Nearly half of US bald eagles suffer lead poisoning

By CHRISTINA LARSON

February 17, 2022

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In this photo provided by Estelle Shuttleworth in February 2022, bald eagles compete for a deer carcass in Montana. While the bald eagle population has rebounded from the brink of extinction since the U.S. banned the pesticide DDT was banned in the U.S. in 1972, harmful levels of toxic lead were found in the bones of 46% of bald eagles sampled in 38 states, from California to Florida, researchers reported in the journal Science on Thursday, Feb. 17, 2022. (Estelle Shuttleworth via AP)


WASHINGTON (AP) — America’s national bird is more beleaguered than previously believed, with nearly half of bald eagles tested across the U.S. showing signs of chronic lead exposure, according to a study published Thursday.

While the bald eagle population has rebounded from the brink of extinction since the U.S. banned the pesticide DDT in 1972, harmful levels of toxic lead were found in the bones of 46% of bald eagles sampled in 38 states from California to Florida, researchers reported in the journal Science.

Similar rates of lead exposure were found in golden eagles, which scientists say means the raptors likely consumed carrion or prey contaminated by lead from ammunition or fishing tackle.

The blood, bones, feathers and liver tissue of 1,210 eagles sampled from 2010 to 2018 were examined to assess chronic and acute lead exposure.

“This is the first time for any wildlife species that we’ve been able to evaluate lead exposure and population level consequences at a continental scale,” said study co-author Todd Katzner, a wildlife biologist at U.S. Geological Survey in Boise, Idaho. “It’s sort of stunning that nearly 50% of them are getting repeatedly exposed to lead.”

Lead is a neurotoxin that even in low doses impairs an eagle’s balance and stamina, reducing its ability to fly, hunt and reproduce. In high doses, lead causes seizures, breathing difficulty and death.

The study estimated that lead exposure reduced the annual population growth of bald eagles by 4% and golden eagles by 1%.

Bald eagles are one of America’s most celebrated conservation success stories, and the birds were removed from the U.S. Endangered Species List in 2007.

But scientists say that high lead levels are still a concern. Besides suppressing eagle population growth, lead exposure reduces their resilience in facing future challenges, such as climate change or infectious diseases.

“When we talk about recovery, it’s not really the end of the story — there are still threats to bald eagles,” said Krysten Schuler, a wildlife disease ecologist at Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, who was not involved in the study.

Previous studies have shown high lead exposure in specific regions, but not across the country. The blood samples from live eagles in the new study were taken from birds trapped and studied for other reasons; the bone, feather and liver samples came from eagles killed by collisions with vehicles or powerlines, or other misfortunes.

“Lead is present on the landscape and available to these birds more than we previously thought,” said co-author Vince Slabe, a research wildlife biologist at the nonprofit Conservation Science Global. “A lead fragment the size of the end of a pin is large enough to cause mortality in an eagle. ”

The researchers also found elevated levels of lead exposure in fall and winter, coinciding with hunting season in many states.

This undated photo provided by The Raptor Center, University of Minnesota, shows a lead-poisoned bald eagle in St. Paul, Minn. Victoria Hall, veterinarian and executive director of the center, said that “85 to 90% of the eagles that come into our hospital have some level of lead in their blood," and we know that no level is safe.” X-rays often show fragments of lead bullets in their birds' stomachs. The Raptor Center, University of Minnesota via AP)

During these months, eagles scavenge on carcasses and gut piles left by hunters, which are often riddled with shards of lead shot or bullet fragments.

Slabe said the upshot of the research was not to disparage hunters. “Hunters are one of the best conservation groups in this country,” he said, noting that fees and taxes paid by hunters help fund state wildlife agencies, and that he also hunted deer and elk in Montana.

However, Slabe said he hopes the findings provide an opportunity to “talk to hunters about this issue in a clear manner” and that more hunters will voluntarily switch to non-lead ammunition such as copper bullets.

Lead ammunition for waterfowl hunting was banned in 1991, due to concerns about contamination of waterways, and wildlife authorities encouraged the use of nontoxic steel shot. However, lead ammunition is still common for upland bird hunting and big game hunting.

The amount of lead exposure varies regionally, with highest levels found in the Central Flyway, the new study found.

At the University of Minnesota’s Raptor Center, veterinarian and executive director Victoria Hall said that “85 to 90% of the eagles that come into our hospital have some level of lead in their blood,” and X-rays often show fragments of lead bullets in their stomachs.

Eagles with relatively low levels can be treated, she said, but those with high exposure can’t be saved.

Laura Hale, board president at nonprofit Badger Run Wildlife Rehab in Klamath County, Oregon, said she’ll never forget the first eagle she encountered with acute lead poisoning, in 2018. She had answered a resident’s call about an eagle that seemed immobile in underbrush and brought it to the clinic.

The young bald eagle was wrapped in a blanket, unable to breathe properly, let alone stand or fly.

“There is something hideous when you watch an eagle struggling to breathe because of lead poisoning – it’s really, really harsh,” she said, her voice shaking. That eagle went into convulsions, and died within 48 hours.

Lead on the landscape affects not only eagles, but also many other birds — including hawks, vultures, ravens, swans and geese, said Jennifer Cedarleaf, avian director at Alaska Raptor Center, a nonprofit wildlife rescue in Sitka, Alaska.

Because eagles are very sensitive to lead, are so well-studied and attract so much public interest, “bald eagles are like the canary in the coal mine,” she said. “They are the species that tells us: We have a bit of problem.”

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Follow Christina Larson on Twitter: @larsonchristina

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Opinion: Kamila Valieva, Thomas Bach and the hypocrisy of the Olympic Games

There are no winners in the tragedy that engulfed 15-year-old Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva, writes DW's Sarah Wiertz. Ultimately, the IOC's hypocritical president, Thomas Bach, must take responsibility

Kamila Valieva folded under the pressure in the individual competition

Celebrated, ostracized and ultimately broken: Kamila Valieva's final performance at Beijing 2022 was less figure skating freestyle than running the gauntlet.

