CMG calls for funding to convert temporary employees at CBC to full-time
Canadian Media Guild

TORONTO, June 24, 2020 /CNW/ - CMG is encouraged by a positive meeting with Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault where CMG CBC/Radio-Canada Branch president Kim Trynacity, asked the minister for targeted funding to convert 50% of temporary/precarious workers at CBC to full-time staff.

"Many of the temporary employees are Black, Indigenous and People of Colour," Trynacity told the minister. "Converting so many temps to full-time will make the corporation more reflective of Canada, and go a long way to repairing a damaged workplace culture that must work to address issues of racism at CBC/Radio-Canada."

Since the brutal killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, a groundswell of protest has emerged with rallies being held across the world to demand the end to systemic racism against Black, Indigenous and People of Colour. Within CBC/Radio Canada, employees have called for real change at all levels of the corporation, from decision-making, to the stories we cover and how we cover them, as well as equity and respect for BIPOC workers at the public broadcaster.

Several CMG members have spoken publicly about their experiences and the problems they've encountered in the crown corporation .

More than 1,200 employees, representing approximately 25% of the workforce at CBC/Radio-Canada are temporary workers who lack job security, and any certainty about future work. Many of these are generally younger workers from diverse backgrounds.


While not promising funding, Guilbeault assured Trynacity, and CWA-Canada President Martin O'Hanlon, that addressing issues of racism across Canada is a priority.

During the 40-minute meeting, CMG also stressed the need for a resumption of all CBC regional television news programming, which in some locations remain abbreviated during the pandemic. The union also sought assurance that future CBC/Radio Canada funding will be linked to a moratorium on job cuts. Since 2008, there have been continuous job cuts at the public broadcaster resulting in drops in employment, diversity, and news programming, as well as increased reliance on temporary workers.

Trynacity asked that public funding for CBC/Radio-Canada be increased to $50 per capita in the next budget to help stabilize the country's largest news service and major cultural institution at this critical time. Overall federal funding has declined significantly over the years due in part to unfunded inflation, and compares poorly to the levels of funding for public service media in other countries.

SOURCE Canadian Media Guild

For further information: Jeanne d'Arc Umurungi, Communications Director, Canadian Media Guild, jeannedarc@cmg.ca, 416-708-4628
Related Links

http://www.cmg.ca/


Organization Profile

Canadian Media Guild


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Unifor releases Road Map for a Fair, Inclusive and Resilient Economic Recovery 

NEWS PROVIDED BY Unifor

OTTAWA, ON, June 24, 2020 /CNW/ - Unifor calls on governments to #BuildBackBetter and reveal a detailed plan to rebuild the economy in a virtual news conference live on Facebook.

"Tomorrow's economy cannot look like the one that we left behind, where essential workers could barely get by on low wages, could not access sick pay, and where the social safety net failed them," said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. "Eventually this crisis will end and we want to ensure that a more fair, inclusive, and resilient economy takes shape on the other side."

Built on the principles of economic justice, the new recovery plan is based on consultation with rank-and-file members and includes dozens of recommendations targeting all levels of government.

The plan organizes policy recommendations into five themes:
Build an income security system that is accessible
Build sustainable green jobs and decarbonization
Build critical physical and social infrastructure
Rebuild domestic industrial capacity
Set strong, enforceable conditions on corporate support packages

"The steps that governments take in the coming months and years will define workers' well-being and progress for a generation," said Renaud Gagné, Unifor Quebec Director. "It is vital that we get it right, and rebuild the economy not to what it once was, but to an economy that meets people's needs no matter the crisis."

Visit buildbackbetter.unifor.org to read the recommendations and download the Road Map for a Fair, Inclusive and Resilient Economic Recovery.

Watch the digital media conference on www.fb.com/uniforcanada to see Jerry Dias and Unifor members from across the country present the vision.

Unifor is Canada's largest union in the private sector, representing 315,000 workers in every major area of the economy. The union advocates for all working people and their rights, fights for equality and social justice in Canada and abroad, and strives to create progressive change for a better future.

SOURCE Unifor

For further information: contact Sarah McCue, Unifor National Communications Representative at 416-458-3307 (cell) or sarah.mccue@unifor.org; For French interviews, please contact Unifor Quebec Communications Representative, Véronique Figliuzzi at Veronique.Figliuzzi@unifor.org or 514-212-6003
Related Links

http://www.unifor.org


Organization Profile



Unifor

Unifor is Canada’s largest union in the private sector, representing 315,000 workers in every major area of the economy. The union advocates for all working people and their rights, fights for equality and social justice in Canada and abroad, and strives to create...


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SEIU Healthcare Renews our Demand for a Judicial Inquiry After the Breaking News from Brian Lilley


NEWS PROVIDED BY SEIU Healthcare
Jun 24, 2020


The Ford government response leaves workers and families with more questions than answers

RICHMOND HILL, ON, June 24, 2020 /CNW/ - SEIU Healthcare, the union that represents over 60,000 frontline healthcare workers in Ontario, is renewing our demand for a judicial inquiry into the long-term care scandal after breaking news reveals how the Doug Ford government rejected funding requests as recently as February, after the first case of COVID-19 hit the province.

