Sunday, September 13, 2020

EXTRAJUDICIAL KILLING IS MURDER BY THE STATE

Trump brags about Bill Barr’s DOJ killing a man: ‘That’s the way it has to be’

President Donald Trump praised the killing of Michael Forest Reinoehl by a Department of Justice fugitive task force.

Hew was wanted for the fatal shooting of Aaron “Jay” Danielson, who was a member of the far-right group Patriot Prayer, which had organized a Trump caravan through Portland. Reinoehl had claimed the shooting was in self-defense.

“When police last week surrounded Michael Forest Reinoehl, a self-described anti-fascist suspected of fatally shooting a member of a far-right group in Portland, Ore., the wanted man wasn’t obviously armed, a witness to the scene said Wednesday,” The Washington Post reported Thursday. “In fact, according to Nate Dinguss, Reinoehl was clutching a cellphone and eating a gummy worm as he walked to his car outside an apartment complex in Lacey, Wash. That’s when officers opened fire without first announcing themselves or trying to arrest him, Dinguss, a 39-year-old who lives in the apartment complex, said in a statement shared with The Washington Post.”

Trump discussed the shooting during an interview with Fox News personality Jeanine Pirro that aired Saturday evening.

“This guy was a violent criminal, and the US Marshals killed him. And I will tell you something — that’s the way it has to be. There has to be retribution when you have crime like this,” Trump argued.

Trump on a purported antifa sympathizer who allegedly killed someone in Portland being killed by federal forces: "This guy was a violent criminal, and the US Marshals killed him. And I'll tell you something — that's the way it has to be. There has to be retribution." pic.twitter.com/WfIP9b37sA
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 13, 2020

Trump: Extrajudicial Killing Of Portland Shooting Suspect Is ‘The Way It Has To Be’

US President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at the Minden-Tahoe airport in Minden (50miles/80km south of Reno), Nevada on September 12, 2020. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski / AFP) (Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOW.

By Summer Concepcion TPM

September 13, 2020

President Trump leaned into his self-proclamation of being the President of “law and order” further as he appeared to approve of the “retribution” of federal law enforcement officers fatally shooting a man suspected of killing a pro-Trump supporter amid protests in Portland, during an interview on Fox News that aired Saturday night.

After mocking Portland mayor Ted Wheeler for refusing Trump’s offer to send in federal troops to the city to quell protests, the President then turned his focus to the fatal shooting earlier this month of Michael Forest Reinoehl — a man suspected of killing a member of the Patriot Prayer group during violent clashes in Portland — by U.S. Marshals.

“We sent in the U.S. Marshals for the killer, the man who killed the young man on the street. He shot him… just cold blooded killed him,” Trump said. “Two and a half days went by, and I put out ‘when are you going to go get him?’ And the U.S. Marshals went in to get him, and they ended up in a gunfight.”

Trump called Reinoehl a “violent criminal” before suggesting that his extrajudicial killing was par for the course.

“This guy was a violent criminal, and the U.S. Marshals killed him,” Trump said. “And I will tell you something — that’s the way it has to be. There has to be retribution when you have crime like this.”

Trump’s remarks comes amid his continuous infomercial-like praise for federal troops after agents fatally shot Reinoehl in Portland.

During his interview with Pirro that aired Saturday night, the President also threatened militaristic crackdowns on any potential “riots” that break out on November 3 if he were to win reelection.

“We’ll put them down very quickly if they do that,” Trump told Pirro. “We have the right to do that. We have the power to do that, if we want.”

Trump then characterized the potential “riots” as calling for “insurrection.”

“We just send in … and we do it very easy,” Trump said. “I mean, it’s very easy. I’d rather not do that because there’s no reason for it, but if we had to, we’d do that and put it down within minutes.”

Watch Trump’s remarks below:

Trump on extrajudicial killing of Portland shooting suspect: "This guy was a violent criminal, and the U.S. Marshals killed him. And I will tell you something, that’s the way it has to be. There has to be retribution when you have crime like this.” pic.twitter.com/mVDiqV0PDc
— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) September 13, 2020

CLIMATE CRISIS
AMID THE HYDROGEN HYPE, CLIMATE EXPERTS REVEAL WHAT WILL ACTUALLY WORK

The idea of a “hydrogen economy” is now enjoying a new wave of enthusiasm — but it is not a silver bullet.

DKAR Images / Getty Images
THOMAS BRÄUNL, PETER NEWMAN AND JAKE WHITEHEAD

9.5.2020

FOR 50 YEARS HYDROGEN HAS BEEN CHAMPIONED AS A CLEAN-BURNING GAS THAT COULD HELP REDUCE GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS. The idea of a “hydrogen economy” is now enjoying a new wave of enthusiasm — but it is not a silver bullet.

