AMELIORATING CAPITALISM

Clorox Signs "America Is All In" Statement in Support of Action on Climate Change

On the fifth anniversary of the Paris Climate Agreement, U.S. Businesses, Government Entities and Institutions Voice Support for National Mobilization on Climate




NEWS PROVIDED BYThe Clorox Company

Dec 10, 2020, 16:20 ET

OAKLAND, Calif., Dec. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) has signed America Is All In – a statement supported by more than 1,000 businesses, government entities, universities and other institutions to express support for ambitious commitments to tackle the climate crisis.

Signatories to America Is All In support driving economic growth through job-creating sustainable investments. A key principle of the collaborative statement is approaching climate and economic recovery in a manner that addresses systemic inequalities and ensures everyone benefits from a transition to climate resiliency.

"Clorox's corporate purpose is to champion people to be well and thrive, every single day. And this includes contributing to a healthy planet," said Clorox CEO Linda Rendle. "Consistent with our commitment to science-based climate action, we're lending our voice to call for a coordinated, national response to climate change and recognize that all sectors must act together to help our planet thrive now and in the future."

Clorox has made addressing climate change a key priority in its IGNITE Strategy. The company has committed to 100% renewable electricity in the U.S. and Canada by next year and to setting science-based targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in its operations and across its value chain.

These commitments build upon a long-standing focus on climate stewardship that resulted in cumulatively reducing emissions by 56% per case of product sold and by 46% on an absolute basis between 2008 and 2019. Clorox is proud of its progress and commitment to climate stewardship but recognizes that the efforts of any single organization are not sufficient to meet the scale of the challenge. America Is All In conveys the importance of multi-stakeholder collaboration and leadership in addressing climate change.

America Is All In will be shared with U.S. federal government officials and members of Congress, United Nations officials and global heads of state. View the statement and signatories at AmericaIsAllIn.com.

The Clorox Company

The Clorox Company (NYSE: CLX) is a leading multinational manufacturer and marketer of consumer and professional products with about 8,800 employees worldwide and fiscal year 2020 sales of $6.7 billion. Clorox markets some of the most trusted and recognized consumer brand names, including its namesake bleach and cleaning products; Pine-Sol® cleaners; Liquid-Plumr® clog removers; Poett® home care products; Fresh Step® cat litter; Glad® bags and wraps; Kingsford® charcoal; Hidden Valley® dressings and sauces; Brita® water-filtration products; Burt's Bees® natural personal care products; and RenewLife®, Rainbow Light®, Natural Vitality Calm™, NeoCell® and Stop Aging Now® vitamins, minerals and supplements. The company also markets industry-leading products and technologies for professional customers, including those sold under the CloroxPro™ and Clorox Healthcare® brand names. More than 80% of the company's sales are generated from brands that hold the No. 1 or No. 2 market share positions in their categories.

Clorox is a signatory of the United Nations Global Compact and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's New Plastics Economy Global Commitment. The company has been broadly recognized for its corporate responsibility efforts, named to the 2020 Axios Harris Poll 100 reputation rankings, Barron's 2020 100 Most Sustainable Companies list, and the Human Rights Campaign's 2020 Corporate Equality Index, among others. In support of its communities, The Clorox Company and its foundations contributed more than $25 million in combined cash grants, product donations and cause marketing in fiscal year 2020. For more information, visit TheCloroxCompany.com, including the Good Growth blog, and follow the company on Twitter at @CloroxCo.

America Is All In

The America Is All In statement was co-produced by the many organizations and networks that support the management of We Are Still In - a joint declaration of support for climate action signed by more than 3,900 CEOs, mayors, governors, tribal leaders, college presidents, faith leaders, health care executives, and others in 2017. America Is All In was organized by The American Sustainable Business Council, B Team, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Center for American Progress, Ceres, CDP, Climate Mayors, Climate Nexus, C40, C2ES, Environmental Defense Fund, Environmental Entrepreneurs, Georgetown Climate Center, Health Care Without Harm, ICLEI, National League of Cities, Rocky Mountain Institute, Second Nature, Sierra Club, Sustainable Museums, The Climate Group, We Mean Business, World Resources Institute (WRI), and World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Learn more at AmericaIsAllIn.com.

CLX-C

SOURCE The Clorox Company
Related Links

http://www.TheCloroxCompany.com

K12 Climate Action Examines Climate Change Mitigation in Schools

School leaders from Philadelphia, Stockton join student activists in sharing innovative solutions

NEWS PROVIDED BYK12 Climate Action

Dec 10, 2020, 18:11 ET

WASHINGTON, Dec. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, K12 Climate Action, an initiative of the Aspen Institute, examined how schools can mitigate their environmental impact during its second listening session, which featured Dr. William Hite Jr., the Superintendent of the School District of Philadelphia; Otis Hackney, the Chief Education Officer for the City of Philadelphia; Gilbert Rosas, the Energy Education Specialist at Stockton Unified School District; and Mahider Tadesse and Andie Madsen, student activists from Salt Lake City School District.

