Corporations gave over $50M to voting restriction backers

4/5/2021

WASHINGTON — When executives from Coca-Cola and Delta Air Lines spoke out against Georgia's new voting law as unduly restrictive last week, it seemed to signal a new activism springing from corporate America

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© Provided by The Canadian Press

But if leaders of the nation's most prominent companies are going to reject lawmakers who support restrictive voting measures, they will have to abruptly reverse course.

State legislators across the country who have pushed for new voting restrictions, and also seized on former President Donald Trump's baseless claims of election fraud, have reaped more than $50 million in corporate donations in recent years, according to a new report by Public Citizen, a Washington-based government watchdog group.

Telecom giant AT&T was the most prolific, donating over $800,000 since 2015 to authors of proposed restrictions, cosponsors of such measures, or those who voted in favour of the bills, the report found. Other top donors during the same period include Comcast, Philip Morris USA, UnitedHealth Group, Walmart, Verizon, General Motors and Pfizer.

The money may not have been given with voting laws in mind, but it nonetheless helped cement Republican control in statehouses where many of the prohibitive measures are now moving forward.

Whether companies continue to give to these lawmakers will test how far risk-adverse corporate leaders are willing to go in their increasingly forceful criticism of the restrictive efforts, which voting rights groups have excoriated as an attack on democracy.

"It really is corporate America, as a whole, that is funding these politicians,” said Mike Tanglis, one of the authors of the report. “It seems many are trying to hide under a rock and hope that this issue passes.”

More than 120 companies detailed in the report previously said they would rethink their donations to members of Congress who, acting on the same falsehoods as the state lawmakers, objected to the certification of President Joe Biden's win following the deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters.

The tension is most evident now in Georgia, where a far-reaching new voting law has drawn an intense national scrutiny, prompting the criticism from Delta and Coca-Cola. On Friday, MLB announced it would no longer host the 2021 All-Star Game in Atlanta.

Yet it's unclear whether this aggressive new posture will extend to corporate campaign donation practices. And early indicators show there is risk.

Georgia's Republican-controlled House voted to strip Delta of a tax break worth tens of millions of dollars annually for their criticism of the new law, though the action was rendered moot after the GOP Senate failed to take it up before the legislative session adjourned.

What is certain, though, is that withholding corporate donations to state-level candidates, like many companies did at the federal level, would have a far greater impact in statehouses.

“A contribution of $5,000 to a U.S. senator who is raising $30 million is a drop in a bucket. But in some of these state races, a few thousand dollars can buy a lot of ad time,” said Tanglis. “If corporate America is going to say that (Trump's) lie is unacceptable on the federal level, what about on the state level?”

Public Citizen analyzed about 245 voting restriction bills proposed before March 1. They culled a list of sponsors and cosponsors, while also analyzing vote roll calls. Then they cross-referenced the data with state-level donation records dating back to 2015, which included money from company political action committees, as well as direct contributions from corporate treasuries.

Among their findings:

— Companies donated at least $50 million to lawmakers who supported voting restrictions, including $22 million in the 2020 campaign cycle.

— At least 81 Fortune 100 companies have given a combined total of $7.7 million to supporters of the restrictions.

— Nearly half of all Fortune 500 companies donated a combined total of $12.8 million to supporters of the restrictions.

— About three-quarters of the companies that changed their donation policies after the U.S. Capitol attack have also given to lawmakers who supported voting rights restrictions.

— More than 60 companies have given at least $100,000 to lawmakers who supported the restrictions.

— Separately, industry groups and trade associations contributed an additional $36 million to the lawmakers, $16 million of which was given during the 2020 cycle.

In response, AT&T said “the right to vote is sacred” but declined to say whether the company would withhold donations to state lawmakers as they did for members of Congress who objected to Biden's win.

“We understand that election laws are complicated, not our company’s expertise and ultimately the responsibility of elected officials. But, as a company, we have a responsibility to engage," AT&T CEO John Stankey said in a statement.

Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg said in a statement, “We strongly oppose the passage of any legislation or the adoption of any measure that would make it harder" to vote. But he stopped short of pledging any specific action.

Comcast said in a statement that "efforts to limit or impede access to this vital constitutional right for any citizen are not consistent with our values.” The company would not comment on whether it would evaluate its giving to lawmakers who support the measures.

Altria, the parent company of Philip Morris USA, said in a statement that “every eligible voter should be able to exercise their right to vote” and pledged to monitor lawmakers' “alignment with our political contribution guiding principles when making future contribution decisions."

Other companies listed in the report declined to comment or did not respond to inquiries from The Associated Press.

On Monday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell urged companies to resist what he called a “co-ordinated campaign by powerful and wealthy people to mislead and bully the American people.”

“Our private sector must stop taking cues from the Outrage-Industrial Complex," the Kentucky Republican said in a statement. “Americans do not need or want big business to amplify ... or react to every manufactured controversy with frantic left-wing signalling.”

Pressure has been particularly intense in Georgia, where Republican Gov. Brian Kemp recently signed a sweeping new law that bans people from handing out food or water to voters waiting in line and allows the Republican-controlled State Election Board to remove and replace county election officials, among many other provisions.

Two of the top corporate contribution recipients detailed in Public Citizen's report were among the sponsors of the measure.

Since 2015, Republican state Sen. Jeff Mullis has collected more than $869,000 in donation from corporate PACs. Among his top corporate donors were AT&T ($15,900) and UnitedHealth Group ($12,900), according to the report. Mullis is chair of the Georgia Senate’os Rules Committee, which plays a key role in determining which bills make it to the floor fr a

Republican state Sen. Butch Miller, another sponsor of the bill, has received at least $729,000 in corporate donations since 2015. Among his top corporate givers are UnitedHealth Group ($15,700) and AT&T ($13,600), the report states.

 vote.

Miller and Mullis did not respond to requests for comment.

