PERMANENT ARM$ ECONOMY

SIPRI: Saudi Arabia largest importer of arms, US biggest exporter

Over a third of the global weapons sold worldwide during the past five years came from the United States. About half of US arms transfers went to the Middle East



About 50% of weapons sold by the US went to the Middle East


The US accounted for 37% of global arms sales during the 2016-2020 period and sold arms to 96 countries. Almost half of its sales went to the Middle East, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said in a report on Monday. US exports increased 15% compared to the 2011-2015 period.

International deliveries of arms were flat in the period 2016-2020, ending more than a decade of increases, SIPRI said. It was the first time since 2001–2005 that the volume of deliveries of major arms between countries — an indicator of demand — did not increase from the previous five-year period.

The United States, France and Germany — three of the world's biggest exporters — increased deliveries but falls in exports from Russian and China offset the rise, SIPRI said.

Russia is the world's second-largest arms exporter, while France stood third, according to the report. Russia's sales were dented by a drop in imports from India.

Saudi Arabia tops as largest importer

Middle Eastern countries accounted for the biggest increase in arms imports, up 25% in 2016–20 from 2011–15.

Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest arms importer, increased its arms imports by 61% and Qatar by 361%.

The United Arab Emirates recently signed an agreement with the United States to purchase 50 F-35 jets and up to 18 armed drones as part of a $23 billion package.

Asia and Oceania were the largest importing regions for major arms, receiving 42% of global arms transfers in 2016–20. India, Australia, China, South Korea and Pakistan were the biggest importers in the region.

"For many states in Asia and Oceania, a growing perception of China as a threat is the main driver for arms imports," said Siemon Wezeman, a senior researcher at SIPRI.

COVID impact too early to tell

SIPRI said that it was too early to tell whether a recession stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic could slow down arms deliveries.

"The economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic could see some countries reassessing their arms imports in the coming years. However, at the same time, even at the height of the pandemic in 2020, several countries signed large contracts for major arms," said Wezeman.

am/sri (dpa, Reuters)

Global Arms Trade Plateauing Amid COVID-19 as Sales Gap Between US, Russia Widens – SIPRI

 

Global Arms Trade Plateauing Amid COVID-19 as Sales Gap Between US, Russia Widens – SIPRI

Lance Cpl. Juanenrique Owings

MILITARY & INTELLIGENCE

06:13 GMT 15.03.2021Get short URL

by Igor Kuznetsov

 

Substantial increases in arms sales by three of the top five exporters (the US, France, and Germany) were largely offset by declining Russian and Chinese exports, as the COVID pandemic is yet to take its economic toll on nations and affect their arms procurements.

International trade in major arms has levelled off over the past two five-year periods, with the exception of the Middle East, where there has been a sharp increase, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute SIPRI has said in a fresh report.

Nevertheless, global arms trade has remained close to the highest level since the end of the Cold War in the early 1990s, when the Soviet Union collapsed. Whether there has been a break in trends on the global arms market, SIPRI's researchers are still hesitant to say.

"It is too early to say whether the rapid growth of arms transfers in the last two decades is over, Pieter Wezeman of SIPRI's research programme for weapons and military spending in the city of Solna, told national broadcaster SVT.

SIPRI, however, did not rule out the coronavirus pandemic possibly affecting the statistics for an entire five-year period.

"The economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic may, for example, cause some countries to re-evaluate their arms imports in the coming years. At the same time, however, several countries have signed major arms contracts in the midst of a burning pandemic", Wezeman said.

With 96 client states, the US remains the world's largest arms exporter, increasing its global share of arms exports from 32 to 37 percent. Almost half (47 percent) of US arms transfers went to the Middle East. Substantial increases in transfers by three of the top five arms exporters (the US, France, and Germany) were largely offset by declining Russian and Chinese arms exports, SIPRI noted.

One major outlier is the Middle East, which clearly went against the trend and greatly increased its arms procurements by 25 percent during the same period. The spike is mostly due to major acquisitions by Saudi Arabia (up by 61 percent), Egypt (up by 136 percent) and Qatar (up by 361 percent).

"Ongoing wars in Yemen and Libya, rivalries between countries in the Gulf region, threats against Iran, and rising tensions over oil and gas reserves in the Mediterranean are important drivers of demand for weapons in the region", Pieter Wezeman commented.

Based in the Swedish capital, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute was founded in 1966 to provide data, analysis, and recommendations for armed conflict, military expenditures, and arms trade as well as disarmament and arms control. Their research is based on open sources and is directed at decisionmakers, researchers, the media, and the public.

