REFUGEES ARE NOT IMMIGRANTS

Nobel literature winner Gurnah to receive medal in UK


Gurnah, 72, won the Literature Prize in October for his novels unflinchingly portraying the effects of colonialism and the plight of refugees (AFP/Tolga Akmen)


Sun, December 5, 2021

British novelist Abdulrazak Gurnah, winner of this year's Nobel Prize for Literature, will on Monday receive his medal in London.

Gurnah, 72, won the Literature Prize in October for his novels unflinchingly portraying the effects of colonialism and the plight of refugees.

The Swedish ambassador to London, Mikaela Kumlin Granit, will present the writer with his Nobel medal and a diploma at her official residence at 1200 GMT, ahead of the main awards ceremony in Oslo on December 10.

The prize also comes with a sum of 10 million Swedish kronor (about $1.1 million).

The Nobel Foundation announced in September that the winners for medicine, physics, chemistry, literature and economics would receive their prizes in their home countries for the second straight year, due to "uncertainty about the course of the pandemic".

Gurnah became the fifth African to win the Nobel Literature Prize, with the most recent previously being South African writer J.M. Coetzee in 2003.

Born in Zanzibar off the coast of east Africa, now part of Tanzania, Gurnah fled to Britain as a refugee in the late 1960s, later acquiring British citizenship.

The Swedish Academy said Gurnah was honoured "for his uncompromising and compassionate penetration of the effects of colonialism and the fate of the refugee in the gulf between cultures and continents".

"I write about these conditions because I want to write about human interactions and... what is it that people go through when they are reconstructing lives," Gurnah told reporters at a news conference in London after his win.

- 'Something is getting through' -

The head of the Academy's Nobel committee, Anders Olsson, said Gurnah's writings had particular resonance after a record 82 million people fled wars, persecution and violence in 2020.

"The Nobel prize, it's an enormous honour," Gurnah told AFP when the prize was announced.

"It means that something is getting through -- that's what the work attempts to do, persuading or successfully reaching through to people. I love that, I'm so happy about that."

After his Nobel win, he urged Europe to see African refugees as people who "come out of need" and who "quite frankly... have something to give".

He has also spoken out against Brexit and the "Windrush" scandal, which saw immigrants from the Caribbean targeted by the government in recent years despite moving to Britain legally in the 1950s and 1960s.

"I'm speaking because this is how I would speak... whether I had won the Nobel prize or not. I'm not playing a role, I'm saying what I think," he told journalists.

Gurnah began writing as a 21-year-old in England. Although Swahili was his first language, he had learnt English in Zanzibar, a British protectorate until unification with Tanzania, and chose it as his literary tool.

The author of 10 novels and a number of short stories, he is best known for his 1994 breakthrough novel "Paradise", set in colonial East Africa during World War I, which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize.

Gurnah also had a successful career in academia, recently retiring as professor of English and postcolonial literatures at the University of Kent in Canterbury. He lives in Brighton on the south coast of England.

On Tuesday he will deliver his Nobel Prize lecture, which will be streamed live on the prize's website.

This year has seen writers from Africa dominate top literary awards with South African Damon Galgut winning Britain's Booker Prize and 31-year-old Senegalese Mohamed Mbougar Sarr becoming the first writer from sub-Saharan Africa to win France's top literary award, the Prix Goncourt.

am/har

NO ONE IS ILLEGAL
Pope Francis says immigration progress 'terribly absent' in visit to Lesbos

Pope Francis said progress on immigration is "terribly absent" as he visited a refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos Sunday.

 Photo by Vatican Media/EPA-EFE

Dec. 5 (UPI) -- Pope Francis visited refugees in the Greek island of Lesbos on Sunday as he called on nations in Europe to take in asylum seekers.

Speaking to several dozen migrants in a white tent, Francis said that progress on immigration has been "terribly absent," adding it was an "illusion" to believe society could protect itself without offering help to those who "knock at our door."

"Human lives, real people, are at stake!" Francis said.

The pope thanked the residents of Lesbos for welcoming refugees and walked along the streets of the camp lined with storage containers that house the refugees.

"Please let us stop this shipwreck of civilization!" Francis said.

He added that "we are living in the era of barbed wire and walls" but the COVID-19 pandemic has shown that "we are all in the same boat."

"Let us stop ignoring reality," he said."Stop constantly shifting responsibility, stop passing off the issue of migration to others."

Pope Francis last visited Lesbos in 2016, when he brought 12 refugees with him aboard the papal Alitalia jet back to the Vatican.

Pope ends visit to Greece focused on the plight of migrants




Sun, December 5, 2021

Pope Francis on Monday wraps up a landmark three-day visit to Greece which has been marked by his calls for better treatment of migrants in Europe and a visit to asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos.

After a last meeting with young people at a Catholic school, the pope is due to leave Athens to return to Rome at the end of the morning.

Since his arrival in Greece on Saturday, Francis has met with the head of the Greek Orthodox Church and visited the Mavrovouni tent camp on Lesbos, where he called the neglect of migrants the "shipwreck of civilisation".

Following his visit to the migration flashpoint, he celebrated mass for some 2,000 faithful in Athens, where he urged respect for the "small and lowly".

In 2016, Francis visited the sprawling Moria camp on Lesbos, when the island was the main gateway for migrants heading to Europe.

His visit to Mavrovouni was shorter than in 2016 but he was warmly welcomed by a crowd of migrants at the camp, which houses nearly 2,200 asylum seekers.

People later gathered in a tent to sing songs and psalms to the pontiff, who listened to them, visibly moved.

"I am trying to help you," Francis told one group through his interpreter.

