U.S. calls on Allies to lift restrictions on lethal aid supplies to Ukraine

29.10.2021 10:00

The United States, which has been providing Ukraine with lethal defensive aid in the face of Russian aggression, is urging allies and partners to lift restrictions on security assistance.

That’s according to Assistant Secretary of Defense Laura Cooper who spoke at an online event "U.S. Defense and Security Engagement in the Black Sea Region," held by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"The first thing I would mention is I would like to see all allies lift their restrictions on defensive lethal assistance," Cooper said. 

IF IT IS LEATHAL IT IS OFFENSIVE FIRST,LAST AND ALWAYS

She reminded that the United States had handed Javelin anti-tank systems to Ukraine and Georgia, which she said was a clear example of defensive lethal assistance capability provided by the U.S.

Read also: Ammunition, high-precision weapons, medicines: PM Shmyhal tells about U.S. aid

"We have a number of allies who have that as a restriction – some have it as a restriction in terms of their security assistance programs, but some also have it as a restriction in terms of their sales," the Pentagon spokeswoman said.

" I believe that Ukraine should be able to purchase the capabilities it needs to defend itself, so I’d like to see that restriction lifted," Cooper stressed.

At the same time, she noted that Ukraine continues to be the focus of U.S. attention so Washington will continue to provide defense assistance to Ukraine as the country needs to defend itself.

Cooper also reminded of the importance of reforms in defense and other areas, reaffirming U.S. support in their implementation.

HIS BILLIONS ARE OUR COMMONWEALTH
'This country made him rich -- he owes us': Elon Musk blasted for attack on billionaire tax
Julia Conley, Common Dreams
October 29, 2021

Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk (pictured December 2020) (AFP)

SpaceX and Tesla founder Elon Musk drew outrage Thursday after publicly complaining that his vast wealth would be further taxed under a new proposal by Sen. Ron Wyden, aimed at raising revenue to pay for social supports under the Build Back Better Act.

As Democrats continued debating what would be included in the plan—which the majority of party members want to provide paid family leave to workers, far-reaching climate action and green jobs, Medicare reforms to allow the federal government to negotiate drug prices, and other provisions—Musk tweeted about Wyden's proposal.

"Eventually, they run out of other people's money and then they come for you," he said earlier this week, adding on Wednesday evening that "spending is the real problem" contributing to the national debt, rather than the failure of corporations and the richest Americans to pay a fair tax rate.



Musk's comments caught the attention of economic justice advocates including Patriotic Millionaires—the coalition of wealthy Americans who believe they should be taxed at a much higher rate to help narrow the wealth gap—which noted the Tesla founder himself relied on "other people's money" to build his empire.
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"Millions of hard-working people who do their part for the country every day, while entitled 'technokings' like Elon Musk shirk their most basic responsibilities."

"Elon Musk was born with an emerald spoon in his mouth, and when he needed more money for his various schemes, he turned to U.S. taxpayers for billions of dollars of subsidies and direct handouts," said Erica Payne, president and founder of Patriotic Millionaires.


Musk's companies—Tesla, SolarCity Corp., and SpaceX—received an estimated $4.9 billion in federal funding as of 2015 via subsidies and direct grants from the Treasury Department.

"Government support is a theme of all three of these companies, and without it none of them would be around," hedge fund manager Mark Spiegel, whose firm shorted Tesla's stock, told the Los Angeles Times in 2015.

Musk's companies also "rely on a workforce educated by public tax dollars and a physical, legal and economic infrastructure built, maintained, and paid for by American taxpayers," Payne said.

"It's too bad we can't tax egos," she added. "We could pay off the entire federal debt with a miniscule tax on this guy's overblown opinion of himself."

Payne's disdain was echoed by political observers.

Musk's opposition to Wyden's Billionaires' Income Tax—which would apply to about 700 taxpayers with over $1 billion in assets or more than $100 million in income for three consecutive years, and would impose an annual tax on tradable assets, whether or not they are sold—shows why the proposal is needed, wrote Greg Sargent at The Washington Post.

The billionaires' tax would also address glaring flaws in our tax code that deserve attention in their own right: They've driven soaring inequality and badly unbalanced our political economy. Fixing these would itself confer major benefits, irrespective of helping "pay for" Democratic investments.
Musk's opposition helps illustrate this. Like many other rich people, his extreme wealth is partly the creation of government investment undertaken for the public good. But he's also perfectly happy to protect that wealth from fair taxation in ways that deprive the government of revenue for other socially beneficial investments, just as many other billionaires are.

On Twitter, Sargent wrote that according to Musk, government investments in companies like his own are "good and visionary" while investing in an expanded child tax credit, paid family leave, and other anti-poverty initiatives are equal to "bad taking" of public resources.

