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Tuesday, February 23, 2021
(Reuters) - The European Union said it is considering sanctions on Myanmar while the United States penalised two more generals for links to the military coup, as Western countries sought to press the junta to avoid a violent crackdown after weeks of protests.
Junta leader General Min Aung Hlaing called for energy to be put into reviving the ailing economy, state media reported, a day after a general strike shut businesses and huge crowds gathered despite a warning from authorities that confrontation could get people killed.
U.N. Special Rapporteur Tom Andrews said millions had marched on Monday in a “breathtaking” turnout, despite the junta’s threat.
“The generals are losing their power to intimidate and with it, their power. It is past time for them to stand down, as the people of Myanmar stand up,” Andrews said on Twitter.
Crowds gathered again on Tuesday though in much smaller numbers. There were no reports of confrontations with security forces.
Overnight, EU governments showed support for those seeking to reverse the Feb. 1 coup and the release of elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi
“We are not prepared to stand by and watch,” German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said in Brussels, adding that sanctions could follow if diplomacy failed.
The European Union is considering sanctions that would target businesses owned by the army, but the bloc ruled out any curtailing of its trade preferences to avoid hurting poor workers.
The security forces have shown more restraint since the coup than in earlier confrontations with those pushing for democracy in almost half a century of direct military rule.
Even so, three protesters have been killed - two shot dead in the second city of Mandalay on Saturday, and a woman who died on Friday after being shot more than a week earlier in the capital, Naypyitaw.
The army has said one policeman died of injuries sustained during the protests. It has accused protesters of provoking violence.
BY KAREN GRAHAM
Richmond - State lawmakers gave final approval on Monday to legislation that will end capital punishment in Virginia, a dramatic turnaround for a state that has executed more people than any other, dating back to Colonial time
The House bill advanced to Governor Ralph Northam's desk on Monday on a 22-16 vote. Republican Sen. Jill Vogel joined with Democrats in the chamber in voting for passage. Later Monday, the House voted 57-43 to approve the Senate version, which is identical to the House bill.
Governor Northam has already said he would sign the legislation, abolishing capital punishment in Virginia, making the state the 23rd to end the death penalty, reports The Guardian.
Only two people remain on Virginia's death row. Anthony Juniper was sentenced to death in the 2004 slayings of his ex-girlfriend, two of her children, and her brother, according to the Associated Press. Thomas Porter was sentenced to die for the 2005 killing of a Norfolk police officer.
Once the legislation is signed, their sentences will be converted to life in prison without parole.
"Over Virginia’s long history, this Commonwealth has executed more people than any other state. And, like many other states, Virginia has come too close to executing an innocent person. It’s time we stop this machinery of death," said Northam and Democratic leaders of the House and Senate in a prepared statement, per the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
Virginia's long history of executions
Historically, Virginia has executed over 1,400 people, more than any other state, with the first recorded execution in what is now the United States, taking place in Jamestown Colony in Virginia. Captain George Kendall was executed for treason.
In 1612, Virginia Governor Sir Thomas Dale enacted the Divine, Moral and Martial Laws, which provided the death penalty for even minor offenses such as stealing grapes, killing chickens, and trading with Indians.
The Herb Garden at Old Donation Episcopal Church, Virginia Beach, Virginia, USA, showing the memorial stone to Grace Sherwood. The stone was dedicated July 10, 2014.
PumpkinSky
Here's an interesting story. In 1706, Grace Sherwood, a 46-year-old midwife was charged with being a witch. She lived in what today is the rural Pungo neighborhood in Virginia Beach, and she later became known as “The Witch of Pungo.”
She was accused of using her powers to cause a neighbor to miscarry and dunked into the Lynhaven River - where she floated, proving she was guilty. She was the only person to be tried for witchcraft using the "dunking stool," and of course, if she had drowned, it would have proven her innocence.
But seeing as she didn't drown, Sherwood may have been jailed until 1714. On July 10, 2006, then Gov. Timothy M. Kaine gave an informal pardon to Grace Sherwood, who 300 years ago became Virginia’s only person convicted as a witch tried by water.
Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/news/politics/virginia-lawmakers-approve-bill-ending-capital-punishment/article/585904#ixzz6nHClUbpP
Denver plane engine fire consistent with metal fatigue in fan blade, say investigators
US reveals preliminary results of inquiry into Pratt & Whitney engine fire that led to grounding of dozens of Boeing 777s around the world
Metal fatigue in the fan blades may have been behind the engine failure of a Boeing jet in Denver at the weekend, the US National Transportation Safety Board has said.