Brian Slodysko, The Associated Press

POSTMODERN STALINISM

‘We’re coming to get you’: China’s critics facing threats, retaliation for activism in Canada

POSTMODERN RED SCARE

Rachel Gilmore 

© Aly Song/Reuters A woman wearing a protective mask is seen past a portrait of Chinese President Xi Jinping on a street as the country is hit by an outbreak of the coronavirus, in Shanghai, China, March 12, 2020.

In July 2019, Mehmet Tohti was just hours away from speaking publicly to politicians about the Chinese government’s horrific abuse of the Uyghur population in Xinjiang when he received a message on Twitter:

“Your f---ing mother is dead,” it read.

Read more: Trudeau says China must address world’s ‘significant’ concerns on Uyghur abuse

Tohti had lost contact with his mother in late 2016, three years earlier. He had started to become more vocal about the mass detention and abuse of the Uyghur population in Xinjiang, publicly calling it a genocide and alleging the existence of concentration camps.

“And then my mother and 37 family members, close relatives, disappeared,” Tohti said.

“Since October 23, 2016, no phone, no message...nothing.”

He never heard from his mother again.

“I love her so much,” Tohti said softly.

His story is just one of many for activists who speak out against the Chinese government in Canada. Despite being separated by an ocean, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its supporters have methods of keeping activists in Canada under their thumb — and there’s very little that Canadian law enforcement can do about it.

Cherie Wong is painfully aware of this reality.

Video: Cherie Wong describes threats she’s faced while advocating for Hong Kong, intimidation from Chinese government

She had already faced repeated death and rape threats. Knowing full well the kind of intimidation and threats that activists critical of the Chinese government face, Wong had a friend book her Vancouver hotel room under a different name. It was January of 2020, and she was in town to launch her organization, Alliance Canada Hong Kong, which fights for the autonomy of the region.

Sitting in her hotel room, the phone began to ring.

When she answered, she says she was greeted by an intimidating voice. It kept repeating, “we’re coming to get you.”

“It was a very threatening tone on the phone, telling me that ‘we know where you are, this is your room number, and we're coming to get you,'” Wong said.

She had no idea who it was, but they knew her name and hotel room number — despite the fact that she had taken precautions to shroud that information from anyone contacting the hotel.

“I sat in my room and just started shaking, realizing that I could be in very real danger and not knowing what to do,” she said.

She said she contacted the police, but they told her there was nothing they could do about it. This is a key part of the problem, Wong said: the intimidation activists face often falls into a legal grey area, where there’s very little Canada can do.

Video: Trudeau urges international community for coordinated sanctions on China for Uyghurs’ mistreatment

Speaking to a parliamentary committee on March 11, RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki said those feeling pressure from China can call the RCMP’s national security tip line. That line is open to any and all national security tips and Lucki acknowledged that they “tend to get a lot of tips that aren't relative to national security or law enforcement.”

“What dissidents face in Canada is often on the grey area of criminal harassment and just discomfort that you feel (in) daily life,” Wong said.

“I can assure you most of the harassment that I personally have experienced, aside from the very extreme death and rape threats, are not criminal activities. But they equally create the same threat for me and my family, whether here in Canada or in Hong Kong.”

Read more: China touts ties with Russia in new threats against West over Uyghur sanctions

For example, Wong said, activists who speak out can often expect their families to get a “tea visit” from government officials back home in China.

“They come and knock on your door and say, 'we're coming in to talk to you about your family,'” she explained.

As officials sit down and drink tea with your relatives in China, they offer a chilling warning, according to Wong: “Your family from Canada seem to be very active nowadays. Maybe you should tell them to stop.”

“How do you report that to the RCMP?” Wong asked.

Video: Tibetan activist describes the incentives driving support for China

That’s exactly the fear that was front of mind as Tibetan-Canadian Chemi Lhamo welcomed Hong Kong students to her office when she served as student president of the University of Toronto’s Scarborough campus.

She said other students often stood poised outside the door, snapping photos of the Hong Kong students who entered.

“That means that their families back home would also be subjected to threats, so I had to meet them, actually, in secrecy,” Lhamo explained.

“People would actually come in wearing their masks...like a full head on, sometimes clown masks and sometimes V for Vendetta-type masks, to enter my office to be able to talk to me. And so because of that, whether it was self-censorship or the intimidation tactics, either way, it really came in the way of me being able to actually help them.”

Lhamo understands why these people might want to hide their identities. When she was first elected student president, her stance in favour of Tibet’s liberation garnered the attention of supporters of the Chinese government — and a campaign of harassment ensued.

 "Hong Kong activists tell parliamentary committee why Canada should care about Hong Kong"

Tibet has been under China’s occupation since the 1950s. China’s military invaded and took over the land, brutally cracking down on any pushback from the Tibetans and forcing their leader, the Dalai Lama, to flee to India. In the years since, Tibetan culture has been eroded and any pursuit of Tibetan liberation has been met with prison time, violence and repression.

China, meanwhile, insists the Tibetans are happy and prosperous — but they won’t allow Western journalists or politicians to enter the area and make that determination for themselves.

Read more: Canada hits Chinese officials with sanctions over ‘gross’ human rights violations in Xinjiang

Lhamo’s grandparents walked on foot over the Himalayas to give her parents a better life in India, where she was born. As she rose to prominence in the University of Toronto’s student government, pro-China supporters flooded her social media with threats.

“I was attacked by these thousands and thousands, I would say over 10,000 messages and comments, which were not just hate speech. I had death threats, rape threats, and they were against me, but also targeting my family members,” Lhamo said.

© Provided by Global News

One comment was similar to a threat Tohti had faced. A comment posted on her Instagram: “your mom is dead.”

She said she immediately called her mother, checking in during the middle of her mom’s workday to see whether she was alright. She was fine, although Lhamo said she was a bit confused about why her daughter was asking.

“Those were the moments where... I realized how much of a threat the Chinese government can still be,” Lhamo said.

“That's just a peek into the life that I had to live because of the Chinese state influence, despite being born in India and raised in Toronto.”