"Climate change is a major crisis that we all, as well as schools, will face, and school leaders and policymakers must prepare for those unique challenges and take action," said former New Jersey Governor and EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman. "Today, we've heard tangible steps schools in Philadelphia, Salt Lake City, and Stockton have taken to reduce their environmental impact, move toward sustainable solutions, and provide healthier learning environments for children and youth."

"With green matters playing such a crucial role in our economy," said Hite. "We know that today's students are tomorrow's workforce. We need to prepare them for jobs but also to live healthy lifestyles."

"This pandemic should teach us that we need to be prepared for change and invest in the future," said Rosas.

"I hope this moment is the beginning of moving in the right direction for where schools and school districts need to be in the future," says Madsen. "I am hoping that more young people are getting involved in this conversation because it is so necessary, and truly we have a personal stake in this fight."

Co-chaired by John B. King Jr., president and CEO of The Education Trust and 10th U.S. Secretary of Education under President Barack Obama, and Christine Todd Whitman, president of the Whitman Strategy Group and former Governor of New Jersey and Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency under President George W. Bush, K12 Climate Action consists of 23 commissioners and over 35 coalition partners. It will release an action plan in 2021 that will harness schools' unique position to educate and prepare a new generation of students to advance a more sustainable world.

K12 Climate Action has four key areas of focus:

Mitigate: transitioning to more sustainable operations including energy, transportation, and food use;

Adapt: building resilience in preparation for disruptions and negative impacts related to climate change;

Educate: supporting teaching and learning to equip children and youth with the knowledge and skills to build a more sustainable world; and

Advance Equity: centering the voices and needs of Black, Latinx, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, Indigenous and other communities of color as well as low-income students and families.

In the United States, 50 million children and young people attend public schools. With 98,000 schools, 480,000 diesel school buses, and 7 billion meals served annually, the education sector has a considerable environmental impact and offers one of the greatest opportunities to build long-lasting change to advance sustainability.

For more information, visit k12climateaction.org and join the conversation by following K12 Climate Action on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

The Aspen Institute is a global nonprofit organization committed to realizing a free, just, and equitable society. Founded in 1949, the Institute drives change through dialogue, leadership, and action to help solve the most important challenges facing the United States and the world. Headquartered in Washington, DC, the Institute has a campus in Aspen, Colorado, and an international network of partners. For more information, visit www.aspeninstitute.org.

SOURCE K12 Climate Action
Related Links

http://k12clima

ESG* AMELIORATING CAPITALISM
Why Kellogg's enhanced Human Rights Strategy matters more than ever

 


NEWS PROVIDED BY Kellogg Company

Dec 10, 2020, 10:30 ET


BATTLE CREEK, Mich., Dec. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- During the recent United Nations Annual Forum on Business and Human Rights, two main themes emerged: COVID-19 and climate change. But a third, sobering fact was also presented – the COVID-19 pandemic has undone many of the human rights gains that companies have made in recent years. And female workers and children are disproportionately at an even greater risk. Kellogg, peer organizations, governments, and civil society all have a major role to play in continuing to protect and advance human rights. Amy Senter, Kellogg Company Chief Sustainability Officer, shares how the company's latest efforts intend to drive even greater action and impact.

Smallholder Cocoa Farmers in Ecuador

Social K – Kellogg Company Blog

Amy Senter
Chief Sustainability Officer

We have long been committed to protecting, respecting, and advancing the cause of human rights across our value chain, which continues to contribute to our Better Days global purpose platform. Doing so is central to maintaining a responsible, ethical and equitable business. We have made steady progress towards our commitment and are pleased to announce that we have evolved our Human Rights Strategy and updated our Human Rights Policy to enable greater action and impact.

We are actively supporting human rights across our value chain by:
Protecting farmers and worker rights, combatting forced and child labor, and ensuring a safe and healthy workplace for all.

Driving equity, diversity and inclusion across our business through enhanced leadership commitments for equitable representation, investing in continued training and development and strengthening external multicultural partnerships.

This accountability has been seen throughout our COVID response. Moreover, we're working to ensure human rights are protected not just in our operations but across our supply chain. Our enhanced strategy and policy reflect an even more active approach for engaging with our suppliers and internal facilities to ensure we are positioned to drive the biggest impact across our business.

To inform our strategy, we consulted with external stakeholders, suppliers, trusted non-government organizations and industry experts to identify enhancement opportunities – and we're taking several actions because of it, such as:
Launching an external-facing Ethics Hotline digital app to improve reporting and tracking of human rights issues and making this available to our suppliers and employees.

Enlisting an international consulting firm to conduct ongoing assessments of human rights risks across our supply chain and establishing verification of human rights protection in high-risk sites with Tier 1 suppliers and within our internal operations.

Educating and engaging employees and suppliers on this issue through company-wide training and embedding human rights protections into day-to-day business.

Investing in programs at ingredient origin that address root cause issues for human rights issues.

