NEWS FROM CODE PINK

 

We are writing to you today with exciting news. After 18 years of nonstop engagement of this wonderful organization, the two of us—Jodie and Medea— are stepping back from our role as co-directors so that three younger, brilliant and capable women can step forward. The new co-directors will be: Farida Alam, our multi-talented web manager (don't forget to check out our brand new website!), art designer and logistical miracle-maker, who has been with CODEPINK for 15 years, will now also be taking on human resources and organizational planning; Ariel Gold, who came to us 5 years ago as U.S. Middle East foreign policy expert, became co-director in 2018 and will continue in that role; Carley Towne, a dynamo organizer and activist, will lead our Divest from War and Defund the Pentagon programs, as well as team management and community outreach. In the past year, the country has witnessed the bravery and brilliance of young people who have taken to the streets and the suites to build major movements to confront racism and violence. We have witnessed that same flowering of initiative within CODEPINK, making this the perfect moment to pass the torch. As we transition, we want you to engage more with Farida, Ariel, Carley and the whole CODEPINK team. Check out these opportunities to get involved as a peacemaker. We, Jodie and Medea, are not going far. We will be active board members and will continue to work on key CODEPINK campaigns. Jodie will focus on the local peace economy that puts forth an inspiring, life-affirming path for our collective future—a path made even more urgent by the pandemic. And with the new Cold War against her part-time home, China, she will nurture our China Is Not Our Enemy campaign. Medea will consult with our Middle East and Latin America teams, as well as write articles and books about how to transform our foreign policy and build international solidarity. Both will continue to support our Feminist Foreign Policy Project. As supporters of CODEPINK, you have always been our greatest strength and we are counting on you to assist with this transition. Two important ways you can help: Become one of our peacemakers by sharing some of your time. Check out the various ways you can help and sign up here. There is so much we can create together to end war and cultivate peace. Make a monthly pledge or a special one-time gift to ensure that our work to end militarism, defund the Pentagon and divest from war grows and thrives. We are so proud of what we’ve accomplished together over the last 18 years. To mention a few... We carried the anti-war message directly to Presidents Bush, Obama and Trump, to pro-war congressional hearings...and to the streets. We have been told by members of Congress that CODEPINK transformed Congressional hearings by bringing citizen voices into the proceedings—despite the risk of arrest. We built public opposition to drone warfare. We brought the tragic stories from Yemeni and Afghan families to Washington DC, forcing the military to introduce new rules and compensate many of the innocent victims. We advocated for the Iran nuclear deal and embraced citizen diplomacy with Iranians by organizing people-to-people trips to Iran. We helped win the release of political prisoners all over the world—like our friends Mohamed Soltan, who spent 2 years in a brutal Egyptian cell, and Edwin Espinal, who was held in a maximum-security prison in Honduras for 18 months. We worked with cities, universities and banks to divest from war and invest in life-affirming activities. Our message of Defund War was echoed this year in Congress with historic bills to significantly cut the once-untouchable Pentagon budget. We traveled with thousands of you to Gaza, Cuba, Afghanistan, Palestine, Iraq, Iran, Yemen, Pakistan, Honduras, Colombia, Venezuela and Spain. From the U.S.-Mexico border to Greece, we brought material support and messages of peace, connection and love to refugee families. We have forced those who drive us to war to hear from those most affected by the violence—abroad and domestically. Here at home, we joined coalitions to demilitarize our police and arranged for moms who lost their loved ones to police violence to meet with the Justice Department and Congress. We have exposed—and opposed—the ruthless Trump administration’s sanctions on countries such as Cuba, Venezuela and Iran, and worked with Congress on legislation to roll back this illegal economic warfare. Working with groups and communities around the world, including the Poor People’s Campaign, we have been cultivating local peace economies with beautiful examples of how to strengthen our connections to each other and care for what is essential. We have expanded our support base to over half of a million people from all over the world, and we have been educating the public with books, articles, webinars and countless interviews on every outlet from Fox News to Democracy Now. Our webinars during coronavirus have highlighted guests from all over the world—China to Bolivia, Palestine to Brazil. It has been an honor to take part in these campaigns with you. You, our grassroots supporters, have always been the backbone of our successes and we hope we can count on your continued support during this transition to a new generation of leaders. Onward toward a beautiful world of peace and justice, Ariel, Carley, Farida, Jodie and Medea PS  If you're interested in cultivating your local peace economy, watch this Message from the Future II presented by our partners at The Leap. PSS  Check out our “Vote for Peace” posters and other goodies at the store.