To avoid statistical glitches, the researchers compare five-year stretches. This model has been in use since 1981, when the superpowers were locked in the Cold War and armed themselves to unprecedented levels.

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for PERMANENT ARMS ECONOMY 

Pakistan: Conspiracy theories hamper COVID vaccine drive

Pakistan is aiming to vaccinate 70% of its population by the end of this year, but conspiracy theories, myths and disinformation are impeding the mass inoculation drive.



Experts urge the government to counter misinformation about COVID vaccines

The Pakistani government launched its COVID-19 vaccination drive in February, starting with frontline health workers. After successfully inoculating 37,289 by mid-February, the authorities started registering other civilian groups.

The government hopes the COVID vaccine will be able to contain the spread of the coronavirus, but not everyone is willing to get a shot.

Conspiracy theories related to the vaccine abound in the Muslim-majority country. According to a report published by Gallup Pakistan, 49% of the population is reluctant to get vaccinated even if the vaccine is offered free of cost.

Experts say that misinformation and religious beliefs are responsible for people's mistrust of the vaccine.

Pakistan, a country of 220 million people, has so far recorded over 600,000 coronavirus cases and 13,430 related deaths.

Myths and misinformation

Many people in the country believe the pandemic does not exist. Rumors are also rife that Western countries want to insert a "surveillance microchip" in the human body through vaccine shots.

Watch video 01:33 Coronavirus: Anti-vaxxers pose major public health threat in Pakistan

Salman, who drives a cab in Karachi, told DW he doesn't trust the vaccine. The mass vaccination drive could be an attempt by global powers to spy on the world population, he said. He is also concerned about the vaccine's side-effects.

"Who knows what the vaccine can do to our bodies? It may even alter our DNA," the 30-year-old said of thedebunked claim.

Some Pakistanis say the vaccine is "haram" (forbidden in Islam) due to false claims it contains pig gelatin and human fetus tissues.

The main source of misinformation about COVID vaccines is WhatsApp, which is used by 39% of the country's population. Unsubstantiated claims about vaccines are also circulating on YouTube and Facebook.

Naila Tariq, a professor of pathology at Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Hospital in Karachi, says the misinformation on social media poses a challenge to health officials in educating people about the vaccines.

Vaccine politics

Pakistan so far has secured 17 million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. The country has also approved China's Sinopharm and Russia's Sputnik V vaccines.

"Some people are skeptical of the Sinopharm vaccine because it is made in China. Some don't want the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, as it is being manufactured in India," Tariq told DW.

Zoraiz Raiz, the founder of Corona Recovered Warriors, a group that coordinates plasma donations for COVID-19, said Pakistan's geopolitical relations also play an important role in the people's perception of the vaccines.

Watch video12:06 COVID-19 Special: Spreading conspiracy theories

"Pakistan doesn't have good relations with most of its neighbors, especially India, whereas cultural differences with China play a role in disinformation campaigns," he told DW.

Noor Baig, who works at the Aga Khan University Hospital in Karachi, says that even educated people in the country believe in vaccine myths. "Everyone is exposed to media. When educated people search for information about COVID vaccines on the internet, they come across false studies and become misguided," he told DW.

The medical expert believes it is the responsibility of politicians and religious leaders to dispel myths about COVID vaccines and educate people about its safety and efficacy.

"If politicians and religious leaders spread misinformation about the vaccine on media and say it is a plot against humanity, people will hesitate to get vaccinated," Baig asserted.

Dr. Tariq urges the government to take steps to counter misinformation about COVID vaccines. Health experts also say that authorities should coordinate their awareness-raising efforts with the international community and the World Health Organization.

The story behind Albert Einstein's most iconic photo

It’s been 70 years since the genius physicist stuck out his tongue at pesky reporters. The photo turned him into an icon. But what's the story behind it?
The photo of Einstein sticking out his tongue is world-famous

It was March 14, 1951, the day Albert Einstein turned 72. The famous physicist, who was born in Ulm, Germany, had already been living in the United States for many years. At the time, he was working at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. A birthday celebration was held in his honor at the research center.

The paparazzi were lurking outside the venue when he left, hoping to hear one of the world-famous professor's witty quips about the global political situation — and to take the perfect birthday photo.

