David Herndon, the Kansas bank commissioner, told a joint committee of the Kansas Legislature that he continued to have reservations about the banking charter issued to Beneficient Fiduciary Financial LLC of Hesston because the law creating the unique form of banking prevented state regulators from fully reviewing operations of SFF. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector) TOPEKA — The Kansas banking commissioner renewed apprehension about regulatory limitations in state law that inhibit thorough examination of the unusual business granted a banking charter by order of the Kansas Legislature. State banking commissioner David Herndon said Kansas law adopted in 2022 provided the charter to Beneficient Fiduciary Financial LLC of Hesston and simultaneously forbid the Kansas Office of State Banking Commissioner from applying international evaluation standards to BFF. The statute blocked the commissioner from rating BFF in terms of capital adequacy, asset quality, management, earnings, liquidity and sensitivity to market risk. Kansas kept state banking regulators from fully examining operations of BFF, Herndon said, despite his belief BFF’s debt instruments should be considered a “substandard asset.” Two recent limited evaluations of BFF by Herdon’s staff remain confidential, he said. In addition, Herndon last week told the Kansas Joint Committee on Fiduciary Financial Institutions that state law failed to meet requirements established by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for background checks of organizers at BFF or any other technology-enabled fiduciary financial institution, or TEFFI, authorized by the state. So far, BFF is the lone TEFFI in Kansas. “Those concerns remain, and in some cases, have deepened,” said Herndon, who had sounded alarms since inception of the TEFFI concept. “It is still impossible to conduct a meaningful safety and soundness examination.” The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission launched an investigation of Beneficient, the Dallas-based parent company of BFF. In July, Beneficient said the SEC closed that inquiry and wouldn’t recommend enforcement action by the SEC. However, Herndon said, financial problems at the parent company could bleed into BFF and other Beneficient subsidiaries. A series of executives associated with Beneficient and BFF offered the bipartisan House and Senate oversight committee a contrary perspective on work to implement a TEFFI law unique to Kansas. The executives said the company had faced challenges, but were bullish on prospects of generating revenue, contributing to economic development in Kansas and serving as a positive example for how business could be conducted under a TEFFI model. The heart of the operation involved Beneficient assisting wealthy individuals and business owners to exchange illiquid assets locked in investment funds for liquid assets such as cash and stock. Beneficient has no interest in the deals on expensive artwork, antique vehicles or wine collections, but has targeted private equity assets that hold value but don’t produce regular cash flow. The Kansas-endorsed business earns fees for work with these alternative assets. Twenty percent of a 2.5% cut in fee revenue must be diverted to the Kansas Department of Commerce for distribution to economic development projects across the state. The remaining 80% of this slice of fee revenue must flow to the Beneficient Heartland Foundation for economic development in Hesston. Brad Heppner, CEO and board chairman of BFF, said constraints in the U.S. economy inhibited mergers and acquisitions that would have contributed to Beneficient’s TEFFI business model. After taking Beneficient public on Nasdaq in 2023, the financial services company’s stock crashed. The 52-week high in Beneficient stock value was $51.14 per share and the 52-week low was less that $1 per share. On Tuesday, it sat at 82 cents per share. Heppner told state lawmakers he was optimistic there would be a surge during the next year or so in U.S. mergers and acquisitions. He said the forecast was based, in part, on promises made by President-elect Donald Trump. “We have turned the corner,” Heppner said. “Finally, after a pretty disastrous previous year.” He said there were no guarantee of a stronger market for alternative asset deals, “but there’s general euphoria.” In April 2022, Heppner predicted as many as 50 companies eager to operate as a TEFFI could open offices in Hesston within two years. None have done so. Rep. Stephen Owens, a Hesston Republican and legislative champion of BFF and Beneficient, said when the TEFFI law was created that it could attract alternative asset businesses to Kansas in the same way the credit card issuing industry boomed in South Dakota. He said two years ago a business-friendly TEFFI model could drive as much as $1 billion over a decade into Kansas. Owens is on the joint legislative oversight committee responsible for monitoring BFF. Democratic Sen. Jeff Pittman of Leavenworth, another member of the committee, said he was concerned the TEFFI concept hadn’t taken off in the way Heppner and Owens predicted in the past. He said members of the Legislature would benefit from testimony by independent experts in the banking industry who might explain what was holding back investment in the TEFFI market. During the joint committee’s recent hearing at the Capitol, testimony came from BFF associates, the state banking commissioner and the state Department of Commerce. Heppner said it was true BFF remained the lone TEFFI in the United States, but he asserted there was interest from two out-of-state groups that might be willing to enter the alternative asset business in Kansas. He didn’t identify those entities. The state banking commissioner said he’d had no inquiries from companies intrigued by Kansas’ first-of-its-kind alternative