Trump continues far-right appeals as details of Michigan plot emerge

Eric London WSWS

In the days since Michigan authorities and federal prosecutors announced the arrest of 13 people in a plot to kidnap and murder Michigan Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer, President Donald Trump and his inner circle are intensifying their appeals to the fascist right.

While the plot was centered in Michigan, new information has surfaced making clear the plotters were involved in a far broader and ongoing national conspiracy. The criminal complaint filed last Thursday explained that the Michigan conspirators engaged in a plan to “take violent action against multiple state governments.”

The conspirators clearly felt they were acting with the support of the White House. Even after the plot was revealed, Trump denounced Whitmer yesterday for “complaining” and “crying” about the threat to kidnap and kill her. On Saturday, Trump impersonated Mussolini by giving a speech from the White House balcony in which he ranted to a small audience about the imminent danger that the country will be taken over by “socialists” and “communists.”

In this April 15, 2020, file photo protesters carry rifles near the steps of the Michigan State Capitol building in Lansing, Mich. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)

In a clear signal to his far-right supporters, the Trump campaign this weekend announced that the president’s son, Eric Trump, will give a rally at a gun shop in New Hudson, Michigan, a few miles from Milford and Waterford Township, where two of the 13 fascist plotters were arrested. The campaign also announced that Vice President Pence will attend a rally Wednesday in Grand Rapids, Michigan, another center of militia activity.

It was in Grand Rapids where two of the Michigan conspirators, Michael and William Null, appeared at an anti-lockdown protest this summer and were photographed alongside Barry County Sheriff Dar Leaf, a leader of the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association (CSPOA), a fascist network of police founded by prominent Trump supporter and former Maricopa, Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Leaf was named CSPOA’s “Sheriff of the Year” in 2016.

Leaf declared on Thursday that the plotters may have just been planning a “citizens’ arrest” of Whitmer, making clear he thought their actions were justified. Leaf had previously refused to enforce restrictions on businesses mandated by state regulations.

Mike Shirkey, Republican majority leader of the Michigan State Senate, reportedly walked up to the gallery of the state legislature in April to greet the fascists—including at least one of the men arrested last week—who had brought their assault rifles inside the building to threaten legislators.

Isolated media reports from earlier this year also raise many questions about the role of Trump campaign officials and big money donors in supporting the anti-lockdown protests that served as a means for the militia conspirators to plan their putsch.

Three groups that provided funding for the anti-lockdown protests, the Michigan Conservative Coalition, the Michigan Freedom Fund and the Convention of States Project, have close ties to leading Trump backers, including MCC founder Meshawn Maddock, an advisor to Trump’s campaign and a leader of the group “Women for Trump.”

Greg McNeilly, a longtime advisor to the billionaire DeVos family, leads the Michigan Freedom Fund. Betsy DeVos is Trump’s Education Secretary. Her brother, Erik Prince, is the former CEO of the mercenary firm Blackwater (now known as Xe) and a close collaborator with former Trump advisor Steven Bannon and Trump’s sons, Eric and Don Jr. The Convention of States Project is funded by the billionaire Mercer family, has close ties to leading Trump immigration official Ken Cuccinelli and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, and is led by Eric O’Keefe, a close advisor to the Koch family.

More details are also emerging about the connections of the arrested conspirators with other militia groups across the country. One of the militiamen, Barry Croft, was a prominent member of the fascist Three Percenters and Patriot Movement. National Public Radio referred to him as “a visible figure” who “made waves as an unknown who tried to streamline national leadership of the Three Percent” and aimed to obtain “a senior role in the movement,” based on interviews with anonymous militia leaders.

Two of the conspirators, Daniel Harris and Joseph Morrison, were in the Marine Corps—Harris from 2014 to 2019 and Morrison in the reserves from 2015 until last Thursday, the day of his arraignment. Harris was deployed at Camp Lejeaune in North Carolina, a known center of fascist cell activity.

The more details emerge as to the seriousness of the conspiracy, the more noticeable are the media’s and Democratic Party’s efforts to downplay the plot.

At a public event Saturday in Pennsylvania, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden vaguely referenced the possibility of “chicanery” in the November 3 election. In an indication of how sensitive ruling circles are to bringing attention to Trump’s conspiracy, Biden was forced to walk back his comments hours later, saying he only meant to stress that he would respect the outcome if he lost. Biden said voters “should not pay attention” to Trump’s threats to “influence and scare people from voting.”

In an interview yesterday with Governor Whitmer, CBS’s Margaret Brennan implied that Whitmer herself was to blame for provoking the fascist plot: “Governor, these are your constituents. How do you, in your state, unify things? I know you’re talking about the president and rhetoric, but what do you do to deal with this?” Whitmer responded by saying she wanted to work with all Michiganders, even those who oppose her.