In response to Musk's comments, as Democrats continued their negotiations on Thursday, Patriotic Millionaires sent a mobile billboard around Capitol Hill, displaying an image of Musk and the text: "Elon Musk: 300 billion more reasons to tax the rich."

The billboard also mocked what the group called Musk's "baffling decision to change his title at Tesla to 'Technoking'," displaying an image of the billionaire with the text "Techno 'Mooch' King."



"Musk paid a 3.27% tax rate on $13.9 billion in gains between 2014 and 2018. Since then, Musk has earned over a hundred billion dollars more, and paid even less on those gains," said Payne. "Someone earning just $25,000 a year in income pays a top rate of 12%, almost four times what he paid. Millions of hard-working people who do their part for the country every day, while entitled 'technokings' like Elon Musk shirk their most basic responsibilities."

"This country made him rich," she added. "He owes us."

Just 2% of Elon Musk’s wealth could help solve world hunger, UN says
Thomas Kingsley
Wed, October 27, 2021

Elon Musk’s company Tesla recently passed $1 trillion in market value (AP)

A small group of billionaires could help solve world hunger with just a fraction of their wealth, the United Nations has said.

UN food chief David Beasley, director of the World Food Programme, called on wealthy individuals to “step up now, on a one-time basis” - specifically naming the world’s two richest men, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk.

He said that $6 billion would help 42 million feed people who are “literally going to die if we don’t reach them”, adding: “It’s not complicated”.


According to Bloomberg, Elon Musk has a net worth of nearly $289 billion (£209 billion), with his company Tesla reaching $1 trillion in market value earlier this week, the second fastest company to reach the mark.

CNN said that Musk would have to donate just 2 per cent of his wealth to help save people from hunger.

Beasley told the broadcaster that the world is currently facing “a perfect storm of conflict, climate change and Covid”, which he said means many nations are “knocking on famine’s door”.

A UN report earlier this year stated that world hunger had reached a 15-year-high in 2020, with the pandemic reversing years of progress in global malnutrition.

Half of Afghanistan’s 22.8 million population face a hunger crisis according to a report from the UN World Food Programme. The Taliban-ruled nation faces soaring unemployment and a liquidity crisis, leaving the country on the edge of a humanitarian crisis which would leave 3.2 million children under five years old at risk.

Beasley’s comments come following his direct tweet to Musk last week congratulating him for passing Bezos as the world’s richest person, but also calling on the Tesla boss to help save millions from starvation.

He wrote: “Congratulations to @elonmusk for passing up @JeffBezos as the world’s richest person - worth a whopping $221B! Elon, to celebrate I’m offering you a once in a lifetime opportunity: help us save 42M people from starvation for just $6.6B!! Offer expires SOON.. and lives do too.”

Musk recently announced plans for his company SpaceX to launch its next-generation Starship SN20 rocket next month after successfully testing its deep space Raptor Vacuum engine.

The launch will be the first orbital flight for the Mars-bound craft, which is being built to transport people and cargo around the Solar System.

Elon Musk to Congress: Drop the billionaire tax. It will only mess with ‘my plan to get humanity to Mars’

Sophie Mellor
Thu, October 28, 2021



Elon Musk, the world's richest man, took to Twitter overnight to savage the so-called billionaire tax proposal that's dividing Washington over ideological lines and is dominating the discourse on social media too.

The tax idea, which would target the 700 richest U.S. taxpayers, was dreamed up to finance President Joe Biden’s $2 trillion “Build Back Better” campaign, which carries a number of historic investments around childcare, education, health care, and combating climate change. The Democrat-led proposal, though, is facing stiff blowback in Congress—not just from Republicans but also from more moderate Democrats.

The thorniest part of the "billionaire tax" is a 23.8% tax rate on the long-term capital gains on tradable assets. As it currently stands, it would be levied only on billionaires who either earn more than $100 million in annual income or have $1 billion in assets. It would be a radical rewrite of the tax code, which currently taxes assets like shares in companies only when they're bought or sold. The new policy would treat billionaires’ fortunes like business income, and tax their assets on a mark-to-market basis each year.

Such a move would hit hard tech titans like Musk, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, and Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg.

Musk has been the most vocal of the bunch. Again on Wednesay he tweeted out warnings that a tax on billionaires would only make a small dent in the federal deficit. Washington, he ominously added, would eventually come after the general public too. “Eventually, they run out of other people’s money and then they come for you,” he tweeted.

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1453479688832180228

He tweeted today what he intends to use the money on.

"My plan is to use the money to get humanity to Mars and preserve the light of consciousness."

