PITTSFIELD — Nursing home and assisted living facility residents in Pike County now have access to local history materials through the efforts of the Rotary Club of Pike County.
Club President Sheila Davidsmeyer helped with a committee that created “mini-libraries” designed to connect seniors with local history accounts familiar to their own family stories.
“We wanted to participate in the celebration of our county’s 200th anniversary this year,” Davidsmeyer said. “We wanted to assist our local long-term care facilities in providing engaging materials for residents who have been socially isolated due to COVID-19 restrictions.”
The club supplemented a $2,500 grant received from Rotary District 6460 and began assembling a variety of history materials related to Pike County.
In addition to traditional books published by the Pike County Historical Society, Looking for Lincoln in Pike County, Nancy Ross Chapter DAR and the New Philadelphia Association, the club wanted to include personal slices of history and commentary as recounted by local authors.
One of those books was “Your Food — My Adventure” by club member Philip Bradshaw. Other authors in the collection include Linda Pearson, Kham Kurfman, Ken Bradbury, Bill Beard, Carol McCartney and Kenneth Higgins.
Project chairman Julia Boren said the grant allowed the club to move beyond local works and include items related to Pike County’s Abraham Lincoln heritage.
“We were able to purchase many activity-oriented books related to Lincoln and his presidency,” Boren said. “Crossword puzzles and word search books have been requested by our long-term care facilities to help keep residents engaged.”
Facilities receiving the history collections from Rotary Club of Pike County are Liberty Village, Hawthorne Inn, Eastside Health and Rehabilitation, Barry Community Care Center and Griggsville Estates. Each collection is valued at $550.
Billye Titus, Liberty Village administrator, said residents of her facility will enjoy the new reading material.
“I think they will be excited to see things related to where they grew up,” she said.
Bishop Michael Router has encouraged parents not to distance children from the other parent in situations when marriage or relationships end, stressing that it is “a particular form of domestic abuse that manifests itself in more subtle ways than physical or sexual violence.”
The Auxiliary Bishop of Armagh made this appeal during his homily at Mass for the Third Sunday of Easter ahead of the International Parental Alienation Awareness Day scheduled for 25 April.
The denial of rights to children to have a relationship with both parents has long-lasting, damaging effects, highlighted Bishop Router. The children are often “cut off from one side of the family including grandparents, who also suffer greatly as a result.”
“As childhood is short and any substantial period of conflict and separation can lead to a parent missing significant moments in a child’s life such as First Communion and Confirmation. Such moments can never be repeated,” the Bishop said.
However, Bishop Router acknowledged that it is justified for a child to be separated from a parent because of threatening behavior but in the case of Parental Alienation, there is no such reason as courts would have granted parents access to their children, but the other parent refuses to allow it.
Family needs to be protected
In this year which Pope Francis has declared “Year of the Family” to mark the fifth anniversary of the Post Synodal Exhortation “Amoris Laetitia”, the “family needs to be constantly supported so that its importance in human development is recognized and protected,” stressed Bishop Router.
Even though human weakness, and the internal and external pressures that married couples experience can lead to the breakdown of previously loving and committed relationships, noted the Bishop, couples should seek relationship counseling “to help them find stability and a way forward,” especially when there are children involved, who “add a complexity that, if not handled sensitively, can have negative effects.”
Bishop Router further noted that over the past years, thirty councils and local authorities in the Republic of Ireland and two in Northern Ireland have called for a change in family law to ensure that situations of parental alienation do not occur. Nonetheless, he notes that though changes in the law will be helpful, “they alone won’t always be effective in dealing with difficult and painful situations within families.”
Echoing Pope Francis’ words in “Amoris Laetitia”, Bishop Router emphasized that “the Church, while appreciating the situations of conflict that are part of marriage, cannot fail to speak out on behalf of those who are most vulnerable: the children who often suffer in silence”
God’s peace in trying times
Bishop Router noted that in the Gospel reading of the day, Jesus greets his disciples with the words: “Peace be with you.” Jesus used this greeting to “calm the grave fears and agitation of his disciples that was brought about by the trauma of the crucifixion, its violence, and their subsequent dispersal.”
