Equitable Access To Jobs, Education, Clean Water Key To US Sustainable Development

Despite being the largest economic power in the world, the United States is falling drastically short in fulfilling its commitment to reaching the United Nations’ sustainable development goals, or SDGs. Serving as a roadmap to a sustainable future, these 17 goals reflect each country’s responsibility to improving the livelihood of its citizens and the global community at large.

While it looks like the U.S. is honoring its commitment to achieving the SDGs, the following three examples show there is still significant room for improvement.

Quality education

According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress , less than half of fourth-, eighth-, and 12th-grade students scored at or above proficient in several fields, such as mathematics, reading, science, and writing, on the most recent assessments. U.S. students are also lagging behind in science, mathematics, and reading compared with many developed countries, such as Singapore, Finland, and South Korea, according to the Pew Research Center.

The numbers aren’t exactly encouraging, but there are still signs of progress, as the Department of Education highlights. Education initiatives enacted during the Obama administration included a $1 billion investment to ensure every child has access to a preschool education; a $350 million investment in more effective assessments and data; and the Excellent Educators for All Initiative, which aims to place high-quality teachers in high-poverty, high-minority schools.

The factors contributing to weaknesses in the U.S. education system are complex. For example, race, socioeconomic status, and other external elements are common catalysts for inequitable education. Still, the United States’ acknowledgement of a problem in its schools indicates the country is willing to address these issues.

https://www.ibtimes.com/equitable-access-jobs-education-clean-water-key-us-sustainable-development-2781336

‘Get Out of Syria First’: Moscow Reacts to Trump’s Demand to Leave Venezuela

The Trump administration should make good on its own promise to pull troops out of Syria before telling others where they should or shouldn’t be, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in reply to Washington’s threat over Venezuela.

“Before they have their say in the lawful interests of other nations, I would advise the US administration to fulfill the promises that it had given to the international community,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said, referring to US President Donald Trump’s pledge to get American troops out of Syria.

The US is behaving like a “cowboy in the Louvre,” undermining international order with its “chaotic moves and unpredictable behavior,” Zakharova said.

Zakharova is right. Before the US gets any say where any other country deploys its troops it should end its illegal presence on the territory of Syria. However Zakharova is wrong to say Trump must do so to “fulfill the promises given to the international community”.

Trump made no such promises, and wouldn’t care about breaking them if he did. Nor should he.

The problem with Empire’s presence in Syria is that it’s an occupation, not that Trump has promised to other states to end it, but hasn’t.

https://russia-insider.com/en/get-out-syria-first-moscow-reacts-trumps-demand-leave-venezuela/ri26660

20 Years of Criminal Wars Neocons Started - Time for An Honest Accounting

Millions of innocents have been killed because of them, 1 million in Iraq alone. Think about that for a minute.

The ‘witch-hunt’ against President Trump over Russian collusion has officially ended, following the submission of the Mueller Report, enabling us to now concentrate on the real problems of America that affect the whole world.

In the hope of a waning of the Russophobia in America, let’s therefore focus on the US’s recent war history by starting with the 20th anniversary this month of the NATO war on Serbia in 1999 which amounted to three months of bombing of historic cities and infrastructure.

Firstly, these problems are, in the main caused by the Neocons, or Deep State, whatever you wish to call them, and the continuing promotion, by the US Military-Security Industrial Complex, of wars and regime change and secondly, Trump’s unreserved support for Israel, regardless of war crimes they may continue to commit against the Palestinians.

Incredibly after that one sided unjust and illegal war that NATO executed, NATO had the audacity to invite Serbia to join it! Something that will never happen. What do they smoke in DC, in the Pentagon and Brussels based NATO?

To compound these overall problems, the US Military and Israeli Defense Forces collaborate on these US regime change policies on all continents evidenced most recently by the arrival of crack Israeli troops last month in Brazil, prepared to support an attack potentially by Brazil and Columbia on Venezuela.

As, has now come to be expected, America pursues its Venezuelan regime change with full main stream media (MSM) cooperation, using well proven sophisticated propaganda techniques along with a variety of pretexts.

From Serbia to Iraq to Libya, where does it end? Observe that Trump is now seeking a ‘NATO alliance’ offering NATO status, to President Bolsonaro of Brazil to back the invasion of Venezuela.

So it is important to remember, as an example, that after a long war of economic and financial destabilization ended with the bombing of Serbia.

https://russia-insider.com/en/20-years-criminal-wars-neocons-started-time-honest-accounting/ri26664

WALMART Quietly Closing Stores… Retail apocalypse? 92% Spike in Layoffs

Walmart is quietly closing stores

Walmart is closing 11 stores in the US.

The closing stores include one Walmart Supercenter in Lafayette, Louisiana, and Walmart Neighborhood Market stores in Arizona, California, Kansas, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and Washington.

Walmart is closing at least 11 US stores across eight states.

The closing stores include one Walmart Supercenter in Lafayette, Louisiana, and Walmart Neighborhood Market stores in Arizona, California, Kansas, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and Washington.

The closing date for most of the affected stores is April 19, according to employees of those stores, who confirmed the closings to Business Insider.

Walmart representatives had previously confirmed the closings to various local media outlets but did not immediately return Business Insider’s request for comment.

Walmart Neighborhood Markets are about one-fifth the size of a Walmart Supercenter, and they are typically in areas that are more than where Supercenters are located. These stores focus primarily on selling groceries.

Retail apocalypse? JCPenney, Payless, LifeWay announce 3,000+ combined store closures

“In the post-digital era, only the strong will survive. Darwin would love this,” said one retail analyst.

More than 41,000 people have lost their jobs in the retail industry so far this year — a 92 percent spike in layoffs since the same time last year, according to a new report.

https://www.investmentwatchblog.com/walmart-quietly-closing-stores-retail-apocalypse-92-spike-in-layoffs/

GOVERNMENT IS BAD, BUT THE DEEP STATE IS PURE EVIL

Really interesting insight. Survived a Clinton frame up and has alternate cancer cures.