The Mavrovouni camp was hurriedly erected after Moria, then the largest such site in Europe, burned down last year.

- 'Grim cemetery without tombstones' -

In his speech, Francis warned that the Mediterranean "is becoming a grim cemetery without tombstones" and that "after all this time, we see that little in the world has changed with regard to the issue of migration".

The root causes "should be confronted -- not the poor people who pay the consequences and are even used for political propaganda", he added.

According to the International Organization for Migration, 1,559 people have died or gone missing attempting the perilous Mediterranean crossing this year.

About 40 asylum-seekers, mostly from Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of Congo, participated in an Angelus prayer in a camp tent with the pope, in the presence of Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou, EU vice-president Margaritis Schinas and Greek Migration Minister Notis Mitarachi.

"His visit is a blessing," said Rosette Leo, a Congolese asylum seeker carrying a two-month-old baby as she waited in line for the ceremony.

However, Menal Albilal, a Syrian mother with a two-month-old baby whose asylum claim was rejected after two years on the island, said refugees "want more than words, we need help."

"The conditions here are not good for a baby," she told AFP.

"The Greek government should think about us, we've been here for two years without work or education," said Francois Woumfo, from Cameroon.

The pope has long championed the cause of migrants and his visit came after he delivered a stinging rebuke to Europe which he said was "torn by nationalist egoism".

Before arriving in Greece, the pope visited Cyprus, where authorities said that 50 migrants will be relocated to Italy thanks to Francis.

The 84-year-old pope is himself from a family of Italian migrants who settled in Argentina.

bur/mtp/reb

UPDATED

Indonesia volcano erupts again, hampering rescue operations
 

Haeril Halim

Sun, December 5, 2021

Indonesia's Mount Semeru spewed more ash on Monday, hampering the search for survivors as aerial images showed the extent of the devastation unleashed by the volcano's deadly weekend eruption.

The biggest mountain on the island of Java thundered to life Saturday, ejecting a mushroom of volcanic ash high into the sky and raining hot mud as thousands of panicked people fled their homes. At least 15 were killed.

Aerial photos showed entire streets filled with grey volcanic ash and mud, which had swallowed many homes and vehicles, including whole trucks.

Indonesia's national disaster agency said 27 people were still missing.

"I'm still hoping my son will be found... Every time I hear victims have been found, I hope it is my son," said Maskur Suhri of Sumberwuluh village, who was collecting palm tree sap when Semeru erupted.

"There's a very small chance he survived... Maybe it's my son's fate, but I still hope he will be found, even just his body."

Fresh volcanic activity on Monday hampered search efforts, forcing rescue teams to pull out from some areas.

"There was a small fresh eruption and it could endanger the evacuation teams," said rescue worker Rizal Purnama.

Dangerous thick plumes of smoke continued to emerge from areas blanketed by the volcanic ash, while rescuers in hardhats tried to dig through the mud to try and find survivors -- and recover bodies.

Their task was made more difficult as the volcanic debris had started to harden.

"It's very difficult... with simple tools," Rizal Purnama said. "It is very likely bodies that have not been found are buried under the hot mudflow."

Other rescuers helped desperate villagers salvage their belongings from wrecked homes. Some locals lifted mattresses and furniture on their shoulders while others carried goats in their arms.

 

Officials have advised people not to travel within five kilometres of Mt Semeru's crater (AFP/ADEK BERRY)

- 'I could only pray' -

Officials have advised locals not to travel within five kilometres (3.1 miles) of Semeru's crater, as the nearby air is highly polluted and could affect vulnerable groups.

Ash from Semeru travelled up to four kilometres away after the Saturday eruption, Indonesia's geological agency reported.

A sand mine company's office in Kampung Renteng village was buried after the eruption, trapping 15 people, according to foreman Hasim, 65, who like many Indonesians goes by one name.

"There's no news from them. Only one operator was rescued, he's now at the hospital with burns," he told AFP.

Hasim said he ran home after the eruption.

"It was pitch dark," he added. "It was only 3 pm but it looked like night."

Rescue officials said some were buried inside their vehicles, with no time to escape.

Those who managed to find shelter recounted the horror after the eruption.

Suwarti Ningsi and her daughter were trapped for five hours at home after the eruption.

"I couldn't see anything, it was just like at night. Everybody was panicking," said the 42-year-old.

"I could only pray... for me and my daughter to be saved."

 

- Threat of rain -

The ash and mud have also polluted the waterways around Mt Semeru, turning them into streams of dark grey sludge.

Rain is forecast for the area, which could further hinder rescue work.

There is also a risk of the rain causing ash sediment to form a new river of hot lava, the country's top volcanologist Surono told a local TV station.

Mt Semeru's last major eruption was in December 2020, which also forced thousands to flee and wrecked villages.

Indonesia sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, where the meeting of continental plates causes high volcanic and seismic activity, and the country has nearly 130 active volcanoes.

In late 2018, an eruption in the strait between Java and Sumatra islands caused an underwater landslide and tsunami that killed more than 400 people.

hrl-dsa/qan/reb

Videos show residents fleeing in terror as Indonesia's Mount Semeru volcano suddenly erupts and spews a gigantic ash cloud

Joshua Zitser
Sat, December 4, 2021, 

People flee as Mount Semeru in Indonesia eruptsBNPB Indonesia


Mount Semeru in Indonesia erupted on Saturday, killing at least one person.


Health officials say at least 41 people have burn injuries, per Sky News.


Videos, shared on social media, show terrified people running away from a gigantic ash cloud.

Residents fled in terror as Mount Semeru, the tallest volcano on the Indonesian island of Java, spewed a gigantic plume of ash for the second time in a year.

The eruption, which began on Saturday afternoon, has killed at least one person, per Sky News.

