Michael Grandinetti talks plans for 2020 and digital age of magic SPECIAL

World-class magician Michael Grandinetti chatted with Digital Journal about his plans for 2020 and about being a magician in the digital age.

By Markos Papadatos 

He shared that he is really excited about what is ahead for 2020. "We are starting off with an eight-city tour, across the U.S. and Canada, which will run from February to the end of April, with more dates being added through the summer and into fall. We will be performing at casinos, theaters, with symphony orchestras, and for special events, and I can't wait for everyone to see some of the new magic and illusions we've been working on."
Grandinetti revealed his current tour schedule: Edmonton, Canada (February 14 to 16), Stockton, CA (February 23), Knoxville, TN (March 7), Hershey, PA (March 21), Detroit, MI (March 27 to 29), Saratoga Springs, NY (April 9), Nova Scotia, Canada (April 17 to 19), Uncasville, CT (April 24).
When asked about his New Year's resolutions, he said, "Every year, I try to take my magic to new places and to develop several new illusions for our show, and my aim is to always make each year better than the last. So, as this year starts, that’s definitely my driving force. I am always in pretty strong competition with myself. There are so many things that I want to do with my magic in the coming months, including additional touring and some new TV projects, and I always look forward to the possibilities that a new year represents."
Grandinetti appeared in Street Magic on PopStar. "I had such a great time filming that illusion for the show. We taped it right in the center of Hollywood Blvd, on the Walk of Fame, and I loved watching the expressions on people's faces as they stopped to watch the magic."
"Every time I perform a piece of magic for TV, I always try to give the home viewer an experience like they were there, watching live," he said. "So, we design the magic so that the camera can move all around us while we perform. That night, we had the audience watching from 360 degrees also and there were even people looking down at us, out of the windows of the buildings on the street. It was definitely a unique experience! I love that our TV appearances allow us to share our magic with so many people, all over the world."
On his career-defining moments, he said, "I've been fortunate to have had a pretty wide range of performing experiences over the years, from taking my magic to the center of stadiums for NFL halftime shows, to performing with live symphony orchestras, to levitating a girl over a float in the National Independence Day Parade in Washington DC, to performing at The White House for Easter."
"I always try to use every show as a learning experience, to continue growing and to find new ways to connect with audiences," he said. "If I had to pick one moment, I’d probably have to say my first national TV appearance, on NBC's 'The World's Most Dangerous Magic' TV special, when I was 21, had a great impact. On the show, I performed an original illusion that I designed, where I was chained to a steel frame, 6ft above the ground, between two walls of razor-sharp metal spikes that were set to spring towards me at 50 mph if I didn't escape in time. To make things even more dangerous, they lit the spikes on fire, and covered me in gasoline. It was quite a challenge, and definitely one I won't forget. That was the moment I fell in love with combining magic and television and it inspired and encouraged me to think big."
Grandinetti noted that it's a "very exciting time for magic" in the digital age. "Years ago, the only way someone could see magic would be if a rare touring show came to town, or if a magician happened to be performing at an event, or maybe if there was a bit of magic on TV."
He continued, "Now, more than ever, there are so many ways for audiences to be able to see magic and I love the fact that, through TV or all of the online avenues, and all of the ways content can be watched, I can create something that might give people a sense of amazement on the other side of the world. I've received some great notes, over the years, from people in Italy, Germany, Japan, and from all over, who have had a chance to see some of my work. And the perfect thing about magic is that it really is universal. Even without understanding the language, you can still watch and be amazed."
For young and aspiring magicians, he said, "One of the most important things to do is to read and study magic, as much as possible. I recommend reading, instead of watching other magicians on YouTube, for example, is that reading allows you to learn the magic and to put your own style and personality into it, rather than emulating the performer you might see on video."
"Another important thing is to go out and perform as much as possible, for family, for friends, and for anyone that you can," he said. "This will really help you to get comfortable. The more comfortable you become, the more you’ll enjoy performing and the more at ease you’ll be with your magic. Also, whether you want to be a magician or to follow any other career path, set goals for yourself. When I was just starting out as a kid, my goal was to always be a bit beyond what someone my age might be doing. That kept me constantly pushing forward with a purpose. To this day, I still set goals and it becomes a fun challenge to go after them. If you want to be a magician, or anything else, go for it."
On the title of the current chapter of his life, he said, "Always Working." "I think that about covers it," he said. "I love what I do and almost all of my time is spent either on the road, traveling and performing, or, when I’m not on the road, I’m always working on new magic and illusions, new show ideas, and new places to take my magic. I love being busy and I just wish there were more hours in the day, the time always goes by too fast."
For his supporters, he concluded, "To anyone that supports and enjoys what I do, I just want to say a very big thank you. I've been so fortunate to have had people really support my work over so many years and I'll always be extremely grateful for that. Nothing makes all the traveling and work more worth it than seeing an audience happy and I wake up every day excited to keep going. There's a lot more magic ahead."
To learn more about magician Michael Grandinetti, check out his official website.

