Japan takes the lead in cleaning up orbiting space junk

As many as 900,000 hazardous pieces of space junk are presently circling around the Earth. Japanese companies are testing innovative solutions to eradicate the threat.


Space debris left behind after thousands of missions poses a major hazard


Fragments of man-made debris are currently orbiting the Earth at speeds of up to 8 kilometers (5 miles) per second, posing a serious hazard to satellites and even manned spacecraft, such as the International Space Station.

And, with more nations launching satellites and some looking to explore further into outer space, the amount of junk in circulation is only going to increase.

At least four Japanese companies see that as a business opportunity and are developing solutions that should make space travel safer in the future.

"I believe the space debris issue is one of the most pressing and important issues in the world today," said Nobu Okada, the founder and CEO of Japan's Astroscale, which was set up in 2013 and now has operations in the UK, the United States, Israel and Singapore.

New mission to clean up space

"Some might argue that we have enough problems here on Earth, like climate change and all the other environmental issues, but it is because of satellite services that we are able to understand the health of our planet," Okada told DW.

"Satellites are the reason why we are able to measure, monitor and manage climate change, and they enable us to predict the future of the Earth. Environmental protection on Earth cannot exist without orbital protection in space," he added.

Watch video 05:26 Cleaning up cosmic litter

On March 22, Astroscale launched its End-of-Life Services by Astroscale (ELSA-d) demonstration craft on a Soyuz rocket that took off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

It is the first commercial mission "to prove the core technologies necessary for space debris," Okada said.

How does the clean up work?

ELSA-d is made of two satellites that have been stacked atop each other, a 175-kilogram (385-pound) servicer satellite and a client satellite that weighs 17 kilograms.

The servicer vehicle is equipped with proximity rendezvous technologies and a magnetic docking mechanism and is designed to remove defunct satellites and other large pieces of debris from orbit.

The client satellite is a replica of typical space debris with a ferromagnetic plate that enables the docking to take place.

In a simulation of the servicer satellite in operation, it will repeatedly dock with and release the client vehicle, demonstrating the ability to locate an item of debris, to inspect that item and then recover it.

The servicer satellite is subsequently directed to descend with its cargo until it burns up in the atmosphere.

What are the challenges?

"There are three key challenges to solving the space debris issue: developing the technology, informing the international and domestic policies, and identifying a business case," Okada said.

"On the technological challenges, building a satellite, let alone one that can rendezvous, dock and then safely remove a defunct satellite from orbit is already a significant technical challenge in itself," he said.

"Building out the robotic arm for capture capability was extremely difficult," he added.

"Overall, the ELSA-d mission is very complex, and these kinds of captures have never been attempted before," Okada said, "but we hope these technical demonstrations will show commercial and government customers that we have the technical capabilities to provide this service."

This ball of twisted metal found in Australia is believed to have fallen from space

What are other solutions to space junk?

The engineers and scientists at ALE, another company, are taking a very different approach, spokesperson Mariko Yamasaki said.

ALE is working with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency to similarly rid the heavens of space junk.

"Our system makes use of Lorentz Force and an electrodynamic tether that is attached to a satellite before it is launched," Yamasaki said.

"Once a satellite reaches the end of its operational life, the tether is unwound into space and changes the orbit of the satellite by taking advantage of the Earth's magnetic field."

The end result, once again, is the vehicle's descending until it burns up harmlessly in the atmosphere, and ALE is hoping to carry out a demonstration of its system before the end of this year.

Shooting junk with a laser

Another solution has been put forward by the satellite communications company Sky Perfect JSAT Corp., which aims to use a laser to shoot down debris.

The Tokyo-based firm is confident that it will be able to launch its first commercial debris-destroying vehicle in 2026.

The company is working with scientists at Nagoya University and Kyushu University, with the completed satellite designed to target even relatively small pieces of debris with its laser.

