Farming and solar power set to combine in Netherlands-based pilot project

PUBLISHED FRI, JUL 23 2021
Anmar Frangoul

KEY POINTS

Swedish energy firm Vattenfall has been given a permit to build the project in the Netherlands.
The idea of deploying solar panels on farmland has been around for many years.



Drazen_ | E+ | Getty Images

Swedish energy firm Vattenfall has been given a permit to build a project in the Netherlands that plans to combine solar power with farming, in the latest example of how renewables and agriculture can potentially dovetail with one another.

In a statement earlier this week Annemarie Schouten, Vattenfall’s head of solar development for the Netherlands, explained how the project would “alternate rows of panels with strips where various crops are grown for organic farming.”

The pilot, known as Symbizon, is slated to last four years and be located in Almere, to the east of Amsterdam. Funding has come from the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs.

Schouten said that double-sided solar panels would be used in order to ensure “sufficient light yield.” Such a setup would also enable the panels to “catch the reflected light from the soil, the crops and the adjacent rows and use it to produce solar energy.”

While plans have taken a step forward, Vattenfall has yet to confirm if the project will actually progress. A decision on this is expected by the end of 2021. If it does get the green light, construction work will start in 2022.

A wide range of stakeholders are set to be involved if the scheme is fully realized. These include independent research organization TNO, which would develop a “solar tracking algorithm” to track energy and crop yields, among other things.


The idea of deploying solar panels on farmland has been around for many years. One strand of this is called agrivoltaics, which also goes by the name of agrophotovoltaics.

According to Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, agrivoltaics “enables the dual use of land for harvesting agriculture and solar energy.”

The idea behind the concept traces its roots back to the early 1980s and is attributed to Adolf Goetzberger, founder of Fraunhofer ISE, and his colleague Armin Zastrow.

According to the Institute, agrivoltaic installations grew from around 5 megawatts in 2012 to approximately 2.9 gigawatts in 2018.


Solar panels can also be used to help those working in agriculture with their day-to-day activities. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, for instance, has noted that “solar technologies are becoming a viable option for both large and small-scale farmers.”

In 2020, CNBC’s “Sustainable Energy” reported on how one Zimbabwe based farmer, Cheneso Ndlovu, was using solar tech to help her grow produce.

“We do gardening using a solar powered borehole for watering,” she said.

“We planted tomatoes on a small patch we were watering and we realized it was thriving, so we decided to grow other vegetables,” she added. “We use the water for other domestic needs like washing.”

Thermal coal prices soar as demand for electricity rebounds

Popularity of fossil fuel as a stopgap to generate power reveals difficulties of clean energy transition

Thermal coal is one of this year’s best-performing asset classes  © David Gray/Bloomberg

Supply disruptions, a drought in China and rebounding electricity demand have fired up the market for thermal coal, making the world’s least liked commodity one of this year’s best-performing assets.

Since the start of the year, the price of high energy Australia coal — the benchmark for the vast Asian market — has climbed 86 per cent to above $150 a tonne, its highest level since September 2008.

Its South African equivalent is also trading at its highest level in more than 10 years, rising 44 per cent in 2021, according to the latest weekly assessment by commodity price provider Argus.

That puts the coal benchmarks ahead of two of this year’s best-performing asset classes: real estate, which is up 28 per cent, and financial stocks, up 25 per cent. Only Brent crude, up 44 per cent, boasts comparable gains.

The resurgence of thermal coal, which is burnt in power stations to generate electricity, highlights the difficulties governments face in trying to make the switch to cleaner forms of energy.

Even as renewables such as wind and solar are growing rapidly, they are struggling to keep pace with rising demand for electricity and power, leaving fossil fuels to fill the gap.

Several linked factors are driving up prices, according to traders and analysts.

“Price increases have been primarily driven by robust demand from China, with Chinese buyers willing to secure material at highest prices,” said Dmitry Popov, senior thermal coal analyst at CRU, a consultancy.

A drought earlier this year in southern China, which knocked out hydroelectric dams and boosted demand for coal, has played a significant role in the commodity’s turbocharged run.

China has also struggled to boost domestic supply to meet increased demand for electricity as its economy continues to recovery from pandemic because of tough safety rules.

At the same time, output from Indonesia, China’s biggest overseas coal supplier, has been hampered by persistent rainfall, while rail and port constraints have affected shipments from Russia and South Africa, two other critical coal producers.

China has been unable to buy Australian coal because of a ban, while surging natural gas prices have prompted some utility companies in Japan and Europe to switch to coal, further tightening the market.

“I have never seen China under this sort of pressure before,” said Tom Price, head of commodities strategy at Liberum. “Hydro down, local production struggling and key import options just not there.”

All this has come as electricity demand has picked up with Covid-related lockdowns easing.