Likewise, in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic which has challenged our health systems and economy, and has also, unfortunately, manifested itself in a sharp increase in domestic violence, “the gift of peace that Jesus brings is much needed in international and national affairs, but it is also very much needed in our homes and in our hearts.”
“Much of the difficulty, pain and stress that the world endures emanates from the lack of peace in the hearts of men and women” he noted. “We, therefore, constantly pray for the gift of peace. We know how easily it can be shattered.”
Concluding, Bishop Router enjoined all to “pray for all parents and for children so that even in difficult situations they may know the peace that the risen Christ brings to them and may turn to him for solace, comfort, and healing.”
Hunton Andrews Kurth Affirms Commitment to Equality with 100% US Participation in Diversity & Inclusion Initiatives – Book Publishing Industry Today – EIN Presswire
The European Commission has decided to leave out agriculture but kept controversial criteria for bioenergy and forestry in the first batch of proposed implementing rules due to be presented on Wednesday (21 April) as part of the EU’s green finance taxonomy, EURACTIV has learned.
Draft implementing rules, seen by EURACTIV ahead of their announcement on Wednesday, spell out detailed criteria that economic activities must meet in order to be labelled as green investments in the EU.
Gas and nuclear power have proven the most contentious in the debate, with countries in southern and eastern Europe threatening to veto an earlier draft because it did not label gas as a “green” or “transition” investment.
Faced with a veto threat, the European Commission returned to the drawing board. The EU executive’s new strategy is to adopt a two-step approach, dealing with less controversial technologies like renewables as part of a first batch of implementing rules, while leaving gas and nuclear for a later decision by the European Parliament and EU member states.
Bioenergy ‘no longer labelled as transitional’
But although they leave out agriculture for now, the draft implementing rules do cover bioenergy and forestry. This is a big issue for Nordic countries, which rely on biomass for a large share of their energy needs.
On both counts the draft rules were considerably relaxed. On forestry, “changes were introduced to reduce complexity and burdens notably for smaller forest holdings” below 25 hectares, which will not be covered by the taxonomy requirements, according to a leaked proposal obtained by EURACTIV.
The European Commission also decided to “extend the time frame for demonstrating the climate benefits of forestry” and “rely more on existing sustainability criteria under the recast Renewable Energy Directive,” which considers biomass as inherently carbon neutral.
Moreover, “bioenergy is no longer labelled as transitional and the criteria for bioenergy were aligned more closely with applicable EU legislation,” the draft says.
Critics say the Commission decided to relax biomass sustainability criteria as part of an attempt to win support from Nordic countries over the draft implementing rules.
According to fresh statistics, Finland’s most-used energy sources in 2020 were forest-based biofuels which accounted for 28% of its total energy consumption, above oil and nuclear energy which stood at around 20%.
“I am critical of the forestry aspect,” said Pascal Canfin, a French centrist MEP who chairs the European Parliament’s environment committee.
Canfin says the 25 hectare threshold is too low because it leaves out two thirds of forestry holdings outside the taxonomy criteria. The minimum, he says, is to lower the threshold to 13 hectares, which corresponds to the average size of forest holdings in Europe.
According to the French lawmaker, the Commission has made the concession to Nordic countries in an attempt to win broader support for its taxonomy proposal, which is fiercely decried in eastern EU countries for its strict stance on natural gas.
“The Commission already faces enormous opposition from countries like Poland and the Czech Republic on the energy part. If in addition, it loses the support of Nordic countries, it loses its majority on taxonomy at the European Council. Its reasoning is pragmatic: it must avoid the construction of a blocking minority,” Canfin said.
For Canfin, it is not the Commission which is to blame, it is the governments of Sweden and Finland, which have lobbied hard to keep biomass criteria as low as possible.
“The pressure from Nordic countries, notably Sweden and Finland, has been colossal,” he told EURACTIV in an interview. What’s surprising, he added, is that in both countries, the Greens and Social Democrats are in power. “So we come to the rather bewildering conclusion that it is the Social Democrats and the Greens in Finland and Sweden who are weakening the taxonomy. Well done!”
According to Canfin, the Commission must confront Sweden and Finland by introducing tougher green criteria on forestry and bioenergy in its upcoming draft.