Expanding annual reporting and communications of human rights progress to stakeholders, customers and consumers.

This work builds from positive milestones we've already achieved.

In 2020 we ranked 13th in the Know the Chain global human rights benchmark and 14th in the Corporate Human Rights Benchmark across industries. Both are reflective of our ongoing efforts to bolster our human rights programs and activities throughout our supply chain and internal operations.

This includes, for example, our work supporting cocoa farmers in Ecuador and Ghana, Malagasy vanilla farmers, wheat farmers in India and smallholder palm producers in Malaysia – areas and people that are typically at the highest risk for human rights violations.

Pandemic or not, we remain steadfast in our commitment to identifying human rights risks and eradicating violations across our supply chain now and in the future.

You can read more about our Human Rights progress in our annual milestones. View our updated policy on our corporate website.

About Kellogg Company
At Kellogg Company (NYSE: K), we strive to enrich and delight the world through foods and brands that matter. Our beloved brands include Pringles®, Cheez-It®, Special K®, Kellogg's Frosted Flakes®, Pop-Tarts®, Kellogg's Corn Flakes®, Rice Krispies®, Eggo®, Mini-Wheats®, Kashi®, RXBAR®, MorningStar Farms® and more. Net sales in 2019 were approximately $13.6 billion, comprised principally of snacks and convenience foods like cereal and frozen foods. Kellogg brands are beloved in markets around the world. We are also a company with Heart & Soul, committed to creating Better Days for 3 billion people by the end of 2030 through our Kellogg's® Better Days global purpose platform. Visit www.KelloggCompany.com or www.OpenforBreakfast.com.

* ENVIRONMENT, SOCIAL, GOVERNANCE

Analysis: U.S. blessing Facebook deals complicates lawsuit demanding Instagram sale

LEFT HAND NOT KNOWING WHAT THE RIGHT HAND IS DOING DEPT.

By Paresh Dave
Thu., December 10, 2020

FILE PHOTO: The Facebook logo is displayed on their website in an illustration photo taken in Bordeaux

(Reuters) - A U.S. lawsuit that could lead to the break-up of Facebook Inc's social media empire may be hindered by the government's role in the company's monopoly building, and a recent dearth of similar cases, legal experts said.

In twin lawsuits on Wednesday, the Federal Trade Commission and 48 U.S. states and territories alleged Facebook's purchases of media-sharing apps Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014 were part of an illegal pattern to maintain its monopoly in social networking, leaving consumers with few alternatives to apps from the Silicon Valley giant.

But the FTC reviewed the two deals at the time, especially scrutinizing the Instagram deal, and did not try to block them. Facebook has already used that fact to call the lawsuits "revisionist history" and will continue to make that a part of its defense, a person familiar with the company's thinking said.

Many of the company emails and other evidence the FTC revealed in its complaint on Wednesday - which show Facebook was motivated to eliminate costly competition - could have been accessed back then under its investigative powers.

The source described the FTC's attempted redo now as unprecedented and noted that rivals including TikTok, Snapchat and Twitter have continued to grow over the last eight years.

Legal scholars or attorneys not involved in the case said the FTC's inaction nearly eight years ago is problematic, but not insurmountable.

"They were wrong not to challenge it at first but that's water under the dam," said Spencer Waller, director of the Institute for Consumer Antitrust Studies at Loyola University Chicago. "Now, they can say, 'We've seen what happened and conclude it has'" substantially lessened competition.

In fact, companies have been sued long after deals were completed. The Justice Department in 1964 succeeded in forcing chemical giant du Pont to sell a stake in automaker General Motors in a case brought about 30 years after the investment.

The FTC seems to understand the optics on the situation, said Joel Mitnick, an antitrust attorney at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft. While the states allege each of the two Facebook acquisitions separately violated the U.S. law banning unfair mergers, the FTC sued only under a separate law that broadly bars schemes that allow companies to unfairly hold onto power.

"The (FTC) clearly doesn't want the judge to be focusing on whether they blew it at the time of acquisitions," Mitnick said. "The FTC would have to say to the court, 'We just didn't understand at the time that these mergers would create companies that would increase in size and consumers wouldn't go to other sites." The FTC declined to comment on its legal strategy.

Even if the FTC prevails on whether Facebook violated the law, a break-up would be far from certain.

The statute upon which the FTC is bringing its case last triggered a major divestiture in 2000 when a federal judge ordered Microsoft to separate its operating systems and apps businesses. But an appeals court later reversed that order, a decision that likely benefits Facebook, Mitnick said.

The FTC may counter with a Supreme Court decision from 1966 holding that a conglomerate developing plumbing supplies and burglar systems had to dissolve the series of tie-ups that led to its market power.

The FTC's work will be more difficult because "the government has not pursued a divestiture like this in quite a while," said Rory Van Loo, associate law professor at Boston University. But there may be no better remedy in this case, and "those large divestitures of decades and even a century ago are still good law," he said.