Amid the current hydrogen hype, there is little discussion about when the technology can realistically become commercially viable or the best ways it can be used to cut emissions.

Australia must use hydrogen intelligently and strategically. Otherwise, we risk supporting a comparatively energy-intensive technology in uses that don’t make sense. This would waste valuable renewable energy resources and land space, increase costs for Australians, and slow emissions reduction.

Here’s where we can focus hydrogen investment to get the best bang for our buck.

A poorly targeted hydrogen strategy will slow emissions reduction. Tridsanu Thophet / EyeEm / Getty Images

HYDROGEN SUCKS UP ENERGY AND SPACE

Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe but rarely is it freely available. It must be unlocked from water (H2O) or fossil fuels such as methane (CH4), then compressed for transport and use. These steps waste a lot of energy.

To be transported, for example, hydrogen must be kept under high pressure or extremely low temperature. And in terms of energy storage, even heating up stones is more efficient.

Australia could become a renewable energy superpower in the future. But there are serious medium-term challenges, including constraints in the infrastructure that transmits energy.

The world must reach net-zero emissions within 30 years to avert the worst climate change. That means using renewable energy as efficiently as possible to maximize emissions reductions and minimize the land space required. So we must be strategic in how and where we use hydrogen.

Hydrogen pathways. Staffell et al 2018. The role of hydrogen and fuel cells in the global energy system.

USE HYDROGEN IN PLACES ELECTRICITY WON’T GO

In most applications, renewables-based electrification has emerged as the most energy-efficient, and cost-effective way to strip emissions from the economy.

Yet there are some industries where electrification will remain challenging. It’s here renewable hydrogen — produced from wind and solar energy — will be most important. These industries include steel, cement, aluminum, shipping, and aviation.

A renewable hydrogen export market may also emerge in the long-term.

Renewable hydrogen will also be important to replace existing hydrogen produced by fossil fuels. But this alone will require a significant increase in electricity generation, to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. This is a major challenge.

Australia’s renewable energy capacity would need to increase substantially to produce green hydrogen. Mint Images / Getty Images

WHAT ABOUT CARS AND TRUCKS?

Road transport is one area where we believe hydrogen will not play a major role. In fact, Telsa founder Elon Musk has gone as far as to call hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles “mind-bogglingly stupid”.

Hydrogen vehicles will always consume two to four times more energy than battery electric vehicles. This is simply due to the laws of physics, and cannot be resolved by technological improvements.

In the case of hydrogen-powered vehicles, this will mean higher costs for consumers compared to battery-electric vehicles. It also means far more space for solar panels or wind turbines is needed to generate renewable energy.

What’s more, electric vehicles already have a longer driving range and continuously expanding charging infrastructure, including ultra-fast chargers.

Comparing the amount of electricity that is lost for hydrogen cars versus electric cars. Volkswagen AG

Most global carmakers have recognized the lack of advantage for hydrogen cars and instead invested about US$300 billion in the development and manufacturing of electric cars. Toyota and Hyundai — the last main proponents of hydrogen cars — are also ramping up efforts on electric cars.

As for trucks, the US Department of Energy does not expect hydrogen semi-trailers to be competitive with diesel until around 2050, mainly due to the high cost and low durability of hydrogen fuel cells.

While hydrogen trucks may have a role to play in 20 to 30 years, this will be too late to help reach a 2050 net-zero target. As such, we must explore energy-efficient options already widely deployed overseas, including electric trucks, electrified roads and electrified trailers.
A TRULY STRATEGIC PLAN

If Australia is serious about climate action, we must focus efforts on where renewable hydrogen can deliver the greatest environmental and economic benefits: regional ports.

Hydrogen derived from fossil fuels is currently used to make products such as fertilizer and methanol. Supporting the transition to renewable hydrogen for these uses will be an important first step to scale up the industry.

If produced at regional shipping ports close to aluminum, steel, or cement plants, this will provide further opportunities to expand renewable hydrogen use to minerals processing, while creating new jobs.

As hydrogen production scales up and costs fall, excess hydrogen would be available at ports for fuelling ships — either directly or through a hydrogen derivative like ammonia. Hydrogen gas could also be used to make carbon-neutral synthetic fuel for planes.

If an international export market emerged in the future, this strategy would also mean renewable hydrogen would be available at ports to directly ship overseas.

Finally, if the development of hydrogen truck technology accelerates before 2050, renewable hydrogen would be available to power the significant number of semi-trailers that travel to and from shipping ports.

