Why do the latest mass arrests in Hong Kong matter?

BECAUSE THEY ARE REACTIONARY ATTACKS ON THE GAINS OF THE BOURGEOIS REVOLUTION

Issued on: 06/01/2021 - 12:38

Hong Kong police carried out mass arrests of opposition figures on Wednesday for subversion under the new security law Peter PARKS AFP

Hong Kong (AFP)

China has moved to crush Hong Kong's democracy movement in recent months but Wednesday's mass arrest of democracy figures for subversion under Beijing's new national security law was particularly momentous.

Here's why.

What's so significant about this operation?

The most eye-catching element is the scale of the crackdown and the variety of figures caught in the dragnet.

Prior to Wednesday, around 30 people had been arrested under the new security law since its imposition in late June last year.

That figure was eclipsed in a single day with 53 simultaneous arrests carried out by more than 1,000 officers.

The list of those rounded up is a who's who of the democratic opposition, from elderly veterans and youth activists, to lawyers, academics and social workers.

In a first, it also includes an American national.

Bail is not usually granted for those charged with security crimes and offences can carry up to life in prison.

What is subversion?

Subversion is one of the four new crimes outlawed by the security law.

The others are secession, terrorism and colluding with foreign forces.

Beijing says the law is needed to return stability to Hong Kong after huge democracy protests in 2019 and says other countries also have similar security laws.

But few contain the kind of catch-all wording China uses.

The definition of subversion, for example, includes any attempt to "seriously interfere in or disrupt" the government.

Wednesday's arrests reveal Hong Kong authorities have decided that an unofficial primary election organised last year by pro-democracy groups was subversion and therefore a national security crime.

Why would a primary be a security crime?

A primary is a process in which voters cast ballots for their preferred candidates to compete in a future election.

In 2020, Hong Kong's pro-democracy coalition groups held an unofficial primary to choose their candidates for upcoming legislative elections.

The 70-seat body is only half directly elected, a system that all but guarantees pro-government control.

But democracy supporters had been hoping to take all 35 electable seats by capitalising on swirling anger towards the city's pro-Beijing leaders after the protests of 2019.

After that, they could try to block legislation or even force a vote of no confidence in Chief Executive Carrie Lam.

In the end, the election was postponed for a year with authorities blaming the coronavirus.

But Beijing decided the campaign was nonetheless subversion.

What's the reaction been so far?

Hong Kong and Beijing have defended the move.

The city's security minister, John Lee, said those arrested were trying to "sink Hong Kong into an abyss".

Beijing's Liaison Office said those facing prosecution "strategically organised or implemented a plan to paralyse the government".

Opposition figures are horrified.

They say the subversion charges prove that virtually any opposition to government policy is now deemed a security crime.

"Trying to stand in an election, publishing your political ideals, organising public gatherings and expressing your preference in an unofficial primary survey are all considered attempts to 'subvert the state's power'," the Hong Kong Democracy Council, a body largely made up of overseas exiles, said in a statement.

Amnesty International said the arrests "illustrate how the broad scope of the law allows it to be applied in circumstances that do not qualify as genuine threats to national security."

Hong Kong is a major international business hub.

So far most business organisations have stayed quiet about the crackdown, fearful of incurring Beijing's wrath.

Kristian Odebjer, chair of the Swedish Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, was a rare exception Wednesday.

"HK political crackdown is having a significant negative impact on business," he wrote on Twitter.

"Legitimate questions about rule of law raised and as HK image deteriorates, it becomes more and more difficult to defend why you should maintain costly operations here."

© 2021 AFP

Hazara Shiites refuse to bury dead as Pakistan protest continues

Issued on: 06/01/2021 - 

Shiite Muslims carry placards during a protest against the killing of Hazara miners claimed by the Islamic State group Rizwan TABASSUM AFP

Quetta (Pakistan) (AFP)

Hundreds of mourners in Pakistan protested Wednesday for a fourth day alongside the bodies of miners killed in a brutal attack claimed by the Islamic State group, as officials urged them to bury their dead.

Up to 2,500 people from the minority Shiite Hazara community have since Sunday blocked a road on the outskirts of Quetta, capital of oil and gas-rich Balochistan province, demanding better protection.

There were also protests in the port city of Karachi.

Ten miners were kidnapped by gunmen from a remote colliery before being taken to nearby hills where most were shot dead.