Other videos, shared on social media, show parts of Java plunged into darkness. BBC News reported that witnesses said a thick rain of volcanic ash from the eruption was blotting out the sun in two districts.

Health officials said that at least 41 people had burn injuries, Sky News reported.

Around 30 buildings were destroyed in the eruption, the media outlet said.

Thoriqul Hal, a local official, told Reuters that a bridge in the area had also been badly damaged.

A video shared on Twitter appears to show the bridge before and after the eruption.

"This has been a very pressing, rapid condition since it erupted," Hal said.

Videos of Saturday's eruption show terrified locals trying to run away from a huge, fast-moving ash cloud.

Budi Santosa, chief executive of the East Java Regional Disaster Management Agency, told reporters during a Saturday press conference that his team is currently trying to conduct evacuations and is preparing refugee camps for displaced residents.

The 3,676-meter volcano last erupted in January, causing no deaths.

Semeru is on the Indonesian island of Java. Google

Death toll rises to 13 in Indonesia volcano eruption

By AGOES BASOEKI

1 of 15

A factory building is covered by ash from the eruption of Mount Semeru in Lumajang district, East Java province, Indonesia, Sunday, Dec. 5, 2021. The death toll from eruption of the highest volcano on Indonesia's most densely populated island of Java has risen with scores still missing, officials said Sunday as rain continued to pound the region and hamper the search.(AP Photo/Trisnadi)


LUMAJANG, Indonesia (AP) — The death toll following the eruption of the highest volcano on Indonesia’s most densely populated island of Java has risen to 13, with seven people still missing, officials said Sunday as smoldering debris and thick mud hampered search efforts.

Mount Semeru in Lumajang district in East Java province spewed thick columns of ash more than 12,000 meters (40,000 feet) into the sky, and searing gas and lava flowed down its slopes after a sudden eruption Saturday triggered by heavy rains. Several villages were blanketed with falling ash.

A thunderstorm and days of rain, which eroded and finally collapsed the lava dome atop the 3,676-meter (12,060-foot) Semeru, triggered the eruption, said Eko Budi Lelono, who heads the geological survey center.

He said flows of searing gas and lava traveled up to 800 meters (2,624 feet) to a nearby river at least twice on Saturday. People were advised to stay 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) from the crater’s mouth, the agency said.

“Thick columns of ash have turned several villages to darkness,” said Lumajang district head Thoriqul Haq. Several hundred people were moved to temporary shelters or left for other safe areas, he said, adding that a power blackout hampered the evacuation.

The debris and lava mixed with rainfall formed thick mud that destroyed the main bridge connecting Lumajang and the neighboring district of Malang, as well as a smaller bridge, Haq said.

Despite an increase in activity since Wednesday, Semeru’s alert status had remained at the third highest of four levels since it began erupting last year, and Indonesia’s Volcanology Center for Geological Hazard Mitigation did not raise it this week, Lelono said.

National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesperson Abdul Muhari said at least 13 villagers died from severe burns and 57 were hospitalized, including 16 in critical condition with burn injuries. He said rescuers were still searching for seven residents and sand miners along a river in Curah Kobokan village who were reported missing.

Entire houses in the village were damaged by volcanic debris and more than 900 people fled to temporary government shelters, Muhari said.

Liswanto, the head of Semeru’s monitoring post, said his office had informed the community and the miners that hot ash could tumble down from Semeru’s crater at any time, after sensors picked up increased activity in the past week.

But some residents who fled to a government shelter near Lumajang district’s head office said authorities did not convey any information to them about the volcano’s activities.

“Suddenly everything went dark, the bright afternoon turned into night. A rumbling sound and heat forced us to run to the mosque,” said Fatmah, a resident who fled to the shelter from Curah Kobokan, about 5 kilometers (3 miles) from the crater. “It was a far stronger eruption than in January.”

Transportation Ministry spokesperson Adita Irawati said her office issued a notice Saturday for all airlines to avoid routes near the volcano. She said flight operations are still running as scheduled and that authorities will continue to monitor the situation. The Darwin Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre said the spread of volcanic ash from Mount Semeru was detected to the southwest moving at a speed of 50 knots.

Television reports showed people screaming and running under a huge ash cloud, their faces wet from rain mixed with volcanic dust. The last time Semeru erupted, in January, there were no casualties.

Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 270 million people, is prone to earthquakes and volcanic activity because it sits along the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” a horseshoe-shaped series of fault lines.

 

Indonesia Volcano Eruption Death Toll Rises To 13

By Juni Kriswanto
12/04/21 

Rescuers in Indonesia raced to find survivors in villages blanketed by molten ash Sunday after the eruption of Mount Semeru killed at least 13 people and left dozens injured, officials said.

The eruption of the biggest mountain on the island of Java caught locals by surprise on Saturday, sending thousands fleeing and forcing hundreds of families into makeshift shelters.

At least 11 villages of Lumajang district in East Java were coated in volcanic ash, submerging houses and vehicles, smothering livestock and leaving at least 900 evacuees seeking shelter in mosques, schools and village halls.

The eruption left at least 11 villages coated in volcanic ash, submerging houses and smothering livestock 

Photo: AFP / JUNI KRISWANTO

Dramatic footage showed Semeru pumping a mushroom of ash into the sky, looming over screaming residents of a nearby village as they fled.

"The death toll is now 13 people. Rescuers found more bodies," national disaster mitigation agency spokesman Abdul Muhari told AFP, without specifying the cause of death.

Two of the victims have been identified, he said in a later statement.

At least 57 people including two pregnant women were injured in the eruption, of whom 41 suffered burns and were hospitalised, the agency said in a press release.