Criticisms

According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Musk's personal wealth is nearing $300 billion, a 72% year-to-date gain that's fueled by a bull run in Tesla stocks and his stake in the rocket-manufacturing company SpaceX. Bezos, at $196 billion, is a distant second.

Musk's vocal opposition comes as tax watchdogs take aim at the ultrawealthy's use of the tax code to shield their fortune from the full tax rate. For example, Musk paid $455 million in income tax between 2014 and 2018, according to IRS data reported by ProPublica.

On Twitter, progressive-minded commentators remind Musk that Tesla has been highly reliant upon government stimulus spending through the years. For example, the electric-vehicle maker received a $465 million loan from the U.S. Energy Department back in 2010 and more recently took a $2.9 billion contract from NASA in 2019 to build a moon lander.

https://twitter.com/AnandWrites/status/1452823743408087040

In the end, it may be Democrats, and not billionaires, who ultimately kill the billionaire tax bill.

The loudest Democrat critic is West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, who told reporters, “I don’t like it. I don’t like the connotation that we’re targeting different people.” He also praised billionaires’ contribution to society by creating jobs and through their philanthropic pursuits.

Meanwhile, Mark Warner, the second richest senator with a net worth of $215 million, said that it made sense that the “absolute wealthiest Americans pay a fair share.” But he also noted the “devil is in the details” and it was crucial to not favor “one asset class over another.”

 

Sustainability Key To Pollution Reduction Might Be In Practice At COP26 – OpEd

 

October 29, 2021  

By Naseem Sheikh*

Glasgow, UK is hosting a summit that’s seen as vital if climate change is to be brought in restraint. The meeting in Glasgow from 31 October to 12 Nov could lead to major changes to our everyday lives.

The COP, or conference of the parties, is the overall decision-making body of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. This will be its 26th annual meeting, where decisions will be made by 197 countries to prevent “dangerous anthropogenic interference” with the climate.

Glasgow was chosen by the UK to host COP26 due to its experience in hosting world-class events, commitment to sustainability, and first-rate facilities. The city is also currently ranked 4th in the world in the Global Destination Sustainability Index (GDS-Index) that promotes responsible business tourism best practices.

The world is warming because of fossil fuel emissions caused by humans. Extreme weather events linked to climate change – including heat waves, floods, and forest fires – are intensifying. The past decade was the warmest on record, and all governments agree urgent collective action is needed.

The COP26 global climate summit in Glasgow in November is seen as crucial if climate change is to be brought under control. Almost 200 countries are being asked for their plans to cut emissions, and it could lead to major changes to our everyday lives.

The COP-26 is being held under the presidency of the UK that is partnering with Italy for the event. It will be the World Leader’s summit of the 26th Conference of Parties (COP-26) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Agents of about 200 nations will meet in Glasgow, Scotland for the Joined together Nations’ 26th Conference of Parties (COP 26) to consider the state of the climate emergency. There, they’ll audit and can fortify the Paris Assertion, the universal community’s system for worldwide participation in climate activity

The G-20 is a leading global forum that brings together the world’s major economies. The forum has met every year since 1999, its members account for more than 80 percent of the global GDP, 75 percent of global trade, and 60 percent of the population of the planet. The G-20 has emerged as the premier global forum for international economic cooperation.

The Rome summit will be attended by heads of state and government of G-20 member countries, the European Union, and other invited countries and several international organizations.

The forthcoming summit will be centered around the theme ‘People, Planet, Prosperity, focussing on areas of recovery from the pandemic and strengthening of global health governance.

It will also focus on economic recovery and resilience, climate change and energy transition, and sustainable development and food security.

The high-level segment of COP-26, titled the World Leaders’ Summit (WLS), will be held on November 1 to 2. The summit will be attended by heads of state and governments of more than 120 countries.

The UNFCCC embodies the global will and vision to combat climate change. The periodic Conference of Parties to this Convention has emerged as global climate summits, providing an opportunity for stocktaking and for charting the way forward.

At COP-26, the parties will work to achieve the completion of Paris Agreement implementation guidelines; the mobilization of climate finance; actions to strengthen climate adaptation, technology development, and transfer; and keeping in reach the Paris Agreement goals of limiting the rise in global temperatures.

The COP-26 summit is being billed as one of the biggest ever congregations of world leaders and experts in combating climate change.

Sustainability is key to pollution reduction 

COP26 Presidency releases details about its approach to food and catering for conference delegates, including information on sustainability and food sourcing, and highlighted that, COP26 delegates will be served sustainable, locally-sourced food at the upcoming climate summit in Glasgow. Overall, 95 percent of the food will be from the UK, major sourced from Scotland, and be seasonal.

COP26 sources 80% of food from Scotland for its sustainable menus. This will put sustainability at the heart of catering for the summit, reducing emissions, and promoting environment-friendly food production.