“Will the Green and Social Democratic governments of Sweden and Finland be ready to kill the taxonomy over it? This is the debate. For my part, I believe that the Commission should take this risk,” Canfin told EURACTIV in an interview.
A debate has been raging in Europe over the role biomass in the fight against climate change. While biomass is considered carbon neutral under EU law, scientists have warned policymakers that burning wood for electricity production can worsen climate change, depending on what sources of wood are used.
Bioenergy criteria to be updated later
In its draft taxonomy rules, the European Commission argues that bioenergy criteria under the taxonomy will be updated as soon as the EU revises its renewable energy directive, which will be up for a rewrite in June.
“Future developments in sustainability criteria for forestry will be taken into account in revisions of this Delegated Regulation,” the EU executive says.
But Sirpa Pietikäinen, a Finnish centre-right MEP, told EURACTIV that action must be taken now to curb the climate impact of forestry because trees are the only way to suck carbon from the atmosphere and they take time to regrow.
“What happens if you tighten the regulation after five years, and [biomass] gets withdrawn from the taxonomy’s sustainability criteria?” she said.
“We have 20 years to fix this. And if now we give green certificates to cement existing forestry practices, I’m just asking what is going to be the outcome,” Pietikäinen added.
“Some people will say I’m not fighting for my country. But you should be honest, this is not a nationalist game,” she said. “Finnish interests are being hijacked by some industries and then it is sold as national interest.”
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Fabulous Foods, a London-based organic foods supplier that …
The Conference’s central hub, unveiled today by the Co-Chairs of the Executive Board, will allow citizens to help shape the Union’s future.
The Executive Board of the Conference on the Future of Europe, comprising representatives from the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union and the European Commission, is launching the multilingual digital platform for the Conference on the Future of Europe inviting all EU citizens to contribute to shaping their own future and that of Europe as a whole. The platform is available in 24 languages, allowing citizens from across the Union to share and exchange their ideas and views through online events.
The Joint Presidency of the Conference welcomed the launch of the platform.
European Parliament President, David Sassoli, said: “The platform represents a key tool to allow citizens to participate and have a say on the Future of Europe. We must be certain that their voices will be heard and that they have a role in the decision-making, regardless of the COVID-19 pandemic. European democracy, of the representative and participatory kind, will continue to function no matter what, because our shared future demands it.”
Prime Minister of Portugal António Costa, on behalf of the Presidency of the Council, said: “The time has come for our citizens to actively share their greatest concerns and their ideas. This discussion couldn’t happen at a more relevant time. We have to prepare now, so that we come out of this crisis even stronger and when we overcome the pandemic we stand ready for the future. We hope to continue to build the Europe of the future together, a fairer, greener and more digital Europe that responds to our citizens’ expectations.”
European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, said: “Health, climate change, good and sustainable jobs in a more and more digital economy, the state of our democratic societies: We are inviting Europeans to speak up, to address their concerns and tell us what Europe they want to live in. With this citizens’ platform, we are giving everyone the opportunity to contribute to shaping the future of Europe and engage with other people from across Europe. This is a great opportunity to bring Europeans together virtually. Join the debate! Together, we can build the future we want for our Union.”
The Conference on the Future of Europe is an unprecedented, open and inclusive exercise in deliberative democracy. It seeks to give people from all walks of life, across Europe, a greater say on what they expect from the European Union, which should then help guide the EU’s future direction and policymaking. The Joint Presidency has committed to follow up on the outcome of the Conference.
BRUSSELS: The European Union resolved on Monday (Apr 19) to step up its influence in the Indo-Pacific region, using areas from security to health to protect its interests and counter China’s rising power, although the bloc insists its strategy is not against Beijing.
Led by France, Germany and the Netherlands, which first set out ways to deepen ties with countries such as India, Japan and Australia, the 27-member bloc wants to use the nascent plan to show Beijing that it is against the spread of authoritarianism.
The bloc “considers that the EU should reinforce its strategic focus, presence and actions in the Indo-Pacific … based on the promotion of democracy, rule of law, human rights and international law”, EU foreign ministers said in a statement. Diplomats said the plan was not “anti-China”.