The Pratt & Whitney engine caught fire shortly after take off on a United Airlines Boeing 777-200, during a flight from Denver to Honolulu, with 231 passengers and 10 crew onboard. Pilots issued a mayday call and returned to Denver.
The next day, dozens of 777 planes were grounded after Boeing said those with Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engines should not be used until full inspections could be carried out.
The chair of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), Robert Sumwalt, said on Monday a preliminary assessment suggested the damage was consistent with metal fatigue and that the blade would be examined on Tuesday at a Pratt & Whitney laboratory under the supervision of NTSB investigators.
Sumwalt said it was not clear whether Saturday’s failure of the PW4000 engine was consistent with another engine failure on another Hawaii-bound United flight in February 2018 that was attributed to a fatigue fracture in a fan blade
“What is important that we really truly understand the facts, circumstances and conditions around this particular event before we can compare it to any other event,” Sumwalt said.
In another incident on the same engine type on a Japan Airlines 777 in December 2020, Japan’s Transport Safety Board reported it found two damaged fan blades, one with a metal fatigue crack.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) planned to issue an emergency airworthiness directive soon that will require stepped-up inspections of the fan blades for fatigue.
After the February 2018 United engine failure was attributed to fan-blade fatigue, the FAA ordered inspections every 6,500 cycles.
Sumwalt said the United incident was not considered an uncontained engine failure because the containment ring contained the parts as they were flying out. There was minor damage to the aircraft body but no structural damage, he said.
The NTSB will look into why the engine cowling separated from the plane and also why there was a fire despite indications fuel to the engine had been turned off, Sumwalt added.
BY IRAKLI METREVELI (AFP)
Georgian police on Tuesday arrested a top opposition leader and used tear gas in a violent raid on his party headquarters, further deepening a political crisis sparked by last year's disputed parliamentary elections.
Live television footage showed Nika Melia, the leader of the United National Movement, the country's main opposition party, being dragged from his party headquarters to be placed in pre-trial detention.
Meanwhile hundreds of riot police used tear gas against his supporters and the leaders of all of the country's opposition parties, who have been camped out in the building since Wednesday, the live pictures on Mtavari TV showed.
Scores of opposition supporters were detained.
One of the UNM leaders, Giorgi Pataraia, told AFP that police "stole computer servers" from UNM headquarters.
Georgia's interior ministry said in a statement that "police used proportional force and special means" in the police operation.
"Shocked by the scenes at UNM headquarters this morning," British ambassador Mark Clayton wrote on Twitter.
"Violence and chaos in Tbilisi are the last thing Georgia needs right now. I urge all sides to act with restraint, now and in the coming days."
- 'Broken democracy' -
Georgia has been in the grip of a political crisis since last October's parliamentary elections, which opposition parties have denounced as rigged after the ruling Georgian Dream party claimed victory.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia resigned over Georgian Dream's plans to arrest Melia.
News of the plan sparked outrage among the opposition and warnings from the ex-Soviet country's Western allies.
Last week, a court in Tbilisi ordered Melia placed in pre-trial detention after he refused to pay an increased bail fee ahead of hearings in a case related to anti-government demonstrations in 2019.
He has been charged with "organising mass violence" during the protests and faces up to nine years in prison
Melia, 41, rejects the case as politically motivated.
The detention order has raised the stakes in the crisis over the disputed elections.
Opposition members have refused to take up their seats in the new parliament, in a boycott that weighs heavily on the ruling party's political legitimacy.
They have demanded a new poll.
Georgia's new Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, who was confirmed by parliament on Monday, said in an address to lawmakers his government would proceed with Melia's arrest, saying the politician "will not manage to hide from justice".
Garibashvili is a loyal lieutenant of the powerful oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili who is widely seen as the man in charge in Georgia, despite having no official political role.
Analysts said the spiralling political crisis in Georgia is fraught with serious consequences for the fledgling democracy and is unlikely to be resolved without a greater diplomatic engagement from Tbilisi's Western allies.
Matthew Bryza, a senior fellow at a US think tank, the Atlantic Council, said Georgia's "backward movement in terms of democracy" under Georgian Dream reached the point where "opposition parties say they can't take their seats in parliament because the democratic system in Georgia is broken."