Some were beheaded, said officials who did not want to be named.

The community's refusal to bury the bodies is symbolic in Muslim-majority Pakistan, where according to Islamic culture people should be buried within 24 hours, before the next sunset.

"This is systematic ethnic cleansing of Hazaras in Balochistan and our security forces are behaving like lame ducks, doing nothing," said Zainab Ahman, an activist among the mourners.

Ethnic Hazaras make up most of the Shiite population in Quetta, the capital of Balochistan -- the country's largest and poorest region, rife with ethnic, sectarian and separatist insurgencies. 

IT SHOULD BE AN AUTONOMOUS COUNTRY WHICH PAKISTAN WILL NOT ALLOW

Their Central Asian features make them easy targets for Sunni militants who consider them heretics.

Two ministers, representing Prime Minister Imran Khan, flew to Quetta on Wednesday to try to convince the mourners to end the protest.

Khan tweeted that the government was taking steps to prevent such attacks, but gave no details.

"Please bury your loved ones so their souls find peace," he added.

Two of the miners were Afghans and their bodies returned home for burial, a local security official told AFP.

The attack was claimed by Sunni extremist group IS, according to SITE Intelligence, which monitors jihadist activities worldwide.

IS is affiliated with the local militant group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, which itself had links to Pakistan's Taliban.

Pakistani officials have long denied the presence of IS in the country, but the group has claimed a number of attacks including a bombing at a vegetable market in 2019.

© 2021 AFP

SEE

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for Balochistan (plawiuk.blogspot.com)

Rival teams race to be first for winter summit of 'savage mountain' K2
Issued on: 06/01/2021 -

Since the first attempt in 1987-1988, only a handful of winter expeditions have been made on K2  NONE OF THEM SUCCESFUL AT REACHING THE TOP

AMELIE HERENSTEIN AFP/File

Islamabad (AFP)

Dozens of mountaineers have converged on Pakistan's mighty K2 peak, vying to conquer one of the world's last major climbing challenges -- reaching the summit in winter.

Four teams with around 60 climbers and sherpas between them have begun climbing the world's second-highest peak -- known as the "savage mountain" -- where winds can blow at more than 200 kilometres per hour (125 miles per hour) and temperatures drop to minus 60 degrees Celsius (minus 76 Fahrenheit).

Since the first attempt in 1987-1988, only a handful of winter expeditions have been made on the 8,611-metre (28,250-feet) mountain in the Karakoram massif on the Chinese border. None of them have got above 7,650 metres.

Even in summer, almost one in six climbers who attempt the summit die, and since the first success in 1954 only 450 people have managed it -- compared to more than 6,000 who have scaled Mount Everest.

Lockdowns and travel bans sparked by the coronavirus outbreak mean the summer climbing season last year was a washout in Pakistan and other popular climbing destinations in the region, such as Nepal.

"People had plans for the year but they couldn't go anywhere," said Dutch mountaineer Arnold Coster, who is helping to lead one of the expeditions.

"So we've been kind of jobless for a year and now lots of people want to do something," he told AFP.

Although Pakistan is still battling more than 2,000 fresh coronavirus cases a day, the country has reopened.

Throughout December, the teams flew into the northern town of Skardu and trekked over the Baltoro Glacier to reach base camp, from where they will begin the ascent -- an expedition that could take up to two and a half months in total depending on the weather.

- Egos and avalanches -

K2 is set amongst some of the most breathtaking landscapes the world has to offer -- and some of the most dangerous.

"Multiple factors must fall in line for anyone to have a chance of summiting," said climbing coach Alan Arnette, who points to altitude sickness, avalanches and landslides -- as well as egos -- as potential pitfalls.

Coster's expedition, organised by Nepalese company Seven Summit Treks, stands out with its supersize team of around 20 clients of varying experience and around 30 support staff.

Together, they will have to accommodate differing ambitions, including those who do not want the help of sherpas or oxygen.

"We have a lot of different people with different ideas. For us, as leaders, it's difficult to manage. But from a manpower point of view, if people work together, we have a bigger chance," said Coster.

Climbers spend days going up and down attaching ropes to the mountain to help them reach the top and also acclimatise to the thinning air -- particularly tiring work for small groups.

One trekker has already been airlifted from base camp because of a pre-existing health condition, the company said.

- Concerns of crowding -

Mingma Gyalje has climbed 13 of the highest peaks but failed to reach the K2 summit last winter.

