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Everything has changed. Russian President Vladimir Putin didn't just want two regions in eastern Ukraine after all. And he doesnt just want Ukraine. Putin wants to dismantle the rules-based, post-World War II international order that delivered an unprecedented period of peace and prosperity to Europe.

Whatever Joe Biden signed up for as a candidate, then nominee, and finally U.S. president, is gone. That battle to restore the soul of America, the plans to dramatically alter the social safety net, that is over. With little remaining political capital, Biden must still work to contain a pandemic and manage the economy, but he has a different job now, with challenges that neither he nor his party envisioned or preferred.

Stabilizing democracy at home and abroad, using his time and energy to combat indifference to threats to freedom among Americans, while countering authoritarian forces overseas this is the best use of the presidential bully pulpit and Bidens best hope for a legacy.

Its time to put the bickering over Build Back Better behind him. Let Sen. Bernie Sanders bark into the wind. Joe Biden can expect the remainder of his presidency to be full of inflation, international crises, and when Republicans will likely control the House of Representatives next winter, impeachment. There is nothing bright on the horizon, which means Biden has little left to risk or lose.

At 82, he will be too old for a second term in the Oval Office, and his exit will unleash an even more volatile period in our politics. There are likely to be open contests in both parties, probably dominated by the craziness of Donald Trump running again, and in the Democratic Party the bitter division between progressive and moderates.

The time to treat both the threats to the constitutional order at home and the liberal order around the world as an emergency is now. Not next year after the midterm elections, or the following year when Biden will most likely be serving his final months. The leader of the free world must treat these threats to the free world as paramount, above all other concerns. He must affirm that in America, and around the world, people must support a system of rules that does not accept an unprovoked attack on a sovereign nation, or a sustained attempt to overturn a free and fair election.

At a summit on democracy he hosted in December, Biden said: The choices we make at this moment are going to fundamentally determine the direction our world is going to take in the coming decades. Those words were true then. Thanks to Vladimir Putin, they are even truer now.

A continued threat from Russia may consume the rest of Bidens term, and require him to hold the alliance together not only to counter Putins ambition, but to confront the fallout of what Russias actions do to embolden China in Taiwan and Hong Kong.

To begin, Biden must keep talking to war-weary Americans throughout this crisis about Russias intentions and the threats they pose to the world and to us. He found the right words last week to warn of the cost our country will absorb while fighting for freedom elsewhere.

I will do everything in my power to limit the pain the American people are feeling at the gas pump. This is critical to me, Biden said. But this aggression cannot go unanswered. If it did, the consequences for America would be much worse. America stands up to bullies. We stand up for freedom. This is who we are.

Biden must stand up to the bullies in the Republican party not to defend his own actions against their attacks on his weakness, but to call out their lies that strengthen Putins hand. Before the Kremlins land grab had officially begun, Putin scored a victory when Trump offered high praise that was echoed by the man who served as Trumps secretary of state. Both backtracked slightly in their CPAC remarks as the world turned against Putin in solidarity with Ukraine, but the damage was done.

Trump first used the word genius to describe Putins invasion. His longer description of Putins prowess was pure, Russian state television propaganda. Heres a guy that says, you know, Im going to declare a big portion of Ukraine independent he used the word independent and were going to go out and were going to go in and were going to help keep peace, Trump said. You got to say, thats pretty savvy.

Savvy isnt as shocking as peace and independent.

Mike Pompeo West Point graduate, congressman, CIA director and secretary of state initially flattered Putin as very shrewd, very capable, and said he has enormous respect for him.

All of this, of course, has been echoed by influential right-wing voices. Media stars and Trumpkin celebrities have also praised Putin for his strength, or have chosen to sneer at and mock any criticism of him. The statements from Tucker Carlson, Steve Bannon, Candace Owens, Charlie Kirk, Roger Stone, and Michael Flynn have incorporated Russian talking points laying blame for Putins invasion with NATO and America.

Biden cannot reverse the rot in our political landscape. But he can seek to educate, energize, and unite Americans around the preservation of liberty and democracy. He can start with the left of his party, where some fringe populist, isolationist, and protectionist voices hold sway. And Biden should warn the our own backyard crowds in both parties of the costs of ignoring our leadership role on the world stage.

Biden could also explain to his own voters that their party is likely to lose power quite soon, perhaps for a long time. Democrats have failed to reckon with the coming threat of being in the wilderness. They do not tell their voters that by abandoning rural America and prioritizing urban America, they have bolstered the structural advantages the GOP enjoys in the electoral college and the U.S. Senate. Biden, perhaps because he served a small state for so long in the Senate, does not tell them this.