(Reporting by Paresh Dave in Oakland, California; Additional reporting by Nandita Bose in Washington; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

CANADA 

Syrian refugees overcoming war memories brought back by COVID-19

Thu., December 10, 2020



OTTAWA — Five years after the first of them arrived in Canada, tens of thousands of Syrian refugees have had to adapt to COVID-19 lockdowns that brought back the memories of war horrors and upset the lives they had begun to rebuild.

On Dec. 10, 2015, following a promise by the Liberals during the 2015 election campaign to make it much easier for them to reach Canada, the first plane bearing Syrian refugees landed in Toronto.

A total of 45,919 Syrian refugees were resettled in Canada by April 2017 and more continued to arrive under other programs after that.

Dima Naseraldeen arrived in Montreal less than three years ago with her husband and their two sons. Earlier this year, when they had started to enjoy their new life in Canada, the city went into a lockdown, forcing them to stay at home and to put their work plans on hold.

"In the beginning, we were worried and scared," she said.

"Suddenly, streets were empty, stores were shut down. It was something similar to war."

Before coming to Canada, Naseraldeen spent years with her family in a suburb south of Damascus hiding from mortar shells.

She said the first few months of the COVID-19 pandemic put them in the same profound anxiety they had lived with in Syria.

"We would always hear the sirens of ambulances and wait for the news," she said. "We didn't know what was going to happen next."

Bayan Khatib, the co-founder and executive director of the Syrian Canadian Foundation, said Syrian newcomers she worked with told her they were locked down in their homes in Syria for months or a year at a time because of the constant bombings outside and their inability to leave town.

"Everybody wearing masks must have been difficult to see, too, for people, perhaps, who are coming from areas that were attacked with chemical weapons," she said.

Khatib's organization is based in Mississauga, Ont., and provides services for newcomers in several cities in Ontario.

She said a lot of Syrian families came from places where the schools were shut down because of war, so when the schools were closed earlier this year, they must have felt horrible.

"Experiencing the second lockdown now in their new home as they're trying to live life in a safe place, sure has been very challenging and extra stressful for them."

Many Syrian refugees have applied to become Canadian citizens, but the federal Immigration Department has suspended citizenship exams since the pandemic began, creating a backlog.

The delayed citizenship applications contributed to the stress Syrian refugees have been living with throughout the pandemic.

Thursday, a group of 29 Syrian refugees took the oath while thousands still wait.

Immigration minister Marco Mendicino said in an interview that over 43,000 new citizens have participated in online citizenship ceremonies since April.

"We can continue to welcome and grow our family of citizenship despite the challenges posed by COVID-19."

Before the pandemic, Naseraldeen, 34, pursued a passion for drawing and participated in a few art shows with other artists in Montreal. Her first show of her own at the Montreal Art Centre was put off from May to December, then scrubbed.

"It was a disappointment" she said. "First, (the show) was delayed and I thought that would give me more time to prepare, then it was a shock that it was cancelled."

Her husband Ayham Abou Ammar is an actor and a musician. In February, he finished shooting his part as the lead actor in a Canadian movie about a Syrian family that moved to Canada, but the movie release was also put off until next year.

"It was supposed to be screened at several festivals, but it was all cancelled," he said.

Abou Ammar, 36, said he feels he lost the joy of watching his first movie on the big screen.

"It's a turning point to see your work in the cinema," he said. "I still hope it will be released next year."

Abou Ammar has taught music to youngsters in Montreal occasionally, but with limited participation due to physical-distancing rules.

The career shift was more dramatic for Noor Sakhniya, who finished his training to become a pilot last year in Ottawa, almost four years after landing in Canada with his family.

Sakhniya was hired by Buffalo Airways in Yellowknife in December 2019 but was laid off in March because of the pandemic.

Returning to Ottawa, Sakhniya, 23, had to work in survival jobs including making deliveries and as a personal grocer.

"You work hard for four years and you spend a lot of money on the training and on your dream … then, you (have) to let it all go," he said.

"I believe it's not just my case. It's the case of many pilots, whether they're beginner pilots or pilots who have years of experience, they will have to let it go due to the pandemic."

He used to be active in organizing events for the Syrian community in the city and he coached a soccer team for immigrant kids last year, but all of that was on hold this year.

"In our countries, we were used to having a circle of support from family and friends … For many Syrians, during the war, they all moved together into their family houses to support each other," he said. "During the pandemic, it's really hard to do that, especially here in Canada (where) you don't have family sometimes. Even though you have family sometimes, it'd be hard because you have to isolate yourself."

He works now at a manager in a restaurant in downtown Ottawa. Expecting aviation to be slow for many years, he's planning to study aerospace engineering at Carleton University next year.

Naseraldeen also is creating a new career path for herself in case she is not able to make living of painting in the near future. She finished training as a makeup artist recently.

She said it's difficult for her to paint artwork now, with the amount of uncertainty that COVID-19 pandemic has put her in. Yet she said she still has hope.