This year he is heading an all-Nepalese team of three experienced sherpas.

Gyalje is a contender to summit this time, better prepared for the cold after his harsh lesson last year -- but concerned about sharing a crowded mountainside with other teams.

"I don't feel like it's a good sign having so many people, too many clients," he told AFP.

"It puts pressure on the staff. Because there are people in the team who don’t want to go back without reaching the summit."

Many mountaineers shared the same concerns, fearing some of the climbers are not sufficiently prepared.

Of the other two expeditions, one is led by Nirmal Purja, a star Nepalese climber and former British special forces serviceman who has set his team of six apart with a plan to paraglide off the summit.

In 2019, Purja scaled all fourteen of the world’s 8,000-metre mountains in six months and six days -- however, that was in the summer.

The fourth team is an Icelandic-Pakistani pairing of three.

With so many people on K2 this winter, the chances are good that at least one person will reach the top, said Arnette, the climbing coach.

"However, almost everything must go practically perfect," he said.

"And that rarely happens on an 8,000-metre peak, much less on K2."

© 2021 AFP

WHO virus mission to China in disarray 

as entry denied


Issued on: 06/01/2021 
The WHO team was set to try and track down how the virus first appeared in Wuhan, China NOEL CELIS AFP/File
3 min
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Geneva (AFP)

An expert mission to China to find the origins of the coronavirus pandemic stumbled before it even began, with the head of the World Health Organization complaining that Beijing was blocking the team from entering the country.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he was "very disappointed" with the last-minute bar on entry, in a rare castigation of Beijing from the UN body.

A 10-strong team was due to arrive in China this week after months of painstaking negotiations.

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Beijing is determined to control the origin story of the virus, which has killed more than 1.8 million people so far and laid waste to global economies.

The first cases of the coronavirus were recorded in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019, prompting accusations of chaotic, secretive handling by Chinese authorities which led to its spread beyond China.

US President Donald Trump called the pandemic the "China virus".

But Beijing has so far resisted pressure for a full independent probe into the early days of the outbreak. Instead, it has seeded doubt as to whether the pandemic even started inside its borders.

The WHO mission was billed as a way to cut through the rancour and seek clear answers on how the virus jumped from animals to humans.

But with some of the team already in transit, Beijing had yet to grant them entry, the WHO chief said.

"Today, we learned that Chinese officials have not yet finalised the necessary permissions for the team's arrivals in China," Tedros told reporters on Tuesday.

"I am very disappointed with this news, given that two members had already begun their journeys and others were not able to travel at the last minute."

He stressed that he had been in contact with senior Chinese officials to make clear "that the mission is a priority for WHO and the international team".

"I have been assured that China is speeding up the internal procedure for the earliest possible deployment," Tedros added.

The mission was hugely sensitive and neither the WHO nor China had until now confirmed when specifically it was due to start.

WHO emergencies director Michael Ryan told Tuesday's briefing that the problem was a lack of visa clearances.

"We trust and we hope that this is just a (logistical) and bureaucratic issue that can be resolved very quickly."

There was no immediate comment from China.

- 'Critical' mission -

"We were all operating on the on the understanding that the team would begin deployment today," he said, adding that two members of the team coming from far away had set off early Tuesday, before it became clear that the necessary approvals had not been received.

He stressed the "absolute critical nature" of the mission, acknowledging that the situation was "frustrating and... disappointing".

The origins of Covid-19 remain bitterly contested, lost in a fog of recriminations and conjecture from the international community -- as well as obfuscation from Chinese authorities determined to keep control of the virus narrative.

Scientists initially believed the virus jumped to humans at a market selling exotic animals for meat in the city of Wuhan.

But experts now think the market may not have been the origin of the outbreak, but rather a place where it was amplified.

It is widely assumed that the virus originally came from bats, but the intermediate animal host that transmitted it between bats and humans remains unknown.

burs-apj/qan

© 2021 AFP

Women cultivate a new voice in Indian farm protests

Issued on: 06/01/2021 - 

Although India's rural communities are traditionally male-dominated, women have played an active role in the recent farmer protests Sajjad HUSSAIN AFP

Kundli (India) (AFP)

India's rural landscape is notoriously male-dominated, but thousands of women have become a pillar of the farmer protests blocking roads into New Delhi that have become a huge challenge to the government.