Video: China’s Xi doesn’t have a ‘democratic bone’ in his body: Biden

But Canadian law enforcement agencies still struggle to help address constant disruptions in the lives of activists like Lhamo, Tohti and Wong. Speaking on March 11, Lucki explained the RCMP receives 120 tips daily on its national security tip line — but that many of the tips can’t be addressed.

“People might feel, for example, a threat. If it doesn't meet the threshold of a criminal offence, then we normally can't deal with it, in that sense,” Lucki explained.

She said that sometimes, if the tip doesn’t quite meet the threshold of a national security threat, the RCMP will pass off the case to local police services -- but only if there’s a Criminal Code violation involved, such as uttering threats.

Callers can also sometimes find their tip passed along to the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS). But while there’s multiple national security agencies available to help, Wong said very few can actually do anything to stop the intimidation.

This is because Canada doesn’t have laws against “clandestine foreign influence,” according to Stephanie Carvin, a Carleton University professor and former CSIS analyst.

Clandestine foreign influence refers to secretive efforts by a foreign government to influence policy or action abroad -- in layman’s terms, spy missions.

“There's laws against targeted harassment. There's laws against intimidating people and uttering threats. But by and large, this becomes very, very hard to prosecute,” Carvin said.

“Sometimes CSIS will interview these individuals just to get a better picture of what's happening. But at the end of the day, there really isn't a lot we can do unless we know that these activities are specifically linked to individuals who may be at a consulate or embassy.”

Video: China’s treatment of Uyghur minority is ‘totally unacceptable’: Garneau

It’s a reality that’s familiar to Wong.

“Many members of our community, including myself, have spoken with members of local police...some of us have been in touch with CSIS agents. But the general consensus from all of these law enforcement and intelligence agencies is ‘there's nothing we can do to help you individually,’” Wong said.

But there are things the Canadian government can do to help, she said. They could provide resources to the victims of this harassment in languages like Cantonese, she suggested, as not all members of diaspora communities speak French or English.

Both Wong and Tohti also called on the government to create a registry for foreign agents working in Canada.

It would “bring to light that there are foreign actors active here in Canada, whether Chinese or otherwise, carrying out state sanctioned operations,” Wong said.”

Read more: China cuts Hong Kong elected legislature seats, increases Beijing control: lawmaker

But while they wait for the government to take action, the threats against critics of the Chinese regime continue.

Tohti said he’s had cars parked outside of his house for weeks on end -- ones that no neighbours recognize. Individuals have come to his front door in Ottawa asking questions about his activities.

Wong said her internet often fails when she gets on the line with members of Parliament to discuss the plight of Hong Kongers.

Chinese officials continue to visit family members back home in China for ‘tea.’ They often do so after individuals like Wong speak to the media, she said.

And to this day, Tohti still doesn’t know what happened to his mother.

Video: China ‘firmly opposes’ gathering of diplomats supporting Michael Kovrig as closed-door trial underway

“And I don't think the Canadian government understands, truly understands the struggles that Chinese dissidents have been struggling with, not only in the past year, but in the past few decades.”

But, she said, she won’t stop speaking out.

“I'm willing to risk my own safety and my own security if it means that Hong Kong and Canada can feel a little safer.”

Tohti, who has had his entire extended family detained in Xinjiang as he spoke out about the abuses, also stood firm in his convictions.

“There's nothing in my hand to change the fate of my relatives. Even (if) I stopped today. It wouldn't change anything. Probably, the Chinese government would increase the pressure, by thinking that the pressure works here. So let's double up,” he explained.

“It is tough. It is tough.”

But, he said, it’s the right thing to do.

“Despite the risk, despite the danger, you put yourself and you put your family members (in), you have only one choice,” Tohti said.

“To do what is right, and stand on the right side of history.”

UPDATED

SOUTH KOREA TAKES THE LEAD

China and Seoul vow to cooperate on Korean Peninsula denuclearization

Foreign ministers agree to first high-level security talks in 6 years

OVER THE PENNISULA'S DESTINY

South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong, left, and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi meet in the southern Chinese city of Xiamen on April 3.   © AP

TSUKASA HADANO and YOSUKE ONCHI, Nikkei staff writer

April 4, 2021 01:30 JSTBEIJING/SEOUL -- China and South Korea will strengthen cooperation to achieve denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula, the two countries' foreign ministers agreed on Saturday, with plans for senior-level security talks in the first half of the year.

The two countries share the goal of the denuclearization of the peninsula, both governments said in releases, and the two sides aim for the first talks between their foreign affairs and defense vice ministers. The agreement came during newly appointed South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong's visit to Xiamen, China, to meet Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

"China will work with South Korea to promote a political solution to the Korean Peninsula issue through dialogue," Wang said.

Talks between high-ranking foreign affairs and defense officials of the two nations would be the first since January 2015, which were at the director level. The upcoming meeting would be at the vice ministerial level, rather than "two-plus-two" ministerial talks.

The plan to hold the security talks comes as the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden has been bolstering diplomatic ties in the region in a bid to pressure China.

Beijing has sought to drive a wedge between Seoul and Washington, while South Korea balances efforts to improve ties with an increasingly influential China against the resulting national security concerns.

Holding security talks at the vice minister level may have represented a compromise between these interests with South Korea caught between its longtime ally Washington and its largest trading partner, China. Already tense relations between the U.S. and China appeared to increase last month after a rare exchange of blunt words in public during a meeting in the U.S. state of Alaska.

South Korea says once the coronavirus pandemic stabilizes, it will prepare to invite Chinese President Xi Jinping to Seoul. Talks between the countries' foreign vice ministers are also planned around the first half of this year.

The trip by Chung marked the first visit by a South Korean foreign minister to China since November 2017. The foreign ministers of the two countries most recently met in South Korea last November.

After the Alaska meeting last month, Xi reached out to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, telling him Beijing would work to maintain peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.