And the 15-year-old, crushed under the weight of a cruel sports system, immense media pressure and public hostility, finally collapsed on the ice.

The only thing more tragic than her performance, however, were the reactions and behavior of the adults around her, busy ascribing blame and refusing to take responsibility.

Respect, fairness, friendship, fun — for the umpteenth time, it's clear that the sacred values of the Olympic Games are nothing more than a PR gag.

Thomas Bach: an irresponsible IOC president

The shameless hypocrisy of IOC president Thomas Bach is nothing new. Exposed in the politicking around the disappeared Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai, it has come to the fore again in the case of Valieva.

Bach says he was "horrified" by the coldness of Russian coach Eteri Tutberidze who, rather than taking the distraught girl in her arms after her poor display, snapped at her instead.

That's the same Bach who has been selling the basic principles of sport and the ideals of the Olympic Games to the highest bidder for years. He who unashamedly places money and power above the health and wellbeing of athletes.

The one who prefers to cozy up to autocrats like Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping rather than lead the battle against doping or ensure that Olympians receive their fair share of the Games' massive profits.

And that's before we get on to human rights and freedom of speech …

IOC president Thomas Bach (left) is more interested in appeasing autocrats 

like Xi Jinping (right) than standing up for Olympic values.

Yet now it's Bach, of all people, who is pointing the finger and soaking up the praise for launching a long-overdue discussion on a minimum age limit for athletes competing in the Olympic Games.

Self-criticism, responsibility, or personal consequences for what happened under his leadership – Bach is unlikely to be bothered by such concepts.

Who will protect Kamila Valieva?

Equally responsible for this human tragedy is a ruthless Russian sports system that places success above all else — at all costs. And an anti-doping system that fails to keep it in check.

And, last but not least, those adults responsible for the teenager Valieva, who ought to have protected their child and taken her out of this whole situation.

What we're left with is a presumably traumatized 15-year-old girl who has been publicly humiliated and whose love and passion for her sport has probably been shattered forever, not to mention other young figure skaters whose own Olympic achievements have been overshadowed by the whole sorry affair.

These Olympic Games will be remembered as an event that wasn't about sport. Yet, ultimately, despite all this, we know that nothing will change.

This story was translated from German.

India: How farmers' movement may shape Punjab's political future

As Punjab state goes to the polls this week, new political parties affiliated with farmers' unions want to continue the momentum of India's agrarian protest movement.

Smaller political parties in agrarian Punjab say they can better represent farmers' interests

Anuroop Kaur Sandhu was an assistant professor at Delhi University last year when India saw one of the largest protests in its history.

Thousands of farmers, primarily from the northern states of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh marched to the borders of Delhi to demand the repeal of contentious agricultural laws passed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government.

After months of protests, the legislation was scrapped in December 2021.

Sandhu is a member of a new, younger generation that is joining Indian politics as members of budding parties formed out of the farmers' unions and the momentum the protests achieved.

As Punjab goes to polls on Sunday for state elections, they face their first test. Sandhu is running in the Punjab city of Sri Muktsar Sahib as a candidate with Sanyukt Samaj Morcha (SSM), a new political party formed by a group of farm union leaders.

"Our political parties have failed us. We were forced to sit outside another state for an entire year, just for our rights," 29-year-old Sandhu told DW, referring to the thousands of farmers who camped out on the outskirts of Delhi during the protest movement.

Sandhu added that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), an alternative party formed in 2012 that currently runs the government of Delhi, did not back up the farmers during the protests. She said the SSM would better represent those who believed in the farmers' message.

Farmers' protests trigger political movement

In the midst of the pandemic in 2020, Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government introduced three agricultural bills.

The bill was touted by the government as giving farmers the freedom to sell their produce anywhere in the country and enter into contracts with unlicensed buyers at a pre-agreed price.

However, many farmers said they already had these freedoms and accused the government of avoiding the responsibility of ensuring produce was sold at a minimum price.

Farmers feared the reforms would leave them at the mercy of corporations with no government safeguards in place.

More than 700 farmers died during the ensuing protests. When asked if there were plans to provide financial assistance to their families, the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer's Welfare said it had no records of deaths.

However, Sandhu and others had been keeping track of protester deaths. She had taken note of each death linked to the protest as part of a project called "The Human Cost of the Farmers Protest."

"I wanted to see how apathetic the government could be. Did they really care about us as citizens? If they did, even one life lost would be a travesty," she said.
Punjab's agricultural identity

While the demonstrations were led by an organization of farmer unions called the Sanyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), Punjabi politics also rallied behind the protesting farmers.

Punjab is primarily an agriculture-dependent state and solidarity with the farmers unified people across party lines.

The BJP lost its longstanding ally in Punjab, when the center-right party Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) quit the alliance over the protests.

Harmeet Singh Sandhu, a SAD candidate for a seat in the Punjab city of Tarn Taran, said his party was also part of the protests and that the SSM is not the "sole representative of the farmers in our largely agrarian society."

"Our representatives were at each protest site but we didn't use the party flags as the movement transcended political divisions — it was a question of Punjab's future," the three-term legislator said.

The SKM farmers union organization said the movement would not be co-opted by any political party and had dismissed any notion of running in elections as a political party after the laws were repealed.

"At the time, the unions asserted that they wouldn't participate in active politics. Now, many supporters are feeling a sense of betrayal as they see the formulation of SSM as a failure to honor that promise," Satnam Singh, who heads the political science department at Guru Nanak Dev University in Amritsar, told DW.

INDIA: FARMERS CELEBRATE REPEAL OF FARM LAWS — IN PICTURES

Farm laws repealed

Farmers feed each other sweets at the Ghazipur border. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he will be repealing three controversial farm laws, over which farmers and their unions have been protesting for a year. The law was passed in September last year, and protests began in November.

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Punjab's pivotal election

Singh described this week's state election as a break from the norm. While traditional leaders in Punjab's politics like SAD and Congress may retain their core seats, the conversation has been centered around giving new entrants such as the AAP a chance.

"The long-standing issues that Punjab currently faces, including increasing debt and drug addiction, are not a part of the conversation in this election cycle," Singh said. "Instead, it's a tussle between the traditional and new political elite."

