Caitlyn Jenner publicly withdraws support of President Trump over transgender rights
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau marches in the Toronto Pride parade on June 25, 2017. Credit: Nick Lachance/Xtra
|Crimson Tazvinzwa, AIWA! NO!|Caitlyn Jenner has expressed her regret at supporting U.S. President Donald Trump in an opinion piece in The Washington Post.
The transgender star voted for Trump to become President in 2016 and had to repeatedly defend her Republican stance, but has subsequently gone on to speak against the leader after he introduced policies which would negatively affect the trans community.
Earlier this week (begs22Oct18), the 68-year-old publicly blasted the U.S. leader for a policy that has been proposed which would require an individual to “be defined as male or female based on their genitalia at birth”, a move which would have profound consequences on transgender and non-binary people.
On Thursday she went one step further by writing an op-ed for The Washington Post, in which she explains how she was mistaken to believe Trump’s campaign promises that he would protect the LGBTQ community, and she was convinced that she could work with his administration and use her privilege to create change.
“Sadly, I was wrong. The reality is that the trans community is being relentlessly attacked by this president,” she wrote. “The leader of our nation has shown no regard for an already marginalised and struggling community. He has ignored our humanity. He has insulted our dignity… It is unacceptable, it is upsetting, and it has deeply, personally hurt me.
“Believing that I could work with Trump and his administration to support our community was a mistake… My hope in him — in them — was misplaced, and I cannot support anyone who is working against our community. I do not support Trump. I must learn from my mistakes and move forward.”
The reality star concluded by saying she was more determined than ever to use her voice and privilege to advocate for and support the community.
“I will still work with anyone who is committed to help our community,” she added. “The world needs to hear us. The world needs to know us. We will not be erased.”
Visiting Fellow, Anglia Ruskin University, Anglia Ruskin University
Disclosure statement
The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Impostor feelings include fear of failure, fear of success, a sometimes-obsessive need for perfection, and an inability to accept praise. KieferPix / Shutterstock
Research suggests that around 70% of people will experience an illogical sense of being a phoney at work at some point in their careers. It’s called the impostor phenomenon (also known, erroneously, as a syndrome). These impostor feelings typically manifest as a fear of failure, fear of success, a sometimes obsessive need for perfection, and an inability to accept praise and achievement. The phenomenon is also characterised by a genuine belief that at some point you, as the “impostor”, are going to be found out for being a fake in your role.
The phenomenon has been researched for more than 40 years and recent research into women working in sciences, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), suggests that there is a much higher incidence of it in women in these non-traditional roles.
Despite being something that affects people at an individual level, the relationship between toxic workplaces and well-being is well established. It seems that the impostor phenomenon breeds from a mix of genuine personal doubt over work abilities and the collective experience of a toxic work culture.
Simply put, our modern workplaces are feeding a sense of inadequacy in the face of a track record of achievement and success of individuals. The “impostor’s” internal drive for perfection and their constant expectation of external criticism pushes them to underestimate their abilities, while striving to exhaustion for advancement to avoid perceived failure and exposure to criticism.
Where this meets an ever-increasing demand to do more with fewer resources and a barrage of evaluation in risk-averse workplaces, impostor tendencies will thrive.
An unhealthy marriage
Toxic workplaces are often characterised by an environment that diminishes or manages out the humanity of the place and its people, as well as promoting competition. A focus on profit, process and minimising resources is pronounced. Bullying is normalised and embedded in managerial and colleague behaviour, while leadership is inert and ineffectual against it.
In toxic workplaces, work is often seen as drudgery, the motivating elements sucked out of the environment. Unmoderated criticism and punitive measures stifle original thinking, thus reducing the intrinsic rewards of work, such as having an outlet for expressing one’s unique talents and creative thinking.
The unhealthy marriage between the impostor phenomenon and toxic work cultures is sustained at an individual level by the basic human need for safety and belonging. This interferes with “rational” decision making and supersedes the entrepreneurialism and risk taking that would challenge the status quo. This is detrimental to both a person and their employer who might otherwise benefit from new ideas.