LET’S GET REAL

Renewable hydrogen is a scarce and valuable resource and should be directed towards sectors most difficult to decarbonize.

Delaying the electrification of road transport and energy on the promise of hydrogen will ultimately only benefit the fossil fuel industry.

This article was originally published on The Conversation by Jake Whitehead at The University of Queensland, Peter Newman at Curtin University, and Thomas Bräunl, the University of Western Australia. Read the original article here.

WORLDWIDE RENEWABLE ENERGY COULD DO MORE HARM THAN GOOD
If we're not careful.

LAURA SONTER, JAMES WATSON AND RICHARD K VALENTA

9.6.2020 1

A VAST TRANSITION FROM FOSSIL FUELS TO RENEWABLE ENERGY IS CRUCIAL TO SLOWING CLIMATE CHANGE. But building solar panels, wind turbines, and other renewable energy infrastructure requires mining for materials. If not done responsibly, this may damage species and ecosystems.

In our research, published today, we mapped the world’s potential mining areas and assessed how they overlap with biodiversity conservation sites.

We found renewable energy production will exacerbate the threat mining poses to biodiversity – the world’s variety of animals and plants. It’s fair to assume that in some places, the extraction of renewables minerals may cause more damage to nature than the climate change it averts.

Australia is well placed to become a leader in the mining of renewable energy materials and drive the push to a low-carbon world. But we must act now to protect our biodiversity from being harmed in the process.

Renewable energy infrastructure such as wind farms are good for the planet – but it requires minerals extraction.Shutterstock

MINING TO PREVENT CLIMATE CHANGE

Currently, about 17% of current global energy consumption is achieved through renewable energy. To further reduce greenhouse gas emissions, this proportion must rapidly increase.

Building new renewable energy infrastructure will involve mining minerals and metals. Some of these include:
lithium, graphite, and cobalt (mostly used in battery storage)
zinc and titanium (used mostly for wind and geothermal energy)
copper, Nickle, and aluminum (used in a range of renewable energy technologies).

The World Bank estimates the production of such materials could increase by 500% by 2050. It says more than 3 billion tonnes of minerals and metals will be needed to build the wind, solar and geothermal power, and energy storage needed to keep global warming below 2℃ this century.

However, mining can seriously damage species and places. It destroys natural habitat, and surrounding environments can be harmed by the construction of transport infrastructures such as roads and railways.

An evaporation pond used to measure lithium and in the Uyuni salt desert in Bolivia. Mining can damage the environment if not done sustainably.Dado

WHAT WE FOUND

We mapped areas around the world potentially affected by mining. Our analysis involved 62,381 pre-operational, operational, and closed mines targeting 40 different materials.

We found mining may influence about 50 million km² of Earth’s land surface (or 37%, excluding Antarctica). Some 82% of these areas contain materials needed for renewable energy production. Of this, 12% overlaps with protected areas, 7% with “key biodiversity areas”, and 14% with the remaining wilderness.

Our results suggest mining of renewable energy materials may increase in currently untouched and “biodiverse” places. These areas are considered critical to helping species overcome the challenges of climate change.

Areas potentially influenced by mining, including for the minerals needed in renewable energy production (shown in blue). See paper for detailed methodology and limitations.Authors provided

THREATS HERE AND ABROAD

Australia is well-positioned to become a leading supplier of materials for renewable energy. We are also one of only 17 nations considered ecologically “megadiverse”.

Yet, many of the minerals needed for renewable energy exist in important conservation areas.

For example, Australia is rich in lithium and already accounts for half of the world production. Hard-rock lithium mines operate in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.

This area has also been identified as a national biodiversity hotspot and is home to many native species. These include small marsupials such as the little red antechinus and the pebble-mound mouse and reptiles including gecko and goanna species.

Australia is also ranked sixth in the world for deposits of rare earth elements, many of which are needed to produce magnets for wind turbines. We also have large resources of other renewables materials such as cobalt, manganese, tantalum, tungsten, and zirconium.

It’s critical that mining doesn’t damage Australia’s already vulnerable biodiversity, and harm the natural places valued by Indigenous people and other communities.

In many cases, renewables minerals are found in countries where the resource sector is not strongly regulated, posing an even greater environmental threat. For example, the world’s second-largest untouched lithium reserve exists in Bolivia’s Salar de Uyuni salt pan. This naturally diverse area is mostly untouched by mining.

The renewables expansion will also require iron and steel. To date, mining for iron in Brazil has almost wiped out an entire plant community, and recent dam failures devastated the environment and communities.