Not a fan of media hype, and growing weary of being a spokesperson, Einsteinwas annoyed by their presence. Yet there he was, stuck in the back seat of a limousine, sandwiched between the institute's former director, Frank Aydelotte, and his wife, Marie, unable to escape the flashing bulbs. "Enough is enough..." he is said to have repeatedly shouted at the pushy reporters. "Hey, Professor, smile for a birthday photo, please," one shouts.

In a gesture of annoyance, the unconventional free spirit stuck his tongue out at his pursuers — a moment that was captured by photographer Arthur Sasse. The picture quickly circulated around the world, becoming an iconic image.

The image elevated Einstein to pop icon status

A famous snapshot

The absent-minded professor with disheveled hair, who often forgot to put on socks, yet whose theory of relativity is still understood by only the world's most brilliant minds, was elevated to a mythical figure during the course of his own life. The cheeky snapshot also earned him pop icon status.

The iconic photo has been reproduced frequently, as shown here on an Easter egg

However, it was not the photographer who helped the photo achieve worldwide fame, but Einstein himself. He ordered numerous prints and cropped it so the Aydelotte couple could no longer be seen. He sent dozens of the photos to colleagues, friends and acquaintances. "The outstretched tongue reflects my political views," he wrote to his friend Johanna Fantova. In 2009, an original signed copy was sold for $74,324 (€62,677) at auction, making it the most expensive photo of the genius ever.
Einstein on human stupidity

Einstein, who was Jewish, had fled Nazi Germany and knew what it felt like to be the subject of a government-led witch hunt. Thus, he did not condone the Cold War and the search for alleged communists instigated by Senator Joseph McCarthy, in which many politicians, intellectuals and artists were accused of being "un-American." 

The photo was even reproduced in a corn field in Germany, as seen here

Einstein had a lot to say about such human stupidity: "The ruling of the dumb people can't be overcome because there are so many of them, and their voice counts as much as ours" reads an Einstein quote translated from German. "Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity. But I'm not quite sure about the universe yet," goes another of the professor's quips.

Einstein met this stupidity with genius — and a dash of humor.

Since it was taken on Einstein's birthday in 1951, the photo of him sticking out his tongue has been reproduced millions of times: on posters and t-shirts, greeting cards, mugs and murals. And even today, decades after his death, the revolutionary thinker and genius professor still has numerous fans, from young to old.

This article was translated from German by Sarah Hucal.

Monthly Review | Why Socialism? BY ALBERT EINSTEIN

Million-tree mission hopes to fix reforestation flaws

Mika Vanhanen has overseen the planting of 30 million trees across the globe via a network of 10,000 schools he recruited over two decades

 Alessandro RAMPAZZO AFP/File
Issued on: 15/03/2021 - 
Joensuu (Finland) (AFP)

It's an environmental policy embraced by heads of state, multinational businesses and even leading climate sceptic Donald Trump: plant more trees to help the planet and slow global warming.

But experts claim some recent mass tree-planting schemes have failed to reduce greenhouse gases when not done properly, and even harmed the environment.

Now a pair of Finnish environmentalists believe they have created a reforestation initiative that will avoid these problems and allow for millions of new trees every year, tracked by a smartphone app.



Former schoolteacher Mika Vanhanen has overseen the planting of 30 million trees across the globe via a network of 10,000 schools, the result of two decades work.

But "some of the trees died because we didn't have the resources to care for them", Vanhanen, founder of tree-planting charity ENO, told AFP in his hometown of Joensuu, eastern Finland.

Last year Turkey's forestry trade union said almost all of the 11 million trees planted during the country's National Forestation Day in 2019 had died after just a few months.

And in Chile, a study found landowners were taking advantage of financial tree-planting incentives by cutting down established, carbon-absorbing forests and replacing them with new ones.

- 25-year tree care -

So last year Vanhanen teamed up with "environmental technology" expert Pekka Harju-Autti to launch an innovative model for large-scale tree-planting with the emphasis on sustainability.

Their "TreeBuddy" scheme invites businesses and individuals to "buy" one or more trees, for instance as a gift to customers, employees or friends.

But unlike other initiatives, the consumer also pays for the upkeep of the tree for up to 25 years.

"When they plant a tree, locals take a photo which is geo-positioned and get one euro for the community. After one year ... they make a status update of the tree with another photo and they get again one euro, the same after five years and 10 years and so on," Harju-Autti told AFP.

The euro covers upkeep during the year, with care ranging from watering to, in Tibet for example, protecting the trees from yaks and wild horses.

A smartphone app enables users to keep track of their own "virtual forest", but most importantly the maintenance payments incentivise communities to keep their forests alive, Harju-Autti said.