Women of all occupations and ages -- from those who tend cattle or toil in the fields, to city professionals and grandmothers in wheelchairs -- are braving the freezing winter temperatures in a bid to make the government withdraw market reforms.

"I am fighting for my children and my grandchildren," said Parminder Kaur, 40, who chants slogans at rallies during the day, then in the evening helps make chapati flatbread and curry to feed the tens of thousands of protesters.

Women have traditionally been the silent backbone of Indian agriculture -- working the land without the influence that goes with it. Repeat studies have shown how they suffer from poverty, discrimination and domestic violence.

About 85 percent of women in rural areas have some kind of agricultural activity, yet only 13 percent own land, according to anti-poverty activist group Oxfam.

But Kaur was visibly proud at the way women were "walking shoulder-to-shoulder" with men to defend rural welfare.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been forced onto the back foot over three laws which allow farmers to sell their produce on the free market, after decades of channelling their wheat and rice through state-run markets with a guaranteed minimum price.

Modi insists the reforms will attract badly needed investment to a sector which employs about two-thirds of India's 1.3 billion population, but only contributes about 15 percent to its economy.

However, farmer leaders say the changes will lead to a takeover of the agriculture business by Indian conglomerates.

Kaur's family has two acres (about 8,000 square metres) of land where they grow wheat.

"This land is everything for us, it is like our mother," she said.

"They want to snatch our mother away from us, how can we allow this?"

- 'Tension and violence' fears -

Ranjana Kumari, who heads the Centre for Social Research, a Delhi-based non-profit group, said that while women do not own the land, they fear a cut in revenue will badly hit their households.

"When the family income falls, it affects women's health and wellbeing the most. Less income also means more tension and violence at the hands of men.

"That is why they are angry and vocal about these laws."

The women's active participation in the protests has been appreciated by the leaders.

Rana Bhatti, who is from a farming family in Haryana state, said the protests were a way for women to show their strength.

"I feel the time has come for us to take to the frontlines and steer the challenge against this arrogant government," said Bhatti as she led a group of women holding flags and placards. One read: "No farmers, no food, no future."

Kumari said that women are more politically aware than ever before, a trend that Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party has seized upon and credited with helping it to two landslide election wins.

"Looking at the way the women are joining these protests, it makes a statement about their aspirations and the need to be heard. They are saying we won't take things lying down."

The farmers' cause has drawn an urban contingent of female supporters too.

Dressed casually in jeans and a shawl, Jassi Sangha, 33, is an artist and filmmaker who has been at the protest since it started.

She helps bring out a bi-weekly newspaper for the farmers and organises education for children in the camp.

Sangha said she was drawn by the protest as soon as she heard about it: "I left my work and came, we have to fight or we are done."

The farmers' rudimentary camps have been blocking key highways since November 26, and the government has appealed to the protesters to send women, children and the elderly back home, as India endures one of the coldest winters in three decades.

But Kaur, who has two children, said she is staying "for the long haul".

"At least we can proudly tell future generations that we raised our voice."

© 2021 AFP

   
ISRAEL VACCINE APARTHIED 
As cases spike, Israel leads world in COVID vaccinations

Israel has rolled out its first vaccinations. With cases rising, the third nationwide shutdown is expected to be tightened. Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza will receive vaccines at a later date.

An woman receives the BioNTech-Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine in Beersheba

Two weeks after starting its COVID-19 vaccination campaign, Israel leads the world in immunizations per capita. On Tuesday, Health Minister Yuli Edelstein said 1.37 million Israelis had received their first doses of the BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine. Compared with other countries that started their immunization drives in December, Israel has become "a world champion in vaccinations," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wrote on Twitter.

Vying for reelection in snap polls in March, Netanyahu is promising Israelis that the country could be the first to "emerge" from the coronavirus pandemic — provided that they take their jabs. A so-called green passport, which would allow more freedoms to people who have been vaccinated, has been dangled to encourage Israelis to enlist for vaccination. "I think there is a readiness in society to start coming out of it and to feel some control over their lives again," said Diane Levin-Zamir, a professor of public health at the University of Haifa. "The metaphor of a vaccine is just helping people to see that we are taking giant steps out of the corona pandemic."

The government had secured several million doses of the two-stage BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine early on. The Moderna vaccine was approved on Tuesday, but the first batches are not expected until March, according to the Health Ministry.