"Without a greater Western mediation, the situation could become very dangerous," said the former diplomat who had coordinated the US Caucasus policy in the administration of ex-president George W. Bush.
The United States and the European Union have expressed concerns over plans to arrest Melia, calling on Georgia's government to resolve the crisis peacefully and ensure its judicial system stays free of political bias.
In power since 2012, Georgian Dream has seen its popularity fall over its failure to address economic stagnation and perceived backsliding on commitments to democracy.
Critics accuse the country's richest man Ivanishvili of persecuting political opponents and creating a corrupt system where private interests permeate politics.
Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/news/world/georgian-police-arrest-top-opposition-leader-use-tear-gas-in-party-hq-raid/article/585930#ixzz6nHAMeScP
Monday, February 22, 2021
Climate-friendly foam building insulation may do more harm than good
The use of the polymeric flame retardant PolyFR in "eco-friendly" foam plastic building insulation may be harmful to human health and the environment, according to a new commentary in Environmental Science & Technology. The authors' analysis identifies several points during the lifecycle of foam insulation that may expose workers, communities, and ecosystems to PolyFR and its potentially toxic breakdown products.
With the climate crisis fueling demand for energy-efficient insulation, the production of PolyFR is increasing rapidly. That's because this flame retardant is added to all foam plastic building insulation in North America to comply with flammability codes, replacing the flame retardant hexabromocyclododecane that has been globally phased out due to its toxicity and persistence. PolyFR is commonly assumed to be safe. However, the authors question that assumption.
The presumed safety of PolyFR hinges on the claim that as a large molecule called a polymer, it has few opportunities for release from foam insulation. But the authors' analysis shows that in fact, PolyFR in building insulation has significant opportunities for release into the environment during manufacturing, installation, and disposal of foam insulation. Once released, the PolyFR may break down into harmful chemicals that can end up in people and ecosystems.
"Since so much PolyFR is being used and so little is known about its release into the environment, we need to have realistic assessments of the potential for PolyFR across its life cycle to harm human and environmental health," said Miriam Diamond, Professor at University of Toronto and corresponding author of the study.
PolyFR is a polymer made from butadiene and styrene, which are both carcinogens. Bromine is added making it a brominated flame retardant--such flame retardants studied in the past were found to be toxic and many have been phased out of use.
A greater understanding of the potential for health harm associated with the increasing production of PolyFR, as well as its eventual breakdown and disposal, is needed to protect workers, fenceline communities near waste disposal sites, and others exposed throughout this flame retardant's lifecycle.
Importantly, alternative insulation materials already exist which do not require the use of potentially hazardous flame retardants. Inherently flame-resistant mineral fibers, such as glass wool or stone wool, can be used instead. Also, the fire safety benefit of adding flame retardants should be established before such chemicals are used.
"Making buildings more energy-efficient is a key part of tackling the climate crisis," said co-author Arlene Blum, Executive Director of the Green Science Policy Institute. "But we need to be careful not to create new health and environmental problems along the way. A 'green building' with potentially hazardous insulation isn't a green building at all."
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Novice drivers talking on hand-held smartphones are more likely to run red-lights
Young novice drivers who speak into hand-held smartphones while driving are also likely to drive while under the influence of drink or drugs
Young novice drivers who speak into hand-held smartphones while driving are also likely to drive while under the influence of drink or drugs, according to researchers at Lero, the Science Foundation Ireland Research Centre for Software.
The study "Smartphone Use While Driving: An Investigation of Young Novice Driver (YND) Behaviour," also found that speaking on a hand-held phone is strongly correlated with high-risk driving behaviours such as overtaking on the inside of the car ahead, speeding, driving without a valid licence and driving while intoxicated.
Lero researchers, surveyed 700 German Young Novice Drivers (YNDs), with an average age of just over 21. While the data relates to Germany, it may point to young drivers' risky driving behaviour in other motorised countries, enabling road safety authorities to target information campaigns designed for younger drivers, the authors believe.
Dr Darren Shannon of Lero and University of Limerick said car crashes are the leading cause of death for those between the ages of 15-29, according to the World Health Organisation, with smartphone use acting as a significant contributory factor.
"The data also indicates a moderately-strong effect between talking on a hand-held phone and speeding more than 20 km/h over the speed limit in urban areas. Speeding in built-up areas is moderately correlated with reading notifications, sending texts, or voice messages.