With the inexorable erosion of ticket-splitting, there will soon be no more Joe Manchins in West Virginia and Jon Testers in Montana. Red states will have red senators.

If Biden and his party are passive in the face of these perversions of democracy, Americans will remain detached. If he doesnt champion the sovereignty of free people around the world, Americans will remain detached. He may not succeed, but Biden himself said we must meet this moment with the knowledge it will determine the course of the world for the foreseeable future.

In the contest between democracy and autocracy, between sovereignty and subjugation, Biden said last week, freedom will prevail.

We dont know that it will. But if an American president, at this dark hour, doesnt fight like hell to preserve freedom, it simply cannot prevail.

A.B. Stoddard is associate editor of RealClearPolitics and a columnist.

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Biden Should Spend Next Three Years Focused on Democracy - RealClearPolitics

Join with AP photojournalists in conversation about how the free press plays an essential role in sustaining an informed democracy.

March 3, 6-7:30 p.m.NKUs Griffin Hall, admission is free or attend virtuallyRSVP by CLICKING HEREPresented with support from Kentucky Humanities

Even as democracy is threatened in the world, it has been under fire, too, in our own nation. On May 25, 2020, George Floyd was killed in police custody awakening national protests. On Jan. 6, 2021, the nations Capitol was stormed by a mob that wanted to overturn a presidential election.

Kim Johnson Flodin, Julio Cortez, and Andrew Harnik

Covering both was the Associated Press, the news service that provides coverage of events in our home communities, in the nation and around the world. Today, AP reporters and photographers are in Ukraine, covering the outbreak of a war.

On Thursday, March 3, at 6 p.m., three AP photojournalists who have been in the thick of the events of the past few years, will visit Northern Kentucky University to talk about their work. The powerful images have helped to tell the story of America in our times.

The three are:

Kim Johnson Flodin, a deputy news directors based in Chicago, and one of APs photo editors who direct coverage.

Julio Cortez, staff photographer, and part of the 2021 Pulitzer Prize winning team of AP photographers his widely published photo taken on the night of May 28 in riot-torn Minneapolis shows a lone, silhouetted protester running with an upside-down American flag past a burning liquor store.

Andrew Harnik, staff photographer, is based in Washington, DC, and was among the AP team who covered the storming of the Capitol. His work has taken him around the world with top U.S. diplomats and all over the country with presidents and candidates for president.

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Democracy and the Press: Join an NKU Six@Six conversation about the free press' role in democracy - User-generated content

Ukraine's ambassador told the world that if his country is crushed, international peace and democracy are in peril, as the United Nations General Assembly held a rare emergency session in a day of frenzied diplomacy at the UN about the days-old war.

Ukraine is paying now the ultimate price for freedom and security of itself and all the world," Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya said at the assemblys first emergency meeting in decades.

If Ukraine does not survive... international peace will not survive. If Ukraine does not survive, the United Nations will not survive," he said. Have no illusions. If Ukraine does not survive, we cannot be surprised if democracy fails next.

Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia reiterated his country's assertions that what it calls a special military operation in defense of two breakaway areas in Ukraine is being misrepresented.Russian actions are being distorted and thwarted," he said.

As Russian and Ukrainian officials held talks on the Belarus border, the UNs two major bodies the 193-nation General Assembly and the more powerful 15-member Security Council both scheduled meetings Monday on the war. In Geneva, the UN Human Rights Council voted to hold its own urgent session.

The assembly session will give all UN members an opportunity to speak about the war and to vote on a resolution later in the week. U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said Sunday the measure would hold Russia to account for its indefensible actions and for its violations of the UN Charter.

Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, voiced his support for his Ukrainian counterpart, Sergiy Kyslytsya, at the opening of the emergency session. Kyslytsya visited Israel last year and assisted in gaining support for the successful passage of an Israeli-initiated resolution against Holocaust denial last month.

"The guns are talking now, but the path of dialogue must always remain open, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the assembly. We need peace now.

The Security Council meeting, set for later Monday, was focused on the humanitarian impact of Russias invasion. French President Emmanuel Macron sought the session to ensure the delivery of aid to growing numbers of those in need in Ukraine.

French Ambassador Nicolas de Riviere said Sunday that France and Mexico would propose a resolution to demand the end of hostilities, protection of civilians, and safe and unhindered humanitarian access to meet the urgent needs of the population. He said it would probably be put to a vote Tuesday.