Map of Indonesia locating Mount Seberu, which erupted on Saturday 

Photo: AFP / STAFF

President Joko Widodo on Sunday ordered a rapid emergency response to find victims and treat the injured after the scale of the disaster became clear, said state secretary Pratikno, who like many Indonesians goes by only one name.

As many as 10 trapped people were rescued from areas surrounding Lumajang, according to Muhari, as villagers and rescuers worked through the night to find anyone trapped or retrieve bodies.

Local broadcaster Kompas TV reported those rescued were local workers at a sand mining site.

Evacuees take shelter at a mosque in Lumajang after the eruption of Mount Semeru Photo: AFP / JUNI KRISWANTO

Evacuations were temporarily suspended on Sunday due to hot ash clouds, Indonesia's Metro TV reported, highlighting the difficulty of the rescue operation.

There is also a risk of heavy rain causing ash sediment to form a new river of hot lava, the country's top volcanologist Surono told the station.

Most of those burnt in the immediate aftermath misunderstood the size of the eruption and subsequent lava flow so had stayed in their villages, Lumajang Public Order Agency spokesman Adi Hendro told AFP.

"They did not have time to run away," he said.

The eruption of Java's biggest mountain caught locals by surprise

 on Saturday, sending thousands fleeing 

Photo: AFP / JUNI KRISWANTO

At least seven people remain missing after the eruption, Hendro said, including two who authorities believe are still alive.

"There were signs they are still alive as there were lights maybe from their cellphones," he said.

Lava had already destroyed at least one bridge in Lumajang, preventing rescuers from immediately accessing the area 

Photo: AFP / JUNI KRISWANTO

"But we cannot go there as the ground is still very hot. We want to ensure our team's safety too."

Lava mixed with debris and heavy rain had already destroyed at least one bridge in Lumajang, preventing rescuers from immediately accessing the area.

But emergency services footage on Sunday showed a desolate scene in the village of Kebon Renteng swallowed by the eruption, with roofs of houses protruding from a coat of mud that destroyed them.

Rescue workers dressed in bright orange uniforms worked against a dark-grey backdrop in the village of about 11,000, now a scene of ruin with buckled buildings and fallen trees.

In other areas, distressed villagers desperately tried to salvage their belongings from wrecked homes. Some held mattresses and furniture on their shoulders while others carried goats alive in their arms.

The rescue teams were using heavy loaders to remove debris and clear roads, Muhari said.

Locals have been advised not to travel within five kilometres (3.1 miles) of Semeru's crater, as the air around it is highly polluted and could affect vulnerable groups, he added.

"For now, we urge people not to stay because the volcanic ash is still relatively hot," Indra Wibowo, head of the local disaster agency, told Metro TV.

Officials have sent aid to shelters, including food, tarpaulins, face masks, and body bags.

Ash spewed by the volcano travelled up to four kilometres away, Indonesia's geological agency said, reaching as far as the Indian Ocean in the southern part of Java.

But Australia's Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre, which provides advice to the aviation industry, said the ash had now dissipated around Semeru on Sunday, according to satellite imagery.

The volcano's alert status has remained at its second-highest level since its previous major eruption in December 2020, which also forced thousands to flee and left villages covered.

Indonesia sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, where the meeting of continental plates causes high volcanic and seismic activity.

The Southeast Asian archipelago nation has nearly 130 active volcanoes.

In late 2018, a volcano in the strait between Java and Sumatra islands erupted, causing an underwater landslide and tsunami which killed more than 400 people.

Putin to land in India with eye on military, energy ties


Sun, December 5, 2021, 8:29 PM·3 min read

Russian President Vladimir Putin will arrive in India on Monday for just his second overseas trip since the pandemic, seeking to bolster military and energy ties with a traditional ally being courted by Washington.

In its efforts to address a rising China, Washington has set up the QUAD security dialogue with India, Japan, and Australia, raising concerns in both Beijing and Moscow.

India was close to the Soviet Union during the Cold War, a relationship that has endured, with New Delhi calling it a "special and privileged strategic partnership".

"The friendship between India and Russia has stood the test of time," Modi told Putin at a virtual summit in September. "You have always been a great friend of India."

It is only the Russian leader's second trip abroad since the coronavirus pandemic began -- he skipped both the G20 and COP26 summits this year -- after a June summit with US President Joe Biden in Geneva.

"It's hugely symbolic," said Nandan Unnikrishnan from New Delhi-based Observer Research Foundation think tank.

"It's indicative how they do not want the relationship to stagnate or slow down for want of something from the Russian side."

But Putin has to contend with complex regional dynamics, with tensions mounting between India and Russia's traditional ally China following deadly clashes in a disputed Himalayan region.

"Russia's influence in the region is very limited," said Tatiana Belousova of OP Jindal Global University in Haryana, "mostly because of its close ties with China and unwillingness to act in dissonance with the Chinese regional interests."

- 'Quite remarkable' -

The Kremlin said last week the talks will be dominated by defence and energy issues, with the boss of Russian energy giant Rosneft, Igor Sechin, also travelling as a "number of important energy agreements" were on the table.

Russia has long been a key arms supplier to India, which is looking to modernise its armed forces, and one of their most high-profile current contracts is for the long-range S-400 ground-to-air missile defence system.

The deal, worth over $5 billion, was signed in 2018 and deliveries have reportedly begun, but it threatens to upend the burgeoning relationship between New Delhi and Washington.

The US has threatened sanctions under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), which is aimed at reining in Russia, and the state department said last week that no decisions had been made on any waivers for India.

"It is quite remarkable that India still decided to go ahead with the S-400 deal, despite the US disapproval," said Belousova.