The relative silence of the media and the Democratic Party stands in stark contrast to the howls of indignation from the Democratic Party establishment over the baseless claim that Russia stole the 2016 election for Trump with a few thousand dollars worth of Facebook ads. In advancing the interests of the military-intelligence apparatus, the Democrats are ruthless. But when it comes to safeguarding the most basic democratic rights, the Democrats are terrified of doing anything that will spark broader social opposition.

With the election just over three weeks away, Trump is pressing ahead with his own conspiracies to remain in power regardless of the outcome of the vote. He is counting on support from Wall Street, which backs his policy of “herd immunity,” along with fascistic forces within the police, immigration and military-intelligence apparatus. Trump calculates, moreover, that the Democratic Party is so terrified of opposition in the working class that it will accept a Trump coup rather than risk a social explosion.

But even if the Democrats, with the support of the military and intelligence agencies, prevent Trump from staying in power after the election, this will not alter the basic trajectory of American politics.

Whatever the outcome of the November election crisis, the tendencies revealed in recent weeks will only intensify. If Trump is defeated, his supporters will believe their candidate was “stabbed in the back,” justifying a further turn to the right. Armed militias will be normalized as a new element in the American political landscape.

The working class cannot wait passively for events to unfold. It must intervene into this crisis with its own program. The fight against the Trump administration and the resort of the ruling class to dictatorship and fascistic conspiracies must be countered through the development of an independent movement of the working class for socialism.

Democrats and corporate media cover-up Trump’s role in Michigan coup plot

Eric London WSWS
10 October 2020

Within 24 hours of the announcement of charges against 13 Michigan fascists who plotted to kidnap and kill Governor Gretchen Whitmer, the corporate media has pushed the story off the front pages. The far-reaching implications of this plot, and its connections to Trump’s strategy to transform the election into a coup, are being covered up.

By Friday morning, coverage of the Michigan conspiracy had all but disappeared from the online editions of the Washington Post and New York Times. Neither the Times nor the Post, the main newspapers politically aligned with the Democratic Party, have published an editorial on the plot. It was treated on the cable and network news as a minor part of the news cycle.

Democratic candidates Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have not issued a major statement on the plot and did not even refer to it at a campaign rally Thursday night in Phoenix, Arizona.

The Democratic Party and the corporate press have raised no questions about the potential role of Trump’s fascist advisers or where the plotters obtained the money to plan their operations and buy equipment. Unlike Watergate, there is to be no investigation or congressional hearings into the connections between the plotters and top operatives in and around the Trump administration. No Democrat has called for subpoenaing Roger Stone, Stephen Miller, Steven Bannon, Erik Prince, or any other aides with ties to fascist groups. The position of the Democratic Party is: “nothing to see here.”

A right-wing protester carries his rifle at the State Capitol in Lansing, Michigan in an April 30 demonstration against Whitmer [Credit: AP Photo/Paul Sancya]

The rapidity of the coverup by the political establishment is inversely related to the amount of information making clear the Michigan events were only one part of an ongoing nationwide conspiracy. There is a clear and present danger of dictatorship in America. Workers must demand answers to questions about the plotters’ ties to the White House, the Republican Party, and their powerful dark money sources within the ruling elite.

The only significant statements about the broader framework of the conspiracy have come from Michigan officials. The state’s attorney general, Dana Nessel, told MSNBC’s Katy Tur yesterday: “I will tell you this: this may very well be the tip of the iceberg. I don’t feel as though our work or the work of the federal authorities is complete. And I think there are still dangerous individuals that are out there.”

Speaking yesterday on ABC’s “Good Morning America”, Whitmer warned, “I’m not the only governor going through this… It is not unique to me.”

Neither Michigan official gave any details of what they know. However, it is clear that the threats to kill governors and launch insurrections are focused on battleground states with Republican legislatures and Democratic governors: Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. These states are the linchpin of Trump’s strategy to carry out a coup.
In May, Salon reported police were investigating organized militias armed with assault rifles who were threatening North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper over lockdown measures. Anti-lockdown protesters were bused to the state Capitol with “enthusiastic astroturf support from Republican operatives and megadonors—one of whom offered to pay to bus protesters into the city.”

In Pennsylvania, a 28-year-old was charged on May 11 for organizing an armed group to kill Democratic Governor Tom Wolf. The next day, on May 12, Trump tweeted: “The great people of Pennsylvania want their freedom now and they are fully aware of what that entails.”