While the SSM has put social issues at the forefront of their manifesto, the newly formed party is not getting the support they expected, said Sandeep Singh, an independent Punjabi journalist.

"At the peak of the movement, people across party lines were supporting the farmers' protests in New Delhi," he told DW. "Now they've returned to their traditional allegiances. Some looking for change seem to be leaning towards AAP."

Election merchandise seen at a market in Amritsar in Punjab

However, Sandhu said the Delhi-based AAP cannot be entrusted with governing Punjab.

"The AAP is not a party from Punjab, they do not understand its people. Delhi is very different from Punjab. We are primarily an agricultural state and the corporate model of governance that AAP follows cannot be replicated here," she said.

Despite the criticism that SSM is facing for turning to politics, Singh said political parties last because of the legacy of their origins.

"All major political parties contesting these elections find their roots in social movements," Singh said.

While the Congress party was linked to India’s freedom struggle, the SAD emerged from the Gurdwara Reform Movement, a campaign to reform Indian gurdwaras in the early 1920s.

The AAP was formed from a civil society movement born in the backdrop of corruption scandals during the Congress-led regime, just as SSM is finding its roots in the farmers' protests.

But the SSM is not just looking to win seats this election, Sandhu said.

"We are spreading awareness among the electorate about what they should expect from a candidate. This is pushing other parties to bring better candidates into the fray."

Edited by: Wesley Rahn

AUDIOS AND VIDEOS ON THE TOPIC
Indian PM Modi repeals controversial farm bill

Israeli police scatter Palestinian protesters in Jerusalem

SAD CLOWN PALESTINIAN PROTESTER SURROUNDED BY  ISRAELI POLICE 

 (AFP/RONALDO SCHEMIDT)

Daniella CHESLOW
Fri, February 18, 2022, 

Israeli police on horseback scattered protesters Friday in the flashpoint east Jerusalem neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah, where demonstrators poured in to support Palestinians facing eviction by Jewish settlers.

The scuffles there came alongside protests elsewhere in the occupied West Bank.

Tensions that erupted in Sheikh Jarrah last year -- as several Palestinian families faced eviction by settler groups -- in part sparked the May war between Israel and armed groups in the Gaza Strip.

In Jerusalem, Palestinian men had lain prayer rugs on the asphalt of a local street and carried out Islamic prayers. Later, hundreds of activists joined them to protest the looming evictions.

AFP reporters observed Israeli border police charging the protesters with horses after the activists refused to clear a road. Police described the incident as a "riot" and said "demonstrators did not listen to instructions of police".

An AFP photographer saw two people being detained. However, police said no arrests were reported.

Sheikh Jarrah has emerged as a symbol of Palestinian resistance against Israeli control of east Jerusalem.

Israel captured east Jerusalem from Jordan in the 1967 Six-Day War and later annexed it, in a move not recognised by most of the international community. More than 200,000 Jewish Israelis live in east Jerusalem, which Palestinians claim as the capital of their future state.

Abdallah Grifat, 30, said he travelled from Nazareth in northern Israel to show his support.

"It's my duty as a Palestinian to stand here, with every other Palestinian who's struggling for their land," he told AFP. "We're standing for justice."

- The Salem family -

Palestinians also confronted Israeli forces in Hebron -- in the southern West Bank -- and in the northern West Bank's Beita.

In Beita, residents opposed to an Israeli outpost erected on village land used slingshots to hurl rocks at security forces who responded with what the army called "riot dispersal means."

The army said no troops were injured. Palestinians' official news agency Wafa said 23 Palestinians were hurt. An AFP photographer was wounded by a rubber bullet fired by Israeli forces.

The confrontations in Sheikh Jarrah come amid growing focus on one family, named Salem, who face imminent eviction.

Earlier in the week, clashes broke out when far-right Israeli lawmaker Itamar Ben Gvir opened a tent "office" near the family's house after an alleged Palestinian arson of a settler's home nearby.

The United Nations said its personnel visited the Salem family on Friday, adding that it "has repeatedly called for a halt to forced evictions and demolitions in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem."

Palestinian presidency spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina said via Wafa that "Israeli assaults" in Sheikh Jarrah "will not deter our people from achieving their goal of establishing their independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital."

Hamas, the Islamist rulers of the Gaza Strip, warned on Thursday that "violation of the red lines in Sheikh Jarrah" could "prepare the atmosphere for the next explosion."

dac/it

"Multimillion Dollar Damage" Coastal GasLink (CGL)

On the road to the site, police discovered "downed trees, tar covered stumps, wire, boards with spikes in them, and fires" blocking the way.

Agence France-Presse

Updated: February 19, 2022

Canada Protests: Heavy machinery was overturned with their windows and engines smashed.

Ottawa:

Canadian police said Friday they were investigating a "violent confrontation" at a gas pipeline construction site in the western province of British Columbia.

Shortly after midnight Thursday, police attempted to inspect the Coastal GasLink (CGL) construction site near Houston, where they say "approximately 20 people, some armed with axes" had been reported to be "attacking security guards and smashing their vehicle windows," according to a statement released by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

On the road to the site, police discovered "downed trees, tar covered stumps, wire, boards with spikes in them, and fires" blocking the way.

"As police worked their way through the debris and traps, several people threw smoke bombs and fire lit sticks at the police, injuring one officer," the statement added.

When the police finally arrived at the worksite, they discovered "a multimillion dollar path of destruction."

Photos accompanying the statement showed heavy machinery overturned or their windows and engines smashed, and a trailer with a wall ripped off.

"This coordinated and criminal attack from multiple directions threatened the lives of several workers," said CGL in a statement.

"In one of the most concerning acts, an attempt was made to set a vehicle on fire while workers were inside," the company, headquartered in neighboring Alberta province, added.

The CGL pipeline aims to bring natural gas from eastern British Columbia to be liquified in a facility on the Pacific coast, before being exported.

The project has stirred controversy in Canada for years.

At the beginning of 2020, protesters against the pipeline mobilized across multiple Canadian provinces with some blocking rail traffic for weeks.