How energy transition is driving strong commodities prices

After falling about 1 per cent in 2020, global electricity demand is set to grow close to 5 per cent in 2021 and 4 per cent in 2022, according to the International Energy Agency.

“While renewable energy sources are expected to continue to grow rapidly, they will only be able to serve around half of the net demand increase in 2021 and 2022,” the IEA said in its latest Electricity Market Report.

As a result, the Paris-based agency expects coal-fired electricity to increase almost 5 per cent this year to exceed pre-pandemic levels, and to grow a further 3 per cent in 2022, when it could reach a record high.

But not everyone believes the high prices will hold. Fitch Solutions predicted prices would peak this year as Beijing releases coal from its strategic stockpiles and orders miners to increase production. In addition, fossil power generation in China typically hits its highest level in July and August before falling sharply.

“Consequently, we continue to expect a slowdown in domestic thermal coal demand by the start of September,” said Popov.

Further ahead, the big question for thermal coal is whether environmental polices will result in demand weakening more quickly than supply as banks and insurers refuse to fund new projects.

“I expect supply to fall faster than demand,” said Price at Liberum, who thinks China and India will continue to buy coal in the export market for the next decade. “It is a super tight market. It’s not going to crash in a heap.”

https://www.ft.com/content/b696720f-fed4-4f4b-acbd-302f8935c73e

SCHADENFRUEDE

LA man EVANGELICAL CHRISTIAN who mocked Covid-19 vaccines dies of virus

Stephen Harmon documented his battle with Covid-19

A California man who mocked Covid-19 vaccines on social media has died after a month-long battle with the virus.

Stephen Harmon, a member of the Hillsong megachurch, had been a vocal opponent of vaccines, making a series of jokes about not having the vaccine.

"Got 99 problems but a vax ain't one," the 34-year-old tweeted to his 7,000 followers in June.

He was treated for pneumonia and Covid-19 in a hospital outside Los Angeles, where he died on Wednesday.

In the days leading up to his death, Mr Harmon documented his fight to stay alive, posting pictures of himself in his hospital bed.

"Please pray y'all, they really want to intubate me and put me on a ventilator," he said.

In his final tweet on Wednesday, Mr Harmon said he had decided to go under intubation.

"Don't know when I'll wake up, please pray," he wrote.

Despite his struggle with the virus, Mr Harmon still said he would reject being jabbed, saying his religious faith would protect him.

Prior to his death, had joked about the pandemic and vaccines, sharing memes saying he trusted the Bible over top US disease expert Dr Anthony Fauci.

Hillsong founder Brian Houston confirmed news of his death in a tweet on Thursday.

"Ben has just passed on to us the devastating news that our beloved friend, Stephen Harmon has passed away from Covid. Heartbreaking," Mr Houston said.



In an Instagram post, he paid tribute to Mr Harmon.

"He was one of the most generous people I know and he had so much in front of him," he wrote on Instagram.

"He would always turn up to our grandkids soccer games and he will be missed by so many. RIP."

He added that the church encourages its members "to follow the guidance of their doctors".

California has seen a rise in Covid-19 cases in recent weeks, with the majority of those being taken to hospital unvaccinated.

NASA Is Launching the Next Test Flight to Space — Here's How to Watch the Boeing Starliner

The OFT-2 mission will send the uncrewed spacecraft to the International Space Station.

BY STEFANIE WALDEK
JULY 24, 2021

A close-up view of the CST-100 Starliner spacecraft while rolling out from Boeings Commercial Cargo and Processing Facility in the pre-dawn hours at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida on July 17, 2021, ahead of its scheduled launch on July 30. | CREDIT: GREGG NEWTON/GETTY IMAGES

July has already been a busy month in spaceflight, but it's not over yet. Following on the heels of the successful test flights by Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin that carried their billionaire founders, Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos, respectively, to space, NASA has cleared Boeing for launch next week.

On Friday, Boeing will launch its new Starliner spacecraft on an uncrewed test flight to the International Space Station (ISS). Here's everything you need to know about the mission, including how to watch it live.

What is the Boeing Starliner?

Frequent fliers might be familiar with Boeing's Dreamliner aircraft, otherwise known as the 787, but Starliner is a vastly different vehicle. It's Boeing's CST-100 spacecraft, a seven-passenger capsule designed to ferry astronauts to the International Space Station — and maybe even beyond. The capsule, which resembles NASA's own Apollo vehicle and SpaceX's Crew Dragon vehicle, is being developed as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program, which allows private companies to develop new crewed spacecraft. Right now, SpaceX is the only company to have begun Commercial Crew operations to the ISS.

How is the Starliner different from Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo and Blue Origin's New Shepard?

Both SpaceShipTwo and New Shepard are suborbital vehicles, meaning they are not designed to circle the Earth in space. Instead, they provide a relatively quick up-and-down flight, which is why they're geared towards space tourism and microgravity research. Starliner, on the other hand, is an orbital-class spacecraft, and it's designed to circle the Earth to rendezvous with the ISS, then remain docked there in low-Earth orbit (LEO) for up to 210 days. NASA will use the vehicle to transport astronauts and cargo to the ISS.