New Delhi has long sought to diversify its military imports but analysts believe it could take some time before it moves away from Russia.

Military equipment was "paramount" to India given "unabated" tensions with Pakistan, according to Unnikrishnan. "You're going to try and nurture whatever is required to ensure that."

India is also keen to increase domestic production and has launched a joint venture with Russia to manufacture AK-203 assault rifles.

India and Russia normally hold annual summits, but the leaders' last in-person meeting was on the sidelines of the 2019 BRICS Summit in Brazil.

"The leaders will review the state and prospects of bilateral relations and discuss ways to further strengthen the strategic partnership between the two countries," India's ministry of external affairs said in a statement last month.

The two countries' foreign and defence ministers will also hold talks Monday.

bur-ash/slb/reb

SEE LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for PERMANENT ARMS ECONOMY (plawiuk.blogspot.com)

Governments help arms firms avoid Covid slump: report





Marc PRÉEL
Sun, December 5, 2021,

The world's biggest weapons manufacturers largely avoided the economic downturn caused by Covid-19 and recorded a growth in profits last year for the sixth year in a row, according to a report published on Monday.

Governments around the world have continued to buy arms during the pandemic and some also passed measures to help their big weapons firms, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

Overall, the 100 top weapons firms saw their profits rise by 1.3 percent on 2019 to a record $531 billion, despite the global economy contracting by more than three percent.


"Military manufacturers were largely shielded by sustained government demand for military goods and services," said SIPRI researcher Alexandra Marksteiner in the institute's annual assessment of arms companies.

"In much of the world, military spending grew and some governments even accelerated payments to the arms industry in order to mitigate the impact of the Covid-19 crisis."

The top five arms firms were all from the United States, Lockheed-Martin -- which counts F-35 fighter jets and various types of missiles among its bestsellers -- consolidating its first place with sales of $58.2 billion.

Britain's BAE Systems, in sixth position, was the highest-placed European firm, just ahead of three Chinese groups.

- Rise of China -

"The rise of China as a major arms producer has been driven by its aim to become more self-reliant in weapons production and by the implementation of ambitious modernisation programmes," the report said.

While China's arms sales have expanded, they still lag US and British firms, accounting for a total of 13 percent of the top 100 arms sales in 2020.

Sales by the five Chinese firms in the top 100 totalled an estimated $66.8 billion in 2020, up 1.5 percent on the previous year.

"In recent years, Chinese arms companies have benefited from the country's military modernisation programmes and focus on military–civil fusion," SIPRI senior researcher Nan Tian said.

"They have become some of the most advanced military technology producers in the world."

Of the top-producing countries, only France and Russia saw their firms' sales decline last year.

The institute said the firms had benefited from the broad injection of cash into economies, as well as specific measures designed to help arms companies such as accelerated payments or order schedules.

And as military contracts usually span several years, firms were able to make gains before the health crisis took hold.

"However, despite these and other factors, global arms production was not fully immune to the impact of the pandemic," the report said, pointing to France's Thales which blamed a 5.8 percent fall in arms sales on lockdown disruptions.

The report highlighted that the rate of increase in profits had slowed substantially between 2019 and 2020, and noted that measures taken to halt the spread of the virus had disrupted supply chains in the weapons industry just as they had across the wider economy.

SIPRI: Global arms industry flourishing despite COVID

A $531-billion business: The new SIPRI report shows that the world's top 100 arms producers have continued to increase sales — even in the pandemic year of 2020 and despite the global economy contracting.

Arms sales by German companies went up 1.3% in 2020, says SIPRI

Lockdowns, crumbling supply chains, jittery consumers: The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about massive economic slumps around the world. One sector, however, has proved immune to the virus: the arms industry. This is confirmed by the latest report on the world's 100 largest arms manufacturers by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

SIPRI researcher Alexandra Marksteiner told DW that she was especially surprised by the data from 2020, the first year of the pandemic: "Even though the IMF put global economic contraction at 3.1%, we saw that the arms sales of these top 100 companies increased nonetheless — we saw an overall increase of 1.3%."

The sales of the top 100 arms manufacturers totalled $531 billion (€469 billion) in 2020, more than the economic output of Belgium. Some 54% of this was accounted for by the 41 US companies in SIPRI's top 100. The main companies in the industry are US-based: Lockheed Martin alone sold more than $58 billion worth of weapons systems last year —  a sum bigger than the GDP of Lithuania.

Effective lobbying

Companies that big also wield political power. Markus Bayer, a political scientist at the Bonn International Centre for Conflict Studies (BICC), says arms companies are deliberately exerting influence. He quotes a report by the US NGO Open Secrets: "Defense companies spend millions every year lobbying politicians and donating to their campaigns. In the past two decades, their extensive network of lobbyists and donors have directed $285 million in campaign contributions and $2.5 billion in lobbying spending to influence defense policy."

And for the arms manufacturing giants, the spending appears to pay off. Alexandra Marksteiner explains that the US Department of Defense provided targeted support for the arms industry during the pandemic. "For example, they made sure that employees of defense companies were largely exempted from stay-at-home orders. On the other hand, there were some orders that were set up so that funds could be transferred to the companies a bit earlier, ahead of schedule, so that they would have a bit of a buffer."

Big Asian players

Simone Wisotzki has also examined SIPRI's new figures. An arms control expert at the Peace Research Institute Frankfurt (PRIF), she was especially struck by "the fact that arms companies from the Global South are becoming increasingly important." Wisotzki mentions India in particular: It has three companies in the top 100, whose combined sales total 1.2% — on a par with South Korea.