In Wisconsin, fascist gunman Kyle Rittenhouse shot and killed two protesters on August 23 during protests in Kenosha against the police shooting of Jacob Blake. Rittenhouse was part of a network of fascist militia who descended upon the city. Trump praised Rittenhouse and defended his actions, writing in August that “he was in big trouble. He probably would have been killed.”

Similar threats have been made against the Democratic governors in other states.
Yesterday, a radio station in Louisiana (which is not considered a battleground state) reported that “more than 30 groups designated as ‘hate groups’ or anti-government militias like the group arrested last week in Michigan” place Democratic Governor John Bel Edwards’ life in danger.

In January, when over 10,000 militia rallied at the Virginia state capital in Richmond, Democratic Governor Ralph Northam said he had “credible intelligence” that the demonstrators “may be armed and have as their purpose not peaceful assembly, but violence, rioting and insurrection.” A state legislator, Democratic Socialists of America member Lee Carter, was forced to flee the capital to a safe house due to threats against his life.

On September 17, FBI Director Christopher Wray told the House of Representatives that the agency was conducting “a good bit north of 1,000 [investigations of far-right violence] this year.” This was “higher” than normal, he said, explaining that the threat posed by right-wing militias was “commensurate with ISIS.”

The next day, Trump threatened to fire Wray for these comments, saying, “I did not like his answers yesterday,” and “Antifa is bad, really bad.”

Wray’s testimony and the recent threats against other Democratic governors in battleground states raise serious questions. What do the remainder of the over 1,000 ongoing investigations show? How many fascist groups are mobilizing to carry out insurrection this November? Which governors are next? Who are the other figures on their “kill lists?”

On all of these questions, the Democrats and their main media mouthpieces are silent. By contrast, the pro-Trump Wall Street Journal went on the offensive, publishing an editorial on the Michigan plot that characterized Whitmer’s regime as an “overreaching state government,” which “exceeded her legal authority in the pandemic, and often in arrogant fashion.” It went on to denounce Whitmer for blaming Trump and echoed Trump’s declaration that she should have thanked the “Trump Justice Department.”

The silence of the Democrats and the media on what is the most advanced conspiracy to overthrow the constitution in American history can only be understood in class terms. The principal concern of the Democratic Party, a party of Wall Street and factions of the military-intelligence apparatus, is that the working class will become aware of the enormous dangers and take independent action.

On Wednesday, after Trump left the Walter Reed Medical Center, the World Socialist Web Site explained that he had to return rapidly to the White House because his ongoing political conspiracies could not be orchestrated from a hospital bed. While noting the extreme crisis of the Trump administration, the WSWS wrote:

There is one factor that works in Trump’s favor: the duplicity, spinelessness and fundamentally reactionary character of the Democratic Party. The Democrats can claim no credit for the crisis of the Trump administration. Rather than exposing his plots, they have done everything they can to stifle mass opposition to Trump’s fascistic conspiracies and cover up the danger of dictatorship.

The Democrats’ response to the attempted coup in Michigan once again exposes their political role. They want to ensure that the unprecedented political crisis remains confined entirely to the conflicts within the ruling class and its state.

Opposing Trump’s plot against America means pulling the rug out from under the financial aristocrats who plot and conspire against the democratic rights of the population. This task falls to the working class, which produces all of society’s wealth and is forced to go to work and school under deadly conditions. It is this powerful social force that must lead the opposition to Trump’s attempt to establish a dictatorship.

US election: UK 'writing off' Trump, forging ties with Biden
11 Oct, 2020

According to a report in The Times, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been warned of a landslide defeat for President Donald Trump and the Republicans next month, Photo / AP
news.com.au

By: Frank Chung

One of Donald Trump's most important allies is reportedly "writing off" his re-election chances and rushing to build ties with Joe Biden.

According to a report in The Times, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been warned of a landslide defeat for the Republicans next month, with Democrats on track for a "triple whammy" of seizing the Presidency, the House of Representatives and the Senate.

British ministers have been told to forge links with Biden and his team, after private polling and modelling shown to 10 Downing Street last month put the chance of Democratic victory at more than 70 per cent, with one model this weekend increasing to 85 per cent.

Despite an official decision not to take sides, Johnson reportedly spoke to the US President last week to wish him well for the election – but privately the British PM has all but given up on Trump.

"They're writing off Trump in No 10 now," one senior Conservative Party member told The Times.

My best wishes to President Trump and the First Lady. Hope they both have a speedy recovery from coronavirus.— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) October 2, 2020

Key British officials have been cosying up to Democrats, with UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab recently meeting with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other powerful Congressional figures on a visit to the US.