A pulse of energy from the laser will disrupt the orbit of the target and send it spinning into the Earth’s atmosphere, where it will burn up, according to the company.

With the amount of debris circling the planet increasing every year, company officials believe that satellite operators will be happy to pay to ensure that the orbit selected for any new multimillion dollar vehicle has been cleared of anything that might cause it damage — although no price tag has been put on the technology yet.

"The problem of space debris is an environmental problem, similar to CO2 and marine plastics," the company said in a statement.

"Therefore, JSAT will continue to contribute to the maintenance of a sustainable space environment, aiming to solve the problem of space debris through this project," according to the company.

CAPITALI$M IN SPACE

All aboard! Next stop space...

Issued on: 10/04/2021 - 

This November 11, 2020, image obtained from Virgin Galactic shows pre-flight operations in Las Cruces, New Mexico 

Quinn Tucker AFP/File

Washington (AFP)

Several hundred people have already booked their tickets and begun training for a spectacular voyage: a few minutes, or perhaps days, in the weightlessness of space.

The mainly wealthy first-time space travellers are getting ready to take part in one of several private missions which are preparing to launch.

The era of space tourism is on the horizon 60 years after Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first person in space.

Two companies, Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin, are building spacecraft capable of sending private clients on suborbital flights to the edge of space lasting several minutes.

Glenn King is the director of spaceflight training at the National Aerospace Training and Research Center, a private company based in Pennsylvania which has already trained nearly 400 future Virgin Galactic passengers for their trips.

"The oldest person I trained was 88 years old," King told AFP.

The training program lasts two days -- a morning of classroom instruction and tests in a centrifuge.

This involves putting the trainee in a single-seat cockpit at the end of a 25-foot-long (eight-meter-long) arm and spinning them around to simulate gravitational force, or G force.

A medical team is on hand at all times.

- 'Enjoy the view' -

NASA's training for shuttle crew members lasted two years but the duration has been drastically reduced by the commercial space industry because of the "numbers of people that want to get up in space," King said.

"We can't take two years to train these people," he said. "We've got to get this down to a matter of days to get these people up.

"These people aren't crews, just strictly passengers," he noted.

"For a passenger, there isn't a lot of work for you to do other than just relax, endure the G forces of launch or reentry.

"And then once you're orbital, enjoy the view out the window."

King said the pass rate for the training course has been "99.9 percent."

The cost ranges from several thousand dollars to as much as $10,000 if special care or medical monitoring is needed.

The single biggest barrier to "spaceflight for all" remains the price tag.

Some 600 people have booked flights on Virgin Galactic, the company owned by British billionaire Richard Branson, and thousands more are on a waiting list.

The cost per flight? $200,000 to $250,000.

Virgin Galactic hopes to take its first private astronaut on a suborbital flight in early 2022, with eventual plans for 400 trips a year.

Blue Origin, owned by Amazon's Jeff Bezos, has not yet published prices or a calendar.

Money aside, pretty much anybody could go on a spaceflight.

"You don't have to be in perfect physical health now to be able to go to space," King said. "I've trained people with prosthetic devices. I've trained people with pacemakers.

"All kinds of people."

The US Federal Aviation Administration, which oversees the aviation industry, recommended in 2006 that future "commercial passengers" on suborbital flights fill out a "simple medical history questionnaire."

Orbital flights which go further and last longer would require a more detailed form and blood tests, X-rays and urine specimens.

Such flights, which cost millions of dollars each, are envisioned by SpaceX, the company founded by billionaire Elon Musk, which has at least four planned over the coming years.

- 'Inspiration4' -

The first launch of only civilians, baptized "Inspiration4," is scheduled to take place in September.

The American billionaire Jared Isaacman has fully paid for a trip powered by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that will take him and three passengers on a three-day flight in low Earth orbit.

In January 2022, the company Axiom Space plans to send a former astronaut and three newcomers to the International Space Station.

It eventually plans trips to the ISS every six months.