---30---

US World Cup star Rapinoe slams IOC 'no protest' policy

LISTEN | PRINT

By AFP     

United States World Cup icon Megan Rapinoe Friday vowed that athletes "will not be silenced" after the International Olympic Committee warned against political protests at the Tokyo Games.

"So much being done about the protests," Rapinoe said in an Instagram post. "So little being done about what we are protesting about.

"We will not be silenced."

Rapinoe's comments were accompanied by a graphic showing fists raised through the interlocking rings -- under the crossed out words "kneeling, hand gestures, signs."

The post comes after IOC chief Thomas Bach reiterated that athletes, coaches, trainers and officials are banned from political protests on the field of play, at the Olympic Village, during the opening and closing ceremonies and on the medal podium.

"If this political neutrality is not respected, then the Olympic Games will divide, and not unite, the world," Bach insisted.

The guidelines issued Thursday by the IOC on specific actions that are banned and will draw sanctions, come after two US athletes were reprimanded by the US Olympic Committee for medal podium protests at the Pan American Games in Lima.

Fencer Race Imboden kneeled and hammer thrower Gwen Berry raised a fist in protest. Both received 12 months probation.

Rapinoe has been outspoken on political issues during her career, speaking out about issues including gender equality and racism.

In 2016 she joined former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick in kneeling during the national anthem to protest racial inequality in America.

IOC details rules on political protests at Olympics
Athletes who break protest rules will face three rounds of disciplinary action.

A general view of Tokyo International Forum, a venue for weightlifting at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, is seen in Tokyo, January10, 2020. (Jae C. Hong / AP)

The International Olympic Committee published guidelines on Thursday specifying which types of athlete protests will not be allowed at the 2020 Tokyo Games.

No taking a knee at the Olympics. No hand gestures with political meaning. No disrespect at medal ceremonies.

Athletes are prohibited by the Olympic Charter's Rule 50 from taking a political stand in the field of play — like the raised fists by American sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos at the 1968 Mexico City Games.

Today’s Olympians now know more about which acts of “divisive disruption” will lead to disciplinary action in Tokyo. They can still express political opinions in official media settings or on social media accounts.

“We needed clarity and they wanted clarity on the rules,” said Kirsty Coventry, chair of the IOC Athletes’ Commission, which oversaw the new three-page document. “The majority of athletes feel it is very important that we respect each other as athletes.”

Coventry, an Olympic gold medalist in swimming, is now Zimbabwe’s sports minister.

Athletes who break protest rules at the July 24-August 9 Tokyo Games face three rounds of disciplinary action — by the IOC, a sport’s governing body and a national Olympic body.

The new guidelines come after two American athletes were reprimanded by the US Olympic Committee for medal podium protests at the Pan-American Games in August in Lima, Peru. Fencer Race Imboden kneeled and hammer thrower Gwen Berry raised a fist in protest. Both were put on probation for 12 months, a period that covers the Tokyo Olympics.

Other protests in 2019 included swimmers from Australia and Britain refusing to join world championship gold medalist Sun Yang on the podium because the Chinese star has been implicated in doping violations.

A political gesture at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics went unpunished in the men’s marathon. Silver medalist Feyisa Lilesa crossed his wrists at the finish line to show support with freedom-seeking protesters in his home region of Ethiopia.

“It is a fundamental principle that sport is neutral and must be separate from political, religious or any other type of interference,” the IOC document states, urging “the focus for the field of play and related ceremonies must be on celebrating athletes’ performance.”

"Open door policy”

A meeting on Thursday between the IOC executive board and athletes' panel also discussed the charter's Rule 40, which strictly limits athletes' abilities to promote their sponsors during official Olympic Games periods.

German athletes working outside the IOC system won concessions last year in a ruling that has led to Olympic bodies in the United States, Australia and Canada to offer a better deal to their athletes.

In the German case, a federal cartel agency sided against the IOC's argument that retaining exclusive rights for its top-tier sponsors protected the value of deals that help fund sports and athletes globally. Still, Coventry said the IOC panel had “an open door policy” and welcomed approaches from independent athlete groups who wanted to challenge the system.

Separately, IOC President Thomas Bach declined to comment on the whereabouts of a historic Olympic document that sold for $8.8 million at auction in New York a month ago. The IOC is expected to try to ensure it is displayed at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne.

“At this moment at least we have not enough solid information which we could share,” Bach said at a news conference.

The 14-page document is the 1892 manifesto written by French aristocrat Pierre de Coubertin to launch the modern Olympics.
Source: AP

---30---

Iran's sole female Olympic medallist defects
BY AFP

Iran's only female Olympic medallist Kimia Alizadeh announced Saturday she has permanently left her country, citing the "hypocrisy" of a system she claims humiliates athletes while using them for political ends.

"Should I start with hello, goodbye, or condolences?" she wrote on Instagram, as Iran reeled from Wednesday's accidental shooting down of a Ukrainian airliner that killed all 176 people onboard.

Alizadeh, who won a bronze medal in taekwondo at the 2016 Rio Olympics, cited oppression by authorities in the Islamic republic.

Criticising Iran's political system for "hypocrisy", "lying", "injustice" and "flattery", she said she wanted nothing more than "taekwondo, security and a happy and healthy life".