COP26 will set an example for other large-scale international events, in terms of food sourcing, by taking several measures to ensure a sustainable approach:

• Ingredients will be replicated across the conference’s menus to ensure products can be repurposed for other meals, if necessary, to avoid food waste.
• The cups used to serve drinks will be reusable and it is estimated that this approach will save up to 250,000 single-use cups.
• Suppliers are setting high standards for sustainable food production, from Edinburgh’s Mara Seaweed, which is abundant and entirely sustainable and does not require fertilizer, freshwater, or soil to grow, through to Benzie’s carrots and potatoes who use wind turbines to power their cool storage, biomass to provide heating and actively recycle the water they use.

For the Glasgow summit to be deemed a success, a few things need to go right. First of all, countries need to commit not simply to net-zero targets by 2050, but stronger targets for 2030. Without them, there’s zero chance the world will hold the rise in global temperatures to 2℃.

Major emitters will also need to support developing countries with the finance and technologies to empower them to transition to clean energy and adapt to climate change impacts, including severe flooding and prolonged droughts. Let’s be united as there are signs of hope.

US State Dept. urges investigation of Myanmar military torture

- In this image from video obtained by The Associated Press, soldiers line up arrested protesters in Yangon, Myanmar on March 3, 2021. The U.S. State Department expressed outrage and demanded an investigation on Friday, Oct. 29, after The Associated Press reported that Myanmar’s military has been torturing detainees in a systemic way across the country. (AP Photo/File)More

KRISTEN GELINEAU and VICTORIA MILKO
Thu, October 28, 2021, 

SYDNEY (AP) — The U.S. State Department expressed outrage and demanded an investigation on Friday after The Associated Press reported that Myanmar’s military has been torturing detainees in a systemic way across the country.

The United Nations’ top expert on human rights in Myanmar also called for strong international pressure on the military. And lawmakers in Washington urged Congress to act in the wake of AP’s investigation, which was based on interviews with 28 people, including women and children, imprisoned and released since the military took control of the government in February.

“We are outraged and disturbed by ongoing reports of the Burmese military regime’s use of ‘systematic torture’ across the country,” the State Department said, using Myanmar’s other name, Burma. “Reports of torture in Burma must be credibly investigated and those responsible for such abuses must be held accountable.”

AP’s report, which included photographic evidence, sketches and letters from prisoners, along with testimony from three recently defected military officials, provides the most comprehensive look since the takeover into a highly secretive detention system that has held more than 9,000 people. The AP identified a dozen interrogation centers in use across Myanmar, in addition to prisons and police lockups, based on interviews and satellite imagery.

Security forces have killed more than 1,200 people since February, including at least 131 detainees tortured to death.

The AP found that the military, known as the Tatmadaw, has taken steps to hide evidence of its torture. An aide to a high-ranking commander told the AP that he watched security forces torture two prisoners to death. Afterwards, he said, soldiers attached glucose drip lines to their corpses to make it look like the men were still alive, then forced a military doctor to falsify their autopsy reports.

“The AP’s investigation sheds important light on the scope and systemic nature of the junta’s criminal torture campaign,” U.N. special rapporteur on Myanmar, Tom Andrews, said in a statement. “The confession of military personnel who directly witnessed detainees being tortured to death will be important for accountability efforts, as well as the AP’s uncovering of torture and interrogation center locations.”

Given the military’s efforts to hide its abuses, Andrews said the accounts in AP’s report are “very likely just the tip of the iceberg.”

U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas, the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, urged the House to hold a vote on the BURMA Act in light of the findings. The legislation would authorize additional targeted sanctions against the military.

While the U.S., United Kingdom and European Union have already placed sanctions on high-ranking Myanmar military members and state-owned enterprises, they have yet to sanction American and French oil and gas companies working in Myanmar. That has allowed the military to maintain its single-largest source of foreign currency revenue, which the Tatmadaw uses, in part, to purchase weapons.

“The disturbing reporting by the Associated Press on the sadistic torture and horrific violence committed by the Burmese military junta are sadly the latest in a long string of their atrocities, including genocide against the Rohingya,” McCaul said in a statement, referring to the military’s mass slaughter and rape of thousands of Rohingya Muslims in 2017.

Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York, the Democratic chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, also urged Congress to pass the legislation.

“I condemn the Burmese military’s unconscionable treatment of detainees, allegedly including victims as young as 16 years old, in the strongest possible terms,” Meeks said in a statement.

The administration is considering sanctions that could impact Myanmar’s oil and gas industry but has yet to make a decision, according to officials familiar with the process. These officials say privately that there is great internal debate among the National Security Council, the State Department and Treasury about how best to ensure that any sanctions imposed do not negatively affect the people of Myanmar.