asset framework. Sen. Michael Fagg, R-El Dorado, praised BFF’s distribution of several million dollars in economic development seed grants through the Department of Commerce. The third round of grants were released by the Department of Commerce in September. Fagg lauded plans to move ahead with revitalization of Main Street in Hesston, including development of a grocery store. That work is funneled through the Beneficient’s foundation. “We wouldn’t have any of this economic development without BFF,” Fagg said. “We’re trying to promote a new idea. I wanted to personally and publicly thank them (BFF) for that.” Former state Sen. Jeff King, an attorney with Crossroads Legal Solutions who represents Benificient and BFF, said the federal SEC investigation of Beneficient came to an end. He said the Beneficient believed it was time for the Legislature to consider how the current regulatory structure had performed and how changes could more effectively attract clients. Alan Dienes, managing director and chief operating office at BFF, urged lawmakers to exempt BFF from certain regulations typical of a bank. He said state law required BFF to complete daily and monthly reports in the manner of a bank, but the TEFFI shouldn’t be treated as such. He said the 2025 Legislature should allow BFF more time to compile quarterly reports and be exempted from lending limits. “We think it’s time to start fine-tuning the statute,” he said. “The world changes a little bit.” BFF executives urged the Legislature to compel the Department of Commerce to launch a marketing campaign to recruit businesses that might make use of a TEFFI charter. BFF president Derek Fletcher said the state’s TEFFI law should be amended during the upcoming session to recognize movement toward digitization of asset ownership. He said the state’s $250,000 application fee for a TEFFI was too high, despite the scheduled lowering of that fee to $100,000 next year. He said the fee was a barrier to entry into the TEFFI business world. If the Legislature took up a TEFFI reform bill, the state banking commissioner said lawmakers should include provisions that would address voluntary or involuntary termination of BFF operations or of any subsequent TEFFI. Beneficient executives previously opposed placement into statute of language that outlined what would happen if a TEFFI was declared insolvent. In the past, Sen. Tom Holland, D-Baldwin City, was unsuccessful in generating interest in legislation that would grant state regulators the authority to suspend Beneficient’s operations. Holland also had sought a state-led inquiry of Beneficient and Beneficient’s former parent company, GWG Holdings. A federal lawsuit alleges GWG Holdings misled investors by selling hundreds of millions of dollars in bonds. GWG Holdings spun off Beneficient in 2022 as the Legislature was engaged in developing a program to create the TEFFI sought by Beneficient.
The rise of renewable energy – paired with smart technology – offers an extraordinary opportunity to empower communities, enhance sustainability and reduce costs, writes Paul Budde . BACK IN 2006, I established the Smart Grid Australia Association . Here, we brought together organisations involved in the development of smart energy, working collaboratively to build smarter communities. Our major success was the government’s decision in 2010 to launch a $100 million Smart City Smart Grid pilot in the Newcastle area. Unfortunately, this initiative was immediately cancelled when the Coalition Government came to power in 2013. For the next ten years, energy policies remained in limbo under that government. On the positive side, the pilot propelled Newcastle to become one of the leading smart cities in Australia. But as is often the case - for such smart grid smart city projects on a larger scale - many more ducks need to be aligned to establish real, large-scale commercial projects. With the latest developments in smart grids, smart meters, and batteries, we are now getting closer to realising the benefits of such complex systems. As someone who has written extensively about the transformative power of smart grids and localised energy systems, I believe we are standing at a pivotal moment in energy innovation. The rise of renewable energy – paired with smart technology – offers an extraordinary opportunity to empower communities, enhance sustainability and reduce costs. However, as I’ve observed in both Australia and internationally, achieving this vision requires not only technological solutions but also robust regulatory frameworks to protect consumers and foster fair competition. I was triggered to revisit these issues after reading this recent ABC article . The Netherlands: Europe’s digital powerhouse The Netherlands has become a global juggernaut in terms of broadband, AI and cybersecurity. A Smarter, Cleaner Future Smart grids have the potential to revolutionise how we produce, store, and consume electricity. These systems enable real-time communication between utilities and consumers — optimising energy distribution and reducing waste. Neighbourhood energy systems take this concept further by allowing communities to manage energy collectively, leveraging shared infrastructure — such as community batteries. I’ve highlighted examples in the past, such as Australia’s Hornsdale Power Reserve (2017), which shows how large-scale battery storage can stabilise the grid and support renewable energy integration. But even more exciting is the potential for neighbourhood-level systems where shared batteries or virtual power plants could provide resilience and cost savings. Imagine a street or suburb pooling solar energy and storage to weather peak demand or blackouts — a vision that is becoming increasingly achievable. Learning from International examples Over the years, I’ve also drawn attention to international models