The Pilbara has large lithium deposits and is also home to the little red antechinus.Needpix
WE NEED PROACTIVE PLANNING

Strong planning and conservation action is needed to avoid, manage, and prevent the harm mining causes to the environment. However global conservation efforts are often naive to the threats posed by significant growth in renewable energies.

Some protected areas around the world prevent mining, but more than 14% contain metal mines in or near their boundaries. The consequences of biodiversity may extend many kilometers from mining sites.

Meanwhile, other areas increasingly important for conservation are focused on the needs of biodiversity and don’t consider the distribution of mineral resources and pressures to extract them. Conservation plans for these sites must involve strategies to manage the mining threat.

There is some good news. Our analyses suggest many required materials occur outside protected areas and other conservation priorities. The challenge now is to identify which species are most at risk from current and future mining development and develop strong policies to avoid their loss.

This article was originally published on The Conversation by LAURA SONTER, JAMES WATSON, and RICHARD K VALENTA from the University of Queensland. Read the original article here.

CLIMATE CRISIS
EARTH MAY PASS A DANGEROUS WARMING LIMIT BY 2024 — STUDY
And the risk is growing.

PEP CANADELL AND ROB JACKSON 9.12.2020

THE PARIS CLIMATE AGREEMENT SEEKS TO LIMIT GLOBAL WARMING TO 1.5℃ THIS CENTURY. A new report by the World Meteorological Organization warns this limit may be exceeded by 2024 – and the risk is growing.

This first overshoot beyond 1.5℃ would be temporary, likely aided by a major climate anomaly such as an El Niño weather pattern. However, it casts new doubt on whether Earth’s climate can be permanently stabilized at 1.5℃ warming.

This finding is among those just published in a report titled United in Science. We contributed to the report, which was prepared by six leading science agencies, including the Global Carbon Project.

The report also found while greenhouse gas emissions declined slightly in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, they remained very high – which meant atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations have continued to rise.

The world may exceed the 1.5℃ warming threshold sooner than we expected.Erik Anderson/AAP
GREENHOUSE GASES RISE AS CO₂ EMISSIONS SLOW

Concentrations of the three main greenhouse gases – carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄), and nitrous oxide (N₂O), have all increased over the past decade. Current concentrations in the atmosphere are, respectively, 147%, 259% and 123% of those present before the industrial era began in 1750.

Concentrations measured at Hawaii’s Mauna Loa Observatory and at Australia’s Cape Grim station in Tasmania show concentrations continued to increase in 2019 and 2020. In particular, CO₂ concentrations reached 414.38 and 410.04 parts per million in July this year, respectively, at each station.

Atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄), and nitrous oxide (N₂0) from the WMO Global Atmosphere Watch.

Growth in CO₂ emissions from fossil fuel use slowed to around 1% per year in the past decade, down from 3% during the 2000s. An unprecedented decline is expected in 2020, due to the COVID-19 economic slowdown. Daily CO₂ fossil fuel emissions declined by 17% in early April at the peak of global confinement policies, compared with the previous year. But by early June they had recovered to a 5% decline.

We estimate a decline for 2020 of about 4-7% compared to 2019 levels, depending on how the pandemic plays out.

Although emissions will fall slightly, atmospheric CO₂ concentrations will still reach another record high this year. This is because we’re still adding large amounts of CO₂ to the atmosphere.

Global daily fossil CO₂ emissions to June 2020. Updated from Le Quéré et al. 2020, Nature Climate Change.

WARMEST FIVE YEARS ON RECORD

The global average surface temperature from 2016 to 2020 will be among the warmest of any equivalent period on record, and about 0.24℃ warmer than the previous five years.

This five-year period is on the way to creating a new temperature record across much of the world, including Australia, southern Africa, much of Europe, the Middle East, and northern Asia, areas of South America, and parts of the United States.

Sea levels rose by 3.2 millimeters per year on average over the past 27 years. The growth is accelerating – sea level rose 4.8 millimeters annually over the past five years, compared to 4.1 millimeters annually for the five years before that.

The past five years have also seen many extreme events. These include record-breaking heatwaves in Europe, Cyclone Idai in Mozambique, major bushfires in Australia and elsewhere, prolonged drought in southern Africa, and three North Atlantic hurricanes in 2017.

Left: Global average temperature anomalies (relative to pre-industrial) from 1854 to 2020 for five data sets. UK-MetOffice. Right: Average sea level for the period from 1993 to July 16, 2020. European Space Agency and Copernicus Marine Service.

1 IN 4 CHANCE OF EXCEEDING 1.5°C WARMING

Our report predicts a continuing warming trend. There is a high probability that, everywhere on the planet, average temperatures in the next five years will be above the 1981-2010 average. Arctic warming is expected to be more than twice the global average.