Seven "space tourists" visited the space station between 2001 and 2009.

A company called Space Adventures served as the intermediary for those flights and has partnered with SpaceX to send four customers in orbit around the Earth next year.

A Japanese billionaire, Yusaku Maezawa, has reserved a flight on SpaceX's "Starship" in 2023 and is inviting eight other people to come along for the ride.

So when can we expect space tourism to become commonplace?

Difficult to say, said Robert Goehlich, an adjunct assistant professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Worldwide.

"Suborbital and orbital tourist flights are currently near to happen," Goehlich said. "The exact forecast is a challenge for each scenario.

"A new investor might accelerate any schedule," he said, "while an accident might decelerate any planning."

Three major factors will need to come together: flights will have to be safe, profitable and environmentally friendly.

"In the long run, thinking about a mass space tourism market, surely sustainability aspects will play a more dominant role," Goehlich said.

© 2021 AFP

Nike agrees to settlement with 'Satan Shoe' maker

Issued on: 09/04/2021 - 

Lil Nas X performs onstage during the Grammy Awards in January 2020

 Robyn Beck AFP/File

New York (AFP)

The company behind the "Satan Shoes" released in collaboration with rapper Lil Nas X has settled with Nike over the sneakers the corporate giant said were trademark infringement.

MSCHF, the Brooklyn studio that developed 666 pairs of customized Nike Air Max 97s -- complete with an apparent drop of human blood in the midsole -- issued a voluntary recall for the kicks.

In a Friday email the company offered a full refund of the original retail price and shipping costs to customers who purchased either the Satan Shoes or the previously released "Jesus Shoes" -- which contained holy water in the sole.

The Satan Shoes went for $1,018 each.

"We have agreed to settle the lawsuit," the MSCHF email read. "As part of the settlement, Nike has asked us, and we have agreed, to initiate a recall in order to remove the Satan Shoes and the Jesus Shoes from circulation."

"This is a voluntary recall: it is totally within your rights to choose whether to return your Satan Shoes or Jesus Shoes."

The Satan Shoes sold out almost instantly when they dropped late last month.

Their release triggered controversy from some American conservatives, especially those already incensed by artist Lil Nas X's lusty video for the song "Montero (Call Me By Your Name)" whose release was affiliated with the shoes.

Nike alleged in federal court documents that the sneakers prompted boycott calls against them from offended consumers, who erroneously associate the sneaker giant with the bloody soled-shoes due to their trademark swoosh symbol.

Details of the settlement beyond the recall were not disclosed.

"The parties are pleased to put this dispute behind them," a Nike spokesperson said in a statement.

© 2021 AFP

Maker of Lil Nas X 'Satan shoes' blocked by Nike insists they are works of art

MSCHF cannot sell 666 pairs of controversial sneakers
‘Conceptual art collective’ bemoans legal reverse

The customised Nike Air Max 97s each contain a drop of human blood. Photograph: MSCHF
Priya Elan
Sat 3 Apr 2021 

THE GUARDIAN

The maker of the rapper Lil Nas X’s controversial “Satan shoes” responded to a lawsuit from Nike by claiming the sneakers were works of art.

Satan shoes? Sure. But Lil Nas X is not leading American kids to devil-worship
Akin Olla

The customised Nike Air Max 97s, which each contain a drop of human blood, have also stoked outrage among conservative politicians.

Nike said “sophisticated sneakerheads were confused” by the shoes, and succeeded in its attempt to block MSCHF from shipping to customers any of 666 sold-out pairs.

MSCHF, however, describes itself as a “conceptual art collective” which “engage[s] fashion, art, tech and capitalism in various, often unexpected mediums”.

Responding to the Nike suit on its website, it insisted the shoes were “art created for people to observe, speculate on, purchase and own” and added: “Satan is as much part of the art historical canon as Jesus, from Renaissance Hellmouths to Milton.”