However, there are far more weapons leaving the factories of India's northern neighbor, China. SIPRI has been including Chinese companies in its studies since 2015, despite the many problems with transparency. China's five companies on the list are benefiting from the Chinese military's modernization program, and their shipments now account for 13% of the top 100's sales.

Wisotzki says India has not signed up to the international

 arms agreement

Looking at the Chinese entries, Marksteiner notes that "these companies are capitalizing on what is called military-civilian fusion," citing the largest Chinese arms conglomerate as an example: "There was a satellite system that NORINCO co-developed, and it makes quite a bit of revenue from that, and it's used both for military and civilian purposes."

China has been modernizing its military

Militarized information technology

Simone Wisotzki also notes that the boundary between civil and military technologies is becoming increasingly blurred. "Information technology can no longer be separated from weapons technology," she says. In its new report, SIPRI specifically looks at the growing role tech companies play in the arms business.

Marksteiner emphasizes that, if you want a clear picture of the arms industry, "you can't just talk about traditional players like Lockheed Martin." SIPRI says that, in recent years, some Silicon Valley giants like Google, Microsoft and Oracle have sought to deepen their involvement in the arms business and have been rewarded with lucrative contracts.

SIPRI gives the example of a deal between Microsoft and the US Department of Defense worth $22 billion. The company has been contracted to supply the US Army with a type of super-glasses, called the Integrated Visual Augmentation System, which will provide soldiers with real-time strategic information about the battlefield.

The US military's interest in Silicon Valley is easy to explain. "They realize that, in these new enabling technologies, be it artificial intelligence or machine learning or cloud computing, these Silicon Valley companies' expertise is far beyond what you would see from traditional arms industry players," says Marksteiner. "There is a chance that some of these companies will actually end up entering the [SIPRI] top 100."

The line between technology for civilian use and miltary use is becoming increasingly blurred

Russia is falling behind

Along with France, the biggest drop in arms sales was recorded by Russia. The nine Russian companies on the list sold 6.5% fewer weapons last year than in 2019. The BICC's Markus Bayer believes this drop, to just 5% of the top 100's total sales, is directly related to India and China having developed arms factories of their own. Both countries were previously big buyers of Russian armaments.

Bayer cites the example of aircraft carriers. The first Chinese carrier was based on a Soviet-built ship purchased by Beijing in 1998. The Chinese carrier, named Liaoning, came into service in 2012.

A lot has happened since then, says Bayer. "In the last 20 years, China has not just caught up with Russia in terms of aircraft carrier production capabilities, it's overtaken it. Russia hasn't put a single aircraft carrier into service in that time. And now India has developed its own carrier as well, based on what was originally Soviet technology."

The Soviet aircraft carrier Warjag turned into the Chinese vessel Liaoning

Where does Europe stand?

The European arms industry has a combined 21% of the top 100's sales on its books. In 2020, the 26 European companies listed sold $109 billion worth of weapons. The four wholly German arms companies accounted for just under $9 billion of this total.

There are also trans-European companies like Airbus, which handled arms deals worth almost €12 billion — 5% more than in 2019. Europe is increasingly relying on joint ventures like these. Markus Bayer explains: "Europe is now trying, by political means, to expedite such cooperative ventures for the development of a 'Next Generation Weapon System,' the 'Future Combat Air System,' or the 'Main Ground Combat System,' so it can bear the high development costs for new systems like these."

These joint productions certainly make sense from a cost point of view. But as far as arms export control is concerned, they can often be problematic, says Simone Wisotzki. Referring to the Eurofighter Typhoon, a fighter jet developed by Germany, Britain, Italy and Spain, the PRIF analyst comments that "it is also specifically supplied to problematic third countries, such as Saudi Arabia, which is still waging war in Yemen." National export regulations are often not applied to joint productions — and it seems that Europe is still a long way from implementing effective joint controls on arms exports.

This article was translated from German

SEE LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for PERMANENT ARMS ECONOMY (plawiuk.blogspot.com)

Ilhan Omar calls Kevin McCarthy 'liar' and 'coward' for not condemning Lauren Boebert's anti-Muslim remarks

Colin Campbell
·Managing Editor
Sun, December 5, 2021

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., harshly criticized House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy on Sunday for his tepid response to anti-Muslim remarks made by Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo.

"McCarthy is a liar and a coward. He doesn't have the ability to condemn the kind of bigoted Islamophobia and anti-Muslim rhetoric that are being trafficked by a member of his conference," Omar said on CNN's "State of the Union."

"We have to be able to stand up to them. And we have to push them to reckon with the fact that their party, right now, is normalizing anti-Muslim bigotry," she continued.



Omar was responding to McCarthy's answer after being asked on Friday why he didn't forcefully condemn Boebert's comments In a video clip that emerged last month, which the Colorado lawmaker on stage comparing Omar to a terrorist. ”Well, she doesn’t have a backpack. We should be fine,” Boebert said about a time she allegedly shared an elevator with Omar. (Omar denies the incident ever happened.) Boebert also called Omar a member of the "jihad squad."

More than 40 House Democrats have called on Boebert to be stripped of her committee assignments, saying in a joint letter last week that there "must be consequences when Members of Congress demonize an entire religion and promote hate from their positions of public trust." A handful of GOP lawmakers have also condemned Boebert.

On Friday, though, McCarthy claimed that Boebert had already resolved the issue.

"Let me be very clear. This party is for anyone and everyone who craves freedom, that supports religious liberty," the House GOP leader said. "She apologized publicly. She apologized personally," McCarthy said.

But Boebert didn't issue a full public apology. She had tweeted that she apologized “to anyone in the Muslim community I offended,” without mentioning Omar. And by both lawmakers' accounts, their phone call afterward went awry, with Omar asking for a direct public apology, being rebuffed and hanging up on Boebert.