This is the first time Chung has visited a foreign country since he took the position, emphasizing the priority of China for the Moon Jae-in administration. "South Korea is approaching China as China's relationship with Japan turns rocky. It's an opportunity to attract [South Korea]," a Chinese state media official said.

Chung participated in a two-plus-two meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken who visited Japan and South Korea last month. Chung also met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in South Korea.

China, ROK foreign ministers meet in Xiamen
Updated 03-Apr-2021
By Su Yuting CGTN




A visit to China by the Republic of Korea's (ROK) top diplomat Chung Eui-yong has come just weeks after a tour of Asia by the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Bliken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. Seoul has sought to find balance in its alliance with Washington and its economic reliance on China, with the foreign minister saying after Blinken's visit that the ROK valued its relations with both powers and did not want to pick a side.

Joint cooperation in the fight against COVID-19 pandemic will be one of the most important issue to be discussed at the China-ROK meeting. In a phone conversation with ROK President Moon Jae-in in January this year, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for a cooperation mechanism of "fast lanes" to facilitate pandemic prevention and control and economic development of the two countries.

Safeguarding multilateralism and free trade will also be a topic high on the agenda, as the two sides are accelerating the completion of the second-phase of negotiations on the free trade agreement to put into effect the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership at an early date and speed up the construction of the China-Japan-ROK free trade area. Denuclearization of the Korean peninsula is another issue on the table.

Previously as a top security adviser to President Moon Jae-in, Chung played a key role in Moon's engagement policy with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) that led to the historic summit between former U.S. President Donald Trump and the DPRK leader Kim Jong Un in 2018. Chung also served as Moon's special envoy in liaising with China and the DPRK. Both sides are willing to play constructive roles in promoting the resumption of peace talks on the Korean Peninsula.

And the timing of the visit is of great significance as China and the ROK will hold a "Cultural Exchange Year" in 2021 and 2022, and next year marks the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Saturday's meeting between the foreign ministers of the two countries in the southeast China city of Xiamen is expected to serve as an opportunity to explore ways to develop bilateral ties and exchange in-depth views on regional and international issues.

South Korea to invite Chinese President Xi when COVID-19 stabilises: Yonhap

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's foreign minister said on Saturday the government will prepare for a visit to South Korea by Chinese President Xi Jinping, local news outlet Yonhap reported.

© Reuters/CARLOS GARCIA RAWLINS Closing session

 of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference 

(CPPCC) in Beijing

"As soon as the novel coronavirus stabilises, we have decided to prepare for President Xi's visit to (South) Korea as early as possible," Chung Eui-yong told reporters after a meeting with State Councillor Wang Yi, the Chinese government's top diplomat, Yonhap reported.

Japan, U.S., S. Korea Reaffirm Concerted Approach to North

   Washington, April 2 (Jiji Press)--Senior security officials of Japan, the United States and South Korea reaffirmed on Friday the three nations' commitment to concerted efforts to resolve the issues of North Korea's nuclear and missile programs.
   White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, Japan's National Security Secretariat Secretary-General Shigeru Kitamura and South Korea's National Security Office Director Suh Hoon "shared their concerns about North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile programs and reaffirmed their commitment to address and resolve these issues through concerted trilateral cooperation toward denuclearization," according to a joint statement released after their meeting held at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.
   It was the first meeting of high-ranking officials of the three countries since U.S. President Joe Biden took office in January.
   The three officials consulted on the United States' review of its North Korea policy, which is in the final stages. Details of the review and the timing of its announcement have yet to be disclosed.
   They also discussed "issues of common concern" including security in the Indo-Pacific region, having in mind China's emergence as a global power.

(

IN NO SMALL PART THANKS TO THE BIGGIE CARD DIPLOMACY OF THE TWO STAR CROSSED LOVERS TRUMP HEART KIM

LBTGQ+ refugee in Quebec facing deportation says he will be killed if sent back to Jordan

Elizabeth Zogalis

4/4/2021

© THE CANADIAN PRESS IMAGES/Graham Hughes An RCMP officer takes a man into custody after he crossed illegally into Canada from the U.S. on Roxham road in Hemmingford, Que., Sunday, March 5, 2017.

Thirty-three-year-old Samer came to Canada in the spring of 2019 through the irregular border crossing at Roxham Road.

He had been living in the United States for 13 years where he had a work visa and owned an electronics store. He also came out to his family in Jordan as bisexual when he was in his 20s.

In May 2019, his electronics store in Cleveland, Ohio, was robbed and vandalized with racist graffiti, leaving him feeling unsafe and unwelcome in the U.S.

Read more: Why some in LGBTQ community choose not to be referred by acronym

Without putting much thought into it or seeking legal advice, Samer fled for the border to claim refugee status in Canada, where he thought he would live a better, safer life.

But it wasn't the fairy tale ending he was hoping for.

Samer was denied status almost immediately because he has a criminal record in the U.S after a car accident that killed his best friend when he was 18-years-old.

Samer was then detained here in Canada and faced what he says were inhumane conditions from the Canada Border Service Agency. He was also denied re-entry into the United States.

Now, facing deportation on Monday, Samer says if he is deported back to Jordan his family will kill him for being bisexual.

"My family had threatened me multiple times verbally by phones and also letters-wise, socially-wise, social media-wise," said Samer during a Saturday afternoon virtual press conference organized by AGIR, an LBTGQ+ migrant support group. "They want to kill me because of my sexual orientation and faith change."

Samer's lawyer, Stewart Istvanffy, says the CBSA abused his client's rights since the beginning.

"I don't believe that there were any serious legal justifications for his original detention," said Istvanffy. "Each one of his detentions has been extremely questionable."

Read more: Ottawa to pay over $400K to Roxham Road residents over irregular border crossings

Samer has been kept in detention four times since arriving in Quebec because the CBSA deemed him as a flight risk.

During his detention, Samer says he was abused and taunted with homophobic slurs and he was allegedly sexually assaulted. He was also asked to wear an ankle bracelet that eventually caused severe infections on both ankles.