STATEMENT FROM SEIU HEALTHCARE PRESIDENT, SHARLEEN STEWART:

"It's unconscionable to think that senior ministers in Ontario's government actually rejected proposals for urgent funding into long-term care after the first case of COVID-19 had already hit the province. Unfortunately, the Ford government response to this story leaves Ontarians with more questions than answers. That's why Premier Ford must commit to nothing less than a full judicial inquiry with both Ministers Fullerton and Bethlenfalvy agreeing to testify about what they know, under oath. The 1800 families who needlessly lost loved ones—residents and workers—deserve justice for this scandal."

SEIU Healthcare represents more than 60,000 healthcare and community service workers across Ontario. The union's members work in hospitals, homecare, nursing and retirement homes, and community services throughout the province. www.seiuhealthcare.ca

SOURCE SEIU Healthcare

For further information: For media inquiries, contact: Corey Johnson, SEIU Healthcare, Head of Strategic Communication, 416-529-8909, c.johnson@seiuhealthcare.ca
Related Links

http://www.seiuhealthcare.ca/


Organization Profile

SEIU Healthcare


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Unifor disappointed as Kenney presents support for corporations and slim pickings for workers


NEWS PROVIDED BY Unifor

EDMONTON, AB, June 29, 2020 /CNW/ - Unifor urges Premier Kenney to change course and invest in workers instead of further padding corporate profits.

"Alberta's workers are looking for leadership, and instead, Kenney launches an incomplete plan that squeezes education, and school boards, and proposes two-tiers of minimum wage. That's not going to cut it," said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. "While Albertans are supporting one another, the least he can do is recognize that this crisis is the time to invest in Albertans, not funnel more profit off of workers' backs into the pockets of corporate bosses."

In the June 29 announcement, Premier Kenney floated possible changes to labour relations legislation that would no doubt take from workers, and refused to commit to not making deeper cuts to public services that are supporting the province through the COVID-19 pandemic.

"While details are sparse, his message is clear. Kenney is still turning his back on workers in order to hold the hands of corporate Alberta," said Gavin McGarrigle, Unifor Western Regional Director. "A fair economic recovery can build public services that this province needs, and protect labour standards while providing the conditions that business needs to grow. Don't let anyone tell you that we cannot achieve both."

On June 24, Unifor released its Road Map for a Fair, Inclusive and Resilient Economic Recovery. Our bold plan is available at buildbackbetter.unifor.org, and focuses on five key economic areas to not only rebuild the economy, but also to support Canada's workers.

Unifor is Canada's largest union in the private sector, representing 315,000 workers in every major area of the economy. The union advocates for all working people and their rights, fights for equality and social justice in Canada and abroad, and strives to create progressive change

SOURCE Unifor

For further information: contact Sarah McCue, Unifor National Communications Representative at 416-458-3307 (cell) or sarah.mccue@unifor.org.
Related Links

http://www.unifor.org


Organization Profile



Unifor

Unifor is Canada’s largest union in the private sector, representing 315,000 workers in every major area of the economy. The union advocates for all working people and their rights, fights for equality and social justice in Canada and abroad, and strives to create...


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Sweeping Workplace Changes Expected in a Post-pandemic World, Says Research From The Adecco Group

Businesses and workers call for greater flexibility, questions raised over the hours-based contract, and a new empathetic leadership profile emerges


NEWS PROVIDED BY The Adecco Group




ZURICH, June 30, 2020 /CNW/ --
Workers demand greater flexibility after coronavirus, with a 50/50 split of remote and office time confirmed as the universal ideal

Questions raised over the hours-based contract, with 69% saying contracts should be based on results delivered rather than hours worked

Boom in digital skills an unintended consequence of lockdown, with tech knowhow improving for six in 10 (61%), and two thirds (69%) eager for further digital upskilling post-pandemic

Leaders need to reinvent themselves as more emotionally intelligent, but they are not prepared, as less than half felt equipped to support employees holistically during the pandemic

The coronavirus pandemic has resulted in pivotal shifts in attitudes and expectations among workers and leaders, as both call for permanent changes in how and where we work, workplace relationships and future skills, according to new research from the Adecco Group.

The Adecco Group, the world's leading HR solutions company, today unveiled the results of its latest study, Resetting Normal: Defining the New Era of Work, examining the expected short- and long-term impact of the pandemic on resetting workplace norms. Fieldwork was conducted in May 2020, with 8,000 office-based respondents (aged 18-60) across Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, the UK and the USA.