"We were living in a war zone and we lost our jobs and homes and there was always hope," she said. "I'm always optimistic … and I'm sure good things will follow."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 10, 2020

———

This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Facebook and Canadian Press News Fellowship.

Maan Alhmidi, The Canadian Press

THE OTHER BLM

Return to Freedom Sues BLM Over Plan to Surgically Sterilize Wild Mares

NEWS PROVIDED BY Return to Freedom Wild Horse Conservation
Dec 10, 2020,


LOMPOC, Calif., Dec. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Return to Freedom Wild Horse Conservation today filed suit in federal court in California to halt a Bureau of Land Management plan to surgically sterilize wild mares using a procedure that is dangerous, inhumane, and an unnecessary risk especially when proven, well-studied and previously utilized modes of alternative fertility control exist.

Neda DeMayo, founder and president of RTF, a national nonprofit advocacy organization, said BLM's plan ignores the spirit and intent of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act, in which Congress explicitly expressed that BLM must protect wild horses "from capture, branding, harassment or death." Under BLM's plan, the lives of wild mares would be placed at risk by the very federal agency charged with making decisions benefitting wild horses and burros on behalf of the American people.

"BLM is marching blindly into another management dead-end, risking the lives of federally protected wild mares at the expense of taxpayers who vehemently oppose such surgeries," DeMayo said. "RTF strongly supports safe, proven fertility control vaccines that are a humane and practical way to slow herd growth and finally phase out BLM's decades-long practice of capturing and removing wild horses from their ranges."

BLM is currently conducting a helicopter roundup on the Confusion Herd Management Area in Utah. At some point after its completion, the agency plans to hire presently unknown veterinarians to perform a painful and invasive surgical procedure in which a mare's ovaries are crushed then pulled out with a looped chain instrument. The mares would later be released onto the range.

BLM's relentless pursuit of sterilization surgeries continues in spite of Congress adding $21 million to the BLM's Wild Horse and Burro Program to be used in a multi-pronged non-lethal alternative program supported by RTF and other stakeholders with the use of proven, safe and humane fertility control at its center. On Nov. 19, 58 members of Congress sent a letter to the Secretary of the Interior calling on BLM to drop its surgical sterilization plan.

Called ovariectomy via colpotomy, the planned surgery includes risks of infection, bleeding and death. A BLM-commissioned report from the National Academy of Sciences advised against the use of the procedures on wild mares. In addition, there are no substantive studies to evaluate long-term health of ovariectomized mares.

The BLM continues to throw good money after bad. This will be at least the third time that BLM has gone to court over plans to surgically sterilize wild mares, despite polls showing the public supports protections for wild horses and burros. For example, BLM in 2016 abandoned a plan to spend $348,000 on sterilization experiments in Oregon on 225 mares, including at least 100 pregnant mares, after public opposition and litigation.

In 2017, wild horse advocates, including RTF, prevailed in a federal lawsuit challenging BLM's efforts to permanently sterilize an entire Idaho herd of horses. The court found that BLM: has a legal mandate to protect horses' wild free-roaming behaviors and manage wild horses in self-sustaining herds, and that sterilizing wild horses impacts the herd's social structure, the wild horses' behavior, and the public's interest in preserving and observing those natural instincts and behaviors.

Unlike surgical sterilization, the immuno-contraceptive fertility control vaccine PZP has more than three decades of research supporting its use. Other fertility control vaccines, including some that are longer acting, are receiving further attention and study. These have strong public support and can be injected by hand or by dart by trained technicians, making them far more humane, and cost-effective ways to slow herd growth.

RTF is represented by attorney Bruce Wagman of Riley Safer Holmes & Cancila LLP.

About RTF

Return to Freedom Wild Horse Conservation (RTF) is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to wild horse preservation through sanctuary, education, conservation and advocacy since 1998. It also operates the American Wild Horse Sanctuary at four California locations, caring for well over 500 wild horses and burros.

SOURCE Return to Freedom Wild Horse Conservation
Related Links
https://returntofreeedom.org

Record Year for Americans Giving Up Citizenship, Reports Bambridge Accountants New York

NEWS PROVIDED BY Bambridge Accountants New York

Oct 29, 2020

NEW YORK, Oct. 29, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- 2020 is the record year for Americans giving up their citizenship, according to research by the Enrolled Agents and accountants of Bambridge Accountants New York.

Americans Renouncing 2020


6,045 Americans gave up their citizenship in the first nine months of 2020 

Showing a 234% increase on the same 9 months to in 2019, where only 1,811 cases were recorded

2,072 Americans gave up their citizenship in 2019 in total

This is the highest year on record; the previous record was 5,411 cases in 2016. Already in 2020, with 3 months still to report, 6,045 is the record number of cases in a year

This is all while the U.S. State Department has stopped Americans being able to book appointments to renounce at many U.S. Embassies since March 2020

Americans must pay a $2,350 government fee to renounce their citizenship, and those based overseas must do so in person at the U.S. Embassy in their country.