 Meet the Female Astronauts Who Just Went to Space With Virgin Galactic

What is the purpose of this test flight?

The OFT-2 mission is Starliner's second test flight to prove its launch, orbit, docking, and reentry capabilities, and it will be uncrewed, meaning no humans will be on board. Its first test flight in December 2019 (OFT-1, also uncrewed) was a failure; the vehicle did not reach its intended orbit due to technical issues, so it wasn't able to dock at the ISS. It did, however, land safely on Earth. This test flight will be a repeat of the first one — hopefully with a better end result. If all goes well, Boeing could start flying humans on test flights as soon as next year.

Where can I watch the Starliner test flight?

The Starliner test flight is scheduled to launch at 2:53 p.m. EDT on Friday, July 30, from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida atop a ​​United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket. It'll take approximately 31 minutes to reach orbit, after which it'll spend about 24 hours circling the Earth en route to the ISS. Docking is scheduled to occur at 3:06 p.m. EDT on Saturday, July 31.

NASA will stream the launch and docking via NASA TV, which you can watch here, on the NASA app, or via NASA's social media channels. The broadcast will go live at 2 p.m. EDT on Friday and continue through orbital insertion; it will resume for docking at noon EDT on Saturday. NASA hasn't yet announced when Starliner will undock from the ISS and return to Earth, but it'll likely be about one week after arrival.


Stefanie Waldek is a freelance space, travel, and design journalist. Follow her on Instagram and Twitter at @stefaniewaldek.

Europe’s robotic arm and Russian’s Nauka on their way to ISS

Source: ESA

Paris, 23 July 2021. – The European Robotic Arm (ERA) is on its way to the International Space Station (ISS) after its launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, the European Space Agency (ESA) said.

The 11-m-long robot is travelling folded and attached to what will be its home base – the Multipurpose Laboratory Module, also called ‘Nauka’, ESA said. The Proton-M booster placed Nauka and ERA into orbit around ten minutes after liftoff, nearly 200 km above Earth, the agency said.

ERA is capable of ‘walking’ around the Russian parts of the orbital complex. It can handle components up to 8000 kg with 5 mm precision, and it will transport astronauts from one working site to another.

The Russian Nauka module (‘nauka’ means ‘science’ in Russian) was delayed for years due to technical problems that Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, finally solved.

Space News quoted Russian sources yesterday that Nauka suffered further problems after reaching orbit. The space agencies – NASA and Roscosmos – did not comment these rumors.

“Walking” robotic arm on its way to ISS

By Anthony Wood
July 22, 2021

Render of the European Robotic Arm (ERA), the first robot able to "walk" around the Russian segment of the ISS

The International Space Station is about to receive its third robotic arm, which will be capable of "walking" around the Russian segment of the orbital outpost all by itself. The new European-made arm is on its way to the ISS after being launched atop a Russian Proton-M rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Space is an inherently hostile environment for humans, and in order to stay alive we are forced to live inside the pressurized hulls of spacecraft and the cumbersome confines of Extravehicular Mobility Units – commonly known as spacesuits.

In order to help maintain the aging space station, grab incoming spacecraft and help astronauts during their excursions beyond the airlock, the ISS has been fitted with two robotic arms supplied by the Canadian and Japanese space agencies.

Following its launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 14.58 CEST on July 21, a third European-made robotic arm is now making its way to the orbital outpost attached to the new Nauka Multipurpose Laboratory Module.


The European Robotic Arm (ERA) being launched on a Proton rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome
Roscosmos

This latest addition will be the first robotic arm to service the Russian segment of the ISS and it will also be the first designed to "walk" across the outpost’s outer surface.

The 11-m (36-ft) European Robotic Arm (ERA) is almost completely symmetrical in design, and is joined in the middle by a flexible "elbow’ joint." On each end of the robot are "wrist" connectors, which are capable of interfacing with various payloads, coupling with the space station and transferring data.

Whilst the new Nauka module is set to be ERA’s primary base of operations, the robotic arm will also be able to "walk" hand-over-hand across the station thanks to the flexibility afforded by its seven motorized joints.

In order to move, ERA reaches out with its "free hand" and anchors itself to one of the grappling fixtures installed across the Russian section of the station’s outer hull. It can then release its initial point of connection with the ISS, and repeat the process to move further across the outpost.


Specs of the ERA
ESA

The arm is capable of being controlled from both outside and inside of the station, and can handle loads of up to 8,000 kg (17,637 lb) while moving with a precision of within 5 mm. It will also be capable of transporting astronauts and cosmonauts from one work site directly to another by acting as an orbital cherrypicker.