At the moment, the CGL pipeline is 60 percent completed, the company said.

1Comments(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

RCMP investigate alleged attack on Coastal GasLink pipeline worksite in B.C.

CBC/Radio-Canada - Thursday

RCMP said they're investigating a "violent confrontation" at a pipeline construction site involving an unidentified group of about 20 people who allegedly threatened Coastal GasLink (CGL) employees and attending officers.

Police said they were called to the Marten Forest Service Road about 60 kilometres south of Houston, B.C., shortly after midnight on Feb. 17. They said CGL security reported violence at the site, where workers are helping build part of a 670-kilometre natural gas pipeline.

RCMP said around 20 people had allegedly attacked security guards and employees.

"So these individuals, the 20 or so masked individuals, took these employees by surprise in a very aggressive and calculated method," Chief Supt. Warren Brown told CBC News on Friday morning.

"They confronted the employees, threatened them with axes and flares and other incendiary-type devices."

Heavy equipment on-site was commandeered by the attackers and used to damage other equipment, according to CGL.

It remains unclear how many employees were on site at the time of the attack.

In an update provided Feb. 18, the company said nine employees, including security guards and contract workers, were present at the site. Two different RCMP officers, who both said they'd spoken with CGL, provided different numbers: one said 12 employees were on site, and the other said 11. Both agreed four of those people were security guards.


© CBC GraphicsA map showing various incidents reported by Coastal GasLink at its work sites outside of Houston, B.C., in 2021 and 2022.

Police also said officers were targeted when they went to investigate.

RCMP said the road was blocked with downed trees, tar-covered stumps, wire and boards with spikes. They said as they made their way along the road, people threw smoke bombs and fire-lit sticks.

Brown said one officer was injured after he walked over a board with spikes in it, which police said was left by the attackers.

CGL said lighting and video surveillance were disabled as part of the attack, and any video and photo evidence they have, have been handed over to investigators.

RCMP media relations Cpl. Madonna Saunderson said, so far, no suspects have been identified, and no one is in custody.

Further down the road, police said there was extensive damage to heavy machinery and buildings. CGL said there were "millions of dollars in damage" but it is estimating the final cost.

Brown said the attackers used machinery at the site to damage buildings and the drill pad at the site. When officers arrived to investigate that damage, the attackers had already left, he said.

Police are appealing to the public for any information they may have about the incident. Brown said police plan to speak with employees who were attacked but that many of them "are very scared and shaken up over this."



So far, neither the police nor CGL have explicitly said whether they believe the alleged attack is tied to opposition to the pipeline.

CGL said there have been several incidents over the past "several weeks" where unknown people have used forest trails to get to that particular site and confront and intimidate workers. The company said those incidents were reported to police.
'Devious, evil'

Brown said those behind the attack are not protesters and described the incident as "devious" and "evil."

"This has nothing to do with protest activity, whether it be legal or illegal," he said, "This strictly has to do with a very, very serious and significant criminal investigation."

Brown told CBC News that past protests law enforcement has observed at the site have involved people who were hostile and acting illegally, as well as those acting peacefully.

He said police would ensure that nearby residents and peaceful protesters were safe.
A hotly contested pipeline

The hotly contested CGL natural gas pipeline, which is planned to extend from northeast B.C. to Kitimat on the province's North Coast, is being built through the territory of the Wet'suwet'en Nation.

The company said the project is fully authorized and permitted by government, and has the support of all 20 First Nation band councils, including five of the six band councils in the Wet'suwet'en Nation.

However, Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs have opposed the project, saying band councils do not have authority over land beyond reserve boundaries.

In December 2019, the B.C. Supreme Court granted an injunction against members of the Wet'suwe'ten Nation who were blocking access to the worksite located within their territory. Earlier that year, police made more than a dozen arrests of people identifying as land defenders, who had set up blockades to stop construction.

In November 2021, RCMP made another set of arrests of Wet'suwet'en members, where police used a chainsaw to break down the door of a cabin where people opposed to the pipeline had been staying. Two journalists were also arrested.

In both cases, police were met with little resistance, despite preparing for high levels of violence.

Hereditary Wet'suwet'en Chief Na'Moks, of the Tsayu Clan, declined to comment on the matter until more information about the situation is made available.

CBC has contacted representatives of the Gidimt'en Checkpoint, where much of the protest has been focused, for more details but has not yet heard back.

B.C. Premier John Horgan described the reported attack as "reprehensible."

Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth, federal Minister of Natural Resources Jonathan Wilkinson and Minister of Public Safety Marco Mendicino also publicly condemned the alleged attacks.

Brown said despite ongoing protest to the project, there had been little concern over any tensions in the area lately.

"This completely took us by surprise. I believe it took the industry by surprise," he said. "I'd have to say things have been fairly peaceful over the last short while."
Industry 'reverberations'

The MLA for the area, John Rustad, said he is worried violence like this could create a chill for any company or industry trying to undertake or complete resource projects in B.C.

"It makes it a very challenging work environment for the people that are trying to move forward on this project and do their jobs," he said.

"Obviously they are very concerned for their safety and are very shaken up by this and this will have reverberations right through I suspect on anybody working on any resource project in the province to see this type of lawlessness take place."

Wet’suwet’en Nation condemns northern B.C. pipeline attack as new images released

Amy Judd - Yesterday 

A Wet'suwet'en Hereditary Chief told Global News on Friday the nation is "disheartened" to see what happened at the Coastal GasLink worksite this week.

"We certainly don't, as a Wet'suwet'en people, condone this type of action," said Chief Wihaliy'te, who is also known as Theresa Tait-Day.

RCMP in northern British Columbia said a “violent confrontation” between unknown attackers and Coastal GasLink pipeline workers happened early Thursday.

Houston RCMP said security officials with the company reported “acts of violence” by masked attackers at their worksite by the Marten Forest Service Road early Thursday morning.

"They were dressed in camouflage-type outer winter wear, their faces were disguised, they had masks over their face and they started using extreme violence against the workers," Chief Supt. Warren Brown, North District Commander, told CKPG News.