that inspire us to think bigger. In 2016, I wrote about blockchain opportunities , a prime example here is the Kitakyushu Smart Community project in Japan. This initiative integrates renewable energy, storage, and demand-response systems to create a sustainable urban energy model. Similarly, the Brooklyn Microgrid Project in the United States demonstrates the power of decentralisation, where residents generate, store, and trade energy locally using blockchain technology. These examples prove that the localised energy systems we advocated for more than a decade ago here in Australia are not only viable but also scalable. Newcastle: Leading the way for Australian smart cities Newcastle's transformation into one of Australia's leading smart cities should be an inspiration for others to follow suit. Challenges and the need for regulation Thanks to party politics, Australia suffers from a knowledge and experience gap of more than a decade — and we must catch up to avoid repeating the mistakes highlighted in the ABC article. While the potential is immense, I’ve often warned that regulatory gaps could undermine these advancements. The control of energy data by metering companies – as seen in Australia – creates monopolistic "walled gardens", restricting access to critical information and stifling competition. Consumers are left unable to fully leverage their energy systems — and third-party innovators are shut out. Smart energy can deliver lower costs, but we need to ensure those benefits flow to the consumers. This is why I strongly advocate for transparent regulations that prioritise consumer rights to data access. Without these safeguards, the energy transition risks becoming more expensive and less equitable. I’ve seen how these challenges play out globally, and it’s clear that without intervention, the benefits of smart grids and localised systems could remain out of reach for many. The role of ISP-like resellers in energy innovation In my earlier work, I’ve drawn parallels between energy systems and the internet. Just as internet service providers (ISPs) aggregate bandwidth to serve multiple customers, energy resellers could combine distributed energy resources like solar panels and batteries to create neighbourhood-scale virtual power plants. This model could stabilise local grids, reduce reliance on centralised power plants, and democratise access to renewable energy benefits. I’ve long argued that this ISP-like approach can lower barriers for communities that lack resources for individual systems. By coordinating energy generation and consumption at the local level, such systems could unlock significant savings while enhancing grid reliability. Unlocking the path toward a sustainable energy future Grid flexibility measures and distributed energy resources are key elements for creating a more sustainable and reliable energy system. My Vision for the Future Reflecting on the lessons from Australia and international examples, I firmly believe that we can pick up where we left off in 2013 and accelerate progress based on new knowledge and global developments. We can and should build a smarter, cleaner, and more equitable energy future. Policymakers must step up to address the regulatory void in smart meter markets and ensure fair access to energy data. This is not just about technology — it’s about empowering individuals and communities to take control of their energy destiny. The success of projects like Kitakyushu and Brooklyn shows us what is possible when innovation meets thoughtful regulation. I believe we can apply these principles to create resilient neighbourhood energy systems that not only reduce costs but also enhance sustainability. By embracing these ideas, we can ensure that the energy transition benefits everyone, not just a select few. This is the future I’ve envisioned and championed throughout my work, and I remain committed to seeing it realised. Paul Budde is an Independent Australia columnist and managing director of Paul Budde Consulting , an independent telecommunications research and consultancy organisation. You can follow Paul on Twitter @PaulBudde . This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Australia License Support independent journalism Subscribe to IA. BUSINESS CONSUMERS TECHNOLOGY SMART GRID smart meters renewable energy technology batteries large scale battery Paul Budde Hornsdale Power Reserve Kitakyushu Smart Community Brooklyn Microgrid Project Share ArticleFurthermore, critics argue that deporting millions of illegal immigrants would be logistically difficult and costly, requiring a massive allocation of resources and personnel. They also point out that such actions could have negative consequences for the economy, as many industries rely on immigrant labor to fill essential roles.
At the end of the video, Xiang Zuo and Zhao Xiaohua sat down to enjoy their meal together, savoring each bite with gusto and sharing heartwarming anecdotes from their time in the kitchen. Their shared laughter and loving gazes spoke volumes about their bond and mutual respect, leaving fans touched by their genuine and tender moments.As the competition progressed to the Top 16 stage, the Chinese players continued to impress with their incredible performances. Winning six out of seven matches, they displayed remarkable skill, precision, and composure under pressure. Their victories not only showcased their individual talents but also highlighted the strength and depth of Chinese snooker as a whole.The banning of accounts in Infinite Warmth reflects the commitment of the game developers to create a fair and enjoyable gaming experience for all players. By taking a strong stance against cheating, the developers are not only protecting the integrity of the game but also demonstrating their dedication to fostering a competitive and respectful gaming environment.