Both meetings follow Russias veto Friday of a Security Council resolution demanding that Moscow immediately stop its attack on Ukraine and withdraw all troops. The vote was 11-1, with China, India and the United Arab Emirates abstaining.

Last week, Ukraine asked for a special session of the General Assembly to be held under the so-called Uniting for Peace resolution. It was initiated by the United States and adopted in November 1950 to circumvent vetoes by the Soviet Union during the 1950-53 Korean War.

That resolution gives the General Assembly the power to call an emergency session to consider matters of international peace and security when the Security Council is unable to act because of the lack of unanimity among its five veto-wielding permanent members -- the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France.

The U.S. ambassador told the council after Sundays vote that members had taken an important step forward in holding Russia accountable for its unjustifiable assault, fabricated out of lies and the rewriting of history, and now all nations can be heard in the General Assembly.

Albanian Ambassador Ferit Hoxha called Sundays resolution historic because it opens the big doors of the place where the world meets -- the UN General Assembly -- to speak out and condemn an unprovoked and unjustified pure act of aggression.

Russia must be stopped in its attempt to break the international rules-based order to replace it with its will, he said. All member states, especially the small ones like mine which constitute the majority of the UN, must remember that international law rules and the UN Charter are their best friend, their best army, their best defense, their best insurance.

During the council meeting, many speakers called for diplomatic efforts to peacefully settle the crisis, and said they would be watching Ukraine-Russia meeting expected to take place on the Belarus border Monday.

Jonathan Lis contributed to this report.

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Democracy will not survive if Ukraine falls, envoy tells UN ahead of Russia vote - Haaretz

Starbucks workers to unionize workplaces in Seattle and all over the country.

Starbucks workers in Buffalo, New York were the first to certify a union through the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), and their success has inspired workers across the country to follow suit. Founded over 50 years ago, Starbucks turned Seattle into the caffeine capital of the United States, becoming the largest coffee chain in the world. It generates more than 10 times the revenue of its closest competitor. Today, its workers are taking matters into their own hands, organizing for living wages and the provision of health insurance.

As we all know, essential workers are the real heroes of this pandemic. The only reason the economy hasnt ground to a halt is because they keep showing up for work. We applaud them for making a living, but their bosses are making a killing. As of 2020, CEOs average earnings are 351 times that of their employees but it's the baristas who keep the money moving and the coffee flowing.

60 stores in 19 states have organized their workplaces for unionization. Starbucks Workers United, the new Starbucks labor union, is fighting an uphill battle unions have been on the decline for decades, and real wages have gone down with them. Organized labor creates inclusive growth in the economy and fortifies the health of American democracy.

Rachel Ybarra is a Starbucks worker and union organizer. She recalled her excitement upon learning that the Starbucks in Buffalo had filed for a union.

It was kind of like finding out that they had done something that a lot of us had presented to one another as a joke, Ybarra said, describing how forming a union was something that almost everyone in her workplace favored, but considered an impossibility.

Seeing Buffalo win their union election prompted Ybarra and a coworker to meet with Starbucks Workers United in the days following.

We had that meeting on Friday, and over that weekend, we got all of our [union] cards signed and were able to get them filed by Monday, Ybarra said.

The National Labor Relations board requires 30% support to file for an election, where 50% support is needed to certify a union.

At their small coffeehouse, it only took three days to gain a majority, proof of the common desire for improved working conditions. Ybarra was ready for managements attempt to break their organizing efforts.

We had a couple of meetings with managers, Ybarra said. I had a three-on-one with my store manager, my [general manager], and another store manager that I had never met I decided to be maliciously compliant. They responded with a lot of hostility My district manager offered for me to leave three times during the meeting.

Why do corporations hire union-busting specialists, pay for costly legal battles, or spend money on anti-union campaigns? Because its cheaper than paying workers more than what is absolutely necessary. Unionized workplaces grant workers the ability to collectively bargain, allowing them to negotiate the terms of a union contract. With Starbucks Workers United, Ybarra expects increased pay and healthcare coverage.

Unionizing a workplace is difficult, and there are huge, huge advantages for employers who can make vague threats to punish workers for unionizing. Jake Grumbach, assistant professor of political science, said. Emerging moments of unionization in a place like Starbucks can show that it is possible even in difficult situations.

The recent organizing push is the result of a long term slowdown in the social mobility and economic outlook for low wage workers. When a business generates immense profit and chooses to not compensate the employees, low wage workers are left with no choice but to bargain for better wages through unionization.