The Adecco Group's Chief Executive Officer, Alain Dehaze, said: "The world of work will never return to the 'normal' we knew before the pandemic struck. The sudden and dramatic change in the workplace landscape has accelerated emerging trends such as flexible working, high-EQ leadership, and re-skilling, to the point where they are now fundamental to organisational success. As many countries emerge from the acute crisis phase of the pandemic, employers have an opportunity to 'hit reset' on traditional workplace practices – many of which have remained largely unchanged since the industrial revolution. This research highlights that employee attitudes have shifted and gaps between workforce expectations and entrenched labour market processes have been exposed. As we step into the new era of work, now is the time to establish better norms that will enable a holistically healthy, productive and inclusive workforce into the future."

Key research highlights:

The research revealed that the working world is ready for a new "hybrid" model, with three quarters (74%) of workers surveyed saying a mix of office-based and remote working is the best way forward. The universal ideal of spending half (51%) of their time in the office and half working remotely (49%) transcends geographies, generations and parental status. And company executives agree, with almost eight in ten (77%) C-suite leaders saying businesses will benefit from increased flexibility.

Another stark finding could signal the end of the hours-based contract and 40-hour week. More than two thirds (69%) of workers are in favour of "results-driven work," whereby contracts are based on delivering against business needs rather than working a set number of hours. A high proportion of C-suite executives (74%) agree that the length of the working week should be revisited.

The pandemic has also demanded a new set of leadership competencies and these expectations are expected to accelerate a reinvention of the modern-day leader. Emotional intelligence has clearly emerged as the defining trait of today's successful manager, but the soft skills gap is evident. Over a quarter (28%) of those questioned said their mental wellbeing had worsened due to the pandemic, with only 1 in 10 rating their managers highly on their ability to support their emotional health.

In a similar nature to flexible working, the findings demonstrate a universal appetite for mass upskilling. Six in 10 say their digital skills have improved during lockdown, while a further two thirds (69%) are looking for further digital upskilling in the post-pandemic era. A broad range of skills development were identified as important by the workforce, including managing staff remotely (65%), soft skills (63%) and creative thinking (55%).

Finally, the findings highlighted the importance of sustaining trust in the new working world. Companies have risen to the challenge of supporting their people during the crisis, and as a result, trust in corporations has increased. In fact, 88% say that their employer met or exceeded their expectations in adapting to the challenges of the pandemic. And with this increased trust comes increased expectations. While the future of work is a collective responsibility, 80% of employees believe their employer is responsible for ensuring a better working world post-COVID and resetting norms, compared with 73% who say the government is responsible, 72% who agree it is an individual responsibility, and 63% who believe it is in the hands of labour unions.

For more information:
Download the Resetting Normal: Defining the New Era of Work full report here.
Follow us on social #ResetNormal for updates

About the Adecco Group

The Adecco Group is the world's leading HR solutions company. We believe in making the future work for everyone, and every day enable more than 3.5 million careers. We skill, develop, and hire talent in 60 countries, enabling organisations to embrace the future of work. As a Fortune Global 500 company, we lead by example, creating shared value that fuels economies and builds better societies. Our culture of inclusivity, entrepreneurship and teamwork empowers our 35,000 employees and we are proud to have been consistently ranked one of the 'World's Best Workplaces' by Great Place to Work®. The Adecco Group AG is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland (ISIN: CH0012138605) and listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (ADEN) and powered by nine global brands: Adecco, Adia, Badenoch & Clark, General Assembly, Lee Hecht Harrison, Modis, Pontoon, Spring Professional and Vettery.

adeccogroup.com
Facebook: facebook.com/theadeccogroup
Twitter: @AdeccoGroup

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Food Recall Warning - Fresh Express brand salad products recalled due to Cyclospora 

Français

NEWS PROVIDED BY Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA)

Jun 29, 2020, 

Product photos are available: https://www.inspection.gc.ca/eng/1593481825568/1593481826383

OTTAWA,ON, June 29, 2020 /CNW/ - The food recall warning issued on June 28, 2020 has been amended to correctly identify the affected products. The corrections for these products are marked by an asterisk (*).

Fresh Express is recalling Fresh Express brand salad products from the marketplace due to possible Cyclospora contamination. Consumers should not consume the recalled products described below.

The following products have been sold nationally.

Recalled products
Brand
Product
Size
UPC
Production Code
Best Before Date


Fresh Express
Chopped Kit Chipotle Cheddar
323 g
0 71279 30931 6*
All packages bearing a lot code beginning with "Z177" or a lower number
All best before dates up to and including Jul 08*

Fresh Express
American
312 g
0 71279 24100 5*
All packages bearing a lot code beginning with "Z177" or a lower number
All best before dates up to and including Jul 11*

Fresh Express
Chopped Kit Thai 'N' Cashews
332 g
0 71279 30925 5*
All packages bearing a lot code beginning with "Z177" or a lower number
All best before dates up to and including Jul 11*

Fresh Express
Veggie Lover's
312 g*
0 71279 28106 3*
All packages bearing a lot code beginning with "Z177" or a lower number
All best before dates up to and including Jul 11*