The 10-page document will now be followed by a more detailed strategy in September, foreign ministers agreed at a video conference, saying they would seek to work with “like-minded partners” to uphold basic rights in the Indo-Pacific region.
The plan could mean a higher EU diplomatic profile on Indo-Pacific issues, more EU personnel and investment in the region and possibly a greater security presence such as dispatching ships through the South China Sea, or putting Europeans on Australian patrols, though all details have yet to be agreed.
While not mentioning China in detail, the language in the EU statement is code for support of the United States under President Joe Biden in his approach to China, amid concern that Beijing is pursuing technological and military modernisation that threatens the West and its trading partners in Asia.
EU diplomats say countries in the Indo-Pacific want the EU to be active in the region to keep trade open and to ensure they are not left facing a choice between Beijing and Washington, whose relations are turning confrontational.
The EU statement, which follows similar plans by ex-EU member Britain, comes as European attitudes harden against China over its security crackdown in Hong Kong, treatment of Uighur Muslims, and the COVID-19 pandemic, first identified in China.
READ: China-EU relations face challenges, Xi tells Germany’s Merkel
“The EU will further develop partnerships and strengthen synergies with like-minded partners and relevant organisations in security and defence,” the EU statement said.
“This will include responding to challenges to international security, including maritime security.”
It is unclear how far the EU is willing to go on security. The bloc is hungry for new trade and sees the Indo-Pacific as offering potential.
It listed a commitment to seek free trade deals with Australia, Indonesia and New Zealand. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas has warned of the EU missing out, after China and other Asia-Pacific economies signed what could become the world’s largest free trade agreement from 2022.
The EU document also said the bloc wanted to sign an investment treaty with China that both sides agreed in principle late in 2020.
Some European Union governments will miss the April 30 deadline to submit their recovery plans to the European Commission, its Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis said on Friday, but they are still likely to submit the plans within a few weeks afterwards.
The delay in the submission of some of the national plans, which spell out how each government wants to spend its share of the EU’s 750 billion euro joint borrowing scheme, will not delay the scheme as a whole, Dombrovskis told a news conference.
“Some Member States are nearly there and submitting their plans by the end of April is achievable. For others, it looks more difficult. Finalisation will require somewhat more work for a couple of more weeks,” Dombrovskis said.
The 27 national plans are blueprints for spending grants and loans that each EU country will get from the unprecedented joint borrowing by the European Commission to rebuild economies greener and more digital after the COVID-19 pandemic.
To get the money, each country has to earmark 37 per cent of the funds to reduce CO2 emissions and 20 per cent to make the economy better prepared for the digital age through investment and reforms that will get piecemeal financing from the EU until 2026.
It is the long time horizon of the investments and reforms, as well as the need to allocate the prescribed percentage of the cash to certain areas, that is challenging for governments.
“For a vast majority of Member States, plans are in very advanced stages and are going to be submitted either by end of April or maybe a in a next couple of weeks after the end of April,” he said.
A few weeks slippage in the submission of some plans will not derail the whole programme because for any of the grants or cheap EU loans to flow to governments, 27 national parliaments need to first ratify their own increased budget guarantees for the overall EU budget. These commitments are the ultimate security for the borrowing, ensuring it will be repaid.
This is likely to take longer than the preparation of the spending plans — so far up to 17 countries have ratified the increased guarantees, called the Own Resources Decision, and others were expected to do so soon.
But the process is held up in several countries for various reasons. For example, in Germany the constitutional court is probing if it is in line with German law, in Poland the decision is subject to domestic political infighting and the Netherlands is struggling to form a ruling coalition after elections.
Yet without all 27 national ratifications, the Commission cannot start borrowing and no government can get any funds.
“If the Own Resources Decision ratification is completed in all Member States in June, and we are confident that this is going to be the case, then we can, as European Commission, go to the markets and do the borrowing and make first disbursements in July,” Dombrovskis said.
The amount that EU governments can get up-front this year, before any of the investments and reforms start, is 13 per cent of their total share. Since most will want primarily the grants part of the funding, the total EU cash injection this year is likely to be around 44-45 billion euros.
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