CANADA

Immigrant income gap is widening, states a new report

The Canadian Press
Yesterday 

The widening income gap between newcomers and all other Canadians shows that the country needs to do more to leverage the depth of immigrants’ talent and skills, states a new study by the Century Initiative.

Unveiled on the eve of the 2022 Federal Budget, the report said that the median income for immigrants in 2018, five years after arrival, was $29,800, while the median income for all Canadians was $37,100. The $7,300 gap represents a $300 increase compared to the previous three years.

The income gap for immigrant women and refugees is even wider, said the authors of Century Initiative’s second National Scorecard on Canada’s Growth and Prosperity.

In 2018, the median income for those who arrived as refugees was $25,300 five years after arrival, representing a gap of $11,800 compared to the overall Canadian population. Immigrant women also faced much lower levels of median income five years after arrival ($25,000 in 2018) compared to men ($36,200 in 2018), the study said.

“This means that the human capital potential of immigrants is not being fully or effectively utilized by the economy,” concluded Century Initiative, which advocates for policies to increase Canada’s population to 100 million by 2100.

“In our submission to the pre-budget consultation we recommended that the federal government commit to expanding settlement services that help immigrants succeed once landed in Canada,” she said.

“We also recommended continued investments in Canada’s immigration system to make it easier to navigate, and more welcoming to newcomers.

These settlement services should also be targeted toward small and rural communities to improve the likelihood that immigrants will stay in those communities,” said Lalande.

The Scorecard assesses 38 indicators across six focus areas: Growing to 100 million, Immigration, Economy, Innovation & Entrepreneurship, Education, Skills & Employment, Support for Children & Families, and Infrastructure & Environment.

“This year’s Scorecard shows that while Canada is making progress in some areas, there is much work to be done in others. For example, after years of advocacy, Canada is finally on the path to implementing a national plan for childcare,” said Lalande, in her introduction to the Scorecard.

Key insights from the Scorecard released today at a Toronto conference entitled Unlocking our Potential, What do immigrants mean to Canadian innovation, include:

Fabian Dawson, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, New Canadian Media

Engineers Make Fusion Breakthrough by Shooting Projectile at 14,500 MPH


Ed Browne - 
Newsweek
© First Light Fusion/YouTube


Engineers in England have achieved nuclear fusion by firing a giant gun at a fuel sample.

Researchers at First Light Fusion designed the method to be as simple as possible, and a viable alternative to the donut-shaped reactors called Tokamaks that are currently at the forefront of fusion technology.

First Light Fusion's approach to nuclear fusion energy is a type known as inertial fusion, in which a fuel pellet is compressed and heated so fast that particles fuse together in the few nanoseconds before the fuel blows apart.

Usually, inertial fusion is achieved by focusing an intense laser beam or particle beam at the pellet.

However, the company is trying a different approach by firing a projectile at it at around 14,500 miles per hour, temporarily producing pressure equivalent to 100 million times that of Earth's atmosphere, higher than the pressure at the center of the planet Jupiter.

In a power plant, the fuel pellet would be dropped into the reactor from above and the projectile would then be fired straight after it.

This allows for just one entrance hole and the use of liquids that help protect the reaction chamber from the huge energy release—an engineering hurdle that other fusion approaches have to overcome.

Lithium, flowing inside the reaction chamber, is then heated up by the energy released prompted by the fusion reaction. This heat is transferred to water, which turns into steam, which turns a turbine to produce electricity.

The whole process would then be repeated every 30 seconds, with each reaction producing enough energy to power an average U.K. home for over two years.

On April 5 2022, the company announced it had achieved fusion with this method and believes it offers the fastest and cheapest route to commercial fusion power.

It is now planning to carry out another experiment in which it produces more energy out as a result of the reaction than it will use to produce the reaction—another huge fusion hurdle.

The company is also planning to develop a pilot power plant producing around 150 MW of electricity in the 2030s.

"If we can get the core physics to work, which I think we can, it potentially has a much faster trajectory to a power plant," Nick Hawker, founder of First Light Fusion, told The Times newspaper regarding the projectile approach. "The engineering is much simpler. The physics is simpler."

First Light Fusion is based is Oxford, not far from the U.K. Atomic Energy Authority's Joint European Torus (JET) facility which, with a completely different approach, produced a record-breaking 59 megajoules of sustained fusion energy earlier this year.

The JET facility makes use of a tokamak reactor which heats gas until it turns into a plasma and uses large, very powerful magnets to suspend this plasma in a circle.