"I am one of the millions of oppressed women in Iran with whom they have been playing for years," the 21-year-old wrote.

"I wore whatever they told me to wear," she said, referring to the Islamic veil, which is compulsory for all women in public in Iran.

"I repeated everything they told me to say," she wrote.

She continued: "None of us matter to them."

"No one invited me to Europe," she wrote, without saying where she was.

On Thursday, news of Alizadeh's disappearance shocked the country.

Iranian parliamentarian Abdolkarim Hosseinzadeh had demanded answers, accusing "incompetent officials" of allowing Iran's "human capital to flee" the country.

The semi-official ISNA news agency carried a report on Thursday saying: "Shock for Iran's taekwondo. Kimia Alizadeh has emigrated to The Netherlands."

ISNA wrote that it believed that Alizadeh, who is reportedly training in The Netherlands, is hoping to compete at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics but not under the Iranian flag.

Without saying anything of her plans, Alizadeh assured the "dear Iranian people" that she would remain "a child of Iran wherever" she is.

---30---

Brazil's govt to propose oil exploration on indigenous land: media

BY AFP

Brazil's government will propose legalizing oil and gas exploration as well as hydroelectric dam construction on indigenous land, a report said Saturday, citing a draft of a bill to be sent to Congress.

Opening up protected native territory was a key campaign pledge for President Jair Bolsonaro, but activists blame economic activity for an uptick in violence and increased deforestation.

The Amazon rainforest, where many of Brazil's indigenous tribes live, is rich in minerals including gold, copper, tantalum, iron ore, nickel and manganese.

The draft bill also allows indigenous people to "conduct economic activities" on their land, including agriculture, raising livestock and tourism, O Globo said.

While affected communities would be consulted on development projects, they would not have the power to veto them, it added. They would, however, receive financial compensation.

A government spokesman told AFP the proposal "is still being studied and has not been finalized."

It comes after Mines and Energy Minister Bento Albuquerque met with more than a dozen European diplomats to defend the government's plans for mining in indigenous territories that have been criticized in Brazil and abroad.

Albuquerque told the meeting, which included representatives from France and Germany, that leaders of many indigenous communities had called on the government to allow mining on their land, according to a statement posted on the ministry's website Friday.

However, many indigenous leaders have been vocal in their opposition to the government's plans.

Prominent tribal chiefs, including Raoni Metuktire, have toured Europe to defend their territories from deforestation and development.

Bolsonaro has long railed against the protected indigenous areas in the Amazon, which he says are a threat to the country's sovereignty.

He claims other countries are encouraging the expansion of protected areas in a bid to take over Brazilian land.

Bolsonaro faced a firestorm of criticism last year after blazes ravaged swaths of the Amazon.

The number of fires in the rainforest in northern Brazil rose 30 percent to 89,178 in 2019, compared with the previous year, the latest official data show.

---30---

Huawei exec can be extradited to US, Canada attorney general says

Canada's Department of Justice said a Huawei executive arrested in Vancouver could be extradited to the United States, because her offense is a crime in both countries, according to documents released Friday.

Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou, who was originally detained on a US warrant in late 2018, faces an extradition hearing in Vancouver that begins on January 20.

The United States accuses Meng of lying to banks about violating Iran sanctions.

However Meng's lawyers maintain that she cannot be turned over to the United States, because in order for that to happen, her offense would have to meet a "double criminality" standard -- meaning it is a crime in both countries.

Violating US sanctions against Iran, they say, is not a crime in Canada.

However in the documents filed in Vancouver Friday, which were widely cited by media, Canada's attorney general said the "essence" of her banking interactions amounted to fraud, which is a crime in the country.

The first week of Meng's extradition hearing will be devoted to the question of double criminality.

Meng, who lives under house arrest at her mansion in Vancouver, denies the US allegations and says Canadian authorities violated her rights during the arrest.

Her detention at the Vancouver airport in December 2018 caused an unprecedented diplomatic rift between Canada and China, which demands her release.

Just nine days later China detained former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig and businessman Michael Spavor, whom it accuses of espionage.