Fresh Express
Chopped Kit Sunflower Crisp
315 g
0 71279 30933 0*
All packages bearing a lot code beginning with "Z177" or a lower number
All best before dates up to and including Jul 11*

Fresh Express
Iceberg Garden
680 g
0 71279 10411 9*
All packages bearing a lot code beginning with "Z177" or a lower number
All best before dates up to and including Jul 12*

Fresh Express
Iceberg Garden
340 g
0 71279 10302 0*
All packages bearing a lot code beginning with "Z177" or a lower number
All best before dates up to and including Jul 12*

Fresh Express
Shreds
Iceberg*
227 g*
0 71279 15101 4*
All packages bearing a lot code beginning with "Z177" or a lower number
All best before dates up to and including Jul 12*

Fresh Express
Green & Crisp
312 g
0 71279 10813 1*
All packages bearing a lot code beginning with "Z177" or a lower number
All best before dates up to and including Jul 12*

Fresh Express
Chopped Kit Asian
340 g
0 71279 30929 3*
All packages bearing a lot code beginning with "Z177" or a lower number
All best before dates up to and including Jul 13*

Fresh Express
Chopped Kit Southwest
326 g
0 71279 30930 9*
All packages bearing a lot code beginning with "Z177" or a lower number
All best before dates up to and including Jul 12*

Fresh Express
3 Colour Deli Cole Slaw*
397 g
0 71279 12302 8*
All packages bearing a lot code beginning with "Z177" or a lower number
All best before dates up to and including Jul 14*

What you should do

If you think you became sick from consuming a recalled product, call your doctor.

Check to see if you have the recalled products in your home. Recalled products should be thrown out or returned to the store where they were purchased.

Food contaminated with Cyclospora may not look or smell spoiled but can still make you sick. People infected with Cyclospora can experience a wide range of symptoms, including watery diarrhea, stomach cramps, and nausea. Some people do not get sick at all, while others suffer from a severe upset stomach. Few people get seriously ill.
Learn more about the health risks
Sign up for recall notifications by email and follow us on social media
View our detailed explanation of the food safety investigation and recall process
Report a food safety or labelling concern

Background

This recall was triggered by the company. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is conducting a food safety investigation, which may lead to the recall of other products. If other high-risk products are recalled, the CFIA will notify the public through updated Food Recall Warnings.

The CFIA is verifying that industry is removing the recalled products from the marketplace.

Illnesses

There have been no reported illnesses associated with the consumption of these products in Canada.

SOURCE Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA)

For further information: Public enquiries and media: Company information, Fresh Express, Consumer Service Centre: 1-866-709-8410; Media Inquiries: Barbara Hines 972-677-8127; Public enquiries, Toll-free: 1-800-442-2342 (Canada and U.S.), Telephone: 1-613-773-2342 (local or international), Email: cfia.enquiries-demandederenseignements.acia@canada.ca; Media relations, Telephone: 613-773-6600, Email: cfia.media.acia@canada.ca

China Enacts Security Law, Asserting Control Over Hong Kong
June 30, 2020 EMILY FENG


Pro-mainland supporters in Hong Kong hold Chinese and Hong Kong flags during a rally to celebrate the approval of a national security law on Tuesday.Kin Cheung/AP

Beijing's top legislative body has unanimously passed a sweeping national security law for Hong Kong, a controversial move that could effectively criminalize most dissent in the city and risks widening the rift between China and western countries who have criticized the law.

The news was reported by NOWNews — a Hong Kong cable television station — the city's public broadcaster and a slew of local newspapers, including Wei Wen Po and Ta Kung Pao, two pro-Beijing outlets which often signal official Chinese policy. Beijing state media have yet to confirm the law was passed.

National security cases relating to subversion, secession, terrorism or foreign interference can now be tried by a special agency, likely to bet up within Hong Kong's police force, and subject to a more constrained judicial process in which Hong Kong's Beijing-backed chief executive can select the judges overseeing the cases. The law also allows Beijing to set up its own security force on Hong Kong soil to investigate security cases and collect intelligence.

The law will likely take effect on July 1, which is also the anniversary of Hong Kong's 1997 handover from British to Chinese rule.


"The legal firewall, if you like, that separates the two systems [of Hong Kong and Beijing] is now gone," said Alan Leong, a former chair of Hong Kong's bar association and chair of Hong Kong's Civic party. "We are allowing the long arms of the Chinese Communist Party to reach Hong Kong."

Beijing has defended the law by arguing such a measure is needed to restore stability to Hong Kong, which has been rocked by sometimes violent protests over the last year stemming first from a now-shelved extradition bill and general dissatisfaction with Beijing's heavy-handed governance.

Pro-Beijing legislators in Hong Kong tried to pass a similar but more limited national security measure in 2003 but the measure was rescinded after an estimated half-million peaceful protesters took to the streets in opposition.