There’s a one-in-four chance the global annual average temperature will exceed 1.5℃ above pre-industrial levels for at least one year over the next five years. The chance is relatively small, but still significant and growing. If a major climate anomaly, such as a strong El Niño, occurs in that period, the 1.5℃ threshold is more likely to be crossed. El Niño events generally bring warmer global temperatures.

Under the Paris Agreement, crossing the 1.5℃ threshold is measured over a 30-year average, not just one year. But every year above 1.5℃ warming would take us closer to exceeding the limit.

Global average model prediction of near surface air temperature relative to 1981–2010. Black line = observations, green = modelled, blue = forecast. Probability of global temperature exceeding 1.5℃ for a single month or year shown in brown insert and right axis. UK Met Office.

ARCTIC OCEAN SEA-ICE DISAPPEARING

Satellite records between 1979 and 2019 show sea ice in the Arctic summer declined at about 13% per decade, and this year reached its lowest July levels on record.

In Antarctica, summer sea ice reached its lowest and second-lowest extent in 2017 and 2018, respectively, and 2018 was also the second-lowest winter extent.

Most simulations show that by 2050, the Arctic Ocean will practically be free of sea ice for the first time. The fate of Antarctic sea ice is less certain.

Summer sea ice in the Arctic is expected to virtually disappear by 2050. Zaruba Ondrej/AP

URGENT ACTION CAN CHANGE TRENDS

Human activities emitted 42 billion tonnes of CO₂ in 2019 alone. Under the Paris Agreement, nations committed to reducing emissions by 2030.

But our report shows a shortfall of about 15 billion tonnes of CO₂ between these commitments, and pathways consistent with limiting warming to well below 2℃ (the less ambitious end of the Paris target). The gap increases to 32 billion tonnes for the more ambitious 1.5℃ goal.

Our report models a range of climate outcomes based on various socioeconomic and policy scenarios. It shows if emission reductions are large and sustained, we can still meet the Paris goals and avoid the most severe damage to the natural world, the economy, and people. But worryingly, we also have time to make it far worse.

This article was originally published on The Conversation by Pep Canadell at CSIRO, Rob Jackson at Stanford University. Read the original article here.

CLEANERS STRIKE

Glasgow City Council calling workers’ strike ‘illegal’ is a ‘smear on low paid workers’

Peadar O'Cearnaigh
13th September 2020

In order to maintain safe working practices during coronavirus (Covid-19), cleaning staff at Glasgow City Council worked reduced hours. Then, when the council decided they should return to normal working hours, staff called for a meeting with management. However, staff representatives claim management refused this request, so staff “walked out in sheer frustration”.

That’s why cleaning staff staged a protest in George Square on 7 September. Their union, GMB Scotland, said it was the wrong time to return to full-time work as safety measures must get priority.

A “smear” on workplace relations

This industrial action doesn’t come completely out of the blue. Because GMB Scotland claims there are outstanding pre-coronavirus workplace problems. It says that, as a result of cuts to the council’s budget and services, staff lack necessary resources.

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GMB claimed:
the issues facing the service pre-covid remain unchallenged by the council.

‘Stop clapping, start paying’: NHS workers demand better wages
The Canary , 12th September 2020

NHS workers take to the streets demanding better wages

Glasgow has a waste crisis after a decade of cuts to the city’s budget and its services and we cannot expect to tackle this without meaningful investment. We need more resources.

Relations between cleaning staff and the council then soured when Glasgow City Council posted an online notice declaring their actions as “illegal”.

So the SNP led Glasgow City Council have pulled this social media post about key workers, the folk who empty our bins going on an ‘illegal strike’. pic.twitter.com/WZ75dozu0F
— Labour Celtic Fans (@Labour_Celts) September 12, 2020

A GMB Scotland spokesperson told Glasgow Times:

Earlier this week we called for co-operation, safety and investment in the service, so it’s disappointing to see the council smear low-paid key workers on social media just 48 hours later.

It was reported that the tweet was deleted, yet on 13 September the claim was still on the council’s website.

A council spokesperson told the Glasgow Times:

The message was being widely misrepresented as the view of various councillors, so we chose to delete it. This is an operational matter, dealt with by officials.
Lockdown measures in Scotland

The Scottish government had plans to ease lockdown restrictions this month. Some of these measures have now been paused until at least 5 October while others have been tightened. But Glasgow City Council still wanted its cleaning staff to return to full-time work hours.

A GMB Scotland spokesperson told the Glasgow Times:

The safety and well-being of our key workers and their families must be the priority here.