AGIR, along with Samer's lawyer, is now pleading for the federal government to step in. They are asking for both Public Security Minister Bill Blair and Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino to grant Samer a temporary visa while his case is fully reviewed.

"All we can do with AGIR's help is appeal to these people that what they're doing to Samer does not represent fundamental Canadian values," said Istvanffy. "This would be a violation of everything that makes this country great."

In an email, a spokesperson for Minister Blair told Global News they are unable to comment on individual cases.

Samer is expected to hear a decision on Monday.

Video: RCMP confirm ‘temporary satellite detachment’ at busy illegal border crossing

RIP

April the Giraffe, YouTube sensation, dies at age 20


April the Giraffe, a live stream sensation, died Friday at age 20. Photo courtesy of Animal Adventure Park/Facebook

April 3 (UPI) -- April the Giraffe, a YouTube sensation whose live-streamed births attracted millions of viewers, has died at age 20, a zoo in New York announced.

The veterinary team at Animal Adventure Park said in a Facebook post they made "every possible effort to keep her comfortable and prolong her life," but her arthritis had worsened to the point that "euthanasia was the humane" action.

She died Friday.

At age 20, "April was in her golden years," and had surpassed the average life expectancy of 10 years to 15 years in the wild, the statement from the Harpursville, N.Y., facility, which was April's home for nearly six years, said.

April's fame helped bring awareness to the conservation of giraffes, whose population has declined by 40% over the past 30 years, according to Animal Adventure Park's website. It also states that the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List has a declared the giraffe "vulnerable to extinction."

"We grieve with her many fans, near and far, as we say goodbye to the giraffe that can be credited with making a foothold for giraffe and giraffe conservation awareness in the 21st century," the Animal Adventure Park's Facebook post read. "While her hoofprints in her yard will erode in time, the imprint she has made on the hearts of people around the world will never fade."

April gave birth to five calves, and rose to fame when she birthed her fourth calf, Tajiri, on April 15, 2017, in a YouTube live stream as some 1.2 million people watched. In March 2019, she gave birth to her fifth calf, and her second since arriving at Animal Adventure Park, Azizi, as up to 300,000 viewers watched the livestream. Azizi, who was moved to East Texas Zoo and Gator Park, died from a twisted gut around his cranial mesenteric artery in October, the zoo in Texas said in a Facebook post.

Baby giraffes are usually born around 6 feet tall and weighing around 125 pounds to 150 pounds, according to Save Giraffes Now.

Tajiri, now 3 years old, remains at the Animal Adventure Park, the park's website shows

April the giraffe, who went viral with 2017 birth, dies at 20

Phil Helsel

4/3/2021

April the giraffe, who gave birth in 2017 in an event watched by people all over the world, has died, the New York zoo where she lived said Friday.

© Provided by NBC News

The giraffe, who was 20, was euthanized because of worsening arthritis that increasingly impacted her quality of life, Animal Adventure Park said in a statement. The veterinary team said it did its best to make April comfortable, but her condition got so bad the team could no longer do so.

"We grieve with her many fans, near and far, as we say goodbye to the giraffe that can be credited with making a foothold for giraffe and giraffe conservation awareness in the 21st century," the zoo in Harpursville said.

More than a million people watched on a livestream when April gave birth to a calf — a male named Tajiri but called Taj — in 2017. His arrival followed weeks of waiting; the zoo even launched a text-alert service to keep fans up to date.

In all, more than 232 million views were logged on YouTube during the weeks before and during the birth.

At one point on the day of Taj's birth, more than 1.2 million people were watching simultaneously, YouTube has said. At the time, it was in the top five most-watched live events ever on the video platform, it said.

April the giraffe and baby Tajiri celebrate calf's first birthday

The giraffe's veterinary team said that euthanizing April was the only humane course of action.

Last summer the park staff noticed the 15-foot-tall animal was acting differently and she was found to have osteoarthritis, the team said. April was shifting her weight from leg to leg and laying on the ground more often. The vets started treatment and management, but the most recent exam showed advanced osteoarthritis and that the irreversible condition was accelerating at a rapid rate, the zoo said.

"The severity of her condition has been outpacing our ability to control April's comfort," the veterinary team said.

Giraffes typically live 20 to 25 years in captivity, about a decade longer than in the wild, and April was 20, it said.

"While we knew this day would eventually come, our hearts are hurting," Jordan Patch, owner of Animal Adventure Park, said.

April gave birth to another male calf, Aziz, in 2019. Azizi was moved to a Texas zoo, and in 2020, he died of a condition that involved a twisted gut. The zoo said the condition was entirely unexpected and unpreventable.

U.S. companies face boycott threats, mounting pressure to take sides in America’s voting rights battle

Emma Newburger 

CNBC

4/4/2021


U.S. corporations face growing pressure to oppose GOP election laws in Georgia and other states that critics say harm the voting rights of Black Americans.

The opposition intensified on Friday when Major League Baseball announced it would no longer hold the 2021 All-Star Game in Atlanta this summer.

Civil rights groups and activists are targeting some of Georgia's biggest firms, including Delta Air Lines and Coca-Cola, which did not publicly oppose the GOP election law prior to passage.

American Airlines and Dell have spoken out against a proposed election law in Texas.

© Provided by CNBC Protesters gather outside of the Georgia State Capitol to protest HB 531, which would place tougher restrictions on voting in Georgia, in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. March 4, 2021.

U.S. corporations face growing pressure and threats of boycotts to publicly oppose Republican-backed election legislation in Georgia and other states that critics say harm the voting rights of Black Americans.

The opposition intensified on Friday when Major League Baseball announced it would no longer hold the 2021 All-Star Game in Atlanta this summer, with commissioner Robert Manfred saying the league "fundamentally supports voting rights for all Americans and opposes restrictions to the ballot box."

GOP Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp last week signed an election overhaul bill into law that adds new identification requirements for absentee voting while giving the state legislature increased oversight on how elections are run.

