overview for Tribal Applicants FEMA will offer a webinar on the FY20 NOFOs for the FMA and BRIC grant programs to prospective tribal applicants. Thursday, August 27 at 2-3:30pm Eastern Time (1 pm Central, 12pm Mountain, 11am Pacific) Avoiding Application Pitfalls  FEMA will offer a webinar on common pre-disaster mitigation grant application errors and how to avoid them. This webinar will be offered two times, and applicants may attend either session. Tuesday, September 1 at 2-3:30pm Eastern Time (1 pm Central, 12pm Mountain, 11am Pacific) Wednesday, September 2 at 2-3:30pm Eastern Time (1 pm Central, 12pm Mountain, 11am Pacific) To learn more, go to https://www.fema.gov/grants/mitigation/fy2020-nofo.   HMA Home Page: https://www.fema.gov/grants/mitigation FEMA Regional Offices: https://www.fema.gov/about/organization/regions State Hazard Mitigation Officers: https://www.fema.gov/grants/mitigation/state-contacts HMA Helpline: 1-866-222-3580 or email: HMAGrantsHelpline@fema.dhs.gov  FEMA GO Technical Helpline: 1-877-611-4700 or email: femago@fema.dhs.gov   Disclaimer: This communication is provided by FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Assistance Division to highlight recent and upcoming program and policy activities and announcements and does not endorse any non-government organizations, entities or services. Questions or comments? Email FEMA-HMA-Grants-Policy@fema.dhs.gov.

Register Today for the LULAC Virtual Summit

 View as web page

As one of the oldest and largest civil rights organization for the Latino community, we have weathered difficult times that disproportionately affect our community. We know how hard it can be to navigate these hard times alone, and we wanted to create a virtual summit to bring us closer together. We created a conference for Latino leaders who are moving our community forward through uncertain times. We invited experts from different fields to teach us and serve your needs through workshops. This was all created with you in mind and we would be so excited for you to join us. Register today to participate and listen to over 60 speakers from across the country on the issues most important to our community including civil rights, immigration, veterans affairs, financial literacy, and so much more. The LULAC Virtual Summit is the first-ever worldwide conference for the Latino community in the US. It all happens from your computer, in a video conference format, face to face. Our goal is to bring together bright minds and leaders to have conversations that help us move forward, and on a wide range of subjects, to foster learning, inspiration, and communion surrounding issues that matter to you. You will hear from leaders and experts in our community. But far more important, you’ll be able to engage face to face (digitally!) with people like you. Because not feeling alone makes this worthy journey a lot easier. The LULAC Virtual Summit runs for two days. It’s a powerful way to grow—surrounded by people who want to move the community forward. We believe your participation would be a critical addition to fostering connections and conversations that matter. Hasta la Victoria! Domingo Garcia LULAC National President