It’s not safe for the council to phase-out coronavirus lockdown working arrangements at time when there is a resurgence of the virus in the city.

It would be more far [sic] sensible to maintain the lockdown working arrangements for the time being and to have a proper consultation with service management about what the future will look like and how we can best deliver services in a safe and efficient manner.
Safe environment

As reported by The Canary on 12 September, NHS staff went on strike for better pay. They demanded:

stop clapping, start paying

And as cleaning staff are also frontline staff, they would also need support to carry out their jobs.

A spokesperson for the council said:

Agreement was reached with senior GMB officials on Tuesday for staff to return to work on Wednesday [9 September].

There was also agreement with the GMB over a phased return to normal contracted hours over the next six weeks.

The Canary contacted Glasgow City Council and GMB Scotland for further comment but neither responded by the time of publication.

Featured image via Flickr – Paul Robertson

Jimmy Carter says his son smoked pot with Willie Nelson on White House roof
BY JOHN BOWDEN - 09/13/20

© CNN

Former President Jimmy Carter reveals in a new documentary that his son James Earl "Chip" Carter sat on the roof of the White House and smoked marijuana with country music legend Willie Nelson.

People magazine reports that Carter made the admission in a new documentary, "Jimmy Carter: Rock & Roll President." Carter confirmed the anecdote described in Nelson's autobiography, though Nelson had hid the identity of Carter's son in the book in which he referred to his companion as a "servant" in the White House.

"When Willie Nelson wrote his autobiography, he confessed that he smoked pot in the White House one night when he was spending the night with me," Carter says, according to People. "And he says that his companion that shared the pot with him was one of the servants in the White House. That is not exactly true — it actually was one of my sons, which he didn't want to categorize as a pot-smoker like him."

Carter famously made political alliances with many well-known musicians during his White House tenure, including Nelson and the Allman Brothers. In the documentary, he reportedly also dismissed criticism of his meetings with musical groups, pointing to the influence such groups had over their fans.

"I was doing what I really believed, and the response I think from the followers of those musicians was much more influential than the people who thought [of] that being inappropriate for a president," Carter says, according to People.

Nelson is an outspoken advocate for left-leaning causes and in 2018 supported former Texas Rep. Beto O'Rourke (D) in his Senate bid against Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas).

Oracle wins bid to purchase TikTok: reports
BY JOHN BOWDEN - 09/13/20

© Getty Images

Tech giant Oracle won a bidding war for control of the U.S. operations of the widely popular Chinese-owned app TikTok on Sunday, according to multiple news reports.

News of Oracle's purchase came just minutes after Microsoft, a top competitor for the sale, announced that TikTok parent company ByteDance had informed it that the company's bid had been rejected.

Microsoft's statement marked an end to a bid that had been backed by GOP senators and President Trump and seen as a solution to the latter's threat to ban TikTok from operating in the U.S. unless it was sold to a U.S. buyer. The Trump administration has raised national security concerns about the app and its owner over its alleged connections to China's government.

"ByteDance let us know today they would not be selling TikTok’s US operations to Microsoft," read Microsoft's statement.

"We are confident our proposal would have been good for TikTok’s users, while protecting national security interests. To do this, we would have made significant changes to ensure the service met the highest standards for security, privacy, online safety, and combatting disinformation, and we made these principles clear in our August statement," the company continued.

TikTok has vowed to battle the Trump administration's order banning it from operating in the U.S. Microsoft said in early August that it was moving forward with plans to purchase the app, while pledging a security review.

“Hundreds of millions of people come to TikTok for entertainment and connection, including our community of creators and artists who are building livelihoods from the platform,”said a TikTok spokesperson in late July. “We’re motivated by their passion and creativity, and committed to protecting their privacy and safety as we continue working to bring joy to families and meaningful careers to those who create on our platform."

Some lawmakers on Capitol Hill have urged the Justice Department to open an investigation into TikTok, citing data privacy concerns.

“As tens of millions of Americans turn to Zoom and TikTok during the COVID-19 pandemic, few know that the privacy of their data and their freedom of expression is under threat due to the relationship of these companies to the Chinese government,” Sens. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) wrote to the agency in July. “Of particular concern, both Zoom and TikTok have sought to conceal and distract from their meaningful ties to China, holding themselves out as American companies.”

Oregon governor calls wildfires a 'bellwether for climate change': 'This is a wake up call for all of us'

BY REBECCA KLAR - 09/13/20 THE HILL

© Getty Images

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown (D) said Sunday the wildfires raging across the west coast are a “wake up call” for officials to take action on climate change.