Brown said there were torches thrown at and into the beds of pickup trucks, and that axes were used to break windows and damage vehicles with GasLink employees still inside.

"The employees were scared away, they were told to leave, which they complied with immediately," Brown added.

He said some machines were stolen and used to damage other vehicles at the construction site.

In an update Friday afternoon, Coastal GasLink said approximately nine members of the nightshift workforce were "terrorized" during the incident.

Photo and video evidence, including imagery of the masked attackers, have been turned over to the RCMP and are part of their investigation, the company confirmed.

They said the attackers disabled lighting and video surveillance at the worksite and heavy equipment on-site was used to cause "significant damage to other heavy equipment and trailers."

The initial damage estimate is in the millions of dollars, Coastal GasLink said.

“We are aware of reports that wrongly suggest that this attack was staged. We find these suggestions offensive and irresponsible as they only serve to retraumatize the workers who experienced the violent attack,” Kent Wilfur, vice president Project Delivery, Coastal GasLink, said in a statement.

It is not yet known who the attackers were and no one has claimed responsibility for the incident.

"I want to make it very clear. This is not a protest group we are investigating. This is not an Indigenous community we're investigating. This is a criminal act we're investigating," Brown said.

Tait-Day said the Wet'suwet'en Nation does not condone these actions.

"We know we've had hard difficulties with Coastal GasLink in the past and we are not quite finished dealing with them," she said. "However, as a nation, we need to start a healing process. We need to build our community and we should be looking for opportunities from industry and we shouldn't be fighting every opportunity that comes to our table for consideration."

Video: Coastal GasLink Pipeline damaged near Houston, B.C.

She said they don't want other people or other communities coming to their nation to fulfill their agendas.


"It certainly isn't our Nation that is carrying out this work."

Tait-Day added it's important now that the government and industry support the Wet'suwet'en Nation in developing a decision-making process that is democratic and inclusive of everyone.

"Our feeling is that these are people from outside of province and we would like them to go home and leave the decision-making of these projects up to the Wet'suwet'en People. We don't need their help."

Read more:
Police officer injured in ‘escalation’ of violence at northern B.C. pipeline site

The Coastal GasLink project is almost 60 per cent complete and the company said it has signed agreements with all 20 elected “Indigenous groups” along the pipeline route.

If built, the 670-kilometre pipeline would transport natural gas from northeastern B.C. to a liquefied natural gas facility in coastal Kitimat, where it would be exported to global markets.

Members of the Gidimt’en Checkpoint have previously set up and maintained a blockade cutting off access to Coastal GasLink sites for more than 500 pipeline workers.

The Gidimt’en Clan, one of five in Wet’suwet’en Nation, has said advance notice is provided to Coastal GasLink every time it plans to enforce an eviction.

There is no indication this attack is related to any previous protests at the site or about the pipeline.

Coastal GasLink said work continues along the rest of the pipeline at this time.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other politicians have condemned the attack, saying it is "inexcusable."



B.C. Premier John Horgan issued a statement calling the attack is "reprehensible."

"The damage and destruction are disturbing to all British Columbians," he said. "The B.C. government understands the seriousness of this violent and criminal act. The RCMP is conducting a thorough investigation to identify and apprehend those responsible.

"My thoughts are with the workers who were traumatized by this attack and with the RCMP officer who was injured.

"Intimidation and violence should be condemned by all British Columbians."

In addition, Mike Farnworth, the Minister of Public Safety and the Solicitor General said in a statement "there is no excuse for such violence and intimidation. All workers deserve to be protected from harassment and harm.

Read more:

Charges no longer proceeding against journalists arrested at B.C. pipeline protest

“This destructive attack should be condemned by all in British Columbia.”

The investigation continues.

-- with files from Elizabeth McSheffrey

Politicians condemn violence at Coastal GasLink construction site in northern B.C.

Politicians are denouncing what police have called a violent confrontation in separate attacks against officers and employees at a construction site for a natural gas pipeline being built across northern British Columbia.


© Provided by The Canadian PressPoliticians condemn violence at Coastal GasLink construction site in northern B.C.

Federal Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino called the allegations of violence at the Coastal GasLink site and on a forestry road "disturbing."

"I'm deeply concerned to hear reports of violent confrontations at the work site including the injury of an RCMP officer," he said Friday in Ottawa.

"And I want to make it clear that no matter what your cause, or your views are, on any subject matter, there is never any justification for violence toward your fellow Canadians. And that obviously includes the members of the RCMP and other members who work in our law enforcement."

On Thursday, RCMP said they were called to a Coastal GasLink construction site following reports of an attack against security guards and damaged property. Before getting there, officers were stopped on the road by a fire where a group allegedly threw smoke bombs and flaming sticks, injuring the officer, police said in a statement.

RCMP spokesman Sgt. Chris Manseau said Friday that the investigation is ongoing and there were no updates.

Photos of the construction site provided by police and Coastal GasLink show overturned machines, including a backhoe, dump trucks with caved in front ends and a trailer with a large section smashed out of its middle.

"This was a calculated and organized violent attack that left its victims shaken and a multimillion-dollar path of destruction," Chief Supt. Warren Brown, north district commander for the RCMP, said in a news release on Thursday.

Police said that as many as 20 people may have been involved in the attack, some of them carrying axes when they allegedly attacked security guards and smashed vehicle windows. Coastal GasLink said there were no physical injuries to its workers.

Premier John Horgan called the attack "reprehensible," saying the damage and destruction are disturbing.

"The B.C. government understands the seriousness of this violent and criminal act," he said in a statement.

"Intimidation and violence should be condemned by all British Columbians."

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney as well as former Edmonton and Calgary mayors Don Iveson and Naheed Nenshi called the violence "deplorable" on social media.

In a tweet, Kenney raised the federal government's use of the Emergencies Act to end a blockade against COVID-19 restrictions in Ottawa, asking if similar measures would be used by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in the attack at Coastal GasLink.

"Will the Trudeau government now seize the bank accounts of the foreign funded eco-terrorists responsible for this violence?" he asked.