Family caregivers need care and support too
Michael Croley | (TNS) Bloomberg News In the old days of 2016, when golfers visited the Dormie Club in West End, North Carolina — 15 minutes from the hotbed of American golf, Pinehurst — they were greeted by a small, single-wide trailer and a rugged pine straw parking lot. Related Articles Travel | A preview of some stunning hotels and resorts opening in 2025 Travel | Travel scams that can hurt your credit or finances Travel | Travel: Paddle the Loxahatchee River, one of two National Wild and Scenic Rivers in Florida Travel | 7 family-friendly ski resorts in the US that won’t break the bank Travel | It’s beginning to look like another record for holiday travel That trailer is now long gone. A gate has been installed at the club’s entrance and a long driveway leads to a grand turnaround that sweeps you past a new modern clubhouse that’s all right angles, with floor-to-ceiling glass. Seconds after you exit your car, valets are zipping up in golf carts, taking your name, then your bags, handing you keys to your own golf cart, and then zipping off to drop your luggage in the four-bedroom cottage where you’ll stay. A short walk past an expansive putting green you’ll find the pro shop — and then you’ll see the club’s most elegant feature: its golf course. The changes have all come about because Dormie Club was acquired in 2017 by the Dormie Network, a national group that owns seven private golf facilities from Nebraska to New Jersey. (“Dormie” is a word for being ahead in golf — the names were coincidences.) A key to the network’s success has been its ability to find clubs ripe for acquisition, with outstanding golf courses and existing on-site lodging or the room to build it, says Zach Peed, president of the company and its driving force. After investing in Arbor Links Golf Club in Nebraska City, Nebraska, in late 2015, Peed believed he saw an opening in the golf market: a new model of hospitality for traveling professionals who wanted a pure golf experience that eschewed the pools and pickleball courts of their home clubs. His clubs would become dream golf-only getaways for avid players and their pals. “Dormie Network’s concept was sparked by having played competitive golf in college, combined with an element of experiencing and understanding hospitality,” says Peed. “It made sense to blend the two to create golf trips that had more value than just playing golf. We want genuine hospitality to help create unforgettable memories and new friendships.” Part of that formula has been in the lodging strategy; in North Carolina, 15 four-bedroom cottages now are a short golf cart ride from the main clubhouse. In each, golfers all have their own king-size bed and en suite bathroom. A large common room is dominated by a flatscreen television along with a well-stocked bar and snacks. That ability to be both social, or tucked away in your room, extends to the expansive new clubhouse, where a high-ceilinged bar area with blond wood creates an inviting space for dining and drinking, and several hideaway rooms allow for more private diners with just your group. So far, their commitment to hospitality has been helping them expand in both membership and club usage in the increasingly competitive market for traveling golfers. Major players such as Bandon Dunes, Pinehurst Resort, and the Cabot Collection have created — or renovated — a new paradigm where golfers get dining and lodging that’s as showcase-worthy as the courses they play. Comfortable sheets and options beyond pub food aren’t luxuries anymore, but staples for many group trips. Dormie has answered that call by focusing on both the big details and the small ones, like having the dew wiped off each golf cart at dawn outside guest cottages before the day begins or having a tray of cocktails delivered to golfers as their final putt falls on the 18th green. These touches may seem over-the-top, but they stand out in a world where golf travel is increasingly popular — and expensive — after the pandemic lockdowns. Since 2020 there has been an explosion in participation in the sport, with new golfers picking up the game and avid golfers playing more: According to the National Golf Foundation, a record 531 million rounds were played in 2023, surpassing the high of 529 million set in 2021. Supreme Golf, a public golf booking website, reports in its latest analysis that the average cost of a tee time has increased to $49 in 2024 from $38 in 2019, a 30% increase. Those cost increases are also on par (pun intended) with the costs of private clubs and initiation fees during that same period, where membership rosters that were dwindling pre-COVID now have waitlists 50 to 60 people deep, according to Jason Becker, co-founder and chief executive officer of Golf Life Navigators, which matches homebuyers with golf course communities. “There’s been an absolute run on private golf. If we use southwest Florida as an example, where there are 158 golf communities, this time last November, only five had memberships available,” he said. That inability to find a club close to home has pushed avid golfers to look farther afield, choosing national memberships at clubs that require traveling, usually via plane, to play. Dormie has capitalized on this growing segment, offering two types of memberships: First, a national membership, where members pay an initiation fee and monthly dues just as they would at a local club, but instead of one club they have access to seven. The second option is a signature membership for companies, “which allows businesses to use our properties for entertainment needs and requires a multiyear commitment,” Peed says. The network also offers a limited number of regional memberships for those living within a certain distance of one of its clubs. Dormie Network declined to provide the cost of memberships or monthly dues and wouldn’t give membership numbers, but the clubs are structured to lodge roughly 60 golfers, max, on-site at any given property at any time. The total number of beds across the network’s portfolio of properties has increased from 84 in 2019 to 432 today. It saw a jump from 10,000 room nights in 2019 to 48,000 in 2023. This September, Dormie opened GrayBull in Maxwell, in Nebraska’s, Sandhills region. Dormie Network tabbed David McLay Kidd to build the course, who also built the original course at Oregon’s famed Bandon Dunes. Kidd says of the property GrayBull sits on, “It’s like the Goldilocks thing: not too flat, not too steep. It’s kind of in a bowl that looks inwards, and there are no bad views.” That kind of remote destination, where the long-range views are only Mother Nature or other golf holes, is what drives many traveling golfers these days. Peed says his team leaned on years of knowledge from Dormie’s acquisitions as they built GrayBull, which started construction in 2022. “We had an understanding of how our members and guests use the clubs that allowed us to take a blank canvas in the Sandhills of Nebraska and combine all of the greatest aspects of each Dormie property into one.” ©2024 Bloomberg L.P. Visit bloomberg.