Israel has set up large COVID-19 vaccination centers such as this one in Tel Aviv

The fast rollout of immunization is thanks in part to the relatively small size of Israel, the provision of vaccines and the country's digitized health care system. Every citizen has to register with one of the four nongovernmental health maintenance organizations (HMOs) that provide care. Now, clinics, hospitals and makeshift vaccination centers are working almost 24/7 to administer the shots. "Israel has this infrastructure that on the one hand is very community-oriented," said Levin-Zamir, who also works as director of the department of health education at the HMO Clalit. "It is very dispersed — there are many primary care clinics in every neighborhood or small towns — but we also have the centralized health care system."

For now, anyone over 60, health care workers, caregivers and people with underlying health conditions are given priority. Stories of younger people simply walking into clinics or being called up to receive surplus doses of vaccine which would otherwise be wasted, have also circulated on social media. An opened BioNTech-Pfizer vial has to be used within a short time.

Coronavirus still spreading

Israel continues to struggle with a soaring coronavirus infection rate. The death toll stands currently at 3,445 people. Health officials have suggested that the third nationwide shutdown, which was imposed in December, would be tightened this week. "Full vaccination is only a week after the second dose," Health Minister Yuli Edelstein wrote on Twitter. "In the meantime, morbidity is rising quickly. Therefore, there's no choice but a full and fast closure."

The first immunizations have used the BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine, developed in Germany

As logistical, financial and political problems abound, it remains uncertain when vaccination will commence for the 5 million Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Both the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip and the Palestinian Authority-administered West Bank have seen rising infection rates in recent months. More than 1,600 people have died from COVID-19. The timing of this spike and media coverage of the vaccination campaign in Israel have Palestinians wondering when vaccination is planned for them. Some fear that immunizations will be delayed as rich countries inoculate populations first. Many have discussed Israel's responsibilities to immunize Palestinians in the context of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem have mostly access to the vaccination program through their local Israeli health care providers.

In an open letter, several Israeli human rights organizations appealed to the government, as the occupying power, to supply or to help fund vaccines for Palestinians. Some officials have suggested that the government might turn over any surplus once Israel's population has been vaccinated. Sources have pointed out that this would be in the national interest as thousands of Palestinians commute across the border daily or work in Israeli settlements.This would increase the pressure on the cash-strapped Palestinian Authority to secure vaccines from different countries and pharmaceutical companies. The Russian-made Sputnik V and UK-produced AstraZeneca vaccines have been reported as possibilities. "We are trying our best to get vaccines and have made requests to several companies," said Dr. Yaser Bouzieh, the director-general of the Public Health Department at the Palestinian Health Ministry. There is no agreed timeline as of now, he added, but "we expect delivery by the end of February or in March."

In addition, the Palestinian Authority has signed up for a special partnership mechanism with the World Health Organization and the Gavi Vaccine Alliance. The WHO-administered COVAX program aims to help low-income countries to get an equitable share of vaccines. As such, it would help provide vaccines in stages for up to 20% of health care workers and people over 60 or who have preexisting conditions in the West Bank and Gaza. "We don't know exactly yet when vaccines will become available for distribution, as many potential vaccines are being studied and several large clinical trials are underway," said Gerald Rockenschaub, the head of office of the WHO office for the Palestinian territories. Ninety-two countries participating in the program are awaiting emergency use approval of the vaccines before distribution begins. "We estimate that it could be in early to mid-2021," Rockenschaub said.

In recent days, local media have reported that an expected temporary shortage of vaccine supplies would slow down the inoculation. "The Achilles' heel lies in the chain of supply of the vaccine in January," Amos Harel wrote recently in the newspaper Haaretz. To continue the successful campaign, Israel will need a steady supply of the pledged vaccines.  

Leader of US right-wing Proud Boys group arrested over torched BLM banner
 Jan 5, 2021 

Enrique Tarrio was taken into custody and charged with destruction of property. Photo: AP

The chairman of the right-wing Proud Boys group has been arrested in Washington over the torching last month of a Black Lives Matter banner taken from a church during violent protests, US police said.

Enrique Tarrio, 36, was taken into custody as the US capital braced for demonstrations against certification this week of Joe Biden as the next US president.

Mr Tarrio – who had just arrived in the city from Florida – was charged with destruction of property at the Asbury United Methodist Church, a mainly African-American church where he and others allegedly burned the banner during violent protests on December 12.