There are an estimated 9 million U.S. expats. The trend has been that there has been a steep decline over the last few years of U.S. citizens expatriating - the first six months of 2020 is a huge increase in the number of Americans renouncing their citizenship.

Under the IRS rules (section 6039g), every three months the U.S. Government publishes the names of all Americans who give up their citizenship. The first nine months for 2020 had 6,045 Americans renouncing their citizenship, far more than the total of the four quarters for 2019 (2,072 Americans renounced).

Alistair Bambridge, partner at Bambridge Accountants New York, explains: "There has been a huge interest in 2020 for Americans overseas looking to renounce their citizenship, where the figures have been in steep decline since 2017."

"The record numbers of Americans giving up their citizenship in the first nine months of 2020 is the tip of the iceberg and if the U.S. Embassies and Consulates were all open, there would be much higher levels for 2020."

"From our experience, increasingly Americans abroad have had enough of President Trump and the administration of the last four years and can't bear the thought of four more years. For those individuals, the situation is so serious that they are willing to give up their citizenship so they are not linked to the political policies in the U.S."

"I speak to U.S. citizens on a daily basis who are looking to renounce their citizenship, so there will be a large wave of U.S. citizens renouncing their citizenship once they are able to book appointments again. There are some U.S. citizens so desperate to give up their citizenship that they are booking holidays to the Bahamas or the Turks and Caicos Islands, or other far-off places, where appointments are still being offered to give up their citizenship."

Bambridge Accountants New York is a New York-based firm specializing in U.S. expat tax, U.K expats, actors, other creatives in the U.S. and U.K.

www.bambridgeaccountants.com

Related Images

americans-renouncing-citizenship.jpg
Americans Renouncing Citizenship
Americans Renouncing 2020

Related Links

IRS report of Americans renouncing

Bambridge Accountants

SOURCE Bambridge Accountants New York

 

AMERICAN EXCEPTIONALISM 

Lebanese judge charges PM, ex-ministers over Beirut Port Explosion

By Ellen Francis and Tom Perry
Thu., December 10, 2020

FILE PHOTO: Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab speaks to the media outside Beirut's international airport

BEIRUT (Reuters) - The judge investigating the Beirut port explosion has charged Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab and three former ministers with negligence over the blast that killed 200 people and devastated swathes of the capital.

Diab, whose cabinet resigned over the August blast after taking office in early 2020, said his conscience was clear and accused the judge of breaching the constitution.

Four months after one of the largest non-nuclear explosions on record, which injured thousands of people, victims are still awaiting the result of the investigation. Lebanese leaders had promised it would come within days.

The explosion added to the challenges facing Lebanon, where decades of waste and corruption have triggered the country's worst ever financial crisis.

Lebanon's sectarian leaders are still haggling over who will be in the new cabinet.

Judge Fadi Sawan called Diab and former finance minister Ali Hassan Khalil in for questioning next week, along with former public works ministers Ghazi Zeaiter and Youssef Finianos, state news agency NNA said on Thursday.

DIVIDED OPINION

Zeaiter, who said he would comment once he was officially informed, headed the public works ministry in 2014, soon after the Rhosus ship carrying tonnes of ammonium nitrate arrived at Beirut port.

The highly explosive chemicals were stored for years in poor conditions at the port, which lies in the heart of the capital.

There was no immediate comment from Finianos.

Khalil, a top aide to Lebanon's influential Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, said he had no role in the case as former head of the finance ministry, which oversees customs.

He said on Twitter that he was surprised by the judge's allegations which "violated the constitution and the law".

Families of some of the victims say Judge Sawan told them he had sent Berri a memo calling for immunity to be lifted from several former ministers and premiers, but the speaker had not accepted his proposal.

The judicial council that appointed Sawan said on Thursday he sent a letter last month telling parliament his investigation had revealed "serious suspicions" linked to some government officials. Parliament replied it found no such suspicions based on the information provided, the council said.

Sawan decided to interrogate a number of officials "as defendants", including ministers, and was doing his job to find the culprits, it said.

A parliamentary office statement in November said that when asked about the letter, parliament speaker Berri said: "We have done what needs to be done and replied to him".

The probe has sparked legal debate in Lebanon about whether ministers enjoy immunity in this case.

Thursday's move showed Sawan sided with those saying immunity does not apply, said Nizar Saghieh, head of The Legal Agenda, a research and advocacy organisation.

"This is a positive thing, meaning it has opened the door to bringing the ministers to account."

A senior judicial source said it was up to a special court, which includes seven lawmakers and eight judges, to indict the ministers rather than Sawan.

Several officials have been detained since the blast, including the port and customs chiefs, with dozens testifying as witnesses, including Diab.

But many Lebanese remain sceptical that senior politicians will be held to account, fearing the truth will never emerge from a system riven by corruption.

Security officials had warned Diab and President Michel Aoun the nitrate could destroy the capital if it exploded, according to documents seen by Reuters and senior security sources.

Aoun has said he had no direct authority over the port.