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
The surge in China's asset prices comes at a time when the global economy is still reeling from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. As the Chinese economy continues to recover and show resilience, investors are shifting their focus towards emerging markets like China, seeking opportunities for growth and diversification.'It will be a long journey and this moment will be really tough'
Lisa Simpson once said during an episode of “The Simpsons:” What could be more exciting than the savage ballet that is pro football? On Monday night, the entire Simpsons universe gets to experience it in a way not many could have imagined. The prime-time matchup between the Cincinnati Bengals and Dallas Cowboys will also take place at Springfield’s Atoms Stadium as part of “The Simpsons Funday Football” alternate broadcast. The altcast will be streamed on ESPN+, Disney+, and NFL+ (on mobile devices). ESPN and ABC have the main broadcast, while ESPN2 will carry the final “ManningCast” of the regular season. The replay will be available on Disney+ for 30 days. Globally, more than 145 countries will have access to either live or on replay. “We’re such huge football fans, and the Simpsons audience and the football audience, I feel, are like the same audience of just American families and football. And the Simpsons are so much a part of the DNA of the American family and culture that for us to, like, mush them together in this crazy video game, it’s so fun,” said Matt Selman, executive producer of “The Simpsons.” While the game is the focal point, the alternate broadcast, in some ways, will resemble a three-hour episode of “The Simpsons.” It starts with Homer eating too many hot dogs and having a dream while watching football. Homer joins the Cowboys in the dream while Bart teams up with the Bengals. Lisa and Marge will be sideline reporters. “That’s the beginning of the story, and the story continues through the entire game until Homer wakes up from his dream at the end of the game. It is like a complete story, and the NFL game will happen in between. It’s just going to be an amazing presentation with tons of surprises,” said Michael “Spike” Szykowny, ESPN’s VP of edit and animation. This is the second year ESPN has done an alternate broadcast for an NFL game. It used the characters from “Toy Story” for last year’s Sunday morning game from London between the Atlanta Falcons and Jacksonville Jaguars. “The Simpsons” has featured many sports-themed episodes during its 35 seasons. Even though “Homer at the Bat” remains the consensus favorite sports episode for many Simpsons fans, there have been football ones such as “Bart Star” and “Lisa The Greek.” There also was a Super Bowl-themed one after Fox’s broadcast of Super Bowl 33 between Denver and Atlanta in 1999. Even though “The Simpsons” remains a staple on Fox’s prime-time schedule, it is part of the Disney family after their acquisition of 20th Century Fox in 2019. All 35 seasons are on Disney+. The show’s creators have worked with ESPN and the NFL to make sure the look and sound is definitely Simpsonsesque. The theme song is a mash-up of “The Simpsons” opening and “Monday Night Football’s” iconic “Heavy Action.” There have also been pre-recorded skits and bits to use during the broadcast featuring Simpson’s legendary voices Hank Azaria, Nancy Cartwright, Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, and Yeardley Smith. The telecast will be entirely animated, with the players’ movements in sync with what is happening in real-time on the field. That is done through player-tracking data enabled by the NFL’s Next Gen Stats system and Sony’s Beyond Sports Technology. While Next Gen Stats tracks where players are on the field with a tracking chip in the shoulder pads, there is skeletal data tracking and limb tracking data — which uses 29 points per player — to get closer to the player’s movements. The other data tracking will allow Beyond Sports and Disney to add special characters to the game. For example, there might be a play where Lisa catches the ball and goes 30 yards instead of Cincinnati’s Tee Higgins. “Lisa is much smaller than the rest of the players. So, in real life, the ball would go over her head, but now, with data processing, we can take the ball and make it go exactly into her hands. So for the viewer, it still looks believable, and it all makes sense,” said Beyond Sports co-founder Nicolaas Westerhof. The other major challenge is making “The Simpsons” two-dimensional cartoon characters into 3-D simulations. Szykowny and his team worked to make that a reality over the past couple of months. “That’s a big leap of faith for them to say, hey, we trust you to make our characters 3-D and work with it. Our ESPN creative studio team has done a wonderful job,” Szykowny said. Lisa, Krusty, Nelson, Milhouse and Ralph will be with Bart and the Bengals; while Carl, Barney, Lenny and Moe join up with with Homer and the Cowboys. The broadcast will also feature ESPN personalities Stephen A. Smith, Peyton Manning and Eli Manning. ESPN’s Drew Carter, Mina Kimes and Dan Orlovsky will call the game from Bristol, Connecticut, and also be animated. They will wear Meta Quest Pro headsets to experience the game from Springfield using VR technology. For Kimes, being part of the