“We are not affiliated with Nike,” it said, “as we have consistently iterated to the press. We were honestly surprised by the action Nike has taken, and immediately after Nike’s counsel sent us notice we reached out but received no response.”

MSCHF previously created a batch of all-white “Jesus shoes”, which contained so-called holy water. Nike did not sue then.

In legal documents regarding the “Satan shoes”, Nike said MSCHF had “materially altered” its shoes “to prominently feature a Satanic theme … without Nike’s approval or authorisation”.

Nike also rejected the claim to the status of art, saying MSCHF “did not create a single shoe-shaped sculpture to sit in a museum” and instead “created hundreds of shoes emblazoned with a NikeSwoosh that it sold to allcomers”.

Lil Nas X, who had offered the final pair of the shoes as a competition prize, told followers: “Sorry guys, I’m legally not allowed to give the 666th away anymore because of the crying nerds on the internet.

“I feel like it’s fucked up they have so much power they can get shoes cancelled. Freedom of expression gone out the window.”

MSCHF said it “strongly believe[d] in the freedom of expression … and nothing is more important than our ability, and the ability of other artists like us, to continue our work over the coming years.”

It also said the Satan Shoes project “started a conversation, while also living natively in its space”.

The Lil Nas X song the sneakers were made to promote, Montero (Call Me By Your Name), is expected to top charts around the world.

Hands-free: Monkey plays video game - with its brain

Issued on: 10/04/2021 - 

A monkey managed to play a video game via a brain implant 

Ina FASSBENDER AFP

San Francisco (AFP)

Elon Musk's startup devoted to meshing brains with computers was closer to its dream on Friday, having gotten a monkey to play video game Pong using only its mind.

Musk has long contended that merging minds with machines is vital if people are going to avoid being outpaced by artificial intelligence.

A video posted on YouTube by the entrepreneur's Neuralink startup showed a macaque monkey named "Pager" playing Pong by essentially using thought to move paddles that bounce digital balls back and forth on screen

"To control his paddle, Pager simply thinks about moving his hand up or down," said a voice narrating the video. "As you can see, Pager is amazingly good at MindPong."

Neuralink devices were implanted on two sides of Pager's brain to sense neuron activity, then the monkey played the game a few minutes using a joystick to let software figure out the signals associated with hand movements.

Pager's reward was banana smoothly served through a straw when he successfully batted the digital ball from one paddle to the other, according to the demonstration.

After a few minutes, the "decoder" program figured out what neuron signals to look for and the joystick was no longer needed for Pager to play the game.

"A monkey is literally playing a video game telepathically using a brain chip!!" Musk tweeted triumphantly.

The decoder could be calibrated to enable a person to guide a cursor on a computer screen, potentially letting them type emails, text messages, or browse the internet just by thinking, according to a blog post at neuralink.com.

"Our first goal is to give people with paralysis their digital freedom back," the Neuralink team said in the post.

Members of the team last year shared a "wish list" that ranged from technology returning mobility to the paralyzed and sight to the blind, to enabling telepathy and the uploading of memories for later reference -- or perhaps to be downloaded into replacement bodies.

For now, Neuralink is being tested in animals with the team working on the potential for clinical trials.

With the help of a surgical robot, a piece of the skull is replaced with a Neuralink disk, and its wispy wires are strategically inserted into the brain, a previous demonstration showed.

The disk registers nerve activity, relaying the information via common Bluetooth wireless signal to a device such as a smartphone, according to Musk.

"It actually fits quite nicely in your skull. It could be under your hair and you wouldn't know."

Experts and academics remain cautious about his vision of symbiotically merging minds with super-powered computing.

Former Portuguese PM Sócrates to stand trial

BOURGEOIS USE CORRUPTION CHARGES TO SMEAR FORMER SOCIALIST PM LIKE THE DID BRAZIL'S LULU

Issued on: 09/04/2021 -

Portugal's former prime minister Jose Socrates arrives at the Justice Campus in Lisbon on April 9, 2021. © Patricia De Melo Moreira, AFP

Text by: NEWS WIRES


A Lisbon judge ruled Friday to put former Portuguese Prime Minister José Sócrates on trial for alleged money-laundering and forgery but said the statute of limitations had expired on more than a dozen corruption allegations.