Army report finds horses that carry the caskets of America's heroes live in 'unsatisfactory' conditions, after 2 die

By Drew F. Lawrence and Katie Bo Lillis, 

CNN

© Elizabeth Fraser/Digital/Arlington National Cemetery

LONG READ 


The military horses that carry America's heroes to their final resting place in Arlington National Cemetery are living in unsanitary and potentially life-threatening conditions, according to a US Army report reviewed exclusively by CNN, consuming poor-quality feed, suffering from parasites and standing in their own excrement in tiny mud lots scattered with gravel and construction waste.

Two military working horses died unexpectedly within 96 hours of each other in February --  one of whom perished from what equine veterinarians say could have been preventable intestinal compaction that was caused by 44 pounds of gravel and sand found in his gut.

The February report, compiled by the US Army's Public Health Command-Atlantic, found a host of systemic problems with the living conditions of the horses in the 3rd Infantry Regiment, also called the Old Guard, best known for guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The regimental commander's office requested the Army Public Health inspection after the two deaths, according to the report.

The primary issues are a woeful lack of space, inadequate funding for improvements and routine turnover of the unit's top leaders, the report found.

Eighteen inspections conducted from 2019 to 2022 rated the sanitary conditions at the pastures, barns and paddocks as "unsatisfactory." Even though "significant efforts" were made by the soldiers of the Caisson Platoon, who train with and care for the horses daily, the animals' poor living conditions have persisted for years, primarily "due to [a] lack of funding," the report found.

The Old Guard, in general, is known to have some of the highest standards of uniform discipline in the Army, as one of its most public-facing units. The regiment is the "official ceremonial unit and escort to the president, and it also provides security for Washington, D.C., in time of national emergency or civil disturbance," according to its website.


© Staff Sgt. Maryam Treece/US Army

Soldiers prepare the horses and themselves to render final honors for fallen service members at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, Virginia, August 19, 2020.

The Caisson Platoon conducts up to eight military funerals per day, depending on the season, according to a senior leader in the Old Guard. Last November, horses in the platoon escorted the casket of the late Secretary of State retired Gen. Colin Powell to his grave site in Arlington cemetery.

This article is based on interviews with more than half a dozen officials and soldiers involved in the horses' care and on government documents obtained by CNN.

The 60-plus horses of the Old Guard are rotated between two facilities in northern Virginia: a stable facility with three paddocks nestled in the Army base at Fort Myer, barely 2 miles outside Washington, and a 6-acre pasture complex at Fort Belvoir, an Army base about 30 minutes outside the city. Even taken together, the two facilities fall far short of the acre per horse traditionally recommended by equine experts to keep the animals healthy.


© US ArmyCol. Patrick Roddy gives a tour of the Caisson Barn on September 17, 2021.

The two recent deaths highlight the inherent challenges of running a professional stable in a dense urban environment, decades after the end of the age of regular military use of horses.

"There is substantial history and overwhelming evidence that illustrates the prolonged existence of significant health hazards" for the horses at Fort Myer, the report says.

The question of funding

A senior leader at the regiment said they had been unaware of the systemic issues documented by the report.

"It was very clear that some of the recommendations in there was stuff that now that we were aware of it, we both had the fiscal and legal authority internally to the regiment to take action immediately," this person said.

But the report cites several unfunded improvement plans, one dating back to 2017. The 18 "unsatisfactory" inspection reports date back to at least 2019.

Senior leadership at the unit points to funding as a key challenge.

"Find me a commander that doesn't want more money," said Col. Patrick Roddy, the commander of the Old Guard, when asked whether funding for the herd's needs was sufficient. "Always things that we can do. These barracks are old," he added, noting the challenges of making long-term changes to facilities that date back more than a century.

The unit "always would like more land. We're challenged on land," he said. "We're limited by the physicality of the size here."

Roddy said the Caisson Platoon is his costliest subordinate unit. Out of about 40 platoons, the Caisson herd consumes roughly 20% of the Old Guard's budget, according to the commander.

"The first thing I would tell you to do is I want to tear down a bunch of buildings over here and expand out the turnout lots," Roddy said. "I'd like to redo a bunch of these facilities. But on a day-to-day operational funding, horses are not going hungry, horses are not going without medical care, horses are not going without the required supplements. Our prioritization of funding goes to the health and welfare of the horses, and we're constantly watching that."

While a senior leader at the Old Guard said making such improvements would require coordination with entities like Army Installation Management Command, Army Contracting Command and engineers under programs like the Army's Facility Investment Plan, the responsibility for such requests comes from the unit itself.