CLICK ON TO ENLARGE

This map shows the total land available that can support trees across the globe (total of current forested areas and forest cover potential available for restoration). Credit: ETH Zurich/Crowther Lab

- Millions a year -

With each community seeing 7,000 to 10,000 trees planted, the sums add up over time.

"One reason the Amazon is burning is that locals do not always feel they get economic benefits from their forests, so some not-so-wise decisions are made."

So far TreeBuddy has seen 30,000 trees planted in the Philippines, Tibet and India, and has secured investment to scale up to "millions a year" in the near future, across Asia, Africa and the Americas.

Vanhanen and Harju-Autti say that because they already have a relationship with their 10,000 tree-planting communities around the globe, the scheme should also avoid problems such as introducing non-native species or damage to the existing ecosystem.

In January, a British study set out 10 'golden rules' of tree-planting to avoid the failures of some large-scale schemes, including for local people to be at the heart of projects and for the natural regrowth of forest to be prioritised wherever possible.

"We are getting questions from tree-planting organisations all over the world that would like to adopt the TreeBuddy model," Harju-Autti said, adding that he expects the focus to move away from planting towards "giving locals their fair share for efforts to preserve their trees".

This map shows the land available for forest restoration (excluding deserts, agricultural and urban areas; current forestland not shown). Credit: ETH Zurich/Crowther Lab

VIDEO AND MAPS FROM:

The Weather Network - Planting billions of trees could help save the climate, study finds

FILM

Wolfgang Petersen, director of 'The NeverEnding Story' and 'Das Boot,' at 80

He's one of the most successful German filmmakers in Hollywood. Wolfgang Petersen's "Outbreak" also gained renewed popularity during the pandemic.

11 FILMS BY GERMAN DIRECTOR WOLFGANG PETERSEN

Overwhelming success: 'Das Boot'

Wolfgang Petersen's war epic "Das Boot" was a spectacular movie success in the 1980s — first in Germany, and then in the US. Moviegoers got a strong adrenaline rush through this claustrophobic German submarine mission set in 1941 in the Atlantic Ocean. The film was nominated for six Oscars.

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When the COVID-10 pandemic broke out a year ago, many people turned to movies depicting the outbreak of a mysterious, deadly illness.

Wolfgang Petersen's Outbreak from 1995 was one of those titles that suddenly reappeared on the list of most-watched movies, ranking for instance as the fourth most popular film on Netflix in the US on March 13, 2020. Featuring an all-star cast, including Dustin Hoffman, Rene Russo, Morgan Freeman and Donald Sutherland, the medical disaster film was packed with action, helicopter chases and explosions.

But things turned out to be comparatively quiet in real life; the film director who was born on March 14, 1941 in the seaport city of Emdem, in north-western Germany, spent the past year mostly isolated in his Los Angeles home.

Vaccinated against COVID-19 shortly before his 80th birthday, he now feels "really free," he told German press agency dpa, describing the experience of getting the shots as an "amazing" one. He was among the people vaccinated at the Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, a vaccine super site, with 12,000 cars driving through every day and passengers getting vaccinated without even leaving their vehicle.

 

An unknown deadly illness hits the fictional small town of Cedar Creek in California: Here, Rene Russo in 'Outbreak'

The director of cult films 'Das Boot' and 'The NeverEnding Story'

Wolfgang Petersen's films combine solid skills with art — at least often enough to secure the northern German filmmaker a place of honor among Hollywood's foreign directors.

No other German director, apart from Roland Emmerich, has worked so successfully in the US since the end of World War II.

It all began with television, where Petersen learned the trade. At some point producers realized that the friendly young director held more promise than simply creating solid TV fare — and asked whether Petersen might be interested in filming the lengthy war novel Das Boot by Lothar-Günther Buchheim. He said yes, and the rest is history: Das Boot was a huge success at home and abroad when it was released in 1981. The German film was even nominated for six Oscars.

In 1984, Peterson completed his next film, The NeverEnding Story — the most expensive film in German film history back then — back home in Germany. Just a year later, he was already working for an American studio, albeit in a film studio in Munich, where he shot the sci-fi film Enemy Mine.
Working with the Hollywood greats

Petersen's first real Hollywood movie was Shattered, in 1991. But it was In the Line of Fire two years later, a movie starring Clint Eastwood as a secret service agent, that made a difference.