Last month, Biden weighed in on Brexit and its possible impact on Northern Ireland, reportedly causing some UK officials to fear the Democrat is more likely to side with the European Union.

"We can't allow the Good Friday Agreement that brought peace to Northern Ireland to become a casualty of Brexit," he tweeted.

We can’t allow the Good Friday Agreement that brought peace to Northern Ireland to become a casualty of Brexit.

Any trade deal between the U.S. and U.K. must be contingent upon respect for the Agreement and preventing the return of a hard border. Period. https://t.co/Ecu9jPrcHL— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) September 16, 2020

A number of British MPs and officials over the weekend raised concerns that hopes of a US-UK trade deal would go out the window if Biden wins.

"Recent pronouncements by Biden make clear he is unable or unwilling to understand the UK position on Brexit," Conservative MP and former Brexit Minister David Jones told The Sun.

"His stance is unsympathetic to the UK's people's wish to recover their independence."

With the US election now just over three weeks away, most opinion polls show Biden on track for a landslide victory.

The Real Clear Politics average currently has the Democrat ahead of the Republican by nearly 10 percentage points nationwide.

Polling analysis website FiveThirtyEight currently puts the chances of a Biden victory at 86 percent.

Biden said at a campaign stop over the weekend that "chicanery" at the voting booth was the only way he could lose, before walking back his comments after they were interpreted as casting doubt on the legitimacy of the outcome.

"Make sure to vote," the former vice president told voters in Pennsylvania. "Because the only way we lose this is by the chicanery going on relative to polling places."

Biden later clarified his comments, saying he was referring to Trump encouraging his supporters to "go to polls and watch very carefully".

The US President has repeatedly raised concerns of looming election chaos due to the large number of mail-in ballots this year.

Democrats have warned the public not to expect a definitive result on election night, with some even saying it may at first appear Trump has won in a landslide only for his lead to be chipped away as all the votes are counted in the subsequent days.

US could sanction Scottish salmon over sea lice as trade talks heat up

By Martin Hannan Multimedia Journalist


The USA are said to be threatening a ban because of the prevalence of sea lice in Scottish salmon

AS Westminster continues its deliberations on whether food standards should be lowered to allow new trade deals after the UK’s exit from the EU, it has been reported that the USA could ban imports of Scottish salmon.

The Mail on Sunday reported: “Representatives of the US have warned that if London does try to stop the import of chickens or hormone-injected beef, then Donald Trump’s administration could take similar action to target the lucrative farmed salmon industry, which is especially important to the Scottish economy.”


It is worth more than £800 million annually to Scotland and more than 11,000 jobs are dependent on the industry which sees £200m of exports to the USA each year.

The USA are said to be threatening a ban because of the prevalence of sea lice in Scottish salmon.

A recent report has found that 90% of turkey products, 80% of chicken, 70% of beef and 60% of pork sold in US supermarkets show unacceptable levels of E.coli, which indicates contact with faeces.

Some 13% of American pork has salmonella – six times higher than the UK – according to research led by Dr Lance Price of George Washington University.

Dr Price, whose findings are revealed in a Channel 4 Dispatches investigation tonight, also found that almost half the samples proved resistant to at least one of America’s six most common antibiotics.

He said: “It’s a real risk in human health because if somebody has a serious infection with one of these pathogens, and it’s resistant to the antibiotics that the doctor would use to treat them, then they could die.

“We have unequivocal, clear evidence that antibiotic use in animals leads to antibiotic-resistant infections in people.

“When you raise animals in a crowded, unsanitary condition, or give them feed they’re not evolved to eat, they get diseases.”

READ MORE: ‘Lice-free’ salmon farm to be Scottish first

He added: “Instead of changing the way we’re producing the animals, we give them antibiotics.”

A source at the Department for International Trade told the Mail on Sunday: “Given that chlorinated chicken is already banned in the UK, for the United States to impose new tariffs on our produce would be illegal and something that we would fight hard against.”

A spokesperson for International Trade Secretary Liz Truss said: “This Government has been absolutely clear that it will not sign a trade deal that will compromise our high environmental protection, animal welfare and food safety standards.

“We are a world leader in these areas and that will not change.”

The Scottish Government has been asked for comment.

 

MPs launch legal action against UK government over Covid contracts

The government has failed to account for £3bn spent on private contracts since the start of lockdown, new figures show

Green party MP, Caroline Lucas, and Liberal Democrat Layla Moran (pictured) have joined forces with Labour MP Debbie Abrahams and the Good Law Project. Photograph: Ben Stansall/AFP/Getty Images

PA Media

Sun 11 Oct 2020 

A legal action has been launched over the government’s failure to disclose details of its spending on contracts related to the pandemic, as it emerged that it has failed to account for £3bn spent on private contracts since the start of lockdown.