"The approval process starts with installations and commands submitting a list of facility repair or construction requirements to Army Material Command," according to Army spokesperson Lt. Col Brandon Kelley, who added that prioritizations are made based on "urgency." "While the FIP is used to justify funding requirements made to DOD and, ultimately, Congress, the requests themselves are identified, adjudicated and prioritized by the Army."

For the Fort Myer lots specifically, the senior leader said that over the last two years, the unit had submitted requests for prioritized funding to fix the lots into the Facility Investment Plan. "That wasn't funded," the leader added.

According to one estimate compiled by the US Army Corps of Engineers in 2021, the cost to make improvements to the three Fort Myer paddocks would hover around $1 million -- a drop in the bucket in terms of military funding, though it does not include the costs for the improvements also needed at Fort Belvoir.

Gut gravel, dusty hay and parasite eggs

Routine diagnostic testing carried out on the Old Guard herd shows many of the horses live with potentially life-threatening health conditions -- many of which, equine experts say, are associated with the kinds of living conditions that the Army report details. Although a CNN tour of the stables at Fort Myer showed clean, well-kept stalls, the horses are frequently turned out in groups into small, muddy lots with standing water, excrement and gravel, according to the Army report.

Pastures that are overcrowded and not properly cleared of manure are prime breeding grounds for parasites. And sand colic -- the gut impaction that killed Tony, the horse found with 44 pounds of gravel in his gut -- often occurs when horses are fed in areas with abundant sand and gravel.

When asked if that amount of sediment is a common finding during a necropsy, Dr. Gabriele Landolt, an assistant professor of equine medicine at Colorado State University's veterinary college, said, "No, that is a lot. That should not be in the colon."

After the deaths of the two horses, stool samples collected from 25 of the unit's horses showed that 80% of the tested horses had "moderate to high levels of sediment in their stool," according to the report.

"This is a strong indicator of environmental problems," it said. "Preventative health measures are required to correct identified environmental issues in an effort to prevent further injury colic, and/or death."

The report assessed that the horses' risk of death was low but added that such deaths were of "high consequence" and said the kind of gravel seen in Fort Myer's lower lot "is consistent with the type of gravel discovered in ... Tony's colon on necropsy."

The second horse, Mickey, died of septic colic, which can be caused by a gastrointestinal illness or injury that has gone untreated, allowing manure or bacteria to make their way into the bloodstream and cause an infection. It was not immediately clear whether sediment in his gut was to blame.

Separate testing, conducted prior to the horse deaths, found that 35% of the herd had "moderate-high" amounts of parasite eggs in their stool, despite being treated twice a year with a dewormer. In a well-managed herd, only a fraction of horses will be moderate to high "egg-shedders," according to Landolt, who added that a properly controlled herd of about 60 should have only "at the most, probably about five to 10" horses who fall under that category.

The Army report also noted poor-quality hay, stating that the "color is yellow-brown with large amounts of thick stems and few leaves; dry, dusty, and brittle" -- hallmark signs of low-nutritional hay.

"The long stems of poorly chewed hay can cause an impaction, or blockage, of food in the intestines, resulting in colic," said Dr. Joy Tomlinson, a specialist in large-animal internal medicine at Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine. "This is worse if the quality of hay is poor."

"Moldy hay has been found during previous veterinary inspections and can lead to respiratory infections, colic, and death," the report said.

A senior leader at the Old Guard said some short-term fixes were underway, including purchasing mats to place underneath feeders in lots to prevent the horses from accidentally ingesting gravel when they ate hay that had fallen on the ground. The unit has also requested changes to existing feed contracts, including hay testing to identify any shortfalls in the quality of feed coming from their suppliers.

These changes came after the deaths of the two military working horses.

But improvements to the facilities at Fort Myer and Fort Belvoir to address the biggest issues, including the turnout lots and pastures, would be the costliest venture.

"It may take multiple years to fix this," the senior leader said.
Limited resources and frequent turnover

Roddy, the unit commander, noted that standard leadership turnover in the Army meant that -- starting with his own position and going down to the platoon level -- officers might be in their positions for only up to about two years, and maybe as little as one.

"None of our tenure here are we going to be able to move the ball down on the road on any major initiative," he said, adding that generally each Army commander has improvement plans they pass on to the next.

The Army Public Health Command-Atlantic report mentions such plans dating to at least 2017 and in one instance cites "senior leader turnover" as a reason for not accomplishing them.

A senior leader at the Old Guard said they had not been aware of those improvement plans before seeing the report. The leader emphasized the importance of making sure the unit's next leaders are aware of such plans but could not explain why previous initiatives were not carried out or passed on effectively.