“Moving hand-over-hand around the Russian parts of the Station, the European Robotic Arm will bring more freedom, more flexibility and more skills to space operations,” says ESA Director of Human and Robotic Exploration David Parker.

After entering low-Earth orbit shortly after launch, Nauka is now on an eight-day journey that will lift it into a higher orbit to reach the ISS. The new module is set to use its engines to autonomously dock to the Zvezda Service Module of the Russian segment of the ISS on July 29.

15 Spectacular Photos Of July’s Full ‘Buck’ Moon Around The World

Cecilia Rodriguez
Senior Contributor
Arts


The full moon rises behind Edinburgh Castle. The July full moon, otherwise known as the Thunder ... [+] PA IMAGES VIA GETTY IMAGES

Did you see the moon last night?

The annual spectacle of what is best known as the ‘Buck Moon’ was — once again — stunning.


July’s full moon, also known by other nicknames according to different cultures including Hay Moon, Mead Moon, Rose Moon, Elk Moon and Summer Moon, reached its peak on Friday, July 23.

In northern regions, it’s also called the Thunder Moon because it is accompanied generally by summer storms.

If you missed Friday’s magical show, the full moon will be visible until Sunday, according to NASA.

For many sky gazers, the July Buck Moon is not just beautiful but also carries powerful lunar vibes and special spiritual meaning as it appears surrounded by the haze of the summer in its orange-and-yellow glow.

Its best-known name, Buck Moon, relates to the fact that the antlers of male deer reach their peak of growth around this time in July.

For believers in astrology, this full moon is a source of energy and relates to the abundance and ripeness of summer and to a time of unique personal development.

From a less mystical, scientific perspective, the source of the special luminous display of July’s full moon is its perfect alignment with the sun and earth as the sun’s light shines fully on the side of the moon facing earth.

According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, it was at this time on July 20, 1969, that Neil Armstrong became the first person to step foot on the Moon and planted the U.S. flag in its rocky soil.

Full Moon over the skies of Rieti, Italy, on Friday, July 23, 2021. Photo by Riccardo Fabi NURPHOTO VIA GETTY IMAGES


Buck Moon rises behind the Empire State Building as seen from Weehawken, New Jersey. Photo by Gary ... [+] GETTY IMAGES


Behind the Selimiye Mosque over Edirne, Turkey. Photo by Gokhan Balci ANADOLU AGENCY VIA GETTY IMAGES


By the Selimiye Mosque in Turkey. Photo by Gokhan Balci ANADOLU AGENCY VIA GETTY IMAGES


Behind West Register House in Edinburgh. Photo by Jane Barlow PA IMAGES VIA GETTY IMAGES


Over Usedom Island in the Balotic Sea in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. Photo by Stefan ... [+] DPA/PICTURE ALLIANCE VIA GETTY IMAGES


Over Brussels, Belgium. Photo by Dursun Aydemir. ANADOLU AGENCY VIA GETTY IMAGES


During a hockey match between Canada and Germany at the Tokyo Summer Olympic Games in Japan. Photo ... [+] SPORTSFILE VIA GETTY IMAGES


Rising over the BT Tower in central London. Photo by Hollie Adams PA IMAGES VIA GETTY IMAGES


Near the Iwo Jima Memorial in Arlington, Virginia. Photo by Olivier Douliery AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES


Behind the Mecidiye Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey. Photo by Isa Terli ANADOLU AGENCY VIA GETTY IMAGES


Rising behind the July 15 Martyrs' Bridge in Istanbul, Turkey. Photo by Isa Terli ANADOLU AGENCY VIA GETTY IMAGES


Behind the Soviet symbol of hammer and sickle as a plane is silhouetted in Moscow. Photo by Kirill ... [+] AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES


Passing behind Hudson Yards and the Empire State Building lit in the flag colors of countries ... [+] GETTY IMAGES

Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn. Check out some of my other work here.

Toronto councillors call for end to 'extreme show of force' in encampment clearings


BY DENISE PAGLINAWAN, THE CANADIAN PRESS
POSTED JUL 23, 2021 

Five Toronto councillors urged the city’s mayor on Friday to end what they called an “extreme show of force” during the clearing of homeless encampments.

In a letter to John Tory, the councillors said there’s no need for batons, pepper spray or guns in the operations, adding that the mayor’s approach to encampments does not resolve the challenges posed by them.

“We demand an end to the violence and extreme show of force,” said the letter signed by councillors Shelley Carroll, Mike Layton, Josh Matlow, Gordon Perks and Kristyn Wong-Tam.

“You are only moving people experiencing homelessness from parks to laneways, under bridges or into another park.”

The letter came after violence erupted on Wednesday when authorities moved in to clear a homeless encampment at a Toronto park.

The operation at Lamport Stadium Park saw police push out a crowd made up of encampment residents and many supporters after they refused to leave the area.