Brown said the cause of the fires is being investigated, but said the region saw the “perfect fire storm.”

“We saw incredible winds, we saw very cold hot temperatures, and of course we have a landscape that has seen 30 years of drought,” Brown said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” “This is truly the bellwether for climate change on the west coast and this is a wakeup call for all of us that we have to do everything in our power to tackle climate change.”

Brown said that about 500,000 acres of land has burned in Oregon over the last ten years. By contrast, she said over 1 million acres has burned in the state this week alone.

Asked about claims that the fires are due to mismanagement of forests rather than climate change, Brown said “it's both.”

“It’s both, it's decades of mismanagement of our forests in this country and it is the failure to tackle climate change. We need to do both,” the governor said.

President Trump is scheduled to visit California on Monday. Trump last month claimed the fires are due to years of poor forest management, dismissing concerns over climate change.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti (D) said Sunday on CNN that “anybody who lives in California is insulted” by Trump’s claims, and criticized the president's response to the fires.

Oregon senator says Trump's blame on 'forest management' for wildfires is 'just a big and devastating lie'

BY JUSTINE COLEMAN - 09/13/20

Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) said Sunday that President Trump blaming “forest management” for wildfires is “just a bid and devastating lie.”

Merkley told ABC’s “This Week” that he disagreed with the president’s comments Saturday night attributing the fires to being primarily “about forest management.”

“The president has said it's all about raking the forest,” the senator said. “It's just a -- a big and devastating lie.”

“The Cascade snowpacks have gotten smaller,” he added. “Our forests have gotten drier. Our ocean has gotten warmer and more acidic. And this has been happening steadily over the last several decades.”

The Oregon Democrat called for a president who would “follow the science on global warming.”

“America not only has to get its own act in order,” he said. “It has to help lead the world to take this on. This is a planetary-scale tragedy of the commons that we need leadership to end.”

Sen. Jeff Merkley tells @GStephanopoulos that Trump blaming the wildfires on “forest management” is “just a big and devastating lie.”

“These are consequences of a warming planet … just like on COVID, we need to have a president follow the science.” https://t.co/mH26J2IKhr pic.twitter.com/Id5UFUekNT— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) September 13, 2020

Merkley said the wildfires in his state are “apocalyptic,” adding he couldn’t escape the smoke when driving “600 miles up and down the state.” Thousands of people have lost their homes, and small towns have been “incinerated,” he said.

The western coast states of California, Oregon and Washington are dealing with spreading wildfires that are sparking quick evacuations.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) told ABC’s “This Week” that the states in the West “have a blowtorch” over them “which is climate change.” He called it “maddening” that Trump denies climate change contributed to the fires.

“We know that climate change is making fires start easier, spread faster and intensify,” the governor said. “And it is maddening right now that, when we have this cosmic challenge to our communities, with the entire West Coast of the United States on fire, to have a president to deny that these are not just wildfires, these are climate fires.”

Inslee called viewers to “vote on climate,” saying “if this is not a signal to the United States, I don't know what it will take.”

Women lead fifth week of protests against Belarus election

Belarusian women protest Saturday against the presidential election results during a women's march in Minsk. Photo by Stringer/EPA-EFE

Sept. 12 (UPI) -- Thousands of women have become the leaders of daily protests in Belarus against a contested election now in their fifth week.

The Minsk demonstrations continued Saturday against the re-election of incumbent authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenka for a sixth term Aug. 9.

Thousands gathered in the center of Minsk for a march as riot police warned that the protest was not sanctioned. Officers arrested dozens of women, RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty's Belarus Service reported.

Protesters took to the streets the day after the election, saying the vote was rigged. Opposition candidate Svetlana Tikhandovskaya rejected the results.

RELATED Belarus' opposition says 3 members abducted amid police crackdown

British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab also rejected Lukashenko's election, calling it "fraudulent," in a statement. He also accused Belarusian authorities last month of violently suppressing the peaceful protests.

The United States, Switzerland, and the European Union have expressed support for protesters in a joint statement and condemned Belarusian officers' "brutal and disproportionate use of force."

European leaders planned new sanctions against Belarus, such as visa bans and asset freezes, but Cyprus stalled them after entangling the issue with its separate quarrels with Turkey. The United States is also preparing sanctions, according to a senior U.S. official, which should be ready in a few days.

Earlier this week, the United States called on Belarusian authorities to release all political detainees, including opposition leader Maria Kolesnikova, one of three female activists who formed the Belarusian Coordination Council seeking to annul Lukashenko's re-election.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has backed Lukashenka, who has refused to give up power.