---30---

New-found cannabis compound 30 times more potent than THC BY KAREN GRAHAM     YESTERDAY IN SCIENCE Two new-found cannabinoids have been discovered in the glands of the Cannabis plant, and one of them may be at least 30 times more potent as the high-inducing compound THC. While Cannabis sativa has over 400 known compounds, only one, tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC is known to produce a high in humans. At least that has been the case - until recently when a group of Italian researchers announced on December 30th the discovery of two new cannabinoids found in C. sativa. One of the compounds is a THC-lookalike, so much so that they named it tetrahydrocannabiphorol (THCP). It appears to interact with the same receptor as THC, the receptor known as CB1, according to the new study published on December 30, 2019, in the journal Scientific Reports. The CB1 receptors Interestingly, the key differences between THC and the new-found chemical THCP lie in the chain of atoms jutting off the new compound. Research done in 2016 suggests that this side-chain of atoms, called an alkyl side chain, is what allows THC to "plug-in" to its preferred receptor in the body. A cannabinoid must have at least three carbon rings in its side-chain in order to hook up to the CB1 receptor. THC compounds contain five carbon rings. Calculations on paper suggested that a compound with more than five carbon rings would fit even more tightly to the CB1 receptor. Further calculations determined that if the compound had eight carbon rings, it would fit perfectly into the CB1 receptor, thereby eliciting the strongest biological response. However, the authors say there is no known compound with those perfect attributes in nature. Along comes THCP The researchers found that THCP has not five - but seven carbon rings in its alkyl side chain. Tested in a Petri dish using a concocted receptor, the THCP compound tended to bind the substance 30 times more reliably than THC did. The THCP compound was then tested on lab mice, although in relatively low doses. The mice behaved as though they were on THC, with slower movement, lower body temperatures and reaction times slowed. The study said it would have taken twice the dose of THC to induce the same effects. Whether or not the new compound would have the same effects in humans as it did in the lab mice is unknown. But as Vice.com suggests, this could explain why smoking different marijuana blends can give notably different effects. And while THC offers some medicinal effects, including pain and nausea relief, no one knows if THCP has these qualities CBD lookalike also found The research team also found a CBD lookalike with seven carbon rings, calling it cannabidiphorol (CBDP). This compound doesn't bind strongly with the CB1 or its related receptor, CB2. While CBD has been tied to anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and anti-seizure effects, investigating these effects in CBDP "does not appear to be a high priority," the authors wrote. More about cannabis, thc, tetrahydrocannabiphorol, thcp, 30 times more powerful While Cannabis sativa has over 400 known compounds, only one, tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC is known to produce a high in humans. At least that has been the case - until recently when a group of Italian researchers announced on December 30th the discovery of two new cannabinoids found in C. sativa. One of the compounds is a THC-lookalike, so much so that they named it tetrahydrocannabiphorol (THCP). It appears to interact with the same receptor as THC, the receptor known as CB1, according to the new study published on December 30, 2019, in the journal Scientific Reports. The CB1 receptors Interestingly, the key differences between THC and the new-found chemical THCP lie in the chain of atoms jutting off the new compound. Research done in 2016 suggests that this side-chain of atoms, called an alkyl side chain, is what allows THC to "plug-in" to its preferred receptor in the body. A cannabinoid must have at least three carbon rings in its side-chain in order to hook up to the CB1 receptor. THC compounds contain five carbon rings. Calculations on paper suggested that a compound with more than five carbon rings would fit even more tightly to the CB1 receptor. Further calculations determined that if the compound had eight carbon rings, it would fit perfectly into the CB1 receptor, thereby eliciting the strongest biological response. However, the authors say there is no known compound with those perfect attributes in nature. Along comes THCP The researchers found that THCP has not five - but seven carbon rings in its alkyl side chain. Tested in a Petri dish using a concocted receptor, the THCP compound tended to bind the substance 30 times more reliably than THC did. The THCP compound was then tested on lab mice, although in relatively low doses. The mice behaved as though they were on THC, with slower movement, lower body temperatures and reaction times slowed. The study said it would have taken twice the dose of THC to induce the same effects. Whether or not the new compound would have the same effects in humans as it did in the lab mice is unknown. But as Vice.com suggests, this could explain why smoking different marijuana blends can give notably different effects. And while THC offers some medicinal effects, including pain and nausea relief, no one knows if THCP has these qualities CBD lookalike also found The research team also found a CBD lookalike with seven carbon rings, calling it cannabidiphorol (CBDP). This compound doesn't bind strongly with the CB1 or its related receptor, CB2. While CBD has been tied to anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and anti-seizure effects, investigating these effects in CBDP "does not appear to be a high priority," the authors wrote. More about cannabis, thc, tetrahydrocannabiphorol, thcp, 30 times more power

Why Latin America's bloody protests won't die out anytime soon

FEATURE ARTICLE LONG READ
Why Latin America's bloody protests won't die out anytime soon

Eduardo Thomson, Ezra Fieser and Stephan Kueffner, Bloomberg Jan. 11, 2020

1of3A crowd gathere in the Plaza Italia in Santiago, Chile

 on Oct. 21, 2019.,Photo: Bloomberg photo by CristobalOlivares.
2of3Demonstrators keep close the road during a protest

 in Machachi-Latacunga highway in Ecuador, on Friday,

 Oct. 4, 2019.Photo: Bloomberg photo by Johis Alarcon.

3of3An indigenous woman wears a mask during a protest 

in the Historic Center neighborhood of Quito, Ecuador, 

on Oct. 9, 2019.Photo: Bloomberg photo by David Diaz Arcos,

It's called Italy Plaza, a vast traffic circle in the Chilean capital of Santiago. To the north and east live the country's ultra-wealthy. One way of describing those out of touch with the rest of the country's grim reality is to say they've "never been below Italy Plaza."

The spot is ground zero for furious street demonstrations that have turned Chile from Latin America's richest and stablest nation into a test case of profound social unrest. The area, which demonstrators have renamed Dignity Plaza, is coated in layers of graffiti, with most shops looted and shuttered.