"Rep. Boebert refused to publicly acknowledge her hurtful and dangerous comments," Omar said in a statement after the phone call. "She instead doubled down on her rhetoric, and I decided to end the unproductive phone call."

Boebert offered more incendiary rhetoric in her own when recounting of the phone call.

"Rejecting an apology and hanging up on someone is part of 'cancel culture 101,' and a pillar of the Democrat Party. Make no mistake, I will continue to fearlessly put America first, never sympathizing with terrorists. Unfortunately, Ilhan can't say the same thing," Boebert said in an Instagram video.

How McCarthy has handled this controversy sheds light on his effort to become the next House speaker if Republicans retake control of the chamber next year. He has largely avoided directly criticizing far-right members of his caucus who spark firestorms with their attacks on Democrats.

McCarthy responded similarly to a recent controversy in which Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., posted an animated video depicting him killing Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and swinging a sword at President Biden. Democrats stripped Gosar of his committee assignments; McCarthy said he would restore them as speaker.

Ilhan Omar: Kevin McCarthy Is a ‘Coward and a Liar’ for Not Condemning Boebert’s Islamophobic Comments

Peter Wade

ROLLING STONE
Sun, December 5, 2021

Ilhan Omar - Credit: CNN/Screencap

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) called Republican Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy a “liar and a coward” for his refusal to condemn remarks by Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) where she suggested that Omar, a Muslim who wears a hijab, was a terrorist who might detonate an explosive device in the Capitol. But, Omar said, she is “confident” that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will take “decisive action” against Boebert.

Omar called Boebert’s comments “shocking” and “unacceptable” during an interview with Jake Tapper on Sunday, adding, “It’s very unbecoming of a congresswoman to use that kind of derogatory, dangerous, inciting language against a colleague.”

More from Rolling Stone

Ilhan Omar Plays Voicemail of Vile Death Threat She Received After Boebert Video


Lauren Boebert Got a Lot of Mileage Out of Her Bigoted Ilhan Omar Elevator Story, New Video Shows


Lauren Boebert Confirms Her Apology to Ilhan Omar Was Bullshit

Since video of the remarks started circulating on social media, Omar — who is one of the first Muslim women to serve in Congress — has said she’s received numerous death threats. Last week she played a voicemail aloud at a press conference where a man told her, “You’re a fucking traitor. You will not live much longer, bitch.”

When asked about Republican Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s refusal to condemn Boebert’s remarks and his claims that Boebert has apologized (even though she doubled-down , Omar said, “McCarthy is a liar and a coward.” Omar continued, “He doesn’t have the ability to condemn the kind of bigoted Islamophobia and anti-Muslim rhetoric that are being trafficked by a member of his conference.”

Tapper interjected, asking, “Why doesn’t he have the ability to do that?”

“This is who they are,” the congresswoman answered. “And we have to be able to stand up to them and we have to be able to push them to reckon with the fact that their party right now is normalizing anti-Muslim bigotry.”

Tapper pointed out that a few Republican members of the House have condemned Boebert’s comments. Omar responded by noting that those members have been attacked for doing so. “Which tells you that their conference condones this, and that’s why it’s dangerous. Because people across the world, not just in the United States, are seeing this and they’re worried. As you know, Islamophobia is on the rise … This isn’t about me, this is about all of the young girls across this country who wear the hijab so proudly who are afraid for their lives.”

The conversation then turned to whether Democrats can take action can be taken against Boebert for her bigotry. “We should punish and sanction Boebert by stripping her of her committees, by rebuking her language, by doing everything that we can to send a clear message to the American public that if Republicans are not going to be adults and condemn this, that we are going to do that.”

Omar added, “I’ve had a conversation with the speaker and I’m very confident that she will take decisive action next week.”

She further explained why she trusts Pelosi: “As you know, when I first got to Congress, I was worried that I wasn’t going to be allowed to be sworn in because there was a ban on the hijab. She promised me she would take care of it. She fulfilled that promise. She’s made another promise to me she will take care of this, and I believe her.”

Shell Said to Evacuate Staff From Australian LNG Plant After Outage


Stephen Stapczynski and Matthew Burgess
Sun, December 5, 2021,

(Bloomberg) -- Royal Dutch Shell Plc has evacuated non-essential staff from its floating liquefied natural gas facility in northwest Australia as the operator struggled to restore power that knocked out operations earlier in the week, according to people familiar with the matter.

The delay in bringing essential power generators back online at the Prelude LNG export plant had left workers without ventilation, potable water services and a sewage treatment system, said one of the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity as they’re not authorized to speak to media. The evacuation of non-essential staff was assisted by Inpex Corp.’s helicopter and rescue vessel, the people said.

Shell said in an emailed statement that work to restore main power is underway, without commenting on the evacuation.

The world’s biggest floating LNG plant suspended production and delayed the loading of a prompt cargo on Friday after suffering an issue that tripped power at the facility. The evacuation indicates that the plant could be shut for longer than originally anticipated, exacerbating a global shortage of natural gas.

Shell and its partners are now considering canceling the scheduled LNG cargo loading due to the ongoing power issue, one of the people said.

VERITAS

Orthodox priest shouts 'Pope, you are a heretic' at Francis in Athens



Sat, December 4, 2021
By Philip Pullella and Karolina Tagaris

ATHENS (Reuters) -An elderly Greek Orthodox priest shouted "Pope, you are a heretic" as Pope Francis was entering the Orthodox Archbishopric in Athens on Saturday and was taken away by police, a reminder of the lingering distrust between the two divided churches.

Video showed the man, who was dressed in black robes and black hat and had a long white beard, shouting the words in Greek outside the building before police bundled him away.