Three cross-party MPs and Good Law Project, a non-profit-making organisation, have filed a judicial review against the government for breaching the law and its own guidance and argue that there are mounting concerns over coronavirus procurement processes.

Lawyers accuse Cabinet Office of bias over Cummings ally's PR firm contract

Read more

Green party MP, Caroline Lucas, Labour’s Debbie Abrahams and Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran say that, despite the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) disclosing in September that at least £11bn worth of contracts have been awarded by the department since April, related predominantly to coronavirus, fresh analysis by data analysts Tussell shows that over £3bn worth of these contracts have not been made public.

The DHSC has said due diligence was carried out on all government contracts which have been awarded. The government has 21 days to respond to the judicial review proceedings.

Jolyon Maugham QC, director of Good Law Project, said: “What we know about the government’s procurement practices during this pandemic gives real cause for concern.

“Huge sums of public money have been awarded to companies with no discernible expertise. Sometimes the main qualification seems to be a political connection with key government figures.

“And I have seen evidence that government is sometimes paying more to buy the same product from those with political connections. We don’t know what else there is to discover because the government is deliberately keeping the public in the dark.

“We are left with no option but to push for transparency through the courts.”

Lucas added: “When billions of pounds of public money is handed out to private companies, some of them with political connections but no experience in delivering medical supplies, ministers should be explaining why those companies were awarded the contracts.

“It’s completely unacceptable that, as an MP, I’m prevented from being able to scrutinise those decisions.”

Abrahams said: “The persistent failure to publish the details of Covid contracts leads you to wonder what this government has got to hide.”

Moran said: “It is totally unacceptable for the government to avoid scrutiny during a public health crisis.

The legal challenge is being crowdfunded with the support of 38 Degrees and Good Law Project and the three MPs have instructed Deighton Pierce Glynn, Jason Coppel QC and Christopher Knight of 11KBW to act in the judicial review proceedings

The campaigns director of 38 Degrees, Ellie Gellard, said: “The public needs to know where taxpayers’ money has been spent in our ongoing battle against coronavirus so that we can be sure those who have been paid, deliver what they promised.

“That’s why thousands of members of the public have chipped in to help get the answers we deserve, transparency is needed to restore public trust in the government’s approach.”

 

Canadian detained in China 'astonished' to learn about scale of Covid pandemic

On Saturday Michael Kovrig had his first contact with diplomats since January, saying he was determined to come home

• Coronavirus – latest updates
• See all our coronavirus coverage

A photo of Canadians Michael Spavor (L) and Michael Kovrig, who have been detained in China. Photograph: Jason Redmond/AFP/Getty Images

Guardian staff and agencies

Mon 12 Oct 2020 02.15 BST

One of the two Canadians that Ottawa says are held arbitrarily in China was “relieved” to get outside news via a virtual diplomatic visit and astonished to learn of the scale of the Covid pandemic, his wife said on Sunday.

Canada announced on Saturday its first contact since January with Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, who have been imprisoned in China for nearly two years.

After months of “extreme isolation, Michael was greatly relieved to receive news from the outside world” and of his family, Kovrig’s wife Vina Nadjibulla told the CBC.

“We are extremely proud that despite his long confinement, Michael’s spirit, determination and even his sense of humour remain unbroken,” she said, adding that her husband was shocked to learn about the scale of the coronavirus pandemic.

“He was astonished to learn about the details of the Covid-19 pandemic and remarked that it all sounded like some ‘zombie apocalypse movie,’” her statement read.

“Of course, our focus remains on doing everything possible to bring Michael home. We are deeply grateful for the support and solidarity of all Canadians.”

China grants consular access to two Canadians detained for two years

Read more

Canada’s ambassador to China Dominic Barton obtained “virtual consular access” to Spavor on Friday and Kovrig on Saturday, the Canadian Foreign Affairs ministry said in a statement.

Former diplomat Kovrig and consultant Spavor have been imprisoned in China since 10 December, 2018. They were charged with espionage last June.

Their detention is seen by Western governments as retaliation for the arrest in Canada of Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer of Chinese telecoms giant Huawei and daughter of its founder.

Meng was arrested on a US warrant in December 2018 during a stopover in Vancouver.

She is charged with bank fraud related to violations of US sanctions against Iran, and has been fighting extradition ever since.

Former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig detained in China

Read more

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Saturday he had spoken with Donald Trump and thanked the US president for Washington’s continued support of efforts to free the two Canadians.