Top US film stars including Dustin Hoffman, Harrison Ford, Glenn Close, George Clooney, Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt followed Petersen's direction over the following years. He had gained the reputation of being a reliable worker and a compassionate colleague.

Petersen never made a secret of his enthusiasm for the US. He explained it probably went back to the post-war era, when Germans were so fed up and demoralized by everything that had happened during WWII. In contrast, "These Americans on their ships, well-fed and laughing, were a salvation," he once said. For him, the Americans were "representatives of a better world, rich, powerful and friendly."

"That was deeply engrained in me," he added — a gratitude still noticeable many decades after the war in his patriotic US film Air Force One.

Petersen's last Hollywood film was the 2016 Poseidon. A decade later, he returned to Germany to direct the crime comedy Vier gegen die Bank (Four Against the Bank), starring four of Germany's most popular actors, Til Schweiger, Matthias Schweighöfer, Michael "Bully" Herbig and Jan Josef Liefers.

Not planning on retiring any time soon, the 80-year-old filmmaker still has projects up his sleeve. He told dpa that the film he is now working on is a love story between a KGB agent and a young East German woman, set shortly before the Berlin Wall was built and based on a true story. While the production was interrupted because of the pandemic, Petersen hopes to get to shoot the film, with scenes set in Germany, Moscow and the Ukraine, during the summer of 2022.

Opinion: After Fukushima, Germany must avoid nuclear energy

Ten years ago, Chancellor Angela Merkel decided unilaterally to dismantle all of the nuclear plants in Germany. Nobody has ever seriously questioned the decision, DW's Jens Thurau writes.



Germany has always had a very active anti-nuclear energy movement

According to the story from Berlin, on March 11, 2011, Chancellor Angela Merkel was in her office when alarming news started trickling in from Japan. She saw the devastating images of the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster in Fukushimaand did something that she had rarely done in all her years in power.

Jens Thurau

Having built a reputation for always seeking consensus, she decided on her own to put an end to nuclear energy in Germany. Against the wishes of her party, to the horror of the energy sector and her party's liberal coalition party. Just like that.

At the time, there were 17 nuclear power stations in operation in Germany. Today there are six. The plan is for there to be none by the end of 2022.

Nuclear energy in Germany will soon be a thing of the past and it's hard to imagine that this might change in future. Younger generations might find it difficult to appreciate the heated debates there have been over this technical possibility for producing energy.

An infographic shows the status of nuclear plants around the world

Energy transition begins

Just a few months before the Fukushima disaster, Merkel's coalition government had decided to delay a decision to phase out nuclear energy in Germany by extending the lifespan of the country's reactors. So, the chancellor's announcement to put a moratorium on this extension and eventually close down all the reactors in the country marked an abrupt change of direction.

Germany embarked on a major transition toward lower-carbon and more environmentally sound energy. The idea was to develop wind and solar energy and to start phasing out coal as well. Ten years later, the transition is slow, with many feuding stakeholders involved, driven by international promises to be carbon-neutral by 2050.

It is surprising that there has never been a debate to call into question the decision to go ahead with this transition. Other countries reacted very differently to the nuclear disaster in Japan. France, the US and China continue to operate aging nuclear reactors. New reactors are very expensive and hard to impose on populations, at least in democracies.

But Germany has always had a very active anti-nuclear energy movement. For decades, activists campaigned against the building of a repository for nuclear waste in Gorleben in Lower Saxony and the Chernobyl disaster in 1986 also shocked Germany. Fukushima was the final straw. Merkel knew this.

The country is now looking for another site to build a nuclear waste facility. Only in the middle of the century will the radioactive waste from nuclear reactors, which is sometimes stored in the plants themselves, disappear into the earth forever. At least, that's what those in charge hope. The former Asse salt mine where low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste has been stored for years is one of the most impressive and expensive sites of its type in the world.


An infographic shows the prognosis for energy costs using various technologies by 2030

A nuclear-free Germany

The few advocates of nuclear energy who remain keep saying that an industrial nation such as Germany will not meet the ambitious international climate goals with wind and solar energy alone. They argue that new nuclear reactors will be necessary. However, there is not much to justify such arguments: Nuclear plants are expensive, they require inordinate amounts of water for cooling, and they are monsters in an energy landscape that is becoming increasingly decentralized, particularly in poorer countries.

Anyone who has visited the site of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and experienced the oppressive silence in the death zone around the damaged reactor and in the nearby city of Pripyat in northern Ukraine, once home to 50,000 people, might draw the conclusion that Merkel's decision 10 years ago was right. The German chancellor was acting on political instinct. She never got involved in the heated ideological debates about nuclear energy but simply stated coolly that the stakes and costs of "carrying on” like before were too high.