Judge Ivo Rosa said that 1.7 million euros ($2 million), much of it in cash, given to Sócrates by a childhood friend who was working for a Portuguese construction company amounted to an attempt to gain influence over the prime minister and win contracts.

Sócrates argued that the money and other assets, such as works of art and the use of an upscale Paris apartment, were loans from his longtime friend.

The forgery charges relate to documentation linked to the payments.

The fact that many payments were in cash and the two men's use of code words in phone conversations when discussing money suggested corrupt acts, but the statute of limitations to prosecute Sócrates on corruption charges has run out, the judge said.

The judge dismissed other allegations of corruption against Sócrates either because of a lack of evidence or the statute of limitations.

Both prosecutors and Sócrates can appeal Friday's ruling.

Prosecutors alleged that Sócrates pocketed around 34 million euros ($40 million) during and after his six years in office between 2005 and 2011.

Sócrates, 63, who was a center-left Socialist prime minister, has denied any wrongdoing.

He was suspected of being at the center of a web of shady corporate interests that paid for his influence to win contracts and gain business advantages in the construction, banking and telecommunications sectors. The charges reportedly run to some 5,000 pages.

The case has gripped Portugal since Sócrates’ arrest at Lisbon Airport in 2014, and the judge took the rare step of allowing Friday’s proceedings to be broadcast live.

Translating tens of thousands of pages of documents from French and English contributed to delaying the case, but the Portuguese legal system is notoriously slow and the subject of frequent criticism. Prosecutors complain about a lack of resources.

In office, Sócrates won renown as a modernizer. His governments introduced laws allowing same-sex marriages and abortion, and championed the country’s green energy sector.

Internationally, he helped steer to completion the Lisbon Treaty, known as the European Union’s rule book, which was signed in the Portuguese capital under the country’s six-month EU presidency in 2007.

Sócrates was also in power when Portugal needed a 78-billion-euro ($92 billion) international bailout in 2011, amid Europe’s debt crisis.

Police investigations later cast a cloud over his reputation. He was jailed for nine months after his arrest before being placed under house arrest and then freed on bail.

(AP)

Brazil eyes record grain harvest as China demand booms


Issued on: 09/04/2021 - 

A worker scatters cropped soybeans in a truck in Brazil's Rio Grande do Sul, the third-largest state producer of grain in the country SILVIO AVILA AFP

Salto do Jacuí (Brazil) (AFP)

Brazil is on track to harvest record amounts of soy, corn and other grains this year, fueled by newly booming demand for commodities, particularly from China.

Farmers in the world's number one soy producer and number three corn producer have been harvesting at a record pace, capitalizing on prices that have leapt to multi-year highs on world markets after plunging because of the coronavirus pandemic last year.

The South American giant got off to a slow start because of a drought last season in key grain-belt states, but now has a bumper crop coming in thanks to superb weather.

"Grain production in Brazil continues at the record pace we have seen through the 2020-21 harvest season, with growth of 16.8 million tonnes, or 6.5 percent, over the last harvest," the government's agricultural supply agency, Conab, said Thursday in its latest update.

Brazilian grain farmers expanded their total crop land this year by 68.5 million hectares (169.3 million acres), a 3.9-percent increase, it said.

The soy harvest is forecast to come in at an all-time high of 135.5 million tonnes, 8.6 percent above last year's crop, which was itself a record.

Corn is also on track for a record, with a forecast harvest of 109 million tonnes, up 6.2 percent.

The huge crop has farmers working full-steam in places like Salto do Jacui, which sits at the heart of farm country in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil's third-biggest grain producing state.