Human rights groups also urged an immediate international response.

“The AP’s searing and expansive investigation sheds light into the black-box of the Myanmar military’s detention facilities. The Tatmadaw’s methodical torture regime – and attempts to hide it from public view – demand immediate global acknowledgement and action,” said Susannah Sirkin, director of policy at Physicians for Human Rights. The group concluded that the wounds seen in photographs sent by the AP of three torture victims were consistent with deliberate beatings by sticks or rods.

The military did not respond to a request for comment on AP’s report. Earlier this week, it dismissed questions from the AP about its findings as “nonsense.”

Myanmar military uses systematic torture across country (apnews.com)

A monk, a student, an artist: Tortured by Myanmar military (apnews.com)

___

Milko reported from Jakarta, Indonesia. AP Diplomatic Writer Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.

Jupiter's Great Red Spot is deeper than thought, shaped like lens, studies say


Jupiter's Great Red Spot is about 10,000 miles wide and up to 300 miles deep. 

File Photo courtesy of ESA/NASA | License Photo

Oct. 28 (UPI) -- New studies of Jupiter's Great Red Spot released Thursday have found that while the meteorological phenomenon is deeper than originally thought, it's largely shaped like a flat lens about 10,000 miles wide.

The vortex storm, the largest of many such spots on Jupiter's surface, extends up to 310 miles below the planet's cloud tops, some 100 miles deeper than previous research indicated.

Two groups of scientists published their analyses of data from the Juno spacecraft on the GRS on Thursday in the scientific journal Science.

One team from the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio put together a 3D map of Jupiter's atmosphere, giving scientists an "understanding of how Jupiter's beautiful and violent atmosphere works," SWRI principal investigator and lead author of one of the studies, Scott Bolton said.

"These new observations from Juno open up a treasure chest of new information about Jupiter's enigmatic observable features," said Lori Glaze, director of NASA's planetary science division. "Each paper sheds light on different aspects of the planet's atmospheric processes -- a wonderful example of how our internationally diverse science teams strengthen understanding of our solar system."

Juno traveled low over Jupiter's atmosphere -- a distance of about 400 million miles -- to measure velocity changes to determine the depth of the GRS.

The research also found that cyclones are warmer toward the top with lower atmospheric densities and colder at the bottom with higher densities. Anticyclones, which spin in the opposite direction, are colder at the top and warmer at the bottom.

"The precision required to get the Great Red Spot's gravity during the July 2019 flyby is staggering," said Marzia Parisi, a Juno scientist from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and lead author of the second study in Science. "Being able to complement [Juno's microwave radiometer]'s finding on the depth gives us great confidence that future gravity experiments at Jupiter will yield equally intriguing results."

Juno, which was launched in 2011, has been in orbit around Jupiter since July 2016, sending back valuable data to scientists including photographs and scientific reading

IT INCLUDES THE MARITIMES 

Nor'easter off U.S. coast has similarities to 1991 'Perfect Storm,' may become tropical

By Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather, Accuweather.com

These side-by-side images show the nor'easter from Thursday (L) and the nor'easter known as the "Perfect Storm" from Oct. 31, 1991, (R) off the coast of the northeastern United States. File Photos courtesy of NOAA

Oct. 28 (UPI) -- A nor'easter that pummeled areas from New Jersey to Maine, leaving hundreds of thousands without power, bears striking similarities to the 1991 "Perfect Storm," an infamous nor'easter that meteorologists still use as a benchmark storm 30 years later.

The nor'easter could also transform into a tropical or subtropical system in the coming days, claiming the last designated name on the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season list, according to AccuWeather forecasters. The storm became the latest bomb cyclone to impact the United States, in the footsteps of two bomb cyclones that brewed over the eastern Pacific and slammed into the West Coast.

The storm that would later garner names such as the Halloween storm of 1991 and the 'Perfect Storm' for a Hollywood motion picture, took the lives of more than a dozen people. The greatest impacts on the U.S. were from heavy seas that caused considerable coastal flooding and beach erosion in New England and the mid-Atlantic.

Winds from this week's nor'easter gusted over 100 mph, far above the readings from the 1991 storm, which maxed out at 76 mph. However, AccuWeather.com senior weather editor Jesse Ferrell pointed out, "There are hundreds of weather stations on the Massachusetts coast today compared to only a handful 30 years ago, so we can't be sure this storm had higher winds."

RELATED Deadly nor'easter knocks out power for more than 500,000 in N.Y., New England

"Because wind speeds can be local," Ferrell went on to say, "meteorologists typically use pressure to gauge storm strength. By that measure, so far, this week's nor'easter dropped to 28.76 inches of mercury (974 mb), slightly less powerful than the 'Perfect Storm' which measured 28.70 inches (972 mb) at its lowest reading."