The case of Chile - $2 billion in property damage, 26 dead - has shocked the investor world because it was supposed to be a regional model. But the virus of discontent was already spreading elsewhere, with streets in Colombia, Ecuador and Bolivia turning into scenes of pot-banging fire-setting fury.

Numerous factors are at play. Among the most significant are economic inequality, ethnic tensions and police brutality. While the most violent protests have for now dissipated, these forces continue to gnaw away at social cohesion and could once again spark unrest unexpectedly and suddenly. Institutions and the rule of law are fragile and economies are expected to have another tough year.


Here are snapshots from Chile, Colombia and Ecuador.


Every Friday, after David Vargas completes his shift as a technician at a credit-card company in the upscale Santiago neighborhood of Nueva Las Condes he heads to nearby Italy Plaza to join the protests.

Vargas, 38, embodies Chile's socio-economic divide. He comes from a poor family and works among the well-to-do. And while he once watched the gap shrink, lately he's seen it stagnate. He was struck when he saw the difference in how the authorities treated his work neighborhood from the one where he lives.

The area around his company "was packed with soldiers," he said. "They were guarding everything when absolutely nothing had happened. But if you went downtown or to other parts of Santiago, it was pure chaos. They just guarded from Italy Plaza to the rich neighborhoods."

Vargas' father, a former factory worker, collects a monthly disability pension of just 80,000 pesos, about $100. His mother cleaned houses.

"I'm protesting mostly because of the pensions and to show solidarity because right now I have privileges that many don't have," Vargas said. "I know what it is to live in a poor neighborhood, I know what it is to wait for eight hours at public hospitals for service, I know what it means that the elderly receive extremely low pensions and don't have enough to live or to buy food."

A few blocks away is where it all began. In early October at a subway station, students plotted ticket evasions sparked by a fare increase of 30 pesos. They coordinated on social networks and dangled their feet over the tracks to force trains to stop. Things got nasty, fast. Police special forces clashed with the protesters, and groups set dozens of stations on fire.

Stunned, the government declared a state of emergency and a curfew, sending the army to the streets. Protests morphed into the biggest social unrest since at least the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet in the 1970s and 1980s. They were now against every injustice imaginable: low pensions, school debts, health services, public education, police brutality, women's rights, even replacing the Pinochet-era constitution, which President Sebastian Pinera has agreed to in an attempt to calm the situation.

The message was clear. The neglected middle class in South America's richest country was very mad. It was a taste of the frustration of similar populations across the region in recent years.

Paulina Astroza, professor of political science at Chile's Universidad de Concepcion, said Chile's economic model worked when commodity prices were soaring but has failed since.

"The issue is distrust of the political class, of the church, even of union and labor leaders," she said. "There has to be a change in the model for more wealth redistribution or the grotesque inequality and the discontent will continue. If we want to avoid other unrest movements in one, two or even five years, we have to see a redistribution of power."

- - -

Dilan Cruz wasn't much for politics. An 18-year-old with a broad smile and a big group of friends, Cruz joined Colombia's anti-government demonstrations in late November to protest for more funding for education.

"He believed he could get ahead if he could get a chance to study," said Alexa Beltran, a close friend. He was about to graduate high school and planned to study business administration, she said.

Cruz was killed by riot-control police at one of the demonstrations. His death was a flash point and an example of aggressive police tactics that have inflamed protests in countries across the Andes.

Dozens of demonstrators have been killed and thousands injured by state forces from Bogota to Santiago. The violence has been most prominent in Chile, where thousands have been hurt, including more than 200 who sustained eye injuries from the use of pellet shotguns by authorities, according to human-rights groups.

"There are similarities in the way the police units are behaving," said Silvia Otero Bahamon, a professor at Universidad del Rosario in Bogota who studies inequality and political violence.

Dictatorship, war and high levels of violence in the past have led to heavily militarized police forces. Abuses are common. Colombians, who lived through decades of armed conflict, have become so accustomed to them that few of the more than 40 killings of demonstrators by anti-riot police in the last two decades have been investigated, Otero Bahamon said.

"Repression of protest by police is common in Colombia," she said. "That's why what's happened with Dilan Cruz has been surprising."

Cruz's death sparked fresh protests and anger. Marchers carried signs bearing his likeness and broke out into spontaneous chants of "Dilan didn't die, he was murdered." Protest leaders are demanding the government dismantle the national police's Mobile Anti-Disturbance Squadron, known by its Spanish acronym ESMAD.

President Ivan Duque has ruled out such a move. Cruz's death is under investigation by the attorney general's office.

Sometimes provoked but other times not, ESMAD agents have been seen clubbing protesters, kicking a woman in the face and casually tossing tear gas into peaceful demonstrations.

Cruz came from a broken home; his father died years ago and his mother was in jail. He lived with his older sister in a hardscrabble neighborhood, taking day jobs selling fast food. He'd joined a few peaceful protests in the past, but none of them compared with the demonstrations that shook Colombia starting on Nov. 21, when hundreds of thousands took to the streets in a broad-based rejection of government policies.

Two days after the protests began, Cruz was on the street. He picked up a teargas canister, threw it at anti-riot police and ran, video footage from cellphones and street cameras shows. An officer shot a projectile, hitting Cruz in the head.