While technology continues to transform the nature of work, organisations are lagging behind in how they manage people. Corporate performance management practices are often little more than thinly disguised carrot and stick approaches. Employees are goaded along by financial and status incentives that glorify overwork and toeing the line. Toxic workplaces force people to jump through endless hoops on the way to an elusive, future state of success and happiness. Intellectual honesty, unorthodox thinking and self-care, meanwhile, are penalised.
A rampant competitiveness in certain workplaces often provides a breeding ground for anxiety, depression and self-degradation. The finance sector is especially prone to this. Here constant winning is the cultural norm, even though it’s just not possible to win all the time.
This breeds perfectionism, which also fuels people’s need to micromanage. Dysfunctional competition gets prioritised over collaboration. People who feel like they are impostors will often fail to delegate for fear that others won’t meet their own exacting standards and that this will reflect badly on them. As a result, they take on more than they can realistically manage.
The imbalance this produces between effort and rewards exacerbates the feeling of inadequacy and creates a negative feedback loop, which leads to mental exhaustion. And if both the person and the organisation implicitly fail to recognise the toxic combination of impostor tendencies and an unhealthy work culture, they both passively endorse this social contract.
Sadly, as the digital revolution progresses, it is becoming clearer that our contemporary workplaces are demanding productivity outcomes to match. But they are using antiquated managerial structures. Workplace processes – such as poorly constructed performance management, a lack of diversity in succession planning and limited understanding of inclusion initiatives beyond box ticking exercises – fuel the very behaviour and thought patterns that these workplace structures aim to manage out.
Addressing these toxic work cultures and organisational structures could create a less fertile ground for the impostor phenomenon. Healthier workplaces and more satisfied people are likely to deliver more positive and productive outcomes.
|CRIMSON TAZVINZWA, AIWA! NO!|Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced that starting October 17, 2018, Canadians will be able to legally use recreational marijuana.
Recreational marijuana will officially become legal in Canada on Oct. 17, 2018, the prime minister announced on Wednesday afternoon.
Justin Trudeau confirmed the long-awaited start date during Question Period in Ottawa, ending months of speculation surrounding when, precisely, Canadians will be able to purchase and consume the drug legally.
The Liberals had initially aimed for July 1, Canada Day, but procedural issues and delays prevented them from reaching that target.
Canada will be the biggest country in the world to legalise marijuana on October 17. Dispensaries currently selling (technically illegally) marijuana products will have to shut down and apply for a license in order to continue trading.
The rapper has faced criticism for his public support of the president and according to The New York Times they will meet in Washington DC on Thursday.
Jared Kushner, Mr Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, will also be present, the paper reports.
West is said to want to discuss the availability of job opportunities for former convicts as well as the number of manufacturing jobs in his home town of Chicago.
A representative for West confirmed to the Times that the meeting was set to take place.
His wife, the reality TV star Kim Kardashian West, visited the White House in May to meet with Mr Trump and Mr Kushner to discuss prison reform.
Similar to what his wife Kim Kardashian did a few months back, Kanye is going to have a meeting on the criminal justice system. Kanye is reportedly seeking job opportunities for former convicts, while criminal justice reform has reportedly been Kushner’s main focus recently. After that, Kanye also hopes to talk with Mr. Trump on how to increase the number of manufacturing jobs in the Chicago area, where Mr. West grew up and recently said he planned to return, according to the person briefed in the meeting. A representative for Kanye confirmed the meeting too, validating that this meeting is indeed expected to happen. Many people believe Trump is doing this just as a marketing play to the African-American community with midterm elections next month, making Kanye a puppet in all of this.
That meeting resulted in the president granting clemency in the case of convicted drug dealer Alice Marie Johnson, for whom Kardashian West had been a prominent supporter.
West, 41, has deleted his social media accounts following a string of controversial stunts including wearing a Make America Great Again cap during an appearance on Saturday Night Live.
West was also booed while making a pro-Trump speech when the cameras stopped rolling on the popular US show in September.
Trump has already met Kanye’s Kim Kardashian – resulting in the president granting clemency in the case of convicted drug dealer Alice Marie Johnson
The move led to Pete Davidson, Ariana Grande’s finance and SNL star, to publicly slam West.