Protesters gather at a shopping mall in Hong Kong during a pro-democracy protest against Beijing's national security law on Tuesday.Vincent Yu/AP

This time, Beijing took no chances. It announced in May that its own parliament would ram through the legislation in a swift and secretive process that has bypassed Hong Kong's own legislative council.

In passing the law in Beijing, China is making clear its legal system is paramount.

The end of Hong Kong self-governance?

Per the terms of its handover to Chinese rule in 1997, Hong Kong was promised 50 years of limited autonomy under a principle called "One Country, Two Systems." Hong Kong's mini-constitution, the Basic Law, and its decades of independent judicial rulings protecting civil rights were to take precedence over Beijing's governance until at least 2047.

But legal experts say the national security law demonstrates how Beijing sees its own political diktat as now superseding Hong Kong's rule of law.

"China gets to determine when its interests are involved and when a [legal] interpretation is warranted," said Cora Chan, an associate professor of law at the University of Hong Kong. "The [national security law] opens up a window into widespread interference in people's lives and potentially penetrates into a lot of activities that contribute to a lot of the vibrancy of civil society and the character of this financial center."

Breaking with procedure, a public draft of the law was not made available before it was passed in Beijing. Instead, in the weeks leading up to the law's passage, even proponents in Hong Kong were left to parse scant details fro Chinese state media about what the law would entail.

"That is just completely contrary to the notions of law that we had in Hong Kong, which is law as an accessible, transparent process, where before you enact a law you discuss, you get the draft out, you debate it," said Wilson Leung, a commercial litigator and a council member of Hong Kong's bar association, which has criticized the national security law and demanded greater transparency in the drafting process.

Beijing has also pushed ahead with the law despite sanctions from the United States and criticism from other western countries. The U.S. ended its preferential trading status with Hong Kong in May, saying the city no longer had any autonomy from mainland China, and has slapped visa restrictions on Chinese officials in Hong Kong. (China announced it would put retaliatory visa restrictions on Americans who exhibit "egregious conduct" toward Hong Kong.) The United Kingdom, Hong Kong's former colonial ruler, has offered a path toward citizenship for up to 3 million Hong Kong residents.

It is not yet clear how strictly the law will be applied in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam has defended the law, asserting earlier this month that the measure "will only target an extremely small minority of illegal and criminal acts and activities."

Yet Lam also admitted that Hong Kong officials had not seen the full proposed text of the national security law in the weeks leading up to its passage. On Tuesday morning, as Hong Kong outlets began reporting the law had passed, Lam refused to comment, saying that it would be "inappropriate" to do so given the legislative body was still meeting in Beijing.

The fallout from the law is already being felt in Hong Kong.

Sales of VPN software, used to circumvent China's Internet censors and evade some measures of digital surveillance, have skyrocketed.

Hundreds of outspoken Twitter accounts run by Hong Kong residents have been voluntarily deleted in the last few days as people rush to clear any potentially incriminating web-browsing history and online political posts.

And mere hours after the national security bill was approved, at least two opposition political parties announced they had effectively dissolved themselves.

Activist Joshua Wong and fellow activists Agnes Chow and Nathan Law announced their resignations from Demosisto, the youth political party they founded in 2016, on Facebook Tuesday. They resolved to continue their activism individually.

Andy Chan, an activist who advocates for outright independence from Beijing, also said he was disbanding the Hong Kong branch of his political party and shifting operations to Taiwan and the United Kingdom.

"Great changes are coming....no one can be sure about their tomorrow, " Wong wrote on his Facebook page.



I hereby declare withdrawing from Demosisto...

If my voice will not be heard soon, I hope that the international community will continue to speak up for Hong Kong and step up concrete efforts to defend our last bit of freedom. pic.twitter.com/BIGD5tgriF— Joshua Wong 黃之鋒 😷 (@joshuawongcf) June 30, 2020

As Poland’s Duda seeks election ‘Trump bump,’ Putin looks to revise history

June 26, 2020 · By The World staff
Producer Joyce Hackel

US President Donald Trump holds a joint news conference with Poland's President Andrzej Duda in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, DC, June 24, 2020.
Credit: Carlos Barria/Reuters

US presidents don’t usually meet with world leaders days before a presidential vote. But this week, President Donald Trump welcomed President Andrzej Duda of Poland to the White House just ahead of Poland's national election this Sunday, in which the conservative Duda is running a tough reelection bid.

From the Rose Garden, Trump, a Republican, did his best to give Duda a "Trump bump."

"I do believe he has an election coming up and I do believe he’ll be very successful," Trump said.

Related: Young people in Poland are rediscovering their Jewish roots

From her vantage in Warsaw, author Anne Applebaum says Duda’s photo-op with Trump might have gained him points at home. Or it might be a gamble that doesn’t pay off.