After undergoing bombogenesis (a pressure drop of 0.71 of an inch of mercury in 24 hours) on Tuesday, the nor'easter continued to circulate off the southeastern coast of New England overnight Wednesday, completing a counterclockwise loop.

Even though rain is over from the nor'easter, the system remains a significant low-pressure area and is acting like a giant vacuum in the atmosphere and will continue to create strong winds over the North Atlantic.

"Since the storm will spend a considerable amount of time over sufficiently warm Atlantic Ocean waters into the end of the week, there is the potential for the system to acquire tropical or subtropical characteristics," AccuWeather senior meteorologist Bill Deger said. A subtropical system has both tropical and non-tropical storm features.


"In either case, there is a chance that the nor'easter could become a named storm late this week to this weekend while taking an eastward path away from the U.S.," Deger stated.

No significant impacts from the feature as a tropical or subtropical system are expected on the U.S. other than a continuation of heavy seas well offshore. The most significant impacts would be to cross-Atlantic shipping, cruise and deep-sea fishing interests.

Temperatures in the waters a couple of hundred miles off the New England coast range from the upper 60s to the lower 70s F and are a bit too cool to nurture tropical development. Water temperatures near and above 78 degrees are generally the threshold.




However, several hundred miles offshore, water temperatures are higher. As the system turns eastward and treks over that warmer water, there could be some tropical development. The area where development may take place is somewhat detached from disruptive wind shear to the east.

No official names are given to non-tropical storms in the United States, but toward the latter part of the lifecycle of the storm in late October and early November three decades ago, it became apparent that a tropical storm or hurricane had formed near the center of circulation. Despite this, no name was officially assigned to the storm by the National Hurricane Center.

The storm in 1991 had some piece of the tropics with it since it had absorbed Hurricane Grace, but the system churning just offshore in the Atlantic this week has no real tropical roots, according to AccuWeather senior meteorologist Randy Adkins.

The next and final name on the pre-determined list of tropical storm names for the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season is Wanda.



There have been 20 named systems as of Thursday morning, of which one was a sub-tropical storm (Teresa), with seven hurricanes. Four of the systems strengthened into major hurricanes of Category 3 strength or greater.

The most intense tropical system of the season has been Category 4 Hurricane Sam with maximum sustained winds that reached 155 mph. Fortunately, Sam remained at sea while a tropical system from Sept. 22 to Oct. 5. However, the second strongest hurricane of the season, Category 4 Hurricane Ida, produced maximum sustained winds of 150 mph and slammed into the Louisiana coast on Aug. 29. Ida was a deadly and destructive hurricane in the United States with 95 fatalities and damage estimates of at least $60 billion.

Should Wanda form, the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season will be solely in third place of the number of named systems, surpassing the 1930 season (20 named storms). Only the infamous 2005 season, which brought Katrina and 28 systems of tropical storm strength or greater, and the record 2020 season with 30 named systems had more.

COACHING IS ABUSE

Florida Panthers coach Joel Quenneville resigns amid Chicago Blackhawks scandal


Former Chicago Blackhawks and Florida Panthers head coach Joel Quenneville, shown Oct. 6, 2018, was in his third year as the Panthers' coach. 

File Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI | License Photo

Oct. 28 (UPI) -- Florida Panthers head coach Joel Quenneville resigned Thursday, hours after meeting with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman about his involvement in the Chicago Blackhawks' sexual abuse case during the club's 2010 Stanley Cup run.

Assistant coach Andrew Brunette is expected to take over on an interim basis for the unbeaten Panthers.

Quenneville was in his third season as head coach of the Panthers, who were off to a 7-0-0 start in the 2021-22 campaign. He steps down with two additional years and more than $15 million remaining on his contract.

Bettman said in a statement that the league agrees with Quenneville's resignation.

RELATED   Stan Bowman, Blackhawks president, resigns amid release of investigative report

"Following a meeting with Mr. Quenneville that took place this afternoon in my office, all parties agreed that it was no longer appropriate that he continue to serve as Florida's head coach," Bettman said Thursday. "We thank the Panthers' organization for working with us to ensure that a thorough process was followed.

"Given the result, there is no need for any further action by the NHL regarding Mr. Quenneville at this time. However, should he wish to re-enter the league in some capacity in the future, I will require a meeting with him in advance in order to determine the appropriate conditions under which such new employment might take place."

Earlier this week, Kyle Beach revealed himself as "John Doe," the former Blackhawks player who filed a lawsuit against the franchise in May for mishandling his sexual assault allegations in 2010.