The RCMP have not given any indication who might be responsible for the alleged attacks.

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe also pushed the federal government on whether it would use the Emergencies Act in the Coastal GasLink case.

"If the Trudeau government is set on using the Emergencies Act to end blockades, then they should also use it to follow the money, seize the associated vehicles and provide all of the resources necessary to ensure those illegally acting here are arrested for damaging and blocking this critical export infrastructure," he said in a tweet.

Coastal GasLink said in a news release that the alleged confrontation occurred in the same spot where a blockade protesting the pipeline's construction was set up last year for about two months.

The 670-kilometre pipeline has been at the centre of several protests and arrests.

Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs opposing the pipeline sparked rallies and rail blockades across Canada in 2020.

Coastal GasLink obtained an injunction against blockades and Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs issued the company an eviction notice.

Hereditary Chief Na'moks declined to comment on Friday.

"We simply don't have enough information to make any comments, all we know is no arrests or charges and harassment of our camps continue," he said in a text message. "Nothing more than that until we get more information as well."

The elected council of the Wet'suwet'en First Nation is among those who have approved of the project.

Kent Wilfur, a vice-president at Coastal GasLink, said in a news release on Friday that he has spoken to workers, Indigenous and community leaders, governments, and the company's partners, "and all have expressed their outrage about this attack."

"We appreciate the outpouring of support for our workers, including the labour unions who represent them, and stand together in condemning these actions."

The news release said about nine members of the company's night shift were the victims of the attack.

It said Coastal GasLink plans to resume construction when it safe to do so after the police investigation on site is complete and the company has finalized a damage assessment.

Construction on the pipeline began in 2019 and is expected to be completed next year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 18, 2022.

Hina Alam, The Canadian Press

Auto industry reconsiders production systems after border protests


Luke Sharrett

Paul A. Eisenstein
Thu, February 17, 2022

Days after a Canadian border blockade was broken up, the auto industry is facing a serious dilemma.

Over the past three decades, manufacturers have adopted “lean” manufacturing. Largely lifted from the Toyota production system, the complex strategy relies heavily on things like automation and other labor-saving steps. But the centerpiece is a system known as “just-in-time,” or “JIT,” production, which has sharply reduced the amount of inventory maintained at automotive factories. That approach, it turns out, is extremely vulnerable to disruptions that can quickly bring factories to a halt.

While no other industry has become more dependent on JIT production, it has also become a way of life for everything from agriculture to aerospace to consumer electronics, and it catches some of the blame for the supply chain disruptions and inflation that the industry has been battling the last two years.

“Today’s generation of automotive leaders learned from the Toyota production system, focusing on getting cash out of inventory,” Joe Hinrichs, who retired as Ford Motor Co.’s global head of automotive operations in 2020, said.

“Now, with everything that’s happened, including Covid, the semiconductor shortage, geopolitical risks and other events,” he said, there is growing concern that lean manufacturing — JIT production, in particular — no longer works

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Early innovators

When Japanese automakers first broke into the American market in a big way in the early 1980s, they had some major advantages over their Detroit competitors because they used JIT production. Their vehicles tended to be more fuel-efficient and proved to deliver far better quality, according to David Cole, director emeritus of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

JIT WAS PART OF THE TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM EDWARDS DEMING INVENTED IN THE SIXTIES IN THE US

But leading brands, like Toyota, also could produce a vehicle for thousands of dollars less than U.S. rivals. And it wasn’t just because Japanese labor was cheaper or that they used robots — as they proved when they began opening up assembly lines in the States.

Factories like the one Honda set up in Marysville, Ohio, which was the first Japanese-owned assembly plant there, had virtually no warehouse space. Parts generally arrived from suppliers an hour or less before they were needed on the line. In some cases, those parts were lined up in exactly the same sequence they’d be needed.

That means plants can be smaller and less expensive to build and maintain. And the industry, as a whole, has billions of dollars less capital tied up in inventory. Meanwhile, if a defect is discovered, there are fewer bad parts to replace or repair, explained Willy Shih, a professor of manufacturing at Harvard Business School.

“You catch problems sooner, before you have a trainload of bad parts to deal with,” he said in a telephone interview.

Until recently, JIT and lean manufacturing appeared to be the most effective way to produce goods since Henry Ford switched on the first moving assembly line in 1913, according to Hinrichs.

Sure, there were occasional glitches. Most commonly, bad storms could disrupt the flow of trucks steadily rolling up to assembly plant loading docks. A fire at a supplier plant could create havoc — as happened in 2018 when Ford was left without the magnesium crossbars needed for its F-150 pickups. Following the 2011 tsunami that devastated northern Japan, the industry discovered it relied on a single supplier from that region to provide black pigment needed for car paint.

But the benefits far outweigh the drawbacks.

Growing problems

Recently more of these unpredictable “Black Swan” events have occurred, Cole noted. With climate change becoming more apparent, the supply chain has repeatedly been disrupted by blizzards, hurricanes and tornadoes.

Then came Covid-19. The pandemic led to a three-month shutdown of North American automotive manufacturing in spring 2020. Even when automakers and suppliers were allowed to start back up, they faced setbacks. Even now, illness-related manpower shortages continue to be a headache. The pandemic, meanwhile, led to an ongoing shortage of critical semiconductor chips that, just in recent weeks, has forced production cuts by Toyota, Ford, GM and others.

According to Detroit consulting firm AlixPartners, automakers lost $210 billion in 2021 revenues due just to semiconductor-related shortages, which will continue to hurt balance sheets this year.

Add the impact of Trump-ordered trade wars — and the possibility of global economic chaos if Russia moves to invade Ukraine. And geopolitical problems aren’t necessarily only found on the other side of the globe, as this month’s border blockade demonstrated.

“Everybody is having problems,” Cole said, warning that JIT production “may have to be rethought.”

Quiet fears

Several senior industry leaders, including Ford CEO Jim Farley, have warned that the automotive manufacturing system is facing some serious challenges. Most, however, declined to discuss the topic on the record, citing “competitive” concerns.