A different encampment was cleared the day before at Alexandra Park in downtown Toronto.

Tory said in a statement Friday that some councillors “continue to ignore” the work city staff have done to reach out to people in encampments and encourage them to take up safe indoor shelter with proper support.

“After thousands and thousands of visits offering housing before and after trespass notices are issued, there does come a time when an encampment cannot continue to occupy a public park, to threaten the safety and health of people experiencing homelessness, and impact the families and communities who rely on these parks,” he said.

“I support the right to protest but I do not support protesters trying to stop City staff from offering safe indoor housing to residents in encampments, forcing confrontations with police and City staff, and trying to stop the City from having discussions with encampment residents and from making sure our parks are safe and healthy places for everyone.”

The city has cited the risk of fires and the need to make parks accessible to everyone as factors behind the clearings.

Police have said they were at Lamport Stadium to support city staff in the clearing operations and carried out “enforcement” as a last resort, using “minimal force.”

The councillors who wrote to Tory added that any obstruction of media access to encampment clearing operations is “undemocratic and unconstitutional.”

A Canadian Press photographer covering the Alexandra Park clearing was arrested Tuesday by Toronto City Corporate Security and removed from the area

The councillors added that any obstruction of media access to encampment clearing operations is “undemocratic and unconstitutional.”

Early in the pandemic, hundreds fled Toronto’s homeless shelters for fear of contracting COVID-19, setting up tents in parks throughout the city. Recent data obtained by The Canadian Press also shows a significant rise in violent incidents in Toronto’s shelter system over the last five years.

The city maintains the shelter system is safe, and city council recently passed a motion to end encampments.

People condemn Toronto Police actions as more encampment protest footage emerges


More and more photo and video documentation of the most recent tent encampment eviction in Toronto — at Lamport Stadium Park in Liberty Village on Wednesday — continues to emerge on social media as the public, shocked, criticizes the actions of police facing protesters on the scene.

As was the case in the wake of the city's move to clear a similar tent community in Trinity Bellwoods Park last month, residents are shocked by the sheer number of police and private security guards employed to enforce trespass notices against those experiencing homelessness who have been living in the public green space.

Also, the tactics of authorities on the scene, who violently clashed with protesters who had set up physical barricades in an attempt to stop the clearings.

Officers were seen pushing, hitting, dragging, pepper spraying, and arresting advocates as authorities took apart the makeshift structures that some 11 people were residing in.

Police were dispatched by the city to help get the homeless out of the park and offer them "safe, indoor accommodation and supports" that included meals, a housing worker and mental health assistance — and also to see to the large number of protesters who oppose the city's dismantling of encampments that have cropped up during the pandemic.

Mayor John Tory and the TPS have defended action on multiple occasions, saying the heavy-handed police presence was simply a response to protesters that "outnumbered encampment residents, creating an increasingly unstable and unsafe environment for them and for city staff" who were tasked with offering housing to those residents living in the park.

"Compare the experience [at Alexandra Park on Tuesday] where streets-to-homes workers were relatively unobstructed offering indoor housing without interference of protesters to today, where you had many, many more protesters, which necessitates the presence of more police officers in order to make sure that [everyone] can be kept safe," Tory said in a presser Wednesday.

"We're trying our very best to do this in a way that is compassionate, but also firm — firm in the sense that we must find safer, more healthy, legal indoor accommodations for people who have many needs for support in their lives, provide those supports and do it in a way that preserves everyone's safety."

Following the Bellwoods encampment clearing in June, Tory chalked the violence up to "hundreds of people who showed up and involved themselves who were not the people experiencing homelessness that we were trying to help," referring to them as people "trying to make a statement" rather than actually help those experiencing homelessness.

"The City's objective today was to peacefully encourage encampment occupants to accept safe, indoor accommodation, as it does daily with people experiencing homelessness across the city. Camping in parks is unhealthy, unsafe and illegal," reads a release issued Wednesday following the Lamport drama.

"Protesters indicated they would not leave the fenced area, preventing City staff from doing their jobs in assisting encampment occupants and making the park safe and accessible for all.," it continues.

"As protesters remained in the area and refused to leave, the City requested TPS assistance in clearing the fenced area of the park. When the area was cleared by police of protesters, the City re-engaged with any encampment occupants who remained, and began the removal of structures and debris."

A total of 26 people were arrested at Lamport on Wednesday, and face criminal and provincial charges including assault with a weapon, assaulting a peace officer and obstructing police.

Protesters were also pepper sprayed in a tense demonstration outside TPS 14 Division on Dovercourt following the day's earlier events.

The city has said it intends to move forward with the dismantling of the remainder of the encampments it identified as priority locations to ensure that they can be used for things like summer camp programming.

Lead photo by @BikeLaneDiary

Protesters blare Imperial March from Star Wars as Toronto cops clear yet another encampment

If you can't beat them, make them look like total tools.