Cruz collapsed in front of an internet cafe on a normally busy commercial street. Two days later, he died in a hospital. His sister Denis attended his graduation ceremony in his place. In a video she posted, she said, "No more violence. Dialogue and love will always be our best weapons."

- - -


When President Lenin Moreno of Ecuador announced the end of gasoline and diesel subsidies in October to comply with an International Monetary Fund program, the reaction was so violent that he fled the capital, Quito, and moved the government to the coastal business center of Guayaquil. At the heart of the protests were indigenous tribal groups, among the most affected.

Round-the-clock roadblocks, achieved by felling trees, burning tires and rolling boulders, paralyzed large areas. Some ransacked flower plantations and farms. Others caused $140 million in damage by sabotaging oil production. Looting and street riots culminated in the arson of the Office of the Comptroller General and several deaths, leading Moreno to repeal his decree. The indigenous umbrella group CONAIE called off the demonstrations. The government is back in Quito. But tension remains high.

Jaime Vargas is a 40-year-old indigenous leader who wears a necklace ending in a jaguar's tooth he said he pulled from a live cat himself, along with a brightly feathered crown typical in swathes of the Amazon where he is from. "People have been carrying a heavy load. Of the violence, there are justifications," he said.

The indigenous, who make up about 10%-20% of the country's 17 million inhabitants by various estimates, mirror the marginalized poor across South America. Their cultures are as diverse as their homelands, ranging from sweltering rain forests to icy, windswept mountains capped with receding glaciers. Some came into contact with Western civilization only when the oil industry showed up in the 1960s and 1970s, while most descend from people who fought both invading Incas and Spanish conquistadors hundreds of years ago.

Many have moved to urban areas for education and jobs, only to find both elusive. They live in marginal areas, exposed to crime, drugs and prostitution.

CONAIE leaders, wearing traditional ponchos and felt hats and carrying hardwood spears, have toppled several elected governments in Ecuador in the past. Moreno has responded cautiously while trying to move the economy to more of a market orientation.

Luisa Lozano, the 43-year-old head of CONAIE's women's organization - who has already beaten back charges for her role in previous anti-government protests including blocking highways - wears a wide-brimmed black and white hat she says is a symbol of the sun worshiped as a deity before the Spaniards arrived.

"The more repression, the greater the adrenaline to resist," she said in reference to the October protests and clashes over fuel prices. "The more blood, the stronger the peoples' reaction. When it comes down to it, people will react because we know everything we've achieved has come through struggle after struggle."

---30---

Thunberg calls on Siemens to nix Australia coal mine project

Swedish activist Greta Thunberg has urged supporters to put pressure on German firm Siemens over its plan to supply equipment to a coal mining operation. The firm says it has "the same goal of fighting climate change."

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg on Saturday urged German industrial giant Siemens AG to reconsider its plan to provide equipment to a controversial Australian coal mining operation. 

As wildfires continue to ravage Australia — the world's biggest coal exporter — Thunberg urged Twitter followers to help by "pushing them to make the only right decision. #StopAdani."

Adani is the name of a new coal mine under construction in Queensland. Run by India's Adani Power, the Australian government approved the project last year. Siemens is supposed to provide part of the signalling system for the railway lines necessary for moving the coal out of the plant and to the coast.

Siemens has already been targeted by the Fridays for Future climate protests, both in the form of physical demonstrations but also some 63,000 emails asking the company to consider climate breakdown and walk back its support for the coal industry.

Florian Martini, a spokesman for Siemens, was quoted by German newspaper taz as saying "we are on the same side and have the goal of fighting climate change."

Australia is one of the world's largest carbon emitters per capita because of its reliance on coal power plants.  The ferocity of this year's bushfire season — one of the most devastating in history — against the wider backdrop of climate change has raised questions about  Canberra's energy policy. Some 500 million animals have been killed as 10 million hectacres of land have gone up in flames. At least 26 people haved died and thousands of homes destroyed.

es/rc (Reuters, dpa)

SEE  https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/search?q=AUSTRALIA
SEE  https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/search?q=GRETA
SEE  https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/search?q=COAL
SEE  https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/search?q=SEIMENS 

The trans woman who defied her mafia upbringing

Daniela Lourdes Falanga, her family's first male heir, was expected to follow the path of her mafia boss father. She overcame a brutal Naples childhood to become a prominent transgender rights activist.

Dedicated to the cause
Daniela Lourdes Falanga, 42, is the first transgender woman to chair the Naples branch of Arcigay, the leading Italian organization for the protection of LGBT+ people and the fight against gender discrimination. She was the first son of a local mafia boss.

The narrow alleys stretching from the Obelisk of Saint Dominic are a popular image on Naples postcards. Here university students stroll along Spaccanapoli, the main street that cuts through the historic city, drinking espresso and nibbling ricotta pastries. Short, slender doors lead into the vasci, one-room, ground-floor apartments that used to be homes for the poor but are now more often shops, cellars or even restaurants. In one of them, Daniela Lourdes Falanga is taking a break after a series of hectic days.