Power is "not given away," he told state prosecutors in Minsk on Thursday.

Mass arrests as tens of thousands protest in Belarus

8 HOURS AGO

Belarusians have been demonstrating against President Lukashenko's disputed re-election for a month, with more than 100,000 people flooding the streets of Minsk for four straight weekends.

Opposition supporters carry a huge former white-red-white flag of Belarus during a rally to protest against the presidential election results in Minsk on September 13, 2020. (AFP)

Riot police have harshly detained some 250 demonstrators as tens of thousands of people gathered for an opposition protest on the eve of talks between President Alexander Lukashenko and his main ally, Russia's Vladimir Putin.

Masked agents in uniform and plain clothes snatched people from the streets as they assembled for the "March of Heroes" demonstration on Sunday, often pushing or punching them, video posted on the Belarusian news site Tut.by showed.

Вот такие жесткие задержания были в Витебске на перекрестке проспектов Строителей и Черняховского около получаса назад. pic.twitter.com/A9p5BMv75x
— TUT.BY (@tutby) September 13, 2020

"Some 250 people were detained in various districts of the capital," the Interior Ministry said in a statement, adding that those detained were carrying flags and "offensive" placards.

Access to mobile internet was limited and central metro stations closed, with authorities moving police vans, military vehicles and barbed wire into the centre ahead of the protest.

Despite the violent detentions, tens of thousands of protesters gathered in the city centre for a new massive march, an AFP correspondent said.

'For freedom'

"I came out for freedom and I am going to protest until we win it through peaceful means," Oleg Zimin, a 60-year-old protester, told AFP.

He said he did not vote for Lukashenko. "He always lied to us," he said.

Belarusians have been demonstrating against Lukashenko's disputed re-election for a month, with more than 100,000 people flooding the streets of Minsk for four straight weekends.

The new march came as Lukashenko's security forces have stepped up arrests of protesters and senior opposition figures who are still in Belarus.

Opposition supporters parade through the streets during a rally to protest against the presidential election results in Minsk on September 13, 2020. (AFP)

'We won't let him sell the country'

The opposition announced the protest slogan "We won't let him sell the country" ahead of Lukashenko's first face-to-face meeting with Putin since demonstrations began, which is set to take place in Russia on Monday.

Analysts say Putin may seek to exploit Lukashenko's political vulnerability to wring concessions from him, but any agreements compromising Belarus's sovereignty and independence are likely to enrage Belarusian protesters further.

After a massive protest last Sunday, Maria Kolesnikova, one of three prominent female opposition figures, was jailed after she resisted expulsion and tore up her passport.

More than 600 people were detained last Sunday in one of the largest waves of arrests since the early days of the demonstrations.

Law enforcement officers detain demonstrators during a rally to protest against the presidential election results in Minsk on September 13, 2020. (AFP)

On Saturday, masked riot police violently detained dozens of women demonstrators and threw them into vans during a smaller protest in Minsk.

'Heroic people'

Presidential candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who the protest movement says won the vote on August 9 but was forced out of the country, paid tribute to demonstrators ahead of the march.

"Over the past month we have become a truly heroic people," Tikhanovskaya, a political unknown until the election, said in a video address.

"We are continuing our fight for freedom," said the 38-year-old former stay-at-home mother, who was forced into exile in neighbouring EU member Lithuania.

The unprecedented protests broke out after Lukashenko, who has ruled the ex-Soviet state for 26 years, claimed re-election with 80 percent.

Lukashenko has refused to step down and has turned to Russia for support to remain in power.

On Friday, the United States said it would impose new sanctions on Belarusian figures within days and warned Moscow that continuing to back the strongman would only alienate Belarusians.

Speaking to reporters, US Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun asked how Moscow could "back such a regime and such violence against peaceful citizens."

Historically Russians and Belarusians have enjoyed good relations and the opposition says the protests are not aimed at Russia.

Putin and Lukashenko are set to meet in the Black Sea resort of Sochi on Monday, with the Kremlin saying the talks will cover integration plans as well as key trade and energy projects.

Putin has been keen to unify Russia and Belarus, and Moscow has accompanied its offers of military and economic aid with calls for tighter integration.

Lukashenko has in the past ruled out outright unification with Russia but his options are now limited, analysts say.

His security forces have detained thousands of protesters, many of whom have accused police of beatings and torture. Several people have died in the crackdown.

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment

Sunday, September 13, 2020

Mass arrests as tens of thousands protest in Belarus

Belarusians have been demonstrating against President Lukashenko's disputed re-election for a month, with more than 100,000 people flooding the streets of Minsk for four straight weekends.

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