Advocates for people experiencing homelessness got creative this morning when protesting Toronto's destruction of yet another tent encampment — this one at Lamport Stadium Park — by using loudspeakers to blare a song that has become synonymous with evil authoritarian regimes.

"The Imperial March," composed by John Williams for Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back in 1980, is a recurrent musical theme within the wildly-popular film franchise.

It is also known colloquially among fans and non-fans alike as "Darth Vader's theme song" or "the death march." Online content creators have been known to set the track against actual news footage as a form of political criticism.

There was no need to edit the video that came out of Liberty Village this morning, however, as hundreds of Toronto police officers, bylaw-enforcement officers and private security guards marched to enforce trespass notices against some 17 homeless people.

Rather, people protesting the Lamport Stadium encampment eviction played the song live on speakers loud enough for everyone within earshot to enjoy.

The message to police and city officials was clear, and advocates gathered to support encampment residents got a kick out of it.

Sadly, nothing else happening at the scene today is even moderately funny. To ask those present and many others watching through digital means, the situation is downright f*cked.

City crews have once again entirely fenced off a public park and are arresting anyone who dares to go inside: Volunteers, activists, journalists and anyone else who might get in their way or document what they're doing.

Nine people were arrested in total during the dismantling of a different encampment, the one at Alexandra Park, on Tuesday, less than 24 hours before cops arrived on bike, foot and horseback to Lamport Stadium.

Advocates report that the entirety of Lamport Stadium Park had been surrounded by cops, cruisers and court wagons before 6 a.m. on Wednesday.

For context, the sizeable park is bordered by King Street West to the north and East Liberty Street to the south, Fraser Avenue to the west and Jefferson Avenue to the east. And it's not only the park being blocked off, but areas surrounding the park as well.

Onlookers are once again taking up issue with the city's heavy-handed approach to enforcing trespass notices to people living in parks, and wondering how much an operation like this must be costing taxpayers.

"Imagine waking up and thinking there was actual sound, moral grounds in forcing unhoused folks into even less safe/autonomous housing just so rich residents can avert their eyes from the horrors of wealth disparity and corporate and government created housing crisis," tweeted one local.

"This is Toronto."

The (second) clearing of the encampment at Lamport Stadium Park is ongoing, and the City of Toronto has stated that all individuals living there are being offered safe, indoor space, with access to meals, showers and laundry, harm reduction, physical and mental health supports, and a housing worker.

"Occupants will be given time to pack two bags of belongings to take with them. All other belongings will be collected and stored for up to 30 days for future pickup," reads a release from the city issued Wednesday morning. "There are more than 30 structures on-site, including tents and makeshift structures."

One of the city's prime stated reasons for dismantling this and other encampments is a high risk of fires, of which there have been 130 already this year within Toronto tent cities. Seven people have died as a result of encampment fires in Toronto since 2010.

The city also spoke to one of the reasons behind their intense security response in this morning's press release:

"City staff attempting to assist those experiencing homelessness are increasingly facing intimidation, threats and criminal harassment by advocates or protestors at encampments," reads the release. "This behaviour is unacceptable, and the City is committed to ensuring that employees are protected from harassment in the workplace."

Ex-Blizzard boss Mike Morhaime on allegations: "I am ashamed"

"I am extremely sorry that I failed you."

News by Wesley Yin-Poole, Editor

Updated on 24 July 2021

Ex-Blizzard boss Mike Morhaime has issued a statement on recent allegations about the company, saying: "I am ashamed."

This week, the State of California sued Activision Blizzard over what it alleges to be a "frat boy" culture that created "a breeding ground for harassment and discrimination against women"

.

Ex-Blizzard boss Mike Morhaime.

The lawsuit alleges a culture of "constant sexual harassment", mainly at Blizzard Entertainment, the maker of World of Warcraft, Diablo and Overwatch.

Activision Blizzard has strongly denied the accusations, calling many of the claims distorted or false.

Morhaime co-founded Blizzard in 1991, when the studio was known as Silicon & Synapse, eventually becoming president in 1998, then president and CEO in 2007.

During Morhaime's time at the company Blizzard released gargantuan hits such as World of Warcraft, Overwatch and Hearthstone, and contributed billions of dollars to Activision Blizzard's bottom line. Morhaime left Blizzard in 2018 - a move that was widely seen as a significant blow for the company - and was replaced by current president J. Allen Brack.

Morhaime's statement is published in full, below:

"I have read the full complaint against Activision Blizzard and many of the other stories. It is all very disturbing and difficult to read. I am ashamed. It feels like everything I thought I stood for has been washed away. What's worse but even more important, real people have been harmed, and some women had terrible experiences.