The legislation prohibits third-party groups from giving food or water to voters who are waiting in line and places strict guidelines on the availability and location of ballot drop boxes. It also mandates two Saturdays of early voting leading up to general elections. Only one day was previously required.

Civil rights groups and activists have pressured some of Georgia's biggest corporations, including Delta Air Lines and Coca-Cola, to oppose the law. Coke and Delta did not vocally oppose the legislation prior to its passage, but their CEOs have since condemned the law.

Following the bill's passage, pressure on companies started to increase after Merck CEO Ken Frazier and other Black executives organized a public campaign to urge firms to call out the legislation. Many companies had taken broad stances in support of voting rights but sought to avoid taking specific positions on the Georgia law.

It's unclear whether a business community backlash will change the outcome in Georgia, where the law has been passed. Civil rights groups have challenged it in court and President Joe Biden said the U.S. Justice Department would examine the law, which he called an "atrocity."

Coke CEO James Quincey told CNBC on Wednesday the company had "always opposed this legislation" and called it "wrong."

"Now that it's passed, we're coming out more publicly," Quincey said.

Coca-Cola CEO calls Georgia voting law 'unacceptable' and a 'step backwards

Delta CEO Ed Bastian initially said the legislation had "improved considerably" and offered broad support for voting rights. He reversed course Wednesday in a memo to employee, saying the "final bill is unacceptable and does not match Delta's values." Delta is Georgia's largest employer.

Bastian also ripped Republican lawmakers' motivation for the law, suggesting the "entire rationale for this bill was based on a lie: that there was widespread voter fraud in Georgia in the 2020 elections."

In November, Biden became the first Democrat since 1992 to win Georgia. Voters also elected two Democrats to the Senate, Sens. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, in runoff elections in January. Former President Donald Trump and other Republicans have falsely claimed there was rampant voter fraud in Georgia's elections last year.

AT&T is based in Texas but gave money to Kemp's campaign and cosponsors of the legislation. The company's CEO John Stankey told CNBC in a statement:

"We understand that election laws are complicated, not our company's expertise and ultimately the responsibility of elected officials. But, as a company, we have a responsibility to engage. For this reason, we are working together with other businesses through groups like the Business Roundtable to support efforts to enhance every person's ability to vote."

Georgia Gov. Kemp responds to backlash against its new voting restrictions

In an interview Wednesday on CNBC's "Closing Bell," Kemp dismissed the corporate backlash over the state's election legislation and said he's "glad to deal with it." He added, "I would encourage these CEOs to look at other states that they're doing business in and compare what the real facts are to Georgia."

Voting rights activist and former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams this week urged critics not to boycott Georgia's major companies yet over their failure to oppose the election law. Instead, Abrams said companies should have a chance to publicly oppose the law and support federal election legislation before getting met with a boycott.

"The companies that stood silently by or gave mealy-mouthed responses during the debate were wrong," Abrams told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "What people want to know now is where they stand on this fundamental issue of voting rights."

Some faith leaders in Georgia have called for an April 7 boycott of Coke, Delta and Home Depot, according to the AJC. However, the religious leaders have suggested the boycott could be avoided if the companies take further stands, like calling on lawmakers in other states to pull legislative proposals that they say would restrict voting access.
Texas election bills face scrutiny

While Georgia's law has been signed, election bills in a number of other states are beginning to face scrutiny, particularly in Texas. When pressuring companies to speak up, Merck's Frazier contended Georgia is "the leading edge of a movement all around this country to restrict voting access."

There have been 361 bills in 47 states that include provisions that would restrict voting access, as of March 24, according to an analysis from the Brennan Center for Justice.

The proposals in statehouses across the U.S. come as Democrats in Washington seek to advance legislation called the For the People Act. Proponents say it would make it easier to register and vote, while also preventing gerrymandering and reforming campaign finance rules. Some Republicans who oppose the legislation say it would result in federal overreach into state elections.


'The right to vote is fundamental:' Black business leaders urge corporate response to voting laws

Last month, the U.S. House passed their version of the For the People Act without a single Republican vote in favor. Its future in the Senate is uncertain since it needs at least 10 GOP votes to overcome a filibuster and move to a final vote.

Powerhouse corporations in Texas are also taking aim at bills that voting rights advocates argue would make voting in Texas more difficult.

Senate Bill 7 was approved by the upper house of the state legislature Thursday. In the Texas House of Representatives, another bill known as House Bill 6 has been under consideration.

American Airlines, which is based in Fort Worth, Texas, opposed Senate Bill 7 in a statement on Thursday. "To make American's stance clear: We are strongly opposed to this bill and others like it," the airline said.

Dell CEO Michael Dell — whose tech firm is based near Austin, the state capital — wrote in a tweet that the company did not support House Bill 6.

"Free, fair, equitable access to voting is the foundation of American democracy. Those rights — especially for women, communities of color — have been hard-earned," Dell wrote. "Governments should ensure citizens have their voices heard. HB6 does the opposite, and we are opposed to it."

Banning natural gas in homes will increase the consumption of natural gas

Ognjen Miljanić, opinion contributor 

THE HILL

4/3/2021`


Since 2019, several dozen U.S. cities - beginning with Berkeley, Calif., and expanding to other liberal strongholds - have prohibited natural gas hookups in new residential (and some commercial) construction. Instead, these cities are mandating the use of electricity for heating

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© Getty Images 

Banning natural gas in homes will increase the consumption of natural gas

This shift is part of a larger push to phase out fossil fuels in the residential energy consumption sector. Since 2000, the residential energy consumption sector has also seen the smallest drop in its carbon emissions, especially compared to the sharp lowering of emissions in the electricity generation sector.


While proposing the elimination of natural gas may seem environmentally sound, it will likely lead to an increase in carbon emissions in most jurisdictions and - counterintuitively - it will increase in natural gas consumption.