Merkel understood that the population did not want the nuclear plants. This remains the case 10 years after Fukushim

WHERE IS THE JOB RESKILLING
Germany's VW announces job cuts as part of 'green' shakeup

The Wolfsburg-based auto giant says it is making savings to invest in new technologies as EU regulators crack down on emissions. A deal with trade unions prevents any forced layoffs before the end of this decade.



VW says it will boost investment in green technologies

The German automaker Volkswagen announced on Sunday that it will cut thousands of jobs to free up funds for investment in electric vehicles and other new technologies.

The Wolfsburg-based VW plans to focus on e-mobility, hybrid cars, a seamless software-based vehicle operating system and self-driving technologies.

The job cuts are part of VW's strategy to regain its crown as the world's largest carmaker as it enters a new green era. VW and its subsidiaries sold 9.3 million cars in 2020.

Toyota pipped to the top spot last year, selling 9.5 million units.

What has been agreed?

An agreement struck with labor unions will see savings through early retirement or semiretirement. A previous deal rules out any forced layoffs until the end of this decade.


Unions have already agreed a pact to prevent forced layoffs until the end of this decade

The German financial newspaper Handlesblatt reported on Sunday that the plans will cost some €500 million ($597 million) and 5,000 people could leave the company.

Volkswagen declined to give an overall figure, saying only it expected up to 900 workers to opt for early retirement and that thousands could take semiretirement.

The firm also extended a hiring freeze until the end of 2021. It had previously only been in place until the first quarter.

External hires can only be made in areas like electric cars, digitalization and battery cell development, the company said in a statement.

VW says COVID-19 woes 'successfully contained'

Volkswagen's personnel chief, Gunnar Kilian, said the firm's "continued strict cost management" would allow executives to "finance the necessary investments in the future."

Watch video 01:23 VW teams up with Microsoft

The firm, which also includes the Porsche, Audi and Seat subsidiaries, has earmarked nearly half of its €150 billion of its research and development budget for the plan.

Executives told investors last month that they believed that the effects of the coronavirus pandemic has been "'successfully contained."

They also pointed to the "rapid recovery" of Volkswagen's highly-profitable Chinese operations that had helped the corporation weather the recent economic turmoil.

Why are carmakers trying to go green?

A global clampdown on polluting technologies helped to trigger the company's renewed commitment to going green.

That was brought about, in part, by the diesel pollution scandal in 2015 that revealed the automaker had fitted some vehicles with cheat devices to pass emissions tests.

Watch video 02:36 VW gears up for global electric car production

EU regulators have set stringent emissions targets that will force Volkswagen to boost the proportion of hybrid and electric vehicles of its European car sales to 60% by 2030. That is up from a previous target of 40%.

It means car companies are bringing in low-emission technology, even for smaller mainstream models where profit margins are usually much lower.

Volkswagen said in October it was reviewing its ownership of its Italian sports car brand, Lamborghini, as part of the shake-up.

Opinion: China's autocrats end democracy in Hong Kong

VOTER SUPPRESSION 

CCP DOES IT BETTER THAN THE GOP

China's National People's Congress has passed new election rules for Hong Kong to ensure pro-Beijing forces can win the vote there. It's no longer a democracy, it just looks like one, says DW's Dang Yuan.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, top center, and Premier Li Keqiang, top center right, with other delegates during the closing session of the National People's Congress


China's Communist Party leaders and political theorists have never lacked imagination when it comes to making the impossible possible. In a bid to legitimize autocracy, they created new ideas that are full of contradictions.

The preamble of the Chinese constitution refers to China as a "people's democratic dictatorship led by the working class."

The economic system in place is a "socialist market economy," which combines private ownership (market) with a responsibility for the collective (socialism).

In the case of Hong Kong, they came up with "one country, two systems," "Hong Kong administration by Hong Kongers" and "a high-level of autonomy" — principles agreed upon by Beijing and London before the former British colony was handed over to China in 1997.

These principles resulted in Hong Kong's Basic Law, which meets international democratic standards

No popular sovereignty

The Basic Law, however, has a catch: The charter does provide for direct and general elections to elect the territory's parliament and chief executive, but it doesn't set a time frame for it to happen. This has given Beijing room to maneuver.