The suit led the Blackhawks to hire law firm Jenner & Block in late June to conduct an independent investigation, which looked into the accusations that former Blackhawks video coach Brad Aldrich sexually assaulted and harassed Beach during Chicago's 2010 Stanley Cup run.

The investigation, which was made public Tuesday, revealed that Quenneville was aware of the alleged misconduct and took part in at least one meeting centered around the allegations during the 2010 postseason. The former Blackhawks and Panthers coach previously said he only learned of the accusations this summer "through the media."

"With deep regret and contrition, I announce my resignation as head coach of the Florida Panthers," Quenneville said in a statement Thursday. "I want to express my sorrow for the pain this young man, Kyle Beach, has suffered.

"My former team, the Blackhawks, failed Kyle and I own my share of that. I want to reflect on how all of this happened and take the time to educate myself on ensuring hockey spaces are safe for everyone."

Quenneville joins former Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman and Blackhawks senior director of hockey administration Al MacIsaac in stepping down for their roles in the scandal. The Blackhawks also were fined $2 million.

"After the release of the Jenner & Block investigative report on Tuesday afternoon, we have continued to diligently review the information within that report, in addition to new information that has recently become available," Panthers CEO Matthew Caldwell said in a news release. "It should go without saying that the conduct described in that report is troubling and inexcusable.

"It stands in direct contrast to our values as an organization and what the Florida Panthers stand for. No one should ever have to endure what Kyle Beach experienced during, and long after, his time in Chicago. Quite simply, he was failed. We praise his bravery and courage in coming forward."

Quenneville has the second-most coaching wins in league history, posting a 969-572-150-77 record over 25 years with the Blackhawks, Panthers, Colorado Avalanche and St. Louis Blues. He guided the Blackhawks to three Stanley Cup trophies, including in the 2009-10 campaign when Beach reported the allegations to the franchise.

Bettman is scheduled to have a meeting with Winnipeg Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff on Friday. Cheveldayoff was an assistant general manager for the Blackhawks in 2010.

U.S. recorded more than 20K road fatalities in first six months of 2021

The United States reported an estimated 20,160 motor vehicle traffic fatalities in the first six months of 2006, the most in that time period since 2006, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.  Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo

Oct. 28 (UPI) -- The U.S. Department of Transportation on Thursday reported the largest number of motor vehicle traffic fatalities in a six-month span since 2006.

An estimated 20,160 people died in motor vehicle crashes in the first half of 2021, a 15-year high, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's estimates for January-June 2021.

The total also represented an increase of 18.4% from the same period in 2020.

"This is a crisis. More than 20,000 people died on U.S. roads in the first six months of 2021, leaving countless loved ones behind," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. "We cannot and should not accept these fatalities as simply part of everyday life in America."

The NHTSA also released behavioral research findings from March 2020-June 2021 finding that incidents of speeding and traveling without a seatbelt remained at levels higher than before the pandemic.

Preliminary data from the Federal Highway Administration found that vehicle miles traveled in the first half of 2021 increased by about 173.1 billion miles, or about 13%, while the fatality rate increased to 1.34 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, up from 1.28 fatalities per 100 million in 2020

In June, the agency reported that motor vehicle traffic fatalities in the United States rose to a 13-year high for the entirety of 2020 despite VMT decreasing by 13.2%.

The NHTSA said the first quarter of 2021 proved that the trend shown in the 2020 data that "drivers who remained on the road engaged in more risky behavior, including speeding, failing to wear seat belts and driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol" continued to prevail.

"The report is sobering," said NHTSA Deputy Administrator Dr. Steven Cliff. "It's also a reminder of what hundreds of millions of people can do every day, right now, to combat this: Slow down, wear seat belts, drive sober and avoid distractions behind the wheel."

Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety on Thursday called on the Department of Transportation to issue new safety requirements to "protect all road users," while stating every new vehicle should be equipped with crash avoidance technology, driving prevention technology and other upgrades.

The Department of Transportation said it will release a strategy in January to "significantly reduce serious injuries and deaths on our nation's roadways" in response to the report.

"No one will accomplish this alone," said Buttigieg. "It will take all levels of government, industries advocates, engineers and communities across the country working together toward the day when family members no longer have to say goodbye to loved ones because of a traffic crash."

UK 

Insolvencies soar 40% as Covid support ends

Terry Murden, Editor | October 28, 2021
DAILY BUSINESS


Many firms failed to reopen after being forced to shut

Forecasts of a rise in company failures as government support measures came to an end are borne out by a 40% rise in corporate insolvencies across Scotland in the third quarter.

Insolvency practitioners have been hiring extra staff in anticipation of a surge in company failures.

As well as the withdrawal of Covid-related subsidies from the Treasury, inflation and supply chain pressures also began to bite.