broadcast and being an animated Simpsons character is a dream come true. She is a massive fan of the show and has a framed photo of Lisa Simpson — who she said is a personal hero and icon — as part of her backdrop when she makes appearances on ESPN NFL shows from her home in Los Angeles. “I didn’t have any input, and I didn’t see anything beforehand, so I wasn’t sure if it would look like me, but it kind of does, which is very funny,” said Kimes, who drew Simpsons characters when she was a kid. “To see the actual staff turn me into one was a dream.” Even though the Bengals (4-8) and Cowboys (5-7) have struggled this season, Selman thinks both teams have personalities that appeal to “The Simpsons” universe. “We were just so lucky also that the Cowboys are sort of like a Homer Simpson-type team, American team, and Mike McCarthy might be a Homer-type guy, one might imagine,” he said. ”And then you have Joe Burrow on the other side who is a cool young, spiky-haired, blonde bad boy -- he’s like Bart. And that fits our character archetypes so perfectly. “If Homer is mad at Bart and has a hot dog dream while watching ’Monday Night Football’, and then it’s basically McCarthy versus Burrow, Homer versus Bart, and that’s the simple father versus son strangling — Homer strangling Bart dynamic that has been part of the show for 35 years. I don’t know if that would have worked as well if it was like Titans versus Jacksonville. We would have found something. We would have made it work.” AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nflI recently entered an Israeli consulate and submitted papers to formally renounce my citizenship. It was an unseasonably warm fall day and office workers on break were lounging by the pond in Boston Common. The night before had seen a particularly gruesome series of aerial attacks by Israel on refugee tent camps in Gaza. Even as Palestinians were still counting bodies or, in many cases, collecting what remained of loved ones, the suburban woman in front of me in line at the consulate cheerfully asked what brought me here today. Scholars, journalists and jurists around the world are keeping a detailed inventory of all the ways that Israel’s crimes since October 2023 amount to legally actionable war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. But the story extends far beyond the horrors of the past year. Citizenship, of the kind I hold, has been a material piece of a long-standing genocidal process. The Israeli state, from its inception, has relied on the normalization of ethnically determined supremacist laws to bolster a military regime whose clear colonial goal is the elimination of Palestine. At the top of the form that I’d brought to the consulate that day is a citation of the Citizenship Law of 1952, the legal basis upon which my status was conferred at birth. My reason for renouncing this status is indeed directly linked to that law — or rather, to the situation on the ground in the 1950s, the Nakba context, which shaped this law. In 1949, in the months after armistice agreements were signed, ostensibly ending the 1948 war, the Zionist settlers, having managed to massacre and expel three-fourths of the Indigenous Palestinian population in territories now under their control, began to look for ways to secure their militarized garrison state. Their most pressing concern: to ensure that Palestinians who’d been pushed out of their ancestral villages and farms would never return; that their lands would pass into the legal possession of the new state, ready to be occupied by coming waves of Jewish immigrants from abroad. Over 500 Palestinian villages and cities had been hollowed out within that year, and now it was time to erase them from the map forever. Though it would take many more decades for the settler state to formally acknowledge that it was a de jure Jewish supremacist entity, the practice of ethnic cleansing was baked into the military, social and legal strategy of the state. This was always intended to be a Jewish state engineered to create and maintain a Jewish majority in a land that had been 90 percent non-Jewish before the Zionists arrived in large numbers in the early decades of the 20th century. The effort to complete the process of ethnic cleansing, however, would indeed require aggressive engineering, and, given stiff Indigenous resistance, would never succeed. The arbitrarily drawn borders were still porous in 1949, and the rural territories under Zionist occupation rule were still far from fully in their control. Palestinians, newly refugees, were living in tents only miles from their homes. Many were surviving on a single meager meal a day, and they were determined, after the armistice, to return to their homes and their crops. Some tried to operate within the hastily imposed new colonial legal system. They appealed to the new entity’s “Declaration of Independence” that claimed equal rights for all. But this document had no legal standing and was designed as a propaganda piece intended to curry international acceptance within the new United Nations. An application for membership to the UN, submitted by this new entity calling itself the “State of Israel,” had already been rejected once, and the Zionist leadership was scrambling to give their re-application an air of legitimacy. A token nod to Palestinians’ rights, they hoped, would give political cover for this decidedly illiberal state to join the emerging, U.S.