Working side by side, combines have been plying the golden fields, cropping the sea of soybeans under a bright blue sky.

"We're very happy with the results of this year's harvest," said farmer Adroaldo Rossato.

"Thanks to great weather we had excellent productivity. And prices are also very high, way above previous years," he told AFP on a break from harvesting.

Much of Brazil's crop will be heading for China, whose rebound from the pandemic has put it back in the market for commodities in a big way.

The Bloomberg Commodity Index is up 32 percent over the past year, as Beijing's renewed appetite for raw materials drives prices to multi-year highs.

China has again become a voracious importer of not just soy -- which it largely uses for hog feed -- but oil, copper, iron ore and coal.

The trend has some analysts wondering whether the world is at the start of a new "commodities supercycle."

But it is likely too early to call.

"If we are to see the start of a new supercycle, this robust demand growth that we are seeing from China will have to be sustainable for several years," said ING bank head of commodities strategy Warren Patterson in a note.

© 2021 AFP

P3'S FOR PEANUTS
Brazil raises $620 mn in huge concession auction

Issued on: 10/04/2021 - 

Sao Paulo (AFP)

Brazil wrapped up a massive auction Friday for concessions to operate 22 airports, a rail line and five ports with a total take of $620 million and planned investments of $1.75 billion in all.

The three-day auction was seen as a risky bet by some analysts, coming as Brazil reels from a new surge of Covid-19 that is weighing down Latin America's biggest economy.

But President Jair Bolsonaro's government mostly managed to attract strong bids, seeking to show Brazil remains an attractive destination for private investors.

Despite the pandemic, which has now claimed nearly 350,000 lives in Brazil, the government was keen to underline its committment to long-delayed plans for large-scale privatizations and concessions of state-run companies and infrastructure.

That was a key campaign promise in 2018 from Bolsonaro, who comes up for reelection next year.

"We're very happy because we've shown Brazil is a country with a bright future," said Infrastructure Minister Tarcisio de Freitas.

His ministry closed out the week with the 216-million-reais ($38-million) lease of five port terminals in the northeastern state of Maranhao and southern state of Rio Grande do Sul.

On Wednesday, it raised a higher-than-expected $600 million for 30-year concessions to operate 22 small and medium airports -- the biggest day of the event it billed as "Infra Week."

French group Vinci and Brazilian group CCR were the winning bidders.

Thursday was the only lackluster day of the auction: the 35-year concession for the Fiol 1 freight rail line in the northeastern state of Bahia drew just one bidder, who won with a minimum bid of $5.75 million.

The government says it expects total investments of at least $1.75 billion over the lifetime of the projects.

RIGHT TO WORK (UNION FREE) STATE
Amazon warehouse workers reject union bid in Alabama

UAW LOST A FOR SURE VOTE AT VOLKSWAGON IN ALABAMA

Issued on: 10/04/2021 - 

Workers at an Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama handed the online retail giant a decisive victory when they voted against forming a union and cut off a path that labor activists had hoped would lead to similar efforts throughout the company and beyond.

After months of aggressive campaigning from both sides, 1,798 warehouse workers ultimately rejected the union while 738 voted in favor of it, according to the National Labor Relations Board, which is overseeing the process.

Of the 3,117 votes cast, 76 were voided for being filled out incorrectly and 505 were contested by either Amazon or the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, which led the organizing efforts in Bessemer. But the NLRB said the contested votes were not enough to sway the outcome. About 53% of the nearly 6,000 workers cast their ballots.

The union said it would file an objection with the NLRB charging the company with illegally interfering with the union vote. It will seek a hearing with the labor board to determine if the results “should be set aside" after it accused Amazon of spreading disinformation about the unionization effort at meetings that workers were required to attend.

“Amazon has left no stone unturned in its efforts to gaslight its own employees. We won’t let Amazon’s lies, deception and illegal activities go unchallenged,” said Stuart Appelbaum, the president of the RWDSU.