Analysis of notices in The Gazette by Interpath Advisory reveals that 14 companies fell into administration or receivership from July to September 2021 – from 10 in Q2, and also up on the 10 appointments seen during the same period last year.

This upward trend mirrors the national picture, which saw UK administrations and receiverships increase by 26% in the third quarter of 2021 – from 123 in Q2 2021 to 155 in Q3.

However, this was significantly down from the 243 appointments during the comparative period in 2020, and is still at only 39% of pre-Covid levels when compared to the 401 appointments in Q3 2019.

Blair Nimmo, chief executive of Interpath Advisory, commented: “With inflation on the rise, COVID-19 support measures, including the Job Retention Scheme, now tailing off, and well-publicised issues affecting global supply chains and availability of labour, it’s perhaps unsurprising that we are starting to see a modest rise in insolvency levels as we enter the final quarter of the year.”

Blair Nimmo: a challenging quarter

Across the UK, the construction and energy sectors saw the largest rise in levels of administrations and receiverships in Q3 2021, with three times as many filings for insolvency in the energy sector (nine appointments) and twice as many filings in the construction sector (34 appointments) compared to the previous quarter.

Mr Nimmo said: “It’s been a particularly challenging quarter for the UK’s energy sector, which is reeling from the recent spikes in wholesale gas, coal and electricity prices to unprecedented highs.

“Not only has this had an impact on energy-intensive industries such as manufacturing, but it’s also left the domestic energy supply market in disarray with 13 retail suppliers entering into a SOLR (supplier of last resort) process in the last eight weeks alone, impacting over 2 million customers who have been switched to new providers.

“The reality is that with the price cap restricting the ability of companies to pass increasing input costs onto consumers, there is little room for manoeuvre for those smaller suppliers which don’t have the financial bandwidth to absorb the higher price, leaving many with little option but to enter an insolvency process.

“Meanwhile, the larger players, who are being asked to take on new customers as a result of SOLR processes, are also having to absorb the cost of doing so. It’s an incredibly difficult situation, and we certainly expect further casualties over the weeks and months ahead.

“Against a backdrop of rising inflation costs and lessening government support, there are signs that the level of insolvencies in Scotland is beginning to rise.

“We are yet to see the deluge of corporate failures that many anticipated but, whilst the outlook remains uncertain, I would expect to see filings continue to escalate, with more momentum gathering into the New Year.”

Reflecting on the rising insolvencies in the building and construction sector, Alistair McAlinden, managing director and head of the Scotland team at Interpath Advisory, said: “This is another sector that feels on the brink of a perfect storm. Raw material costs remain at high levels, with steel, timber and plastic products nearly 50% higher than they were pre-April 2020.

“To further compound the problem, the UK’s timber supply is impacted by both transport and Brexit-related constraints, and the construction industry is navigating a range of other issues including wage inflation, haulage labour shortages, reverse charge VAT implications, and wider instability in the global shipping industry.

“The knock-on effect is a stop-start situation for many construction projects, which in turn is resulting in inefficient resource allocation and downtime, creating further pressure.”

He added: “The good news is that, despite these challenges, the UK and devolved Governments remain supportive, with increased infrastructure spending and commitments to new projects.

“Suppliers of debt capital are also continuing to provide support to Scottish businesses to help them trade through the impacts of COVID-19 and Brexit.

“Ultimately, these challenges are making businesses across the sector consider what work they want to undertake; how they manage current demand; how they quote for new work; and how they contract to try and mitigate these risks.

“We are also seeing continued challenges across a range of other sectors and have already seen an uptick in activity across general manufacturing, automotive and aerospace supply chains, and wholesale.”

UK

Banks hike mortgage costs as interest rate rise looms

By a Daily Business reporter | October 28, 2021

The cost of buying a home is rising (pic: Terry Murden)

Mortgage lenders have anticipated a likely rise in the cost of borrowing next week by hiking their rates to home buyers.

The Bank of England is expected to become the world’s first major central bank to increase rates in order to keep a lid on inflation.

Banks have responded by putting up the cost of loans. Barclays is lifting rates by up to 0.35 percentage points on a range of fixed-rate mortgages, while Halifax has announced rises of up to 0.20 percentage points on some products from next Monday.

NatWest (RBS) has increased rates on a range of its fixed deals while HSBC and TSB are expected to make similar moves.

Markets now seem convinced that the base rate will rise to 0.25% next Thursday when the Bank’s monetary policy committee concludes its latest two-day meeting.

They believe it could rise to 1% by next May, still extremely low against periods of double-digit rates, but it could hit 3.5% by 2023 according to a forecast from the Office for Budget Responsibility, which would make a material difference to monthly payments and demand for homes.