Witnesses said he shouted loud enough for the pope to hear the commotion. The man appeared to have fallen while being taken away and was lifted up by police.

Francis arrived in Greece on Saturday for a three-day visit that Greek Catholics hope will bring the Eastern and Western churches closer together.

Christianity split into the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches in 1054 in what is referred to as the Great Schism, and for centuries relations were rocky.

In his address to the archbishop, Beatitude Ieronymos II, Francis asked forgiveness in the name of the Roman Catholic Church for its part in the historical wrongs that led to the breakup.

"Tragically, in later times we grew apart. Worldly concerns poisoned us, weeds of suspicion increased our distance and we ceased to nurture communion," Francis told Ieronymos, whom he met during his first trip to Greece in 2016.

"I feel the need to ask anew for the forgiveness of God and of our brothers and sisters for the mistakes committed by many Catholics," Francis said.

Pope John Paul II first asked forgiveness for the Catholic role in the break-up when he visited Greece in 2001.

Catholics and Orthodox have been involved in dialogue aimed at eventual reunion for decades and cooperate in many social initiatives but the two sides are still far apart theologically.

"We believe you have the courage and the sincerity to examine the failures and omissions of your fathers," Ieronymos told Francis. "Between those who want to be called Christian brothers, the best language is, and always will be, honesty."

(Reporting by Philip Pullella; Editing by Alex Richardson)

Protesters block roads in Serbia to criticize mining plans





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Protesters stand on the highway during a protest in Belgrade, Serbia, Saturday, Dec. 4, 2021. Thousands of protesters have gathered in Belgrade and other Serbian towns and villages to block roads and bridges despite police warnings and an intimidation campaign launched by authorities against the participants. Thousands of protesters have gathered in Belgrade and other Serbian towns and villages to block roads and bridges despite police warnings and an intimidation campaign launched by authorities against the participants. 

(AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

DUSAN STOJANOVIC
Sat, December 4, 2021, 

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Thousands of protesters in Belgrade and other Serbian towns blocked main roads and bridges Saturday to decry a planned lithium mine despite police warnings and an intimidation campaign launched by authorities against the demonstrators.

Blowing whistles and chanting “Uprising! Uprising!” protesters stopped traffic on the main highway that goes through the Serbian capital. In the Balkan nation's second-largest city of Nis, the main downtown street was blocked, as was a Danube River bridge in the northern city of Novi Sad.

In Novi Sad, soccer hooligans hurled rocks and bottles at the protesters, who responded by chasing them down. One hooligan was severely beaten.

Uniformed police were not visible during the two-hour protests.

It was the second such nationwide protest called by environmental groups amid growing public discontent with the autocratic rule of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic. Last Saturday, the protesters skirmished with police and in one town unidentified masked men attacked them with sticks and hammers.

Environmental groups have criticized Vucic’s populist government for not combating widespread pollution enough in the Balkan nation. They are especially against two laws passed by parliament that they see as laying the groundwork for a lithium mining operation by Rio Tinto in western Serbia.

In a sign of defiance, Vucic on Saturday ignored the protests and traveled to the site where the international mining company plans to start its excavations. His office said he wanted to talk to the locals about the project.

“Our goal is to have a civilized conversation and not under pressure from the streets,” Vucic told the pro-government Pink TV, adding that the police will not intervene Saturday against the protesters.

Many protesters complained that police officers came to their homes and warned them they could face legal consequences and fines if they took part in the environmental rallies. Activist Danijela Vujovic from the southern city of Nis said police came to her home in the morning to warn her that the protests amounted to a “criminal act."

“I don’t see how this is a criminal act,” Vujosevic told N1 regional television. Vujosevic’s daughter could be seen holding a small banner reading “I am public interest!”

The police on Saturday repeated their warning that the protests are illegal and that the organizers will have to bear all eventual consequences. They also issued a special telephone number and an email address for anyone who wanted to report “violence caused by the blockade.”

Vucic and other Serbian officials have denounced the protests and alleged they are financed by the West to destabilize the country.
___

AP writer Jovana Gec contributed.

Honolulu water utility shuts down well after fuel contamination



Erin Doherty
Sat, December 4, 2021

Honolulu's water utility said Friday it shut down one of its wells amid concerns over fuel contamination in the Navy's tap water supply, according to the Board of Water Supply.

Why it matters: The fuel contamination concerns threaten one of Honolulu’s most important water sources and a key military base, where submarines, ships and the commander of U.S. forces in the Indo-Pacific region are located, AP reports.

The big picture: The move comes after the Navy on Thursday announced that a water sample from one of its wells had shown the presence of petroleum.

Nearly 1,000 military households have complained about tap water coming from the well, either of smelling like fuel or causing physical pain, including stomach cramps, per AP.

The well, which serves nearly 93,000 people, is near a World War II-era fuel tank complex that has caused numerous leaks over the years.

Driving the news: The Navy will flush clean water through the distribution system to clear petroleum products from the water, a process that could take four to 10 days, per AP.

Manager and Chief Engineer of the Board of Water Supply Ernest Lau said Friday he was concerned the "utility could pull contaminated water through the porous lava rock that forms the aquifer, and deliver it to its customers," AP writes.

There is no indication that the non-Navy drinking water was contaminated, according to the Honolulu Civil Beat.

What they're saying: "We are deeply concerned that we were not notified immediately by the Navy regarding the shut down of their Red Hill water source," Lau said in a statement.

"We have data that shows when they stop pumping at Red Hill, water starts moving in the direction of our Halawa Shaft due to our pumping. In an abundance of caution, we must shut down Halawa Shaft until further notice."

 Axios