"There is a strong association between those who speak on their phone and those who engage in risky activity with potentially fatal consequences, such as intoxicated driving, ignoring red traffic lights, and driving with more passengers than seatbelts," added Dr Shannon, a specialised vehicle collision researcher with the Emerging Risk Group (ERG), Kemmy Business School, UL.
Lero's Dr Martin Mullins said the work carried out by the team points to the prevalence of certain attitudes in young people who drive while using mobile phones. In Germany, for example, the research shows that a sizeable number of novice motorists deliberately disobey the law by hiding their phones while driving.
"These attitudes have implications for the safety of other road users. Our work allows for road safety authorities to accurately target information campaigns designed for younger drivers. Targeted campaigns should increase awareness that all smartphone-related activities can significantly increase the risk of a crash or near-crash event.
"We don't just see policymakers as responsible. Carmakers are making their cars seem like a place of entertainment. This may have induced a false perception that behaviours like changing the music while driving are perceived as safe, and should instead engage in efforts to reduce this type of behaviour," added Dr Mullins, Co-Leader of the ERG at UL.
Lero researcher and PhD student Tim Jannusch of Institute for Insurance Studies of TH Köln said that the overall high percentage of Young Novice Drivers using their phone for music-related activities may suggest that they might perceive music-related activities as less dangerous.
"This could be attributed to the fact that drivers are allowed to use the car stereo while driving, which implies that changing or searching for music is safe. Nevertheless, changing music while driving, like reading or writing text messages, can cause cognitive, visual and physical distraction and significantly increase the risk for road traffic collisions," said Mr Jannusch.
Dr Shannon said policymakers could use their results for public information policy development, and to tailor financial penalties for those engaging in smartphone behaviour linked to dangerous driving. "Our findings can also be used in a Usage-based Insurance (UBI) context to financially incentivise safer driving," he added.
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Brookfield and partners formally launch hostile bid for Inter Pipeline
CALGARY — Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. and its partners have formally launched a hostile bid to acquire Inter Pipeline Ltd., nearly two weeks after its public interest was rebuffed.
Brookfield says the offer to acquire the stake in Inter Pipeline it doesn't already own is contained in documents filed with Canadian securities regulators.
Brookfield Infrastructure is offering $16.50 per share in cash or 0.206 of a Brookfield Infrastructure Corp. class A exchangeable share. The maximum cash available under the plan is $4.9 billion.
The fully financed offer that implies a value for Inter Pipeline of $7.1 billion expires on June 7.
Brookfield said it has previously discussed prices with Inter "in the range of $17 to $18.25'' per share but would need to study its books to "substantiate'' its growth potential and commercialization objectives for the company's $4-billion Heartland Petrochemical Complex, under construction near Edmonton, before increasing its offer.
Calgary-based Inter Pipeline has initiated a review of strategic alternatives in response to the hostile takeover bid.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 22, 2021.
Environmental policies not always bad for business, study finds
ITHACA, N.Y. - Critics claim environmental regulations hurt productivity and profits, but the reality is more nuanced, according to an analysis of environmental policies in China by a pair of Cornell economists.
The analysis found that, contrary to conventional wisdom, market-based or incentive-based policies may actually benefit regulated firms in the traditional and "green" energy sectors, by spurring innovation and improvements in production processes. Policies that mandate environmental standards and technologies, on the other hand, may broadly harm output and profits.
"The conventional wisdom is not entirely accurate," said Shuyang Si, a doctoral student in applied economics and management. "The type of policy matters, and policy effects vary by firm, industry and sector."
Si is the lead author of "The Effects of Environmental Policies in China on GDP, Output, and Profits," published in the current issue of the journal Energy Economics. C.-Y. Cynthia Lin Lawell, associate professor in the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management and the Robert Dyson Sesquicentennial Chair in Environmental, Energy and Resource Economics, is a co-author.
Si mined Chinese provincial government websites and other online sources to compile a comprehensive data set of nearly 2,700 environmental laws and regulations in effect in at least one of 30 provinces between 2002 and 2013. This period came just before China declared a "war on pollution," instituting major regulatory changes that shifted its longtime prioritization of economic growth over environmental concerns.
"We really looked deep into the policies and carefully examined their features and provisions," Si said.