Establishing living wages through labor union collective bargaining provides huge benefits for raising children, lowering crime, having a strong middle class with living wages for workers across education levels, across geography and industry, Grumbach said. That is absolutely crucial for an economy to work, and it can supercharge economic growth by having ordinary people have more money to spend in the economy stimulating demand by reducing inequality.

When labor unions are strong, they can drive up wages for both non-union and union members by offering better wages, creating competition for employers to attract employees. Moreover, private sector unions represent their workers politically by endorsing pro-worker candidates.

[Labor unions] serve to organize the working class politically and thats actually really crucial for democracy, Grumbach said. Imagine you live in some place where all the manufacturing is being outsourced and offshored, your town is changing, and there's an opioid crisis and things seem really bleak People in those positions are very susceptible to politics based in fear of immigrants or racial conflict, and labor unions are a way to organize mass politics in a more democratic way, so people have control over policies that affect their material lives, rather than just culture war politics.

When workers unite on the basis of shared interests, they can win and win big. Starbucks workers in Seattle are proving that labor unions are still possible in the most unlikely of places.

A union is just what happens when your team comes together and decides to take control of their workplace, Ybarra said.

The national labor struggle is ongoing, sending shockwaves from coast to coast. Ybarra hopes for a successful result in their union election next month. Our community must support essential workers like Ybarra and labor unions like Starbucks Workers United in their fight for fair wages and representation.

The old union song rings true: Oh miner, wont you organize wherever you may be, and make this a land of freedom for workers like you and me.

Reach writer Thomas DuBeau at opinion@dailyuw.com. Twitter: @thomas_dubeau

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Democracy starts in the workplace | Critical Conversations | dailyuw.com - Dailyuw

The following is an excerpt from a longer piece offering perspectives from various authors on multiple fronts of United States foreign policy ahead of President Joe Biden's State of the Union address on March 1, 2022.

By comparison with the dismal performance of former President Donald Trump, President Joe Biden refreshingly promised a foreign policy guided by human rights. But despite some positive steps, Bidens approach has been disappointingly conventional.

For starters, we can be thankful no longer to have a president who embraces every friendly autocrat under the sun even Russian President Vladimir Putin. In addition, reversing Trumps moves, Biden rejoined the United Nations Human Rights Council, re-engaged with the World Health Organization, supported global efforts to fight climate change, and cancelled sanctions against the International Criminal Court prosecutor for examining torture by U.S. personnel in Afghanistan and war crimes by Israeli officials. Biden also has continued the longstanding practice of pressing U.S. adversaries such as Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Cuba to curb their abuses, including by imposing targeted sanctions.

On China, Biden signed into law the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which presumptively bars imports from Xinjiang. After labeling atrocities targeting Uyghurs as genocide and crimes against humanity, Biden joined a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Olympics to undermine President Xi Jinpings efforts to sportswash his repression. Yet despite these important discrete steps, Biden has yet to put forward a comprehensive strategy, with clear goals, to curb Beijings oppression at home and its efforts to undermine international human rights institutions.

When it comes to relations with abusive allies, Biden showed little sign of a human rights-guided approach. Apart from modest tweaks, he continued large-scale U.S. arms sales or military aid to Egypt despite the worst repression in the countrys modern history, to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates despite their devastating airstrikes and other atrocities against Yemeni civilians (casualties surged after Saudi arm-twisting succeeded in lifting U.N. scrutiny in October), and to Israel despite its attacks on large civilian apartment and office buildings in Gaza and its crime against humanity of apartheid affecting millions of Palestinians. Silence from the White House matched Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modis silence before his supporters increasingly virulent attacks on Muslims.

Even some of Bidens positive steps have been half-hearted. After his summits with key leaders such as Russias Putin, Chinas Xi, and Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdoan, the White House said human rights were discussed but provided no details, leaving in the dark the persecuted people from those countries the primary agents for change and missing an opportunity to use the moral influence of the presidents office to support them. Just days after Bidens Summit for Democracy, the administration invited autocratic leaders from Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand to a U.S.-ASEAN summit. The administration implemented economic restrictions on Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover that are severely harming the Afghan population, which now faces a looming humanitarian crisis and large-scale starvation. And while some migrants at the U.S.-Mexican border have been allowed to seek asylum, many are still summarily turned back despite the considerable danger of violent attack.

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US State of the Union: Democracy and Human Rights - Human Rights Watch