The one automaker that directly responded to questions was Toyota, which last week said it has cut its global production forecast for the current quarter by nearly 500,000 vehicles due to semiconductor shortages. Toyota is still analyzing the impact of the Canadian trucker blockade that briefly impacted two U.S. plants and three more in Ontario, the latter factories rolling out some of the company’s most popular models, the Toyota RAV4 and Lexus RX.

“Due to a number of supply chain, severe weather and COVID related challenges, Toyota continues to face shortages affecting production at our North American plants,” the automaker said in a statement this week.

Separately, Toyota spokesman Ed Hellwig added in an email: “In the spirit of kaizen, (the Japanese concept of continuous improvement), we continually examine our production processes to find efficiencies. Maintaining a resilient and efficient supply chain is a critical part of those processes.”

But even with the growing number of problems hitting the auto industry, there may not be any feasible alternatives to JIT methods.

“Is JIT going away? I don’t think so,” Dan Hearsch, managing director in the automotive and industrial practice at AlixPartners, said. “It is going to change.”

Experts like Hearsch and Shih, the Harvard Business School professor, agreed that several big changes may include keeping more inventory at auto plants in the future and bringing parts production back in-house. Hearsch added that the industry is even exploring 3D-printing technologies that could be programmed to supply whatever part might be needed without requiring expensive tooling.

Automakers are also looking at ways to design vehicles more flexibly. If the preferred semiconductor isn’t available, for example, they could switch to a different chip and just tweak the vehicle’s software, according to Hearsch.

In the meantime, Hinrichs thinks automakers and other industries will have to figure out how to shore it up, or the production disruptions we’ve seen in recent months could become increasingly common.

What’s clear, the experts agreed, is that the auto industry has run into a series of problems that raise critical concerns about lean production in general and the JIT production system specifically. But they are far from ready to write it off.

JIT “is the best system ever,” Hinrichs said, even if it’s not perfect. But he said there’s no question that the industry has been given a clear warning that the system needs some fixes. Otherwise, he said the production disruptions we’ve been seeing — and the shortages they cause on dealer lots — will “become more frequent.”

POSTMODERN FUEDALISM

Former Kazakh dictator controlled £6bn empire from Britain

Matt Oliver
Wed, February 16, 2022

Nursultan Nazarbayev and Prince Philip

The former dictator of Kazakhstan controlled a multibillion-dollar business empire via a British company, The Telegraph can reveal.

In revelations that will increase pressure on the Government to clamp down on the flow of money from kleptocracies into London, an investigation in collaboration with the Bureau of Investigative Journalism uncovered new details about the hidden wealth of Nursultan Nazarbayev.

Foundations linked to the notorious autocrat, who was in office until 2019, controlled $7.8bn (£5.8bn) in assets via Jusan Technologies. The empire was restructured last year and is now controlled via the United States.

However, news that a UK entity was at the centre of the financial interests of a key ally of Vladimir Putin will increase scrutiny on the Government’s pledge to tackle London’s role as a safe haven for money from questionable sources.

Amid concern about a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine, ministers have faced criticism for allowing Russians with links to the Kremlin and a string of Kazakh elites to accumulate wealth in London - dubbed "Londongrad" for its large number of oligarchs - with little scrutiny over recent years.

Records filed on Companies House show that in 2020 Jusan had only one employee. Nevertheless it sat at the heart of a sprawling international business, spanning shopping centres, financial services, a telecoms network and even a pasta factory.

One of its subsidiaries, a Kazakh bank, received a multi-billion dollar state bailout and went on to hand a dividend to Jusan.

Kazakh former President Nazarbayev Russia's President Putin

 - Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images

The company’s shareholders included members of the Kazakh elite and businesses connected to the ruling family of the United Arab Emirates.

Dame Margaret Hodge, the Labour MP, claimed in Parliament that Mr Nazarbayev had used charitable foundations to "secretly control" a string of assets, which were part-owned through Jusan Technologies.

She said the UK had turned a blind eye to suspect wealth and claimed a string of Kazakh elites had become wealthy through crony capitalism under the Nazarbayev regime.

Dame Margaret told MPs: “Britain has opened our borders, our property market, our financial structures to the Kazakh ruling class, enabling them to launder their illicit wealth and to spend it.

“Worse, we don’t even enforce our existing laws against any of this wrongdoing.”

John Penrose, the Conservative MP, said: “We’ve got to be at the leading edge of anti-corruption and anti-fraud measures, which means the economic crime bill should be an immediate, urgent priority. We will not threaten our prosperity by introducing these standards, in fact we threaten it if we do not.”

During his 29 years in office Nazarbayev won elections with more than 90pc of the vote, accrued enormous wealth for his family and fostered a cult of personality– the country’s capital city was renamed after him.

He is believed to have continued to wield influence in Kazakhstan until last month’s mass protests, which were met with a police crackdown and resulted in at least 225 deaths and may have resulted in shifts in power. Nazarbayev has denied reports of having fled the country.



The Nazarbayev foundations controlled Jusan through an Kazakh entity called Pioneer Capital.

Pioneer in turn was owned by three Kazakh educational foundations over which the former dictator has presided, including the Nazarbayev Fund, regulatory filings show.

Boies Schiller Flexner, a US law firm that represents the Nazarbayev Fund, said ownership of Jusan was handed to a US non-profit organisation as a charitable donation before the end of 2021.

The new owner is Jysan Holdings LCC, a company which in turn is owned by NU Generation Foundation, a non-profit group.

Aslan Sarinzhipov, the chief executive of the Nazarbayev Fund and Nazarbayev’s education and science minister between 2013 and 2016, is the president of NU Generation Foundation.

Boies Schiller said the people and entities involved with the new structure are independent of Nazarbayev and the purpose of the venture is to fund Kazakhstan’s Nazarbayev University and other educational projects.

Even before the change in ownership, Nazarbayev did not personally benefit from Jusan. Although he chairs the fund bearing his name, its charter forbids him from using its assets for his personal benefit, Boies Schiller said.