When announcing the consular visit on Saturday, the Canadian government reiterated its deep concern over the “arbitrary detention” of the two men and called for their immediate release.

The purpose of consular visits is generally to assess the condition of a detainee, clarify the nature of his detention, provide advice, seek access to medical care if necessary, and serve as a channel of communication between the detainee and his relatives.

With Agence France-Presse

Armenian-Lebanese opera singer Kevork Hadjian dies on the Nagorno-Karabakh frontline

Hadjian was famous for his operatic iterations of Armenian patriotic songs, performing across Europe, the Americas and the Middle East

Kevork Hadjian, an Armenian-Lebanese opera singer, has died while fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh. Nancy Hajian

Kevork Hadjian, an Armenian-Lebanese opera singer, has died while fighting on the Nagorno-Karabakh frontline. He was 49.

Reports of his death first began circulating on social media on Wednesday, October 7. However, it is believed that Hadjian was killed in battle the day before.

Hadjian was a member of a regiment of volunteers led by the Armenian Revolutionary Federation – an Armenian nationalist and socialist political party that is also active in Syria and Lebanon. The platoon had been fighting alongside the Artsakh Defence Corps and managed to overrun Azerbaijani positions on the Varangatagh (Lulasaz) height shortly after Hadjian was killed.

Who was Kevork Hadjian?

Born in Anjar, in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley, in 1971, Hadjian’s musical prowess was evident from an early age.

Hadjian was born in Anjar, Lebanon, a town with a large Armenian-Lebanese community. Nancy Hajian

“He would sing the songs of Sayat Nova when he was just a few years old,” Nancy Hajian, a cousin of Hadjian says, referencing the 18th-century Armenian poet and musician. “The entire family was known for their powerful singing. Even his brother and three sisters have remarkable voices.”

Hadjian attended Anjar’s Harach and Calouste Gulbenkian Primary School before being accepted at the Holy Sea of Cilicia’s Zarehian Seminary in Antelias, a town to the north of Beirut.

“He would sing sometimes between classes,” Father Aram Deyirmendjian, the parish priest of the Armenian Church in Dubai and the Northern Emirates, says. “We grew up in the same neighbourhood in Anjar and then studied together in Antelias. We often spoke about music, even up to his final days.”

After graduating from the seminary in 1992, Hadjian enrolled at Parsegh Ganatchian Music School in Beirut. It was his induction into formal music training and the young Hadjian seemed eager to hone his musical sensibilities, actively taking part in choral groups across Lebanon, including the Shnorhali Choir and the Faiha Choir in Tripoli.

Hadjian has performed operatic iterations of Armenian patriotic songs across Europe, the Americas and the Middle East. Nancy Hajian

Hadjian also began training the choir of his old primary school, leading them to win a choral competition at the Parsegh Ganatchian Music School in 1993.

Hadjian’s musical activities were side-lined when he moved to Kuwait in 1994 with his wife, Frida, and his only child, Tatul. There, he began work as the executive secretary in the local Armenian community and church. He also taught music at the Kuwaiti Armenian High School in Kuwait.

“He was actively involved in community events in Kuwait,” Ani Sarkisian, a former student of Hadjian, says. “All the students held him in high regard. We looked up to him. It was clear that he loved his nation.”

Sarkisian says that Hadjian also founded a choir group in the local Armenian community. “He trained and led the group for years. He was quite passionate about it,” Sarkisian says.

Kevork Hadjian. Rest in Power. It has been an absolute honor knowing you. Friend. Brother. Family... words feel useless in expressing this loss. https://t.co/dcEJ3LQ3jk pic.twitter.com/pqMzUtQLg1— Saro Paparian (@SaroPaparian) October 7, 2020

In 2004, Hadjian and his family moved to Armenia and it is then that he began seriously pursuing a career in music.

“It was always evident that he had a good voice. But it wasn’t until he moved to Armenia where his voice truly blossomed,” Deyirmendjian says.

Hadjian enrolled at the Komitas State Conservatory in 2005, studying under the esteemed Armenian opera singer, Parsegh Toumanian. After graduating in 2009, Hadjian’s musical career skyrocketed. He began performing at his unique operatic iterations of Armenian patriotic songs across Europe, the Americas and the Middle East. In 2011, he travelled to Italy to take part in an international competition of opera singers, where he finished in the top ten and received a merit award.

“He was most famous for his patriotic songs,” Deyirmendjian says. “But he sang hymns wonderfully as well.”