Amazon said in a statement that it didn't intimidate employees.

“Our employees heard far more anti-Amazon messages from the union, policymakers, and media outlets than they heard from us," the company said. “And Amazon didn’t win — our employees made the choice to vote against joining a union."

The union push was the biggest in Amazon’s 26-year history and only the second time that an organizing effort from within the company had come to a vote. But Bessemer was always viewed as a long shot since it pitted the country’s second-largest employer against warehouse workers in a state with laws that don’t favor unions. Alabama is one of 27 “right-to-work" states where workers don’t have to pay dues to unions that represent them.

That the labor movement in Bessemer even got this far was unexpected. Amazon has an undefeated record of snuffing out union efforts before they can spread. And at a time when the economy is still trying to recover and companies have been eliminating jobs, it is one of the few places still hiring during the pandemic, adding 500,000 workers last year alone.

But the pandemic also revealed inequities in the workforce, with many having to report to their jobs even while the coronavirus was raging, leading to concerns over health and safety. The organizing efforts in Bessemer coincided with protests happening throughout the country after the police killing of George Floyd, raising awareness around racial injustice and further fueling frustration over how workers at the warehouse — more than 80% who are Black — are being treated, with 10-hour days of packing and loading boxes and only two 30-minute breaks.

In a press conference held by Amazon, four workers at the Bessemer warehouse said talk of mistreatment by the company was the opinion of a few workers, not all of them.

“We’re really sorry that their experience hasn’t been the same as ours,” said Will Stokes, one of the warehouse workers who voted against the union.

The organizing effort inside the Bessemer warehouse began last summer when a group of workers approached the RWDSU about forming a union. The movement gained momentum ever since, attracting the attention of professional athletes, Hollywood stars and high-profile elected officials, including President Joe Biden.

During the voting process, workers were flooded with messages from Amazon and the union. Amazon hung anti-union signs throughout the warehouse and held mandatory meetings to convince workers why the union was a bad idea. It also argued that it already offered more than twice the minimum wage in Alabama plus benefits without paying union dues.

Union organizers, meanwhile, stood outside the warehouse gates trying to talk to people driving in and out of work. It also had volunteers call all of the nearly 6,000 workers, promising a union will lead to better working conditions, better pay and more respect.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, a progressive icon who traveled to Alabama for a pro-union rally last month, said he was “disappointed but not surprised by the vote.”

“It is extraordinarily courageous for workers to take on one of the world’s wealthiest and most powerful corporations, a company that spent unlimited sums of money to defeat the organizing effort,” he said in a statement.

Mark Cohen, director of retail studies at Columbia University Business School, says that Amazon’s warehouses are “juicy targets of opportunity” for unions because they can be organized one at a time. The company employs more than 950,000 full- and part-time workers in the U.S. and nearly 1.3 million worldwide. Moreover, the status of Amazon’s founder Jeff Bezos as the richest man in the world makes him easy to vilify, especially when his company enjoyed record profits last year that climbed 84% to $21 billion.

Cohen, who used to be an executive at Sears Canada, called retail a “rough and tough” industry, adding that “Bezos has built a high performance-based culture with expectations of performance and productivity at every level down to the shop floor. If that’s not your gig, don’t go work for them.”

The National Retail Federation, which represents Walmart, Target and other big retailers, struck a tone of relief after the vote in Bessemer.

“Union representation is a choice for workers, but many clearly prefer opportunities in a competitive marketplace that provides strong wages and benefits over the anonymity of a collective bargaining agreement,” said David French, a spokesman for the federation.

Unions have lost ground nationally for decades since their peak in the decades following World War II. In 1970, almost a third of the U.S. workforce belonged to a union. In 2020, that figure was 10.8%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Private sector workers now account for less than half of the 14.3 million union members across the country.