-dominated international order. Regardless of what the state’s propaganda machine was pushing abroad, the situation on the ground was a clear-cut case of ethnic cleansing. For nearly the next decade, Zionist settlers used every means of force to sever the connection between Indigenous Palestinians and their lands. In April 1949, they adopted a “free fire” policy, in which thousands of so-called infiltrators — that is, Indigenous Palestinians walking back to homes they’d inhabited for generations — could be, and often were, shot on sight. The state created concentration camps through large round-ups of villagers and farmers. From these camps, masses of Palestinians were deported across the “border” where they would be shunted into growing refugee encampments in Jordan and Lebanon, and in Egyptian-ruled Gaza. This is how Gaza came to be the most densely populated piece of land on Earth. Recall that scenes like this were occurring post-armistice , that is, after the 1948 war was supposedly over. This was part of a deliberate post-war strategy that used ceasefires as cover to secure an ethnically cleansed territory, a pattern that would be repeated for decades. The goal was clearly articulated from the outset: to remove Palestinians from their lands forever, to weaken the stake of those who remained, and to erase Palestine in both concept and material reality. This was the context in which the state’s citizenship laws of the early 1950s were enacted – first, the Law of Return in 1950, which granted citizenship to any Jew in the world; and then its elaboration in 1952 Citizenship Law, which nullified any existing citizenship status held by Palestinians. The state’s re-configuring of citizenship along the lines of Jewish supremacy would be its key constitutional principle. The effect of this sweeping legislation, enforced by a brutal armed occupation force on the ground, “rendered settlers indigenous, and produced Palestinian natives as alien,” writes scholar Lana Tatour . This legal framework wasn’t a failure of policy, Tatour notes, but rather it was “doing what it was created to do: normalize domination, naturalize settler sovereignty, classify populations, produce difference, and exclude, racialize, and eliminate indigenous peoples.” Nineteen years after this Citizenship Law of 1952 was enacted, my parents moved from the U.S. to Jerusalem and were granted citizenship and full rights under the “Law of Return.” Out of a youthful naivete that would deepen into willful ignorance, they managed to become both American liberals who opposed the U.S. invasion of Vietnam, while also acting as armed settlers of another people’s land. They moved into a Jerusalem neighborhood that had been ethnically cleansed only a few years earlier. They occupied a home built and recently inhabited by a Palestinian family whose community was expelled to Jordan and then violently barred from returning at the barrel of a gun — and by the citizenship papers my family held in their hands. This 1-to-1 replacement was not a secret. People like my family lived in these quarters precisely because it was an “Arab house,” proudly advertised as such for its elegant, high-ceilinged design in opposition to the drably utilitarian, haphazardly constructed apartment blocks of the settler Zionists. I was born in the ethnically cleansed Palestinian village of Ayn Karim, much prized for possessing all the native Arab charm with none of the actual native Arabs to unsettle the pretty picture. My father was in the Israeli military, from which he and many of his friends emerged, after the monstrous invasion of Lebanon in 1982, liberal proponents of “peace.” But to them, that word still meant living in a Jewish-majority country; it was a “peace” in which the original sin of the state, the ongoing process of ethnic cleansing, would remain firmly in place, legitimated and thereby more secure than ever. They sought peace, in other words, for Jews with Israeli citizenship, but for Palestinians, “peace” meant full surrender, a permanent occupation and exile. All of this is to say: I don’t regard my decision to renounce this citizenship as an effort to reverse a legal status as much as it is an acknowledgement that this status never held any legitimacy to begin with. Israeli citizenship law is predicated on the worst kinds of violent crimes we know of, and on a deepening litany of lies intended to whitewash those crimes. The look of officialdom, the trappings of lawful governance, with their seals of the Ministry of the Interior, testify to nothing other than this state’s slippery effort to conceal its fundamental unlawfulness. These are forged documents. They are, more importantly, a blunt instrument used to continually displace actual living people, families, entire populations of the land’s Indigenous inhabitants. In its genocidal campaign to erase Palestine’s Indigenous people, the state has weaponized my very existence, my birth and identity — and those of so many others. The wall that keeps Palestinians from returning home is constituted as much by identity papers as by concrete slabs. Our job must be to remove those concrete slabs, to rip up the phony papers, and to disrupt the narratives that make these structures of oppression and injustice appear legitimate or, god forbid, inevitable. To those who will breathlessly invoke the talking point that Jews “have a right to self-determination,” I will only say that if such a right does exist, it cannot possibly involve the invasion, occupation and ethnic cleansing of another people. Nobody has that right. Moreover, one can think of a few European countries that owe land and reparations to their persecuted Jews. The Palestinian people, however, never owed Jews anything for the crimes committed by European antisemitism, nor do they today. My personal belief, like many of my 20th century ancestors, is that Jewish liberation is inseparable from broad social movements. That is why so many Jews were socialists in pre-war Europe, and why many of us connect to that tradition today. As an observant Jew, I believe the Torah is radical in its contention that Jewish people, or any people, have no right at all to any land, but rather are bound by rigorous ethical responsibilities. Indeed, if the Torah has one single message, it’s that if you oppress the widow and the orphan, if you deal corruptly in government-sanctioned greed and violence, and if you acquire land and wealth at the expense of regular people, you will be cast out by the God of righteousness. The Torah is routinely waved around by land-worshipping nationalists as though it were a deed of ownership, but, if actually read, it is a record of prophetic rebuke against the abuse of state power. The only entity with sovereign rights, according to the Torah, is the God of justice, the God who despises the usurper and the occupier. Zionism has nothing to do with Judaism or Jewish history other than that its leaders have long seen in these deep sources a series of powerfully mobilizing