Jusan’s most recent accounts, filed in October 2021, showed $7.8bn in gross assets, which included more than $3bn in cash. The assets were owned through banking, telecoms and retail businesses, mainly in Kazakhstan.

Several of Nazarbayev’s associates have connections to this booming business empire. They include Yerbol Orynbayev, who served as deputy prime minister and assistant to the president under Nazarbayev until 2015, was a director of Jusan Technologies and owned a 4.6pc stake.

The immense wealth amassed by Nazarbayev’s foundations, first reported last month by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, has benefitted from Kazakh state funds.

Companies such as Jusan Technologies are able to operate in the UK partly because of the assistance of lawyers and accountants who work and advise, perfectly legally, behind the scenes.

Boies Schiller said the UK had been chosen as the holding company’s base because of its highly respected legal regime.

Jusan was registered in March 2020 by the US law firm Cohen & Gresser and its most recent filed accounts were signed off in August 2021 by Rakesh Shaunak, the chairman and managing partner of MHA MacIntyre Hudson, a UK auditor.

MacIntyre Hudson was paid $462,000 by the company for the audit and other work during 2020.

Last month, the Financial Reporting Council, accounting watchdog, said it is investigating MacIntyre Hudson for its audits of another company in 2018 and 2019. MacIntyre Hudson has confirmed it is cooperating with the investigation.

AND WAR AND PESTILENCE

Ethiopia grapples with worst drought in 30 years

Nearly 7 million people in Ethiopia's drought-hit regions need urgent help after a third failed rainy season devastates pastoralist communities.

Pastoral communities in Ethiopia's Somali region fear for their future amid severe drought

Lumbering under a cloudless sky and a ruthless midday sun, herds of emaciated camels converge at one of the few wells bearing water in Adawe village in Ethiopia's southeastern Somali region.

The water quality is poor and saturated with salt yet the camels — and their owners — have no choice other than to drink it. 

Adawe normally has 26 wells but because it hasn't rained here since April 2021, all except three of them have dried up.

The Somali region is traditionally arid. Now though, three subsequent rainy seasons have failed.

Not only is water even harder to find than before, the drought has also desiccated the landscape, making the grasses, shrubs and browsing trees that camels and other animals normally feed on scarce.

With little for their livestock to eat and drink, the residents of Adawe are forced to watch their herds shrink, day-by-day.

Camels drink at one of the few watering points in Adawe that haven't dried up

Dying livestock

The roads here are dotted with the carcasses of cows, sheep and goats decaying in the heat.

Camel herder Abdi Serif said he has already lost 30 out of 150 camels — that's a fifth of his herd.

"They are affected by the drought, as well as the lack of pasture. Plus, when the camels don't have enough food, they run away, which makes them prone to being killed by hyenas," the 25-year-old said.

Abdi normally earns a living selling his camels at the market. In the past, one camel would bring him around 75,000 birr ($1,480, €1,300). But the prices have plunged to around one fifth of that and buyers are almost impossible to find.

"We used to rely on animals for our food. But now we don't have anything to eat because now it's the animals who depend on us," Abdi told DW.

Nearly 85% of people in Ethiopia's Somali region have a pastoral way of life

Shepherd Mahamoud Abdulaye says that a big problem is that pastoralists like him have no other way of making money in the arid region.

"In this area, there's no farming, it's a desert. There's no agriculture," he said.

He has slight hopes for his remaining flock, Mahamoud said as he lifted a lamb out of a small shelter. With its skin hanging off its bones, the lamb collapsed onto the ground, too weak to stand.

But his livestock aren't Mahamoud's main concern any more. Now, the father of six is praying for his family's survival.

Thousands of animals have died due to the drought

Familes on the brink

"The state of my children is extremely worrying. They are expecting us to help them but we can't do anything," he told DW, explaining that a pot of boiled wheat was the family's daily meal.

Weakened by months of hardship, his children regularly ask for milk: there is none, Mahamoud lamented.

The drought conditions in Ethiopia's lowland area, which includes the Somali and Oromia regions, have led to a 20% increase in cases of "severe acute malnutrition" in children, according to the UN's children's fund, UNICEF.

Overall, 6.8 million people in the drought-impacted area are expected to be in need of urgent humanitarian aid by mid-March 2022, UNICEF said in a statement.

In a hospital in Gode, a town in the Somali region, doctors told DW that they have seen a spike in the numbers of malnourished children admitted in the the past months.

Little funding

Among aid agencies, the sense of urgency is growing. But funds are lacking to respond to the crisis.

UNICEF has requested $31 million to help drought-affected areas in Ethiopia but has only received about one quarter so far. The response has been slowed down by other crises in the country, especially the Tigray conflict in the country's north.

The funds would provide cash payments to drought-affected families.

"In big villages and towns, food is available, the private sector is bringing food," Ethiopia's UNICEF representative Gianfranco Rotigliano told DW. "The problem is that they cannot buy it. If we give them a small amount of cash, they will purchase what they need and the children can eat."

Forced to leave home

Many families in the affected areas are left with no choice but to leave their villages.

Across the Somali region, thousands have moved north to be nearer to the regional capital, Jijiga, where the climate is less harsh. Pastoralists hope that there they can find food for their animals and save the remnants of their herds.

"The loss of livestock means there will be pastoralist drop-out, people fleeing, and they will be displaced, without any job opportunity," said Teyeb Sherif Nur, the region's natural resource management officer for the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

Pastoralist Ardo Hassen, who left her village in search of grazing land for her animals,

 cooks in her new makeshift compound

Many of the displaced have settled in local communities, who sometimes provide shelter and food. The living conditions are tough, though, with little access to sanitation and other basic needs.  

Ardo Hassen traveled for days with four of her children and her remaining 70 animals, finally setting up a makeshift home near the town of Kebri Beyah, some 50 kilometers (31 miles) south of Jijiga.

Fifteen of her animals died during the journey. Although those which survived can now feed on small patches of dried-out grass, some are very sick.

"I don't know what will happen (…). I am very concerned. Until God gives us rain from the sky, we will be expecting government support," she said, as she washed a cooking pot, seated on the earthen floor of her improvised kitchen.