"... it was a kind of clear intervention in the election."Anne Applebaum, historian and author

"Those in his party thought that this meeting would be a kind of slam dunk reason to vote for him, and they played it up as a great diplomatic success," Applebaum said. "Those who aren't going to vote for him thought it was a very strange thing for the American president to do. I mean, it was a kind of clear intervention in the election. There was no other purpose to the meeting. There was nothing achieved. There were no documents signed. It was a long trip to get a photograph."

Applebaum is a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and expert on central and Eastern Europe. Her forthcoming book is called "Twilight of Democracy: The Seductive Allure of Authoritarianism." Applebaum spoke with The World's Marco Werman about the presidential meeting and Trump's indication he may move US troops out of Germany to Poland — and how Russian President Vladimir Putin's efforts at historical revisionism play into security considerations on NATO's eastern flank.

Related: How Russia laid the groundwork for future disinformation campaigns

Marco Werman: The two presidents have met one-on-one five times in recent years, three times at the White House. How do you understand their alliance? What can they actually do for each other?

Anne Applebaum: [From] Trump's point of view, Duda is useful because he's one of the few European leaders who openly admires him and openly wants to be around him and be seen with him. Most of the others have now become pretty wary. From Duda's point of view — look, the United States remains very popular in Poland. NATO is very popular. And so from Duda's point of view, it makes him seem like he's close to the United States. Of course, this is incredibly risky from Duda's point of view, because the next president, if it's not Trump, might feel very differently about Poland.

Duda has also been pushing for additional US troops in Poland. He's offered to build a Fort Trump in Poland. And just this week, President Trump confirmed he has plans to move more than 9,000 US forces out of Germany, sending some — not clear how many — to Poland. So if that does happen, what will be the upshot for NATO and security on Europe's eastern flank?


Everybody in Europe would like to see the US commit more troops and be more present. The disturbing piece of the story is that it seems as if Trump's reasoning for moving troops out of Germany isn't to do with security or to do with calculations about where those troops would best be placed. It seems like it's some kind of revenge against Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, who refused to come to Washington recently, saying that she didn't think the timing was good and it wasn't a good moment to have an international meeting in the middle of the pandemic.





Russia's President Vladimir Putin and Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu leave after the Victory Day Parade in Red Square in Moscow, Russia, June 24, 2020. The military parade, marking the 75th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two, was scheduled for May 9 but postponed due to the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
Credit:

Ekaterina Shtukina/Sputnik/Pool via Reuters

So from the West, Trump talks about pulling out of NATO. In the east, Russia's President Vladimir Putin has been offering up a revised history lesson. Putin just published in a conservative magazine a 9,000-word essay on World War II, defending the Soviet non-aggression pact with Hitler. He describes the occupation of Baltic states as "with consent." How is it going over in Eastern Europe?


What he's referring to is the Hitler-Stalin Pact. The two dictators actually divided Europe up between them. And so Hitler invaded western Poland. The Soviet Union invaded eastern Poland. And Putin now wants to rewrite that piece of history and somehow imply that it was Poland's fault, that Poland got invaded and that it was somehow the Baltic states agreed to be invaded. There is no historical justification for it at all. Nobody is sure why it is that Putin has chosen to make this argument right now. I think it's part of a bigger effort that he's been making in recent years to rewrite the history of the 20th century in order to make the Soviet Union more heroic and to make our memories of it more heroic and triumphant.

Related: This pact between Hitler and Stalin paved the way for WWII

Putin's essay was being pushed precisely during this week of the annual Victory Day parade in Moscow, which was postponed because of the coronavirus. Is Putin in a position to celebrate "great power status" at this moment?


The kind of argument he's been making to the Russian people over the last several years is, "OK, your wages are not going up. The economy is not great. There's a lot of corruption. But I'm making Russia great again. I am restoring Russia. I'm putting her back in the center of world politics where she belongs. And you should keep me in power for that reason." But the point of your question is correct. Russia remains a very dangerous, but medium-sized power. The Russian economy is weak, and it's weakened partly by low oil prices. But it's also weakened by really profound corruption and very profound inequality as well, which has caused a lot of discontent. There have been, just under the radar, on and off over the last couple of years, quite a lot of protests and a lot of dissent, not just in the big cities, not just in Moscow and St. Petersburg, but all over the country. And he's very anxious to damp that down.

Related: Coronavirus postponed Russia's Victory Day. For Putin, it's a problem.

I'm just curious. In Warsaw, is talk of this revisionist history making Poles at all nervous?


So whenever the Russians start to revise history, Russia's neighbors become nervous because Russia has used historical revisionism as an excuse to invade its neighbors in the past. Right now, that seems unlikely. It doesn't seem that Russia wants to pick a fight with the United States and with NATO at this exact moment. But, you know, we began this conversation by talking about the American president's weak commitment to NATO. Maybe this is something that Putin sees in the future he'll be able to take advantage of.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Former US ambassador: Israel would be 'making itself an international outlaw' with West Bank annexation
June 26, 2020 · By The World staff

A general view picture shows a section of Itamar, a Jewish settlement, in the foreground as Nablus is seen in the background, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank June 15, 2020.
Credit: Ronen Zvulun/Reuters

Israel continues to push forward with plans to annex parts of the occupied West Bank.