He was hit with additional charges of possessing two illegal high-capacity firearm magazines at the time of his arrest, police said.

In a parallel court case unveiled on Monday, local time, Mr Tarrio and other members of the Proud Boys were accused by the historic Metropolitan AME church – also mainly African-American – with tearing down and burning its banner during the protests last month.

“The conduct of the Proud Boys in Washington DC on December 12, 2020, amounted to a new and dangerous chapter in the long and terrible history of white supremacist mob violence targeting Black houses of worship,” the church said in its filing.

The arrest came ahead of protests planned on Tuesday and Wednesday by backers of President Donald Trump supporting his unfounded claim that he, and not Mr Biden, won the November 3 presidential election.

Washington police said they were worried about potential violence, particularly from groups like the Proud Boys, and warned that people carrying firearms would be arrested.

“We will not allow people to incite violence or intimidate our residents,” Mayor Muriel Bowser said.

–ABC/AFP

Turkish police detain 17 people after student-led protest in Istanbul

Students demonstrate against the direct appointment Bogazici university's new rector by Turkish President, on January 4, 2021. (AFP)

AFP, IstanbulTuesday 05 January 2021

Text size A A A

Turkish police on Tuesday detained 17 people after hundreds attended a student-led protest against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s appointment of a rector to a top university in Istanbul.

Officers conducted dawn raids in 13 districts in the city, Istanbul police said in a statement, while operations were continuing to catch 11 other suspects.

At least 1,000 people demonstrated outside Bogazici University’s campus on Monday in response to a January 1 presidential decree in which Erdogan appointed Melih Bulu as the public institution’s rector.

For all the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.

Bulu ran as a candidate in the 2015 election for Erdogan’s ruling party.

Critics claim the appointment was another example of political interference in Turkey’s education sector by Erdogan, who assumed the power to appoint rectors after surviving a failed coup in 2016.

Before July 2016, university rectors were appointed through elections.

This is the second time Erdogan has appointed a trustee after his decision in November 2016 also attracted angry reactions and created tensions.

The police accuse the 28 suspects of violating a law on demonstrations and marches, and “resisting an officer on duty”.

An official at the Istanbul police headquarters said those detained were not students but members of “extremely marginal leftist” groups who supported the protests.

The university was known as Robert College when it was established in 1863.

It was handed to Turkey in 1971 and was renamed after the campus location by the Bosphorus river -- “Bogazici” in Turkish.

Despite the detentions, there are plans for more protests on Wednesday.

Google employees form Alphabet Workers Union to bring back the 'Don't be evil' motto

Starting with 226 of Alphabet's 120,000 employees.

By Asha Barbaschow | January 4, 2021 -- | Topic: Tech Industry

Workers from Google's parent company Alphabet have announced they are unionising, with the Alphabet Workers Union open to all of the tech giant's 120,000-plus employees.

The union, currently boasting a membership of 226, has the support of the Communications Workers of America (CWA). It's part of CWA's Coalition to Organize Digital Employees project, and the workers will be members of CWA Local 1400.

According to the union, it comprises dues-paying members, an elected board of directors, and paid organising staff. It's open to all employees and contractors at any Alphabet company.

"This union builds upon years of courageous organising by Google workers," program manager Nicki Anselmo said in a statement.

"From fighting the 'real names' policy, to opposing Project Maven, to protesting the egregious, multimillion-dollar payouts that have been given to executives who've committed sexual harassment, we've seen first-hand that Alphabet responds when we act collectively.

"Our new union provides a sustainable structure to ensure that our shared values as Alphabet employees are respected even after the headlines fade."

In announcing the new union, the group pointed to Google's roots, saying the behemoth began as a small tech company with a "Don't Be Evil" mantra, but it has since become one of the most influential companies in the world.

"Alphabet, Google's parent company, now has more than 120,000 workers. It's responsible for vast swaths of the internet, controlling tools used by billions of people across the world, with subsidiaries as varied as Waymo, Verily, Fitbit, and Wing," it added.

"Yet half of Google workers at Alphabet companies are hired as TVCs -- temps, vendors, or contractors -- without the benefits afforded to full-time employees. Executives have been awarded tens of millions of dollars in exit packages after documented sexual harassment against fellow Googlers. And the company has taken on unethical government contracts, like drone targeting for the military, yet kept the nature of that technology secret even to the Googlers working on those projects.