The researchers categorized each policy as one of four types: "command and control," such as mandates to use a portion of electricity from renewable sources; financial incentives, including taxes, subsidies and loans; monetary awards for cutting pollution or improving efficiency and technology; and nonmonetary awards, such as public recognition.
They assessed how each type of policy impacted China's gross domestic product, industrial output in traditional energy industries and the profits of new energy sector companies, using publicly available data on economic indicators and publicly traded companies.
Command and control policies and nonmonetary award policies had significant negative effects on GDP, output and profits, Si and Lin Lawell concluded. But a financial incentive - loans for increasing renewable energy consumption - improved industrial output in the petroleum and nuclear energy industries, and monetary awards for reducing pollution boosted new energy sector profits.
"Environmental policies do not necessarily lead to a decrease in output or profits," the researchers wrote.
That finding, they said, is consistent with the "Porter hypothesis" - Harvard Business School Professor Michael Porter's 1991 proposal that environmental policies could stimulate growth and development, by spurring technology and business innovation to reduce both pollution and costs.
While certain policies benefitted regulated firms and industries, the study found that those benefits came at a cost to other sectors and to the overall economy. Nevertheless, Si and Lin Lawell said, these costs should be weighed against the benefits of these policies to the environment and society, and to the regulated firms and industries.
Economists generally prefer market-based or incentive-based environmental policies, Lin Lawell said, with a carbon tax or tradeable permit system representing the gold standard. The new study led by Si, she said, provides more support for those types of policies.
"This work will make people aware, including firms that may be opposed to environmental regulation, that it's not necessarily the case that these regulations will be harmful to their profits and productivity," Lin Lawell said. "In fact, if policies promoting environmental protection are designed carefully, there are some that these firms might actually like."
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Additional co-authors contributing to the study were Mingjie Lyu of Shanghai Lixin University of Accounting and Finance, and Song Chen of Tongji University. The authors acknowledged financial support from the Shanghai Science and Technology Development Fund and an Exxon-Mobil ITS-Davis Corporate Affiliate Fellowship.
Study: Effects of past ice ages more widespread than previously thought
Cold temperatures during North America's last ice age may have shaped landscapes well beyond the reach of glaciers, according to a new study led by a U of A geologist
IMAGE: THE EXTENT OF FROST CRACKING IN MODERN NORTH AMERICA AND DURING THE LAST GLACIAL MAXIMUM view more
CREDIT: JILL A. MARSHALL
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Cold temperatures, prevalent during glacial periods, had a significant impact on past and modern unglaciated landscapes across much of North America, according to a recent study by University of Arkansas geologist Jill A. Marshall.
Marshall, assistant professor of geosciences, is the first author of the study, published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.
The findings help shape understanding of the earth's "Critical Zone," the relatively thin layer of the planet that extends from where vegetation meets the atmosphere to the lowermost extent of weathered bedrock. "Climate and ecosystems determine how quickly bedrock weathers, how soil is produced, how sediment moves on land and in rivers and other factors that shape the landscape," the authors wrote.
In cold lands, such as Alaska today, frost can crack or weather rock that is at or near the surface of the earth - making it more porous and turning solid rock into sediment. By applying a frost-weathering model to North America paleoclimate simulations tracking temperatures during the Last Glacial Maximum approximately 21,000 years ago, Marshall and her team determined that a large swath of North America, from Oregon to Georgia and as far south as Texas and Arkansas, were likely affected by such periglacial processes.
While permafrost landscapes like the modern Arctic experience frozen ground for two years or more, periglacial landscapes, though not permanently frozen, experience below-freezing temperature for much of the year. Though the evidence of past periglacial processes is easily hidden by vegetation and/or erased by subsequent geological processes, the teams' results suggest that frost weathering (and by extent other periglacial processes) covered an area about 3.5 times larger than the mapped extent of permafrost during the Last Glacial Maximum. This predicted influence of past cold climates on below ground weathering may significantly influence modern landscape attributes that we depend on such as soil thickness and water storage.
"Based on the widespread occurrence of glacial-period frost weathering over meter-scale depths, we suggest that past cold climates have had a significant impact on modern landscapes, both through lingering impact on subsurface pathways for water and thus chemical weathering, and the rock damage that contributes to the rate at which rock disaggregates into sediment and potential instability due to non-steady rates of hillslope and river processes," the paper states.
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