Presidential Proclamation – Honoring the Victims of the Attack
in Brussels, Belgium
HONORING THE VICTIMS OF THE ATTACK IN BRUSSELS, BELGIUM
– – – – – – –
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION
The American people stand with the people of Brussels. We
will do whatever it takes, working with nations and peoples around the world,
to bring the perpetrators of these attacks to justice, and to go after
terrorists who threaten our people
As a mark of respect for the victims of the senseless acts of
violence perpetrated on March 22, 2016, in Brussels,Belgium, by the authority
vested in me as President of the United States by the Constitution and the laws
of the United States of America, I hereby order that the flag of the United
States shall be flown at half-staff at the White House and upon all public
buildings and grounds, at all military posts and naval stations, and on all
naval vessels of the Federal Government in the District of Columbia and
throughout the United States and its Territories and possessions until sunset,
March 26, 2016. I also direct that the flag shall be flown at half-staff
for the same length of time at all United States embassies, legations, consular
offices, and other facilities abroad, including all military facilities and
naval vessels and stations.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
twenty-second day of March, in the year of our Lord two thousand sixteen, and
of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and
fortieth.
As chief judge of the nation’s most important appellate court, Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland has sided with President Barack Obama’s environmental regulators against mercury-spewing power plants, supported the administration’s crackdown on for-profit colleges and issued multiple rulings that pleased organized labor.
Those decisions might suggest Garland is a doctrinaire liberal — the left’s answer to Antonin Scalia. But in fact, the appellate court judge blends a penchant for judicial restraint more frequently associated with conservatives with a deference to executive power more typical of liberals.
“He has a reputation for being a judge’s judge rather than a liberal’s liberal,” according to Yale law professor Akhil Amar, who said his “very best students every year all apply to him” for clerkships, regardless of whether they’re liberal or conservative.
DETROIT — Bernie Sanders scored one of the biggest victories of his underdog campaign Tuesday by beating Hillary Clinton in Michigan, a delegate-rich state where she led by double digits in the closing days before voting.
The 2-point upset came after both candidates invested time and money in the state, and fuels the argument from Sanders’ camp that he should not be written off after Clinton’s earlier wins.
The outcome in Michigan is significant for Sanders because it demonstrates an ability to compete in diverse primary states — counteracting a knock frequently leveled at him by Clinton allies that he has only performed well in largely white states.
“What tonight means is the Bernie Sanders campaign, the people’s revolution that we are talking about, the political revolution we have been talking about, is strong in every part of the country,” Sanders told reporters in Miami before the race was called. He predicted success in upcoming states, including in the West.
Soon after its launch in 1986, the satirical magazine Spy picked Donald Trump as the brash embodiment of a crass age. Founded by Graydon Carter and Kurt Andersen, the magazine chronicled New York’s obsessions with wealth and social status, zeroing in on Trump’s questionable business dealings (of which there were many) and his outlandish personal traits (of which there were perhaps even more).
Carter is now editor of Vanity Fair, and Kurt Andersen is a novelist and host of WNYC’s nationally syndicated show Studio 360. (They sold the magazine in the mid-1990s, and it folded several years later.) No journalists have followed Trump more closely. No journalists have angered him more often. But they have not spoken jointly about Trump’s unlikely bid for the presidency — until now.
Sonita Alizadeh’s family first considered selling her into marriage when she was just 10 years old. At 16, they said they had found her a husband, but she found a way to escape.
She wrote “Brides for Sale”, a rap tackling the issue of daughters being sold into marriages by their family and created a video showing her in a bridal dress with a barcode on her forehead. She raps: “Let me whisper, so no one hears that I speak of selling girls. My voice shouldn’t be heard since it’s against Sharia.”
Her family agreed she did not have to get married. She now lives in America, and is still writing songs.
Berta Cáceres was a Honduran indigenous and environmental rights campaigner whose high-profile campaigns against dams, illegal loggers and plantation owners were met with threats of murder and sexual violence. Last week she was murdered, days after she was threatened for opposing a hydroelectric project.
In an interview in 2013, she said: “I cannot live in peace, I am always thinking about being killed or kidnapped. But I refuse to go into exile. I am a human rights fighter and I will not give up this fight.”
Greek lawyer Christina Dimakou left her life and career in Athens to become a guardian to some of the thousands of unaccompanied child refugees who have landed on the Greek island of Lesbos in the last year.
“I cannot save the world or make everything better,” Dimakou said in an interview, “but I can affect the things around me. If everyone does this then the world becomes better. And we become better.”
Harnaam Kaur has polycystic ovarian syndrome, which can cause excessive hair growth. When she was 11, her beard started growing. Initially, she did everything she could to remove it. At 16, after being baptised as a Sikh, she decided to accept her facial hair. Now, she has modelled for bridal sites, a project celebrating beards and became the first bearded woman to walk in a jewellery designer’s fashion show.
Ellen Murray is standing for election in West Belfast, one of Ireland’s most contentious constituencies, once represented by Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams. At just 22 years of age, she is making Irish electoral history by being the first trans person to run in a Northern Irish election.
Three women founded #BlackLivesMatter, an international movement campaigning against violence toward black people. Alicia Garza was among the many who were in shock over the acquittal of George Zimmerman, the man who shot dead 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.
She wrote an impassioned message on Facebook, ending with: “Black people. I love you. I love us. Our lives matter.” Her friend Patrisse Cullors replied with #BlackLivesMatter. Opal Tometi added her support and the three began setting up Tumblr and Twitter accounts encouraging users to share stories of why #BlackLivesMatter. A movement was born and continues to campaign, online and offline, today.
Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier’s work on CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing could enable use to genetically modify almost anything. In theory, the technique could be used to alter any human gene. Their work has an impact on several areas of life: from genetic medicine to the development of new crops and bio-products. Given future challenges facing life on earth, this holds revolutionary promise for disease control and ecology.
Who have we missed? Reblog and add your own.
Women you should read about on International Women’s Day via the Guardian.
As a mark of
respect for the memory of Nancy Reagan, I hereby order, by the authority vested
in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, that
the flag of the United States shall be flown at half-staff at the White House
and upon all public buildings and grounds, at all military posts and naval
stations, and on all naval vessels of the Federal Government in the District of
Columbia and throughout the United States and its Territories and possessions
until sunset, on the day of interment. I also direct that the flag shall
be flown at half-staff for the same period at all United States embassies,
legations, consular offices, and other facilities abroad, including all
military facilities and naval vessels and stations.
IN WITNESS
WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this seventh day of March, in the year of
our Lord two thousand sixteen, and of the Independence of the United States of
America the two hundred and fortieth.
The Bensleygram 