"I've spent the whole night providing free HIV tests to everyone who asked for one," says the 42-year-old, surrounded by banners and posters from the annual Pride Parade. "The stigma associated with HIV is still strong in the transsexual community, so many avoid taking the test."

Read more: Bangladeshi women in Italy fight for gender rights

This small two-story office hosts the local headquarters of Arcigay, Italy's leading LGBT+ organization. A year ago, Falanga became the first transgender woman to be voted in to lead a regional chapter.

Falanga committed herself to the movement a decade ago, after a sex scandal involving a prominent Roman politician led to public outcry against the transgender community.

"I wanted the world to know that we were not monsters," Falanga says. "Transitioning gave me real freedom for the first time in my life, so I needed to spread the word."

Otherwise assertive, when she talks about the past, she trips over her words. "My family never allowed me to show off what I had inside," she says. "I was the effeminate firstborn of a Camorra family, and they always kept me in check."

Growing up in Gomorra

Falanga's father was a local boss in the organized crime syndicate rooted in the area surrounding Mount Vesuvius. He abandoned the family right after Falanga was born. She grew up in poverty with her mother.

A view of Naples from Castel Sant'Elmo

As a child, named Raffaele, she was compelled to attend Sunday lunch at her grandmother's house. Her father would cuddle all the children there but her. His indifference hurt: "He treated me like an inanimate object," she says.

Her mother and grandmother scrutinized her every move, cracking down on any trait associated with femininity: no music, no singing, no watching cartoons with female protagonists. "I even feared speaking, as the tone of my voice did not fit their expectations," Falanga says. And when she failed to meet those expectations, her mother beat her.

During her adolescence, her father was arrested and disappeared. Her mother started a new relationship with another man, who was shot dead while stealing a car when Falanga was 13. By the time she was 22 and had transitioned from male to female, she had heard news of her father just once: He had sent a letter to a close cousin, prohibiting any relationship with the son he had abandoned.

Growing up in such a harsh environment helped Falanga clarify ideas about her true nature. "I owed my complete awareness about being a girl also to the violent way in which that world influenced me," she says.

The city of the femminielli

For a transgender woman like Falanga, Naples is a special place: Activists claim the city hosts the second-biggest community worldwide.

"Mythological characters, or particular social groups who break the correlation between their biological sex and a specific gender, mixing characteristics of masculinity and femininity, can be found in several cultures," explains Professor Paolo Valerio, chairperson of Italy's National Observatory on Gender Identity. "But in Naples you find a very particular kind of subjectivity called 'femminielli,' men who think of themselves and dress as women."

Paolo Valerio, chairperson of Italy's National Observatory on Gender Identity

Their presence can be traced back to 1586, when, in his book "De Humana Physiognomonia," philosopher and alchemist Giovanni Battista della Porta described "an effeminate character with scarce beard" who shied away from men and willingly took care of the kitchen.

"The femminiello, though often practicing prostitution, enjoys the recognition of the neighborhood, because they participate in the typical 'fair' economy of the alley," says Valerio. Popular culture considered the femminielli bringers of luck, and they were often charged with drawing numbers at raffles.

Due to the existence of such a deeply rooted figure, Naples has been typically considered a welcoming and tolerant city. In 2009, after police arrested a transexual woman as an affiliate of a criminal family, some commentators even suggested the local mafia was more tolerant than others.

Falanga disagrees. "Camorra members can have a fondness for transsexual women, even have important relationships with them," she says, "but the problem comes when your child is one of them."

Twenty-five years after she had last seen her father, she met him by chance at a local school, where they both had been asked to tell their stories to students. He was serving a life sentence in prison.

"You have become beautiful," he told Falanga. "And we both cried for the whole event," she says.

Family is key

Falanga is skeptical about the extent to which Neapolitan society respects transgender people, despite the femminielli. "So far, Naples has accepted a social phenomenon that involves prostitution and marginality, so transsexual women are directly associated with sex workers," she says.

Falanga works at the University of Naples Federico II counseling students as well as at a help desk for LGBT+ inmates at a local prison

These barriers to genuine acceptance condemned older generations to live as outcasts. "If your body did not fit into a binary representation of gender than you got expelled from the labor market," Falanga says.

That is why she has begun working with local businesses, such as Naples' ANM public transport company and the Mediterranean Theater, to promote a culture of equal opportunities.

But when it comes to helping a transgender teenager to live a healthy and fulfilled life, family plays a crucial role. Falanga often meets mothers and fathers of trans children in her work. The new generation shows more awareness of the distress of gender dysphoria compared to her own parents, she says. It gives her hope for the future.

"If you grow up with your dear ones close, you can build your existence with self-determination," she says. "Otherwise, this remains a complicated city to live in."

---30---

Stonewall at 50: LGBT+ activists ask 'what's next?'