In 2016, Hadjian performed in Sharjah in an event that commemorated Armenian Independence Day. Hajian, who lives in Sharjah, says it was the first time she saw her relative in more than two decades

.In 2016, Hadjian performed in Sharjah at an event that commemorated Armenian Independence Day. Nancy Hajian

“He left Anjar when I was a little girl,” she says. “So I didn’t see him again until the event in 2016. I had to introduce myself. He hugged me with all his strength. That’s all I keep thinking about after hearing of his death. I’ll never forget that moment.”

During his visit to the UAE, Hadjian also sang as part of the choir Saint Gregory the Illuminator Church. “For the last few years, he had been singing more patriotic songs. So when he sang at the church in Sharjah, it was a bit like a return to his old days,” Deyirmendjian says.
Fighting on the frontlines

Hadjian's first experience in active combat came during the four-day Nagorno–Karabakh War in 2016. It was his experience during this conflict that, Hajian says, led to his deployment at the frontlines less than two weeks ago.

A picture of Hadjian before being leaving to the Nagorno-Karbakh frontline. Nancy Hajian

“We knew he had volunteered after seeing a few Facebook posts about it,” Hajian says. “Then, last week, we got word that he was injured. But the news was ambiguous,” Hajian says. “Relatives and friends in Anjar gathered at his mother’s house, waiting for the news. And we knew it was going to be bad.”



#RIP Kevork Hadjian, opera singer, killed today in battles defending #Karabakh.#KarabakhAgainstTerrorism pic.twitter.com/l3F8abY9xD— ∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎ ∎∎∎∎∎∎ (@517design) October 7, 2020

Hajian adds that her relative always spoke of the ‘mardigs’ (warriors) who fought for Nagorno-Karabakh’s right to self-determination.

“He died as a mardig fighting for the Armenians in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh),” Hajian says. “Of course we’re proud of that, but we are still mourning him greatly.”

The opera singer’s death comes as Armenia and Azerbaijan, with Russia's mediation, agree to a ceasefire from noon on Saturday, October 10, following two weeks of heavy fighting that marked the worst outbreak of hostilities in the separatist region in a quarter-century.


Updated: October 10, 2020 06:45 PM

UK
Home Office may use nets to stop migrant boats crossing Channel
Nets could be used to clog propellers and halt boats, says former Royal Marine in charge

Migrants on a boat in the Channel in August. The total number of asylum applications received by the UK between April and June nearly halved compared with the first three months of the year. Photograph: Sameer Al-Doumy/AFP/Getty Images

Jamie Grierson Home affairs correspondent Sun 11 Oct 2020 THE GUARDIAN 

The Home Office is considering permitting the use of nets to prevent migrants from crossing the Channel in small boats to the UK to claim asylum, according to a former Royal Marine tasked with preventing the journeys.

In an interview with the Daily Telegraph, the Home Office’s clandestine channel threat commander, Dan O’Mahoney, said nets could be used to clog propellers and bring boats to a standstill as they attempt the crossing over the Dover Strait.

O’Mahoney told the Telegraph: “It’s that type of thing, yes. So, safely disabling the engine and then taking the migrants onboard our vessel.”

The tactic is the latest tactic reported to be under consideration by ministers and officials alongside locking migrants up on oilrigs, sending them more than 5,000 miles away to Ascension Island in the south Atlantic and using water cannon to create waves to push back vessels.

While the number of people arriving in the UK in small boats has increased nearly four-fold this year to more than 7,000, the total number of asylum applications received by the UK government between April and June nearly halved compared with the first three months of the year as the Covid-19 pandemic struck.

O’Mahoney told the Telegraph nets were one of a number of methods “which we may deploy over the next few months. But given that we’re not using them yet I’m not at liberty to go into detail about them … We are working with maritime security departments across law enforcement and military, everywhere across government [to] come up with new tactics to tackle this problem”.

He added: “We definitely are very, very close to being able to operationalise a safe return tactic where we make an intervention safely on a migrant vessel, take migrants onboard our vessel and then take them back to France.”

O’Mahoney used the interview to unveil a four-stage plan to tackle the issue of undocumented migration: using social media to attempt to stop the flow of migrants from Africa and the Middle East into northern France, reducing the number of asylum seekers leaving the region for the UK, physically preventing entry to the UK and reforming Britain’s asylum system.

The final strand was touched upon by the home secretary, Priti Patel, in her speech to the virtual Conservative party conference last week. She called the asylum system “fundamentally broken” and promised new laws to deny asylum to those using unofficial routes to enter the UK.

Speaking at the Conservative party conference, the home secretary said she would bring in legislation next year to stop “endless legal claims” from refused asylum seekers and was willing to face “being unpopular on Twitter” in order to bring down the number of claims.