Free and representative elections are considered the benchmark for any democracy. In Hong Kong, elections do indeed take place, but always with an invisible player in action. The player's name does not appear anywhere, but pulls the strings everywhere.

The player wants to have everything under control in order to stifle even the slightest criticism at the outset. And its name is the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

Since Hong Kong came under Chinese control, Beijing has prevented popular sovereignty in the territory. This is because only half of the 70-member city parliament is directly elected; the other half is appointed by selected community and social groups.

The election of the chief executive must be confirmed by a Beijing-friendly commission. The next legislative elections are scheduled for September, after they were delayed by a year due to the coronavirus pandemic. And the next chief executive election will be in 2022.

'One country, two systems,' 'Hong Kong administration by Hong Kongers' and 'a high-level of autonomy' are principles agreed upon by Beijing and London before the former British colony was handed over to China in 1997
Who is considered a 'patriot'?

The new resolution, passed on Thursday with 2,895 votes in favor, 0 against and one abstention, stipulates that all candidates for the upcoming parliamentary elections, as well as candidates for the chief executive, will be screened for attitudes and approved by the same Beijing-friendly commission.

This is to ensure that all candidates for office are "patriots." To pick up on the propaganda's choice of words, "people who love the country rule Hong Kong." So not those who love Hong Kong, but the autocracy.

From Beijing's standpoint, opposition parties from the pro-democratic camp do not belong to the patriots.

After all, they criticize the Hong Kong administration's obedience to Beijing authorities and demand the right to general, free elections in accordance with the Basic Law.

Beijing wants to turn the Hong Kong City Parliament into a rubber-stamp legislature like the National People's Congress. Before the 1997 handover, China had promised to guarantee the rule of law in Hong Kong, but not to give way about who makes the laws.

VIDEO Beijing deals blow to Hong Kong electoral hopefuls

National law trumps regional law

In recent years, calls for direct elections have grown louder in Hong Kong. As a result, the pro-Beijing majority in the city parliament is no longer considered secure in the next elections.

That is why the CCP is now resorting to the last option: centralized legislation for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

From the outset, the Basic Law was placed within the framework of the Chinese constitution — national law simply trumps regional law.

In practice, however, this means an obvious violation of the principle of a "Hong Kong administration by Hong Kongers," and thus an agreement between China and Britain under international law.

How can the deputies in the Great Hall of the People determine Hong Kong election rules? The vast majority of them are neither elected by Hong Kongers, nor do they even understand the Hong Kong dialect.

In recent years, calls for direct elections have grown louder in Hong Kong
The underestimated autocrats

The National People's Congress already passed a law for Hong Kong last year, the so-called National Security Law for Hong Kong. Opposition politicians have been intimidated since the law came into force on June 30, 2020. Many of them have since been retroactively tried and imprisoned for allegedly "endangering state security." Others have fled the city fearing arrest.

The architects of Hong Kong's Basic Law wanted to ensure stability and prosperity in Hong Kong with the principle of one country, two systems.

In this democratic experiment, they completely underestimated the fact that the autocrats in Beijing are clearly in the driver's seat. And that the CCP leadership probably never seriously wanted to grant the people of Hong Kong what they had honestly hoped for after the end of the British colonial era: genuine democracy and self-government.

DW editor Dang Yuan writes under a pseudonym to protect himself and his family.

This article has been translated from German

World Leaders Urged To ‘Stop Ignoring Root Cause Of Pandemics’ And Address Risks Of Factory Farming

'It's become clear, that for complex matters of animal health, pharmaceutical responses are not the sole and long-term solution'

by Liam Giliver

Updated 12th March 2021

  

'More must be done to address the dysfunctional relationship between humans, animals, and nature' Credit: Adobe.

World leaders are being urged to ‘stop ignoring the root cause of pandemics’ and address the risks of factory farming.

Chiefs from organizations such as The World Health Organization (WHO) and The United Nations (UN) received a letter from FOUR PAWS.

It highlights how around 75 percent of emerging infectious diseases such as SARS come from animals – and that zoonoses cause a staggering one billion cases of illness in people and millions of deaths every year.
A ‘dysfunctional relationship’

“It’s become clear, that for complex matters of animal health, pharmaceutical responses are not the sole and long-term solution,” the letter reads.


“Instead, more must be done to address the dysfunctional relationship between humans, animals, and nature.”

FOUR PAWS says the conditions that a ‘huge proportion of animals’ are raised in ‘encourage pathogen excretion and uptake’.