It’s the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising. The riots and ensuing protests are credited with spurring the US gay rights movement, but five decades later, those who were there say there's more work to do. (28.06.2019)

Transgender refugees in Greece reclaim their dignity

On the back of a groundbreaking court decision, two transgender refugees have found the freedom to start a new life in Greece. Marianna Karakoulaki and Dimitris Tosidis report from Thessaloniki. (08.07.2018)

Prison blues? Italian startup gives inmates a break

Time in prison is often monotonous and tedious. An Italian startup wants to change that by experimenting with a form of democratic participation to foster social integration inside and outside. (14.09.2019)

Migrants put mafia mobsters behind bars in Palermo

Eleven shop owners who bravely took on their racketeers show that the southern Italian city's multiculturalism has had an impact on breaking down the traditional mafia methods. Ylenia Gostoli reports from Palermo. (13.06.2018)

Italian Mafia, bikers, Berlin clans: Europe's crime gangs

Organized crime is active across Europe, with groups generating over €100 million in revenue every year. Here's a list of some of the most prominent organizations. (05.12.2018)

Bangladeshi women in Italy fight for gender rights

The Bangladeshi community in Italy is the second largest in Europe. However, many women are still struggling to acclimatize, not least because of their husbands. Michele Bertelli reports from Rome. (03.08.2019)

Naples: LGBT+ activism beyond the pride parade

Naples is home to one of the world's biggest transgender communities, activists say. A grassroots movement here is fighting gender discrimination as it builds an alliance against stereotypes. (11.01.2020)

Indonesia's trans people build community in hostile world

Germany, world leaders react after Iran admits downing plane by 'mistake'

Ukraine's President Zelenskiy demanded Iran pay compensation and a full investigation over the downing of the Ukrainian passenger jet, while Germany called for measures to prevent such a disaster in the future.


President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Saturday said Ukraine expected a full investigation and compensation from Iran, after Tehran said it "unintentionally" shot down a Ukrainian passenger jet, killing all 176 people board.

After mounting international pressure, Iran earlier on Saturday voiced regret over firing at the passenger plane in "error" amid heightened US tensions.

Iran had initially denied bringing down the aircraft.

'Bring justice to those responsible'

In a Facebook post, the Ukrainian leader said that the truth about the tragedy had been revealed and insisted on a "full admission of guilt."

"Iran has pleaded guilty to crashing the Ukrainian plane. But we insist on a full admission of guilt," he said.

He then made a series of demands, including compensation and full cooperation with Ukrainian investigators.

"We expect from Iran assurances of their readiness for a full and open investigation, bringing those responsible to justice, the return of the bodies of the dead, the payment of compensation, official apologies through diplomatic channels," he said.

Read more: Opinion: We need transparency from Tehran on Ukrainian plane crash in Iran

World leaders respond

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Saturday also acknowledged Iran's admission, saying his government remained focused on closure and justice for the families of the victims, adding that Canadian investigators will continue to cooperate with Iran.

At least 63 of the victims were Canadian.

"This is a national tragedy, and all Canadians are mourning together," he said.

Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven spoke out to condemn the downing of the plane. 10 Swedish citizens and a further seven people who lived in Sweden died in the crash.

"The fact that a plane was shot down is terrible and horrifying. To have a civil aircraft shot down—whether accidentally or not—is an act that must be condemned and Iran must take full responsibility also in relation to those affected," he said.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas called on Iran to prevent such a "catastrophe" from happening in the future.

"It was important that Iran brought clarity to this issue," he told German media on Saturday.

"Now Tehran needs to draw the right consequences in the continued appraisal of this dreadful catastrophe, and take measures to ensure that something like this cannot happen again."

Four of the victims, among them a recognized asylum seeker from Afghanistan and her two children, had been living in Germany, though they did not hold German citizenship.

Read more: US rolls out new Iran sanctions after airstrikes

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson described Iran's admission as an "important first step" and that "this tragic accident only reinforces the importance of de-escalating tensions in the region. It is vital that all leaders now pursue a diplomatic way forward."

"We will do everything we can to support the families of the four British victims and ensure they get the answers and closure they deserve," he added in a statement.

Ukraine Airlines: 'These were our best guys and girls'

The head of Ukraine International Airlines, the company that operated the doomed jet, said Saturday that he knew from the beginning the crew and plane weren't the cause of the disaster.

"We didn't doubt for a second that our crew and our plane couldn't be the cause for this horrible plane crash," said company chief Yevhenii Dykhne in a statement on social media.

"These were our best guys and girls. The best."

Eleven Ukrainians, nine of them crew members, died in the crash.

Watch video 26:00 The Day With Phil Gayle: Iran Plane Crash

kp, jsi/stb (Reuters, AFP)

Was the Ukrainian passenger jet shot down? If that proves true, the victims would be even more bitter proof that innocent civilians pay the price when violence escalates, writes DW's Matthias von Hein. (10.01.2020)

Iran fires missiles at US targets in Iraq — as it happened

Iran has launched ballistic missiles targeting the US presence in Iraq, including Ain Assad airbase. With no casualties, US President Trump has said "Iran appears to be standing down." Read events as they happened. (08.01.2020)

'Unforgivable mistake': Iran admits 'unintentionally' shooting down Ukrainian airliner

The Ukrainian passenger jet had crashed shortly after taking off from an airport in Tehran, killing all 176 people on board. Iran said the plane was mistaken for a "hostile target'' amid heightened tensions with the US. (11.01.2020)