Heating homes with natural gas is straightforward and efficient. The gas is piped into the house and then burned in a furnace with efficiency exceeding 90 percent in modern models. This means that 90 percent of the energy contained in the natural gas ends as useful heat for the home's residents. However, that use - as all fossil fuels - produces carbon dioxide emissions.

An electric heater can be just as efficient and produces no emissions. But what about the electricity used to run it? When natural gas is being burned in a power plant, only about 45 percent of the energy contained in it will be converted into electricity. As that electricity is transported and distributed, additional 6 to 10 percent is lost; and the amount of electrical energy delivered to a house is typically just one-third of the energy contained in the natural gas fuel. Consequently, the overall efficiency of a gas heater is almost three times as high than that of its all-electric counterpart.

Of course, electricity can be produced from sources other than natural gas, including emission-free wind, solar, hydro or nuclear power. But the U.S. is not doing that at scale today. As the price of natural gas plummeted during the fracking revolution, it became a dominant player in U.S. electricity production. According to the New York Times, it provides 38 percent of all electricity in the U.S., 39 percent in California, 53 percent in Texas and almost 90 percent in Delaware. In fact, the overall lowering of carbon dioxide emissions in the electricity generation sector has less to do with renewables and more with the switch from coal to natural gas: per unit of energy, natural gas emits just half the carbon dioxide from coal. The reason why residential carbon emissions have not dropped much is twofold. First, the sizes and amenities of the newly built houses are continuously increasing. Second, while natural gas could displace coal in electricity generation, it could not in residential heating - since it was already established in that sector decades ago.

With the current state of electricity generation, increasing electricity consumption means increasing natural gas consumption, which is ill-advised when using electricity for heating. Making electricity is hard and using it for heating is a waste akin to carving a beautiful wooden sculpture and then burning it to boil water for soup.

A broader lesson behind these policies is that politicization of energy leads to bad decisions - both on the political left and right. Energy issues are always complex and the two-party U.S. political landscape tends to treat most choices as binary. They are not - and nowhere is that clearer than in the case of natural gas. It is a carbon-emitting fossil fuel, on one hand. On the other hand, it is cheap, much cleaner than coal and produced domestically. It has evolved into the transitional fuel of our time, allowing the U.S. to quickly ditch coal while giving renewables time to expand to the scale needed to power the entire electricity-hungry country. Once those renewables have reached that scale, banning natural gas in residential construction starts making environmental sense. Until then, these proposals are ultimately increasing our carbon footprint.

Ognjen Miljanić is a professor of chemistry at the University of Houston, where he teaches about energy and sustainability.

Training opens ‘a window of hope’ for Albanian rug-weavers

By LLAZAR SEMINI

4/4/2021

1 of 6

Hate Ora, 64, or 'Aunt Hate' as everyone knows her, weaving a carpet in Kukes town, northeastern Albania, Friday, March 12, 2021. Albania once had 13 former state-run factories that produced carpets, rugs, fez hats, felt folk costumes and other handicrafts. Kukes, a town northeast of the capital, Tirana, alone employed more than 1,200 women as weavers. When the country's communist era ended in 1990, the local factory closed. (AP Photo/Hektor Pustina)

KUKES, Albania (AP) — Hate Ora has been weaving carpets and rugs for more than half a century, since learning the craft as a child by sneaking into her aunt’s workshop.

Ora, 64, is now teaching the methods she picked up and perfected to her daughter, nieces and other younger women to ensure there is another generation of artisans to continue the tradition.

Albania once had 13 former state-run factories that produced carpets, rugs, fez hats, folk costumes and other handicrafts. Kukes, a town northeast of the capital, Tirana, alone employed more than 1,200 women as weavers. When the country’s communist era ended in 1990, the local factory closed.

Ora built herself three looms and bought a big supply of wool fibers and other needed tools in the chaotic aftermath. Today, she is one of only a few Albanians still doing weaving work, which doesn’t bring in much money. Kukes, a town of about 60,000 residents, is one of the poorest in Albania, which itself is one of the poorest countries in Europe.

Many of the town’s young people, especially the young men, have emigrated to Western Europe in search of jobs. Women often remain unemployed at home, waiting for remittances from their husbands, brothers and other male relatives.

“Resuming this tradition would be an added value, increasing employment and having a direct social and economic impact on the people’s lives” along with preserving a piece of Albanian culture, Deputy Mayor Majlinda Onuzi said.

A non-governmental organization, Social Development Investment, has received money from German and Swiss development agencies to train 125 women in wool production and weaving. Founder Elias Mazloum said the purpose is to “open a window of hope for unemployed people” in the Kukes area and to keep the tradition of handmade carpet-making alive.

As part of the program, Ora is both teaching young people how to weave wool from the area’s Ruda sheep into carpets and other items using Persian knots, the local method preferred over Turkish-style knots. She herself is learning how to clean, wash, comb and color the wool with vegetable and other natural dyes.

Ora said other efforts to revive the carpet industry have failed in Kukes “because to be successful they have to employ all the qualified women and find the market for our products.”

“Unless the whole carpet-weaving industry resumes, me, or any other like me, can hardly attract individually Tirana’s attention, where all business and the market is located,” she said

Mereme Pepa, 68, spinning the wool in Nange village, northeastern Albania, Friday, March 12, 2021. Albania once had 13 former state-run factories that produced carpets, rugs, fez hats, felt folk costumes and other handicrafts. Kukes, a town northeast of the capital, Tirana, alone employed more than 1,200 women as weavers. When the country's communist era ended in 1990, the local factory closed

Mazloum said the new program trains participants to produce product for which there already is a buyer. At least half of the women in the program have started wool-working at home, he said.

“It’s a very difficult job, but it is not priced with the real value. It’s underpriced, if you take into consideration the time and how difficult this job is,” Mazloum said.

Blerina Kolgjini, an associate professor of textiles and fashion at Albania’s Tirana University, points out the artistry in the rugs and other products displayed at a gallery in Kukes: the quality of the Ruda sheep wool found only in that area, Kosovo and Croatia, the density of the knots, the thread thickness and the attention to detail “not much different from worldwide painters’ work.”