Israel has occupied the territory on the west bank of the River Jordan since 1967. Decades of talks between Israelis and Palestinians have left the territory's status unresolved.

The annexation process could start as soon as next week, despite widespread condemnation from Palestinians, US-Arab allies and numerous foreign governments. But the Israeli government's plan is bolstered by the Trump Administration’s peace plan released earlier this year, which indicates that the United States would be supportive of annexation.

At a UN Security Council meeting Wednesday, Secretary-General António Guterres called on Israel to abandon its plans, calling this “a watershed moment.”

"If implemented, annexation would constitute a most serious violation of international law, grievously harm the prospect of a two-state solution and undercut the possibilities of a renewal of negotiations," said Guterres.

Related: Palestinian analyst says Trump's Middle East peace plan is a 'scam'

Martin Indyk, former US ambassador to Israel and US special envoy for Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, is currently a distinguished fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. He spoke with The World to discuss the urgency behind Israel's push for annexation.

Marco Werman: What exactly is Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu considering here?

Martin Indyk: Starting on July 1, according to the government agreement that he signed with his partner, alternate prime minister Benny Gantz, he can bring to the cabinet a decision on annexation. [He] doesn't have to do it on July 1, but that opens the door to him doing it. Under the Trump plan, Israel would be able to annex 30% of the West Bank, which would include all of the Israeli settlements and the Jordan Valley. That has never been proposed in any peace plan up till now.

Related: Israeli plans for annexation weigh heavily on Jordan Valley residents

The territory that Israel intends to annex is mainly in areas with Jewish settlements. But these areas also include Palestinian populations, so what would be their legal status?


It's unclear. It hasn't been specified as to what would happen to them. If he does the full annexation, then he would absorb something like 10,000 Palestinians who would be in those areas. There's talk about him doing a partial annexation, which could be all of the 131 settlements, but not the Jordan Valley.

Why now? What's the rush?

The rush is determined by the fact that there's an election in the United States. And if Israel goes ahead, Trump has indicated that he would recognize that annexation. The fear is that Trump will no longer be president after November and [former] Vice President [Joe] Biden [the presumptive Democratic presidential candidate] has already made it clear that not only would he not recognize it, but he might well withdraw the recognition.

Related: Israel's Arab citizens contemplate their future under the Trump peace plan

If Israel does end up going ahead with its annexation, what would be the international response?


Well, we've already heard from some European states, in particular British, French and Germans, that there will be consequences. They're not saying sanctions, but they are indicating that there will be consequences. The international community could, of course, try to pass resolutions in the Security Council. But as long as the United States is opposed to that, it would exercise its veto and protect Israel. It could go to the UN General Assembly, that's a much more difficult process. Overall, though, Israel will be in effect, making itself an international outlaw.

Related: Jared Kushner's peace plan that nobody loves

When you scrape away all the diplomacy, what is the American interest here? I mean, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said yesterday it was up to Israel to decide, even though it was the Trump plan that set things in motion. Why should this matter to Americans?


Secretary of State Pompeo's statement is, I think, a trick designed to suggest that the onus is on Israel when this wouldn't be happening if the United States wasn't prepared to green light it, and indeed under the agreement between Netanyahu and Gantz, they can't go ahead unless the United States green lights it. So it will very much be a Trump decision, not just an Israeli decision. Donald Trump is doing Israel no favor by encouraging it to go down this path, the path of annexation rather than separation from the Palestinians.

You were deeply involved in pursuing the two-state solution and keeping it alive personally. How would you feel about annexation and essentially the end of the two state solution?


After the last negotiations that I was responsible for under President [Barack] Obama, I could say that there was no way that a two-state solution is going to come about in my lifetime. So I've kind of come to terms with that. But I have felt very strongly that it's important, as I say, for Israel's future, that the option of a two-state solution be kept alive. For me, that is not just a sad moment, it's a tragic moment. Tragic for the Palestinians as well.

This interview has been condensed and edited.

As more journalists stand trial in Turkey, the truth becomes more elusive

Turkey is often cited by the Committee to Protect Journalists as the world’s largest jailer of media personnel in the world, alongside China and Egypt.

The World

June 26, 2020 · 4:30 PM EDT
By Durrie Bouscaren



A man reads a newspaper on a bench in Istanbul.
Credit: Durrie Bouscaren/The World

For nine hours on Wednesday, Özge Terkoğlu sat in the gallery of a Turkish courtroom hearing testimony against her husband, Barış Terkoğlu, the news director of OdaTV, an online TV channel.

Watching her husband take the stand, she fretted about his weight loss over the past three months he spent in prison.

Barış Terkoğlu is one of seven journalists from various media outlets facing charges over their coverage of the deaths of Turkish intelligence officers in Libya. An eighth defendant, a municipal worker in the western Turkish town of Akhisar, is accused of supplying pictures to the journalists of the funeral of one of the dead intelligence officers.