narratives with which to push their colonial agenda — and it is that colonial agenda alone that we must address. The constant efforts to evoke the history of Jewish victimhood in order to justify or to simply distract from the actions of an economic and military powerhouse would be positively laughable if they weren’t so cynically weaponized and deadly. Zionist colonization cannot be reformed or liberalized: Its existential identity, as expressed in its citizenship laws and repeated openly by those citizens, amounts to a commitment to genocide. Calls for arms embargoes, as well as for boycotts, divestment and sanctions, are commonsense demands. But they are not a political vision. Decolonization is. It is both the path and the destination. We all must orient our organizing accordingly. It’s already happening. A different reality is already being built by a broad, energetic and hopeful movement of people from all over the world who know that the only ethical future is a free Palestine, liberated from colonial domination. The way we get there is through a globally supported but ultimately local liberation movement led by Palestinians, a movement whose politics and tactics are determined by Palestinians. This liberation will come about through a diversity of tactics, whatever is called for in different situations — including armed resistance, a universally acknowledged right of any occupied people. Decolonization starts with listening to and answering the calls of Palestinian organizers to develop a decolonizing consciousness and practice, to remove material structures that have been placed between Palestinians and their land, and to reverse the normalization of these arbitrary barriers. Decolonization of citizenship also means understanding the material connection between Israeli settler colonialism and other forms of it across the globe. It is well-known that the U.S. supplies endless arms and political capital to its colonial ally; less known is that Australia’s conception of anti-Indigenous jurisprudence served as a legal model for Israel. The struggle for a liberated Palestine is linked to the struggle of Indigenous Land Back movements everywhere. My single citizenship is but one brick in that wall. Nevertheless, it is a brick. And it must be physically removed. Those who occupy my exact position are invited to join a growing and supportive network of people who are divesting of their citizenship as part of a larger decolonizing practice. Those who aren’t in that position should take other steps. If you live in occupied Palestine, join the draft resistance movement and turn it into something with teeth. Fight to decolonize and revolutionize the labor movement and turn it into the lever of anti-state power it ought to be. Join the Palestinian-led resistance. If you cannot do these things, leave and resist from abroad. Take material steps to dismantle this colonial edifice, to disrupt the narrative that says this is normal, that this is the future. This is not our future. Palestine will be liberated. But only when we commit, right now, to the practices of liberation.
Instead of resorting to hard control, fathers should strive to establish open communication channels with their daughters, foster trust and mutual respect, and provide guidance without stifling their autonomy. Here are some tips for dads to support their 14-year-old daughters' social development:In an official communication, the district administration announced the formation of a team to expedite the preparation of necessary revenue documents. The team comprises officers and officials from various tehsils, including Naib Tehsildars from Newa and Kakapora, as well as revenue staff such as Girdawars and Patwaris from Trich, Parigam, Patalbagh, Kangan, and Newa. These officials have been directed to report to the office of the Assistant Commissioner (Revenue), Pulwama, to begin their work. The Deputy Commissioner's office has also circulated the directive to the Tehsildars of Pulwama, Pampore, Kakapora, and Rajpora for their information and further action. Seizing 5000 Kanals Unacceptable: PDP Peoples Democratic Party leaders on Thursday opposed the government move to transfer nearly 5000 kanal of land for setting up the National Institute of Technology (NIT) campus in South Kashmir's Pulwama district. PDP leaders Waheed Para and Iltija Mufti termed acquiring thousands of kanals of land for the institution as“unacceptable.” MLA Pulwama Waheed-ur-Rehman Para took to X and wrote :“Pulwama welcomes the establishment of an NIT, but seizing 5000 kanals of land is unacceptable. Without fair compensation and guaranteed jobs for locals, this project will face strong resistance.” Party chief Mehbooba Mufti's daughter, Iltija Mufti, voiced strong objections to the acquisition of 5000 kanals of land for the establishment of a new NIT campus in Pulwama. In a post on X, she wrote,“Grabbing land in Kashmir under the ruse of 'development' in J&K continues unabated. Pray tell what's the need to seize 5000 kanals of prime agricultural land in Pulwama to establish a NIT? If education was such a priority why have a lopsided reservation in the first place?” Follow this link to join our WhatsApp group : Join Now Be Part of Quality Journalism Quality journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce and despite all the hardships we still do it. Our reporters and editors are working overtime in Kashmir and beyond to cover what you care about, break big stories, and expose injustices that can change lives. Today more people are reading Kashmir Observer than ever, but only a handful are paying while advertising revenues are falling fast. CLICK FOR DETAILS MENAFN26122024000215011059ID1109033282 Legal Disclaimer: MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.
The film's production value is evident in every frame of the trailer, with meticulous attention to detail in the set design, costumes, and cinematography. The lush visuals and evocative music score create a mesmerizing atmosphere that draws viewers into the world of the film, immersing them in the characters' emotional journey.Title: "Nezha: The Devil Boy Makes Waves in Theaters Again in 2025, Can It Continue Its Box Office Legend?"