"I was at Blizzard for 28 years. During that time, I tried very hard to create an environment that was safe and welcoming for people of all genders and backgrounds. I knew that it was not perfect, but clearly we were far from that goal. The fact that so many women were mistreated and were not supported means we let them down. In addition, we did not succeed in making it feel safe for people to tell their truth. It is no consolation that other companies have faced similar challenges. I wanted us to be different, better.

"Harassment and discrimination exist. They are prevalent in our industry. It is the responsibility of leadership to keep all employees feeling safe, supported, and treated equitably, regardless of gender and background. It is the responsibility of leadership to stamp out toxicity and harassment in any form, across all levels of the company. To the Blizzard women who experienced any of these things, I am extremely sorry that I failed you.

"I realise that these are just words, but I wanted to acknowledge the women who had awful experiences. I hear you, I believe you, and I am so sorry to have let you down. I want to hear your stories, if you are willing to share them. As a leader in our industry, I can and will use my influence to help drive positive change and to combat misogyny, discrimination, and harassment wherever I can. I believe we can do better, and I believe the gaming industry can be a place where women and minorities are welcomed, included, supported, recognised, rewarded, and ultimately unimpeded from the opportunity to make the types of contributions that all of us join this industry to make. I want the mark I leave on this industry to be something that we can all be proud of."

Morhaime left Blizzard to form a new game company called Dreamhaven. Dreamhaven is made up of two separate studio teams - Moonshot and Secret Door - each led by former Blizzard talent.

On its website, Dreamhaven says it wants to "provide a safe place where developers, creators, and players can connect in meaningful ways".

THEY HAVE BETTER HAIR THAN LITTLE KIM

Why North Korea is so afraid of K-pop

Jessie Yeung and Yoonjung Seo
CNNDigital
 Saturday, July 24, 2021 



Members of South Korean K-pop band BTS pose for photographers ahead of a press conference to introduce their new single "Butter" in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, May 21, 2021. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

North Korea is doubling down on its culture war, warning citizens to stay away from all things South Korean -- including its fashion, music, hairstyles and even slang.

In the past decade, South Korea has emerged as a formidable cultural force, with products from makeup to K-pop and K-drama finding enthusiastic fans around the world.

But one place trying to stop South Korean influence from permeating its borders is its neighbour to the north.

For decades, North Korea has been almost completely closed off from the rest of the world, with tight control over what information gets in or out. Foreign materials including movies and books are banned, with only a few state-sanctioned exceptions; those caught with foreign contraband often face severe punishment, defectors say.

Restrictions have softened somewhat in recent decades, however, as North Korea's relationship with China expanded.

Tentative steps to open up have allowed some South Korean elements, including parts of its pop culture, to seep into the hermit nation -- especially in recent years, when relations thawed between the two countries.

But the situation in North Korea is now fast deteriorating -- and strict rules have snapped back into place, in a crackdown reminiscent of its earlier, more isolated history.

Earlier this month, South Korean lawmaker Ha Tae-keung said after attending a briefing by the country's spy agency that North Korea's regime was implementing strict rules on how young people dress and speak.

For instance, South Korean women often use the term "oppa" for their romantic partners -- it's now forbidden in the North. Instead, North Korean women must refer to their lovers as "male comrades," said Ha.

Propaganda videos in the country also denounce behaviors that show "foreign influence," such as public displays of affection.

Those who violate the rules are the "sworn enemy of the revolution," Ha said, citing South Korea's National Intelligence Service.

Last Sunday, the regime blasted foreign ways of life in an article in state-run newspaper Rodong Sinmun, urging young people to be "faithful to the calling of their country."

"Struggle in the field of ideology and culture is a war without gunfire," said the article, citing North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Without specifically naming South Korea, it added that losing the culture war would "bring many times more serious consequences than on the battlefield."

Clothing, hairstyles and language were "a reflection of the state of thought and spirit," it added. "Even if young people sing and dance, they should sing and dance to the melodies and rhythms that fit the needs of the times and the national sentiment of our people, and flourish our style of culture."

These restrictions may seem outlandish -- but things like slang, innocuous on the surface, represent a much more complicated struggle over power and control, experts say. And North Korea's tolerance for foreign influence is in constant flux, shifting alongside its economic wellbeing and international diplomacy.

WHY HAIR AND MUSIC MATTER IN NORTH KOREA

North Korea's relationship with South Korea has remained fraught since the Korean War ended with an armistice in 1953. No peace treaty was ever signed, meaning the war never formally ended.

North Korea had once been among the most industrially developed parts of East Asia, said Andrei Lankov, director of the Korea Risk Group and professor at Kookmin University in Seoul. But after decades of isolation, its people now live in grinding poverty.

The North Korean economy spiraled downward in the 1990s after the collapse of the Soviet Union, which ended the flow of aid into the country, leaving China as the country's biggest trading partner.

By contrast, South Korea is Asia's fourth-largest economy, with a GDP per capita on par with European nations like France and Italy. Its soft power has boomed as cultural exports like music, food and beauty products gained popularity around the world.