(Additional reporting by Laila Bassam and Samia Nakhoul; Writing by Ellen Francis; Editing by Alison Williams, Edmund Blair and Alexander Smith)

Beirut explosion: Acting prime minister among four charged over deadly blast in Lebanon

Bel Trew and Gemma Fox
Thu., December 10, 2020, THE INDEPENDENT

Hundreds of thousands were left homeless in the blast(AFP/Getty)

Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister and three former ministers have been charged over the massive port explosion in Beirut in August, that killed over 200 people and destroyed swathes of the city.

Judge Fadi Sawan filed the charges against Hassan Diab and former finance minister Ali Hassan Khalil, as well as Ghazi Zeiter and Youssef Fenianos, both former ministers of public works.

All four were charged with negligence leading to deaths over the 4 August explosion at Beirut port, which killed more than 200 people and injured thousands. Some 300,000 people were left homeless.

The explosion was likely caused by 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate that had been poorly stored at the port for years, with the knowledge of politicians, top security officials and even the prime minister and president.

The investigating judge had faced mounting criticism from the public for the secretive investigation and the fact that no senior political figures had been held to account. Before Thursday’s indictment, those detained over the blast were around 30 low-to mid-level security officials and port and customs officials.

Mr Diab, whose cabinet resigned over the August blast after taking office in early 2020, rejected Judge Sawan’s decision saying his conscience was clear and accused the judge of breaching the constitution.

His office has indicated they will not comply, saying in a statement that the judge had violated the constitution by overstepping the role of parliament, which has a special court to indict ministers.

Mr Zeiter said he would comment once he was officially informed. He headed the public works ministry in 2014, soon after the Rhosus cargo ship carrying tonnes of ammonium nitrate arrived at Beirut port.

There was no immediate comment from Mr Fenianos, who followed Mr Zeitar taking up the role as transport and public works minister in 2016 until the beginning of 2020.

Mr Khalil, a top aide to Lebanon's influential parliament speaker Nabih Berri, said he had no role in the case as former head of the finance ministry, which oversees customs.

He said on Twitter that he was surprised by the judge’s allegations which “violated the constitution and the law”.

The probe has sparked legal debate in Lebanon about whether ministers enjoy immunity in this case.

Families of some of the victims say Judge Sawan told them he had sent Mr Berri a memo calling for immunity to be lifted but the speaker had not accepted his proposal.

The judicial council that appointed Sawan said on Thursday he sent a letter last month telling parliament his investigation had revealed “serious suspicions” linked to some government officials. Parliament replied it found no such suspicions based on the information provided, the council said.

Sawan subsequently decided to interrogate a number of officials “as defendants”, including ministers, and was doing his job to find the culprits, it said.

The news was welcomed by Michel el Murr, head of the search and rescue for the Lebanese fire crew, who lost several colleagues and friends in the blast. He said it was a “positive development” that the prime minister and senior ministers would be questioned as they knew about the dangerous stockpile and had apparently failed to do anything about it.

“We hope this means we will get more answers about what happened and we will be a step closer to justice,” he told The Independent.

Diab, a former university professor, resigned a few days after the blast, which has been described as one of the largest and most devastating non-nuclear explosion in modern history.

Both Khalil and Fenanios were sanctioned by the US in September this year, the first two officials to be subjected to those outside of Hezbollah group.

Agencies contributed to this report

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CANADA

Commons passes assisted-dying bill after Conservatives end filibuster

Thu., December 10, 2020 The Canadian Press


OTTAWA — A bill to expand access to medical assistance in dying was approved Thursday by the House of Commons after the Conservatives ended a days-long filibuster.

Bill C-7 passed by a vote of 212-107, with the support of all but four Liberals — two of whom voted against and two of whom abstained — and all Bloc Québécois, New Democrat and Green MPs.

Nearly all Conservative MPs voted against the bill, including Leader Erin O'Toole. Just 15 supported it and one abstained.

Independent MP Jody Wilson-Raybould also voted against the proposed changes to the current law, which she introduced as the Liberals' justice minister in 2016.

The Senate, where opinion on the bill is deeply divided, now has just one week to deal with it before a court-imposed deadline of Dec. 18.

The Conservatives spent four days putting up speaker after speaker to debate the bill at third reading, after similarly dragging out debate on the justice committee's report on the bill.

As a result, passage of the bill Thursday came almost two weeks later than the government had planned and it remains to be seen whether the Senate can whip the bill through all stages of its legislative process in just one week.

"It certainly would have been better had this bill been there (in the Senate) earlier. There's absolutely no question about that and the Conservatives will have to answer for that," Justice Minister David Lametti said after the vote.

"It is difficult, I understand, but certainly not impossible."

Still, Lametti acknowledged he's "definitely worried" that some Conservative senators will drag out proceedings in the upper house, just as their caucus colleagues did in the Commons.

And should the Senate amend the bill in any substantive way, Lametti conceded it's "a fair point" that it would have to come back to the Commons where MPs would likely demand more lengthy debate.