Richard Bensinger, a former organizing director for the A.F.L.-C.I.O. and the United Automobile Workers, noted the large number of workers who didn’t vote in Bessemer: “To me, that’s all about the paralysis, the fear. They don’t want to be supportive of the company but they are afraid to stand up for the union.”

Despite the union defeat, Lynne Vincent, a professor at Syracuse University’s Whitman School of Management, believes the momentum of the labor movement will still grow, with more Amazon workers considering unionization and the possibility that labor laws will be changed to give employers less of an advantage.

“I don’t think Amazon can breathe comfortably,” she said.

Emmit Ashford, a pro-union Amazon worker in Bessemer who spoke at a press conference held by the retail union, said he is not giving up.

“This is just a spark that has started the fire," Ashford said. "We will keep fighting. This experience has bonded us. Our time will come around again and next time we will win.”

Workers urge Google parent to get tough on harassment

Issued on: 10/04/2021 - 

Google was urged in an open letter to better protect victims of workplace harassment Robyn Beck AFP/File

San Francisco (AFP)

A letter calling for Google's parent company Alphabet to better protect people who report sexual harassment on the job was signed by more than 1,000 workers soon after being posted online Friday.

The open letter contended the tech giant had a pattern of safeguarding or even rewarding those responsible for sexual harassment while leaving victims to suffer in the workplace.

"Alphabet does not provide a safe environment for those who face harassment in the workplace," the text says.

"Even when (human resources) confirms harassment, no action is taken to make the reporter safe."

Anyone found to have harassed a co-worker should be barred from leadership roles, and be made to switch teams to be distanced from victims, the letter demanded.

"We're deeply aware of the importance of this issue," a Google spokesperson said in response to an AFP inquiry.

"We work to support and protect people who report concerns, thoroughly investigate all claims and take firm actions against substantiated allegations."

In a column published Friday on the New York Times website, former Google engineer Emi Nietfeld said her "stalker" co-worker was left sitting at a desk next to her in the office even after she complained to human resources.

Google has faced criticism in recent years regarding its internal response to sexual harassment, especially if the accused were executives.

Thousands of Google employees joined a coordinated worldwide walkout in late 2018 to protest the US tech giant's handling of the issue.

Some 20,000 Google employees and contractors participated in the protest in 50 cities around the world, according to organizers.

"We've made significant improvements to our overall process, including the way we handle and investigate employee concerns, and introducing new care programs for employees who report concerns," the Google spokesperson said.

"Reporting misconduct takes courage and we'll continue our work to improve our processes and support for the people who do."

© 2021 AFP

Volcanic eruption rocks Caribbean island of St. Vincent

The government earlier had ordered people to leave their homes. They are being evacuated to other parts of St. Vincent or other islands in the eastern Caribbean.



The early morning eruption was predicted, meaning the area nearby was evacuated ready for the dramatic explosion


An explosive eruption of the La Soufriere volcano rocked the eastern Caribbean island of St. Vincent on Friday.

It followed a mandatory evacuation orders from the local government, who told some 16,000 people to leave their homes.

Officials said the ash column rose as high as 10 kilometers (6 miles) and it headed east into the Atlantic Ocean.

The coastal La Soufriere volcano sent a cloud of ash drifting into the Atlantic Ocean

Heavy ash fall also was reported in communities around the volcano, according to Erouscilla Joseph, who leads the University of the West Indies Seismic Center.

"More explosions could occur," she said, adding that it was impossible to predict whether potential explosions would be bigger or smaller than the first.

Authorities on the island have reported no casualties so far; St Vincent has seen a number of fatal volcanic eruptions in the past.

One in 1902 is estimated to have claimed the lives of about 1,600 people. Advances in seismology and early-warning systems mean that modern-day eruptions are much less likely to catch communities unawares and claim larger numbers of lives.

Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves said evacuees would be able to seek temporary refuge on neighboring islands or be relocated to shelters in another part of St. Vincent.

But he urged people to remain calm as the government tried to find them emergency accommodation.