"It has removed its past motto from its mission statement."

Citing the termination of artificial intelligence researcher Dr Timnit Gebru from Google, the group said her exit has caused outrage from thousands of employees who are heartbroken by the company's actions and unsure of their future at Google. They also pointed to Project Maven, which was cancelled after thousands of Google staff pledged they would not work on unethical tech.

"Workers who have organised to stop these trends have been met by intimidation, suppression, and blatantly illegal firings, as recently confirmed by the National Labor Relations Board. Instead of listening to workers, Google hired IRI, a notorious anti-union firm, to suppress their organising. This is how Google's executives have chosen to interact with workers," the group's statement continued.

"The only tactic that has ensured workers are respected and heard is collective action."

SEE ALSO

 Google employee protest: Now Google backs off Pentagon drone AI project

Google CEO Pichai commits to lasting, meaningful change

Google, Alphabet employees to form union so they have a 'meaningful say' (CNET)

Amid growing employee activism, Google agrees to set up a worker council in Europe

NIGHT OF THE LONG KNIVES

MAGA activists plot revenge on Republican ‘traitors’

POLITICAL INQUESITION

 

The swift move to vengeance offers a preview of how Trump and his MAGA community plan to reshape the GOP in the coming months.



Supporters of President Donald Trump attend a pro-Trump march on Nov. 14 in Washington. | Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo


By TINA NGUYEN

01/05/2021 

MAGA figureheads and pro-Trump activists are vowing to excommunicate Republicans who vigorously oppose the doomed effort to keep President Donald Trump in power.

The threats have played out in recent days with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who was once seen as a possible ally in Trump’s efforts to overturn President-elect Joe Biden’s win in the swing state. But Raffensperger has consistently refused to validate Trump’s baseless voter fraud claims, and on Saturday, he bluntly told the president the rigged-election theories were simply wrong. After a recording of the Saturday call leaked to the press, the MAGA world erupted with incandescent rage.

“A national security threat,” proclaimed Charlie Kirk, MAGA youth leader and Turning Point USA co-founder. “Brad Raffensperger should immediately be investigated.”

In the coming days, that MAGA revenge complex could target everyone from low-level members of Congress to Vice President Mike Pence, as Congress meets on Jan. 6 to formally certify Biden’s victory. “Republicans,” Trump warned on Twitter, “NEVER FORGET!” speaking to lawmakers who have said they will not oppose Biden’s certification. And Trump allies are plotting to fund potential pro-MAGA primary challengers to oust those disloyal Republicans.

“We’ll put some money behind” trying to oust these Republicans, said Alex Bruesewitz, one of the organizers of Stop the Steal, an organization linked to high-profile MAGA personalities that is helping organize a major Jan. 6 pro-Trump rally in Washington.

The swift move to vengeance offers a preview of how Trump and his MAGA community plan to reshape the GOP in the coming months — creating Trump loyalty tests for Republicans, then working to evict anyone who doesn’t fall in line. The goal is to identify those who are most worthy of inheriting the MAGA base with Trump out of office. But the result may be that no one except Trump can rally the MAGA coalition.

2020 ELECTIONS
'NEVER FORGET’: Trump threatens Cotton over Electoral College certification
BY NICK NIEDZWIADEK

“I think that Trump and his supporters in the base, or his supporters in the Republican Party, are going to continue to be a big part of the party for the foreseeable future, including in 2022,” said Alex Conant, a GOP political consultant and the former communications director for Sen. Marco Rubio’s 2016 presidential campaign. “Most congressmen don't wake up in the morning worried about their general election. They worry about their primary.”

At the moment, Trump is focused on eviscerating Raffensperger, who has rebuffed Trump’s attempts to subvert the Georgia election results — and so, too, is his base.

While Trump’s allies launched a normal fusillade of personal attacks against Raffensperger — former House Speaker and Trump ally Newt Gingrich called him “anti-Republican” — they also called for criminal charges. Some suggested it had been illegal for the call to be recorded, even though Georgia law only requires one party in a conversation to consent to an audio recording. Others went further.

“Traitors in our midst,” tweeted Chanel Rion, White House correspondent at the pro-Trump outlet OAN, along with the hashtag “#InvestigateRaffensperger.”