The Commons is scheduled to break Friday until late January but could be recalled if necessary.

The upper house is not expected to begin second reading debate on the bill until Monday. If senators vote to approve the bill in principle, it must then go to the Senate's legal and constitutional affairs committee.

The committee last week conducted a pre-study of the bill, hearing from numerous witnesses, in a bid to help expedite the bill's passage through the Senate. But it may yet call more witnesses and must still give the bill clause-by-clause scrutiny and consider proposed amendments.

And then it must be debated and voted on again by senators in the chamber as a whole.

Some Conservative senators have echoed the concerns of their caucus colleagues in the Commons that the bill ignores the vehement opposition to the bill by disability rights groups, who fear it sends a message that life with a disability is not worth living.

But other senators, including some Conservatives, have argued the bill is unconstitutional because it is still too restrictive and, in particular, because it would expressly prohibit assisted dying for anyone suffering solely from a mental illness.

The bill is intended to bring the law into compliance with a Quebec Superior Court ruling last fall, which struck down a provision allowing medical assistance in dying only to those whose natural death is reasonably foreseeable.

It would drop the near-death requirement but set out two sets of eligibility criteria, making it easier for those near death to receive an assisted death but setting up more restrictive conditions for those who are not.

If the bill is not passed by next Friday, Lametti warned it will create a legal void in Quebec, in which people who are not near death will be allowed to receive an assisted death without any of the safeguards that Bill C-7 would have imposed.

As well, he said medical practitioners in the province will have no certainty as to whether they were acting legally in providing the procedure.

Moreover, he said all intolerably suffering Canadians who are near death would lose the benefit of the more relaxed rules proposed by the bill.

"These kinds of voids are very serious and so I'm very worried and I'm asking senators to really put their shoulders to the wheel in good faith and let's try to get this across the finish line."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 10, 2020.

Joan Bryden, The Canadian Press

Legislation to expand access to medically assisted death clears House, moves to Senate
Thu., December 10, 2020

Legislation to expand access to medically assisted death clears House, moves to Senate

A contentious bill that would expand access to medical assistance in dying (MAID) has passed in the House of Commons and will now head to the Senate as a court-imposed deadline looms on Dec. 18.

MPs voted 212 to 107 in favour of the legislation. Several Conservative MPs supported it, while a handful of Liberal MPs voted against it or abstained.

The government introduced C-7 in February in response to a September 2019 Superior Court of Quebec ruling which found that the law's precondition for obtaining a physician-assisted death — that the individual seeking it must face a "reasonably foreseeable" natural death — was unconstitutional.

The bill proposes to remove that requirement. It also disqualifies those whose sole underlying condition is a mental illness from obtaining an assisted death.

Justice Minister David Lametti said that while he is pleased the bill passed, he's disappointed that Conservatives delayed its passage and limited the time the Senate has to consider it.

"I'm asking senators to really put their shoulders to the wheel in good faith and let's get this across the finish line," he said.

WATCH / Justice minister fears C-7 won't pass Senate quickly

The Conservatives had worked to delay passage of the bill, arguing the government was trying rush through life-and-death legislation that fails to offer safeguards to protect the vulnerable.

Senate committee reports on pre-study

The bill now heads to the Senate, which is set to rise for the holiday break next week. It's not clear if the bill will pass in time to meet the court deadline before the break.

Lametti admitted he is worried about the tight timeframe.

"It is difficult, I understand, but definitely not impossible," he said.

The House of Commons rises this week for the break, but Lametti said it would be required to return if the Senate were to propose amendments to the bill.

Conservative Sen. Denise Batters said the Senate must not be "pressured" into passing C-7.

She said the government should have appealed the Quebec court ruling. She said the Dec. 18 deadline was artificially imposed and criticized the government for proroguing Parliament for six weeks instead of prioritizing the important piece of legislation.

The government already has received two extensions from the court, and Batters said it could request a third.

"If Bill C-7 does not pass, and I hope it doesn't, the Liberals will have only themselves to blame," she said.

Because of the compressed timeline, the Senate legal and constitutional affairs committee conducted a pre-study of C-7 that heard from 81 witnesses, including ministers, regulatory authorities, advocacy groups, legal and medical practitioners and other stakeholders. It also received 86 written submissions.

That committee released a report today outlining a summary of opinions it heard from witnesses, including concerns about Charter of Rights compliance, safeguards to protect the vulnerable and access to proper health care and support services.

The report says the committee heard from major national disability organizations which argued that removing "reasonably foreseeable natural death" would "single out disability" in violation of Charter-entrenched equality rights. They said a constitutional challenge likely would be launched if the bill passes.

MPs also heard similar concerns from groups representing Canadians with disabilities.

A July report from Health Canada on medical assistance in dying in Canada showed that nearly 14,000 Canadians had received MAID since 2016. In 2019, MAID accounted for 2 per cent of deaths in Canada.

A planned parliamentary review of the regime was delayed due to COVID-19, but is expected to begin next year.