Moreover, it says these ‘cramped and overcrowded’ environments create ‘an ideal situation for the exchange, genetic modification, and emergence of new pathogens’.
Prevent future pandemics

The letter continues: “While the recent outbreak was most likely from a live market… These conditions are reflected in almost every large-scale trade of animals.


“In light of the pandemic, your roles have become more relevant than ever. You can prescribe the necessary pathways to prevent future zoonotic disease outbreaks.

“This must cut across all sectors and societies as outlined in the points below. It’s imperative that we address the unsustainable use, financing, and promotion of animal exploitation. When they suffer, we suffer.”
Risks of factory farming

Moreover, the letter demands leaders to ban several practices such as fur farming, wet markets. And, calls for ‘a crackdown on risks created by factory farming’.

It also calls on the organizations to acknowledge the importance of reducing meat consumption. Citing both public health risks and the climate crisis.

You can read the full letter here

Liam Giliver
Liam is the Deputy Editor and Social Media Coordinator for Plant Based News. He has written for a number of top publications including Gay Times, Attitude Magazine, Oh Comely, and The Huffington Post - and is the author of 'We're Worried About

MORNING STAR, UK

CPGB
Editorial

Police violence on Clapham Common is a wake-up call to fight the Tories’ bid to ban protest



Police surround the band stand in Clapham Common, London, after the Reclaim These Streets vigil for Sarah Everard was officially cancelled

POLICE brutality unleashed on women holding a peaceful vigil to honour Sarah Everard will only inflame public anger.

Officers moved in, making arrests and trampling the flowers laid in memory of a young woman abducted and murdered — apparently by a policeman.

The Met’s attempt to defend this violence as a necessary Covid safety measure is disgraceful and authorities would do well to heed the message from women who chanted “Arrest your own” and “The police do not protect us.”

There is no blanket ban on protests under Covid safety regulations, and organisers of Reclaim These Streets tried to work with police to ensure a Covid-safe demonstration. Police cannot evade their responsibility for choosing to ban it.

These scenes should be a wake-up call ahead of this week’s parliamentary vote on the Policing, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill.

Labour’s announcement that it will oppose the Bill is welcome. The party’s original response — to complain that it doesn’t go far enough in increasing the penalties for attacks on police officers — suggested it would seek to compete with Priti Patel on “law and order” rather than mount a principled defence of our liberties against an increasingly overbearing state.

But a vote against is not enough. Public pressure must be raised to demonstrate the strength of opposition to the Tories’ authoritarian plans.

The call for a demonstration against violence against women tomorrow in Parliament Square is an important signal that women will not be silenced — and will continue to organise protest despite the state’s attempts to shut these down.

Tory MPs must be confronted with the weekend’s events and asked how they justify a dramatic increase in arbitrary police power.

The government says it wishes to grant police additional powers to “tackle non-violent protests that have a significant disruptive effect.”

Its motive is the same that led it to appoint Labour turncoat John Woodcock to direct a probe into “violent extremism” that equates far-right terror on the one hand with “climate change activist groups … overstepping the mark into anti-social behaviour” on the other.

The new Bill will intensify racial oppression in Britain.

It expands measures such as stop and search which are proven to result in increased police harassment of black people. It outlines additional powers to break up Gypsy and Traveller camps.

And an extraordinary increase in custodial sentences for damage to monuments shows a determination to wage culture war against the anti-racist movement after the year Black Lives Matter swept the world.

The Bill continues the work of the Spycops and Overseas Operations legislation in strengthening the repressive apparatus of the state.

It is not unconnected from the drive towards greater state and corporate censorship of alternative media.

Both are a response to the loss of public confidence in the political and economic system. The role of coercion in maintaining capitalist rule is growing as popular consent to it diminishes.

Britain’s rulers are acutely aware of this loss of legitimacy. In their distinct ways, the vote to leave the European Union and the resurgence of a mass socialist movement under the banner of Corbynism both spoke to a popular mood of revolt against the status quo.

The defeat of the latter has weakened the specifically socialist character of that revolt, but the pandemic has highlighted acute inequalities of sex, race and class.

The Black Lives Matter movement and now the public outcry over violence against women are exposing the integral role of racism and sexism in the existing system.

The burgeoning environmentalist movement is underlining its unsustainable character.

Capitalism cannot address these concerns. It seeks to repress them instead. Stopping it from doing so is a task for all of us.

We must stand with the women who will not be silenced over the despicable murder of Sarah Everard. And we must unite to fight back against a policing law aimed at criminalising protest.