During Saturday’s show, he said: “Kanye is a genius, but like a musical genius. Like Joey Chestnut is a hot dog-eating genius. But I don’t want to hear Joey Chestnut’s opinion on things that are not hot dog related.
“I know Kanye is saying, this is the real me. I’m off the meds. Take them! There’s no shame in the medicine game. I’m on them. There’s nothing wrong with taking them.
“If I ever got on a plane and the pilot said, ‘I just want all you to know, this is the real me flying’, I’d jump out. Being mentally-ill is not an excuse to act like a jackass.”
Virgin Atlantic flies the first ever commercial flight using LanzaTech’s sustainable jet fuel; paving the way for a revolutionized way of doing ‘air business’ without adding toxic waste that damage the ozone layer – causing climate change
|AIWA! NO!|Virgin Atlantic has completed the first ever commercial flight using LanzaTech’s innovative new sustainable aviation fuel – a huge cause for celebration.
I was so proud to marshall the 747 into Gatwick and thank our team and customers for being a part of making aviation history. There was rapturous applause from the passengers and the crew – I could tell everyone was as excited as I was by the enormous potential of this new technology.
Reducing carbon is a major priority at Virgin Atlantic – we’ve already taken a number of steps to reduce CO2 emissions, but this flight is a huge step in making this new technology a mainstream reality. There is no immediate replacement for long haul travel – and this technology is ready now and would have a significant impact on our carbon footprint.
Image from Virgin Atlantic
The LanzaTech process is so exciting because this fuel takes waste, carbon-rich gases that would otherwise go up the chimneys of steel and aluminium mills and gives them a second life – so that new fossil fuels don’t have to be taken out of the ground. It’s incredible that the factories can make the steel for the planes and then the waste product can be used to power the plane. This is a great opportunity for UK industry as it supports our steel mills while also decarbonising them.
It has the potential to produce up to 125 million gallons per year in the UK – enough to fuel 100 per cent of Virgin Atlantic’s flights departing Britain. This would result in nearly one million tonnes of CO2 savings per year, equivalent to 2,100 roundtrips flights between London Heathrow and JFK airports.
Image from Virgin Atlantic
We’re at a tantalising tipping point for making this ground-breaking new tech a commercial reality – as long as we can get support from the UK government. We want to secure the world’s first carbon capture and utilisation (CCU) commercial jet fuel production facility in the UK.
Image from Virgin Atlantic
We’ve had some great support from the UK government so far. But we now need to turn this into firm government action on incentives and investor commitment, to help us accelerate towards building the world’s first full size plant producing jet fuel from waste carbon gases.
I want to say a big thank you to all our partners who made today’s flight possible and showed we’re ready for business.
UK’s Sir Richard Branson – Virgin Group Founder & CEO: ‘Why mental health matters at home, school and at work’
SIR RICHARD BRANSON, VIRGIN|AIWA! NO!|Next Wednesday is World Mental Health Day, which seeks to build awareness, drive education and reduce social stigma around mental health. In the UK, in any one year, roughly one in four people are likely to be suffering from a mental health condition. Consequently, mental health issues (including stress, depression, anxiety and others) have resulted in 15.8 million days of sickness absence in 2016 alone. For businesses large and small, that’s a real challenge, and I’ve long said that taking care of the mental health of staff, customers and even the wider community should be a priority for any business.
Virgin Group’s Richard Branson on His Love/Hate Relationship With Government | Inc.com
To many people, mental health is a deeply personal issue, partly because there is so much stigma. And the numbers confirm it: just 13 per cent feel able to disclose a mental health issue to their line manager. And only 53 per cent of all employees feel comfortable talking about mental health issues like depression and anxiety at work at all. It’s a vicious cycle: evidence shows that those who do open up put themselves at risk of more serious repercussions for their mental health. I think that’s an unacceptable situation.