That's why North Korea is so wary of allowing any foreign influence such as South Korean slang, said Lankov -- because it means "acknowledging that the alternative model of society worked, and the North Korea model did not."

North Koreans who adopt South Korean mannerisms -- fashion, hairstyles, vocabulary -- thus indicate two things, Lankov added: access to banned materials, and "an indication of admiration and sympathy" toward South Korea."

The potency of this soft power relies upon the vast inequity between the countries.

People are dying of hunger in North Korea, where supply shortages mean the prices of some staple food items are skyrocketing. Kim has acknowledged the "tense food situation," though he blamed it on a series of typhoons and floods.

It's not necessarily that North Korean leaders fear a mass uprising from a disgruntled public, said Lankov -- the regime is "brutal" enough to punish "everybody who will dare to open his or her mouth."

But rising knowledge about the outside world, and about just how much worse things are in North Korea, could erode the regime's legitimacy and its entire ideological framework -- similar to how the clamor for Western goods in 1980s Soviet Russia contributed to public disillusionment and its eventual fall.

"It absolutely does pose a threat if young North Koreans are watching South Korean dramas and seeing what life is like for Koreans outside their country, because they're seeing images of Seoul, of how well they're living, how freely they're living," said Jean Lee, senior fellow at the U.S.-based Wilson Center and the former Pyongyang bureau chief for the Associated Press.

And young people are the biggest target of the crackdown because they're "the most vulnerable to new influences," Lankov said. "Older people don't want change ... But all the new ideas are spreading among the younger generation."

POLITICS AND POP CULTURE

Talks between the North and South have started and stalled numerous times over the years -- and North Korea's attitude toward foreign pop culture appears to have relaxed and hardened accordingly.

After Kim assumed power in 2011, he initially favored a more liberal approach, said Lankov -- even allowing some Western music, and forming an all-girl North Korean band.

Lee, who was based in the capital Pyongyang during those early years, said foreign influences became apparent as the rules relaxed.

North Koreans would casually drop South Korean slang as a "sly way to hint that they were watching South Korean dramas," she said. Tourist attractions began to adopt English signage. Elite North Koreans were allowed to travel more, primarily to China.

But Kim soon adopted a more conservative approach, and began cracking down on USBs and other technology that could be used to smuggle in information, said Lankov.

Tensions escalated in 2016 and 2017 with a series of North Korean missile launches.

But relations began thawing after South Korean President Moon Jae-in took office -- by the end of 2018, Moon and Kim had vowed to formally end the Korean War and work toward complete denuclearization.

That same month, Kim and his wife attended a rare concert of South Korean singers and performers in Pyongyang -- the first time in more than a decade that South Korean musicians had traveled to North Korea.

The same switch happens in the South too, Lee said, where North Korean products and culture become "trendy" during times of diplomacy, and taboo when tensions rise. "It's the political climate that affects pop culture," she added.

But talks faltered in 2019 after a summit between Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump fell apart, and communication ultimately broke down. By early 2020, the country completely shut its borders due to COVID-19, cutting off nearly all trade with China, its main economic lifeline.

The state of North Korea's economy often dictates its restrictions -- and with the country in increasingly dire straits, the regime isn't taking any risks.

In December, North Korea passed a new law to prevent the spread of content not approved by government censors; this February, Kim suggested greater controls on societal content could be coming; the following month, a North Korean propaganda website accused K-pop record labels of "slave-like exploitation."

It's impossible to say for sure what triggered Kim's latest crackdown on foreign influence in the past two to three years, said Lee -- but she added it could be linked to the border closures and extreme economic hardship.

"Goods and people are not going across the border, so they can't get the things that they want or crave, she said. "So what we know from this edict that was passed down is that they're telling their people, stop craving that stuff. And (they're) phrasing it in a way that's about North Korean identity -- let's get back to our tradition, our language, who we are, and not be so covetous of foreign things."

But, she added, things can change quickly depending on the state of inter-Korea diplomacy.

"The party is constantly changing the rules about what's acceptable when it comes to foreign content, and the people have to pay attention," she said.

The message now is: "There may have been a period where it was okay to covet these things, to crave these foreign goods. But it's no longer okay."

See Don Lemon's reaction when ex-Trump doctor gets upset with reporters

Jul 24, 2021

Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-TX) took issue with reporters asking GOP lawmakers if they were vaccinated, and said reporters should be asking the Democrats if they are vaccinated. A CNN survey found that 100% of Democratic lawmakers on Capitol hill have been vaccinated. Meanwhile, cases of Covid-19 are skyrocketing among the unvaccinated as the Biden administration continues to combat vaccine misinformation and disinformation. #DonLemon #DonLemonTonight #CNN

PS HE IS NOT A REAL DOCTOR, HE IS A NAVY CHIOPRACTOR; A BONE STRETCHER!!!!