Related: Maria Ressa: Duterte's 'weaponization of the law' is a threat to democracy

The deaths weren’t a secret — it was discussed in Turkey’s parliament and on social media. But these writers were accused of breaking state secrecy laws; the charges were deemed so serious that even during the pandemic, the journalists could not be released. Instead, they languished alone in their cells.

It’s just the most recent example of how freedom of the press continues to shrink in Turkey — and the intense political pressure facing journalists to toe the line.


“He’s very courageous in terms of writing on topics that are very hard to touch, that disturb people that have power. All those things that we have to go through as a family, we can handle it. But we don’t deserve it.”Özge Terkoğlu, wife of jailed journalist

“He’s very courageous in terms of writing on topics that are very hard to touch, that disturb people that have power,” Özge Terkoğlu said of her husband. “All those things that we have to go through as a family, we can handle it. But we don’t deserve it.”

Turkey is often cited by the Committee to Protect Journalists as the world’s largest jailer of media personnel in the world, alongside China and Egypt.

Just this week, 19 Turkish journalists and media workers were scheduled for hearings for various offenses (including those on trial for breaking state secrecy laws), according to Expression Interrupted, a free speech tracking project. If things go as usual, some reporters will be released, others will pay fines and some cases will drag on for years.

Related: How Turkey's Erdoğan went from populist hero to strongman

In Terkoğlu’s case, the judges returned on Wednesday with a decision around 10 p.m. Three of the journalists, including Terkoğlu, were released while their trial continues. The others will likely remain in prison until the next hearing, which is scheduled for September.



Özge Terkoğlu and her husband, Barış Terkoğlu, are pictured with their young son.
Credit:Courtesy of Özge Terkoğlu

The ambiguity of the law and irregularity of how it is imposed is enough to make anyone rethink the work they do. Some reporters leave the industry or move abroad. Others establish alternative outlets online, like OdaTV.

Little by little, political influence is reshaping how Turkish readers understand news about Turkey and its relationship with the world.

“Maybe 95% of national media, especially newspapers and TV stations, are owned by media companies that are close to the government,” said Eylem Yanardağoğlu, an associate professor of New Media at Kadir Has University in Istanbul. “What we call ‘mainstream media’ has almost disappeared.”

On any given newsstand in Turkey, a casual reader will find several national newspapers with various political bents. On TV, viewers can flip through multiple news channels, including CNN’s Turkish affiliate. It’s easy to get the impression that Turkey has a healthy, diverse media environment, but this does not reflect reality, Yanardağoğlu said.

This media consolidation ramped up as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan began to crack down on political rivals after the Gezi Park protests in 2013. At the time, network TV stations famously showed nature documentaries to avoid covering the events. Journalists who did venture out to cover the protests suffered injuries by police and threats from government officials, according to Reporters Without Borders.

Three years later, following a bloody coup attempt on July 15, 2016, media arrests reached a nadir. At least 81 journalists were jailed in retaliation for their work the highest number in any one country counted at any time, according to CPJ.

“Using your pen to serve international smear campaigns is not journalism,” Erdoğan claimed in 2017, after coming under fire for the number of reporters languishing in Turkish jails.

Traditional media used to protect the public’s right to reliable information in Turkey, said Yanardağoğlu. Today, journalists who don’t toe the political line get pushed to alternative websites and social media, where the pay is lower, but there’s more freedom.


“This is creating new debates: Whose job is it to tell the truth? And is it the truth?” Eylem Yanardağoğlu, Kadir Has University

“This is creating new debates: Whose job is it to tell the truth? And is it the truth?” Yanardağoğlu said.

As Turkey’s digital news organizations jockey for flashy news that gets clicks, the reliability of online content suffers. Dedicated fact-checking organizations try to create some semblance of order, but it has become more challenging for everyday readers to discern truth from propaganda. Even a Turkish-language news service funded by the Russian government has attained a level of popularity, due to its ability to freely criticize Erdoğan.

Outside the courthouse, a group of colleagues and supporters of journalists on trial stood in the sun under a banner that depicts portraits of the six arrested writers with a cartoon of pencils turned into cell bars.


“Every single morning, believe me, you wake up at 4 in the morning listening to the door and wondering if [the police] are about to come to get you.” Zafer Arapkirli, journalist

“Every single morning, believe me, you wake up at 4 in the morning listening to the door and wondering if [the police] are about to come to get you, said Zafer Arapkirli, a former BBC presenter who now hosts his own online news program.

He wears a face mask with the phrase “susmayacağız” written over his mouth, which means “we will not be silent.”

“I’ve been working as a journalist in this country for 43 years now. And we’ve gone through these sorts of stages … where journalists were … silenced, where all sorts of democratic institutions were … crushed. But in the end, democracy will win,” he said. “We believe in democracy.”

Reuters contributed to this report.