Hate Ora or 'Aunt Hate', 64, as everyone knows her, holds a carpet in Kukes town, northeastern Albania, Friday, March 12, 2021. Albania once had 13 former state-run factories that produced carpets, rugs, fez hats, felt folk costumes and other handicrafts. Kukes, a town northeast of the capital, Tirana, alone employed more than 1,200 women as weavers. When the country's communist era ended in 1990, the local factory closed. (AP Photo/Hektor PustinPustina)

Kolgjini says carpets and other wool products were Albania’s second-most exported goods before communism ended. The items produced there were of such high quality that an Italian company would buy and resell them in Europe for 10 times the price while saying they were made in Iran, a country prized for its carpetmaking, she said.

“Shepherds produce the wool, and craftswomen weave its threads. What Albania is now missing is the in-between step of yarn processing, the spinning mill,” she said.

A study by Mazloum’s NGO found that 85% of the country’s sheared wool is thrown away, creating a potential annual loss of 20 million euros ($24 million). In the village of Nange, not far from Kukes, 68-year old Mereme Pepa is the only one still spinning the wool she uses to crochet sweaters, blouses and socks.

Her grandson, Ernest, and a few of his high school classmates, are taking part in the Social Development Investment training program. At first, they attended for fun, but some of the girls enjoyed it enough to want to learn the craft, “not wanting it to be lost and let foreigners do what we can do ourselves,” said the teenager.

 

Blerina Koljini, an associate professor of textile and fashion, shows a carpet in Kukes town, northeastern Albania, Friday, March 12, 2021. Albania once had 13 former state-run factories that produced carpets, rugs, fez hats, felt folk costumes and other handicrafts. Kukes, a town northeast of the capital, Tirana, alone employed more than 1,200 women as weavers. When the country's communist era ended in 1990, the local factory closed. (AP Photo/Hektor Pustina)

Ora excitedly described how she learned to weave by “stealing” her aunt’s methods and how she helped support her parents during the communist era by making carpets and then her own family of five during the still-difficult post-communist years.

Even before the training program started, she taught her daughter to make carpets, too. Ora’s daughter-in-law, a nurse, helps out part-time as her main assistant. A 23-year-old niece who is studying industrial chemistry also assists and sometimes brings friends and women she knows from school who are eager to learn from Aunt Hate, the name (pronounced HAY-tee) that everyone in the town calls Ora.

It takes the experienced weaver three months to complete a rug with an image of Mother Teresa or an elaborate arrangement of Albanian symbols.

“Why doesn’t a businessman or the government turns the eyes on us,” she pleads. ”We do artwork, don’t we?”

___

This story corrects name to Mother Teresa, not Theresa.

Netanyahu's favours were 'currency', prosecutor says as corruption trial starts

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli prosecutors accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of treating favours as “currency” on Monday at the opening of a corruption trial which, along with an inconclusive election, has clouded his prospects of remaining in office.

Netanyahu, who denies all wrongdoing in the three cases against him, came to Jerusalem District Court in a dark suit and black protective mask, conferring quietly with lawyers as his supporters and critics held raucous demonstrations outside.

He left before the first witness was called to testify.

Meanwhile, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin began consulting with party heads on who might form the next coalition government - a toss-up after an inconclusive March 23 ballot gave neither the rightist Netanyahu nor his rivals a clear mandate

“The relationship between Netanyahu and the defendants became currency, something that could be traded,” prosecutor Liat Ben-Ari said in presenting so-called Case 4000, concerning the premier’s alleged relationship with the owners of a news website.

“This currency could distort a public servant’s judgment.”

Netanyahu, who is charged with bribery, fraud and breach of trust in the first such trial of a sitting Israeli prime minister, has described himself as the victim of a politically motivated witch-hunt.

THE ANARCHY OF THE CAPITALIST MARKET

U.S. puts J&J in charge of plant that botched COVID vaccine, removes AstraZeneca


By Shubham Kalia 

4/4/2021

(Reuters) - The United States has put Johnson and Johnson in charge of a plant that ruined 15 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine and has stopped British drugmaker AstraZeneca Plc from using the facility, a senior health official said on Saturday


J&J said it was “assuming full responsibility” of the Emergent BioSolutions facility in Baltimore, reiterating that it will deliver 100 million doses to the government by the end of May.

In a separate statement late Sunday, Emergent said it expects to align with the U.S. government and AstraZeneca to ramp down manufacturing for AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine at its Baltimore plant.

The Department of Health and Human Services has also increased Emergent’s order by $23 million for expansion of production specific to J&J’s vaccine doses, Emergent added.

“The $23 million will be used for the purchase of biologics manufacturing equipment specific to Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine for the potential expansion of manufacturing of that bulk drug substance into a third suite of Emergent’s Baltimore Bayview facility,” the company said.

The Department of Health and Human Services facilitated the move, the health official said in an email, asking not to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter.

AstraZeneca, whose vaccine has not been approved in the United States, said it will work with President Joe Biden’s administration to find an alternative site to produce its vaccine.

White House officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The development, first reported by the New York Times, further hampers AstraZeneca’s efforts in the United States. The government has criticized the drugmaker for using outdated data in the results of its vaccine trial. It later revised its study.

Workers at the Emergent BioSolutions plant several weeks ago conflated ingredients for the J&J and AstraZeneca vaccines, the Times said earlier in the week. J&J said at the time the ruined batch had not advanced to the fill-and-finish stage.

The government’s move to have the facility make only the J&J single-dose vaccine is meant to avoid future mix-ups, the Times said, citing two senior federal health officials.

The top U.S. infectious disease doctor told Reuters on Thursday the country may not need AstraZeneca’s vaccine even if it wins approval.

The United States has loan deals to send Mexico and Canada roughly 4 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, made at its U.S. facility.