Next, MAGA attention will focus on Capitol Hill, where Congress will meet on Jan. 6 in a joint session to formally certify November’s presidential election. Pence will oversee the proceedings as vice president. Historically, the gathering is an afterthought, a noncontroversial rubber stamp on an already settled outcome.

But in the Trump era, the president, scores of Republicans and throngs of his supporters are insisting that lawmakers should refuse to sign off on the results, incorrectly arguing that the election was rigged.

Trump-supporting entities are trying to concoct novel constitutional powers that Pence could wield at the last minute from his largely ministerial perch, which mostly involves opening the envelopes with each state’s Electoral College votes, and then handing them to a secretary for recording. Alexander Macris, a video game writer who became known for his role in Gamergate, the online harassment campaign targeting women, suggested in a viral essay that Pence could re-interpret the 1877 Electoral Count Act in a way that would allow him to simply not count the votes.

Edward Foley, the director of the Election Law Project at Ohio State University, flatly rejected the interpretation.

“I mean, it was raised in the 19th century, but it’s never been accepted in the sense that the Supreme Court's never adopted it. It's never even prevailed at Congress,” he said.

That hasn’t stopped pro-Trump outlets like The Gateway Pundit from making tantalizing offers directed at Pence.“Pence can place himself in the history books alongside Thomas Jefferson or he can sign off on the destruction of the United States as we know it,” read an op-ed on the site.




Others have traded carrots for sticks: Prominent conspiratorial-minded figures, such as pro-Trump Georgia lawyer Lin Wood, claimed that Pence could be arrested, tried for treason and executed by firing squad if he did not act on Trump’s behalf. And out in the wilds of the QAnon conspiracy community, the process might not even matter: Pence, some argued, might be a body double, put in place by a Satanic cabal to further its plots.

Lawmakers in Congress, meanwhile, have different concerns on their hands: Many will soon seek reelection. And for a certain brand of politician, going MAGA is the safest bet.

“Most of these people that won during the [2020] primaries, they said, ‘I'm the most like Trump.’ And that's why most of them won their primaries,” said Breusewitz, the Stop the Steal organizer. “And so if they go back, the voters will hold them accountable.”

Perhaps conscious of this, several newly-minted representatives have vowed to keep resisting even after Biden is sworn in. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) pledged to push for a commission to investigate the election. Others are planning to be among those protesting in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 6. Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert, who both gained notoriety for promoting QAnon conspiracies earlier in their political careers, are scheduled to speak at the rally.

As for those who don’t sufficiently fight against Biden’s inauguration, Bruesewitz has promised they will be punished.

“When we say every Republican that does not stand strong with the president will get a primary challenger, that does not mean we believe that we can beat every single one of them,” he said. “But what it means is we will make them spend their money. And we will urge their donors to not support them.”

Even with at least 140 House Republicans and 12 Senate Republicans vowing to oppose certification on Wednesday, Congress will still sign off on Biden’s win. Only a simple congressional majority is needed to formalize the results, which is all but guaranteed given the current makeup of Congress. And Pence himself has remained chilly on the topic, with a spokesperson saying that while the vice president backed the lawmaker’s right to object, it was up to them to actually prove fraud.

For the majority of Republicans, Conant argued, “This effort to undermine the integrity of the election will only help Joe Biden. And I say that because it'll leave Biden's opposition in Congress divided and many Republicans defending a very unpopular position.”

Still, for the right type of Republican, a vast MAGA empire is within reach: Trump’s fundraising numbers skyrocketed after the election, as his campaign solicited donations to fight nebulous voter-fraud allegations. Tapping into that energy could give the most fervent MAGA Republicans a boost in the coming years.

But, as Conant noted, that only works if Trump stays involved in Republican races around the country — far from a certainty once he leaves the White House.

“I suppose if Trump made his life mission to defeat everyone that wasn't loyal with him until the very end, maybe it could have an impact,” Conant said. “Just count me skeptical that he's going to spend the next two years playing in Republican primary politics, when he never showed that much of an interest in doing that when he was president.”

Still, Breusewitz, the Stop the Steal organizer, argued Republican voters are now solidly aligned with Trump.

“Republican voters want to see the party grow in a direction towards the president’s, and continue with the ‘America First’ and the MAGA movement,” he said.

CORRECTION: This report has been updated to correctly identify the speaker who called Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger “anti-Republican.” It is Trump ally Newt Gingrich.