At Virgin, we take the mental health of our people and that of our wider community very seriously. And I’m proud to say that some of the Virgin companies are doing wonderful work to make sure their staff and customers are well and feel taken care. One fantastic and inspiring example is Virgin Australia, who have launched “Better Me”, a mobile and web-based platform for health and wellbeing of staff. And in the UK, Virgin Active have partnered with Salary Finance to explore and address the impact of financial wellbeing on our mental health.
Image from Virgin.com
But there is always more that we could be doing. That’s why our team at Virgin Management brought together the People Directors of nearly all of our businesses this week to discuss ways in which we can ensure that mental health challenges don’t go unnoticed and that everyone in the Virgin family has somewhere to go when they feel their mental health is affected. Thankfully, there is a good amount of great research and best practice to learn from. Deloitte Monitor, who are supporting Mind UK as their national charity partner, have compiled a wide array of data to present a compelling case for business engagement on mental health. And to understand what effective business action could look like, look no further than Thames Water, who have built one of the most comprehensive employee wellbeing programmes I have ever seen. Equally important is building awareness in the broader public. Mental Health UK and CALM are just two examples of charities that have launched impactful and touching public campaigns to draw attention to very specific challenges.
It’s important to note that there are also now very helpful digital platforms, like Headspace and Soma Analytics that support businesses and employees in building greater resilience, through meditation, mindfulness training and other exercises.
These examples present just a small snapshot of how business can engage on mental health and wellbeing. But what’s important is that no business has any more excuses not to take action.
|AIWA! NO!|Clinical waste from the NHS including human body parts has been piled up by a waste disposal company.
Healthcare Environmental Services (HES) has said it is working to “reduce the volume” of waste after reports that a huge backlog of medical and other kinds of matter had been allowed to build up.
The Environment Agency has launched a criminal investigation, and confirmed the company breached its permits at five waste disposal sites in England.
A report by Health Service Journal (HSJ) said one HES site held excess waste five times its capacity, equalling 350 tonnes including infectious fluids, amputated limbs and substances from cancer treatments.
HSJ reported that a COBRA meeting was called over the stockpiling last month, and contingency plans are understood to have been put in place for NHS trusts and other public services.
In a statement, HES said it had highlighted a “reduction in the UK’s high-temperature incineration capacity” – a problem it blamed on ageing infrastructure, prolonged breakdowns and zero waste-to-landfill policies.
The reduced capacity had been “evident across all of the industry” during the last year, it said.
The company’s website says it provides services to more than 25,000 clients, which the HSJ article says includes up to 50 NHS trusts.
Health services are not believed to be experiencing disruption to waste collection, however.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) insisted that waste was being stored safely and said there was “absolutely” no danger to patients or the public.
“We are monitoring the situation closely and have made sure that public services – including NHS trusts – have contingency plans in place,” a government spokesperson said.
“Our priority is to prevent disruption to the NHS and other vital public services and work is underway to ensure organisations can continue to dispose of their waste safely and efficiently.”
The government has said it is reviewing how contracts for waste disposal will be awarded in the future.
Previous problems between HES and the government were revealed in a letter, seen by Sky News and sent last month to NHS trusts, that said the action against the company was a “witch hunt” based on “complete lies”.
The letter, signed by the company’s managing director Garry Pettigrew, claimed there had been problems with Britain’s high temperature incineration infrastructure for years and that the Environment Agency had failed to adequately respond.
A spokesman for the Environment Agency, however, rejected the accusations. It said there was broad agreement that incinerator capacity in the UK was sufficient.
“The Environment Agency has found Healthcare Environmental Services to be in breach of its environmental permits at five sites which deal with clinical waste,” a spokesperson said.
“We are taking enforcement action against the operator, which includes clearance of the excess waste, and have launched a criminal investigation.”
John Ashworth, shadow secretary for health and social care, said the revelations were “staggering”.
“We need a statement in the Commons next week from ministers detailing when the government was first informed of this stockpiling, what support is now available to trusts and what contingency plans are in place for the future,” he said.
|Crimson Tazvinzwa, AIWA! NO!|Caitlyn Jenner has expressed her regret at supporting U.S. President Donald Trump in an opinion piece in The Washington Post.