The stables are staffed by 52 soldiers -- who receive 10 weeks of training to take on the role -- and overseen by a civilian herd manager who monitors the overall health of the horses and does not rotate to new assignments, unlike the soldiers. Many of the Caisson soldiers have never worked with horses before coming to the Old Guard.

The horses also receive care from the Fort Myer veterinarian and a veterinary technician assigned to the stable who is on call "24 hours," according to the public tour given to CNN in March. The Old Guard leadership also said they maintain relationships with off-post veterinarians for referrals and emergencies.

Roughly half the herd is geriatric -- over 20 years old, according to a senior leader at Public Health Command-Atlantic. "In terms of the preventative health measures," said Landolt, "older horses definitely require a bit more attention."

The Army report directed much of its criticism to a turnout lot at Fort Myer called "the lower lot," which the Army inspectors recommended be closed and condemned, citing "significant health hazard ... including death." According to the report, the lot has "18-20 inches of mud and excrement with extensive amounts of gravel and inappropriate grade (slope) of the surface," rendering the area "extremely unsafe."

A senior leader at the Old Guard told CNN that the regiment had already closed the lot prior to the report.

Labeled pictures attached to the report showed muddy lots with "significant amount[s] of gravel dispersed throughout the lower lot," no horse mats under the hay that would "prevent the ingestion of sand/dirt" in the center lot, exposed drainage, "standing water with algae growth," construction waste such as bricks and asphalt, "inefficient" electrical barriers, hazardous training ground layouts, improper equipment storage, and rotted stalls in the barn.

The report assessed that the pastures at Fort Belvoir were too small for the size of the herd. "The American Association of Equine Practitioners recommends one to two acres per horse2 and the Pasture Facility only consists of six acres," the report said. "Even at one acre per horse, the current acreage constitutes only 18.8% of the recommended area for equine use."

Before CNN's tour, soldiers on horseback were seen practicing pulling a caisson onto the road just outside of the barn. The caisson would normally have a casket on it, draped in an American flag. That day in mid-March the caisson was bare, though the task seemed just as solemn and quiet as it had on the day of the late Sen. Bob Dole's funeral a month earlier.

Staff Sgt. Brian Roberts, a squad leader in the Caisson Platoon, said his soldiers get to the barn around 4:30 a.m. and are there caring for and training the horses into the evening.

The day CNN toured the barn, soldiers were seen diligently clearing stalls, washing horses, and cleaning excrement and loose hay off the floors.

Roberts' reply is instant when he's asked if there is a particular horse he has connected with: Bullseye. Of his more than 600 official rides, 310 have been on Bullseye.

"You never really have a bad day here," he said.

LG Energy Faces U.S. Scrutiny for Electric-Car Battery Fires

Keith Laing, Bloomberg News

An LG Energy Solution battery cell. Photographer: SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg , Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. regulators have asked LG Energy Solution about electric- and hybrid-vehicle fires involving batteries made by the company.

The probe covers an estimated 138,324 vehicles that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said are at risk of catching fire when parked or in use, according to documents posted Tuesday on the agency’s website. NHTSA opened the probe, known as an equipment query, on April 1. 

The regulator -- which can deem cars defective and order recalls -- said it launched its probe after receiving complaints about cars made by Stellantis NV, Volkswagen AG, General Motors Co., Hyundai Motor Co. and Mercedes-Benz Group AG. 

The agency aims to contact South Korea-based LG and its customers to “notify them of this defect in any vehicles they manufactured, and to ensure thorough safety recalls are conducted where appropriate,” according to the posting.

LG said it is cooperating with the inquiry. “We understand NHTSA’s latest request is a follow-up procedure to determine if the same or similar batteries involved in the recalls were supplied” to other carmakers, the company said in a statement.

THE TAMING OF THE WILD GNOME

At Masters, some come to see golfers, others to see gnomes
By TIM REYNOLDS

April 5, 2022

Dan Szatkowski, North Augusta, S.C, poses with his newly purchased garden gnome during a practice round for the Masters golf tournament on Tuesday, April 5, 2022, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)


AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — The boxes weren’t flying off the shelves. They weren’t even making it onto the shelves.

The Masters has gone gnome-mad.

Yes. Gnomes. The must-have item at the Masters this year isn’t any of the shirts or pullovers or caps with the tournament’s logo that can only be bought by those who are lucky enough to have secured a way onto the grounds of Augusta National.

WILD GNOME 

Instead, the gnome is all the rage. Just ask Tom Frettoloso, who left his house at 4 a.m. on Tuesday to get to Augusta National and was headed back to his vehicle by 8 a.m. — without having seen a single golfer take a single swing.

He had a bunch of souvenirs, including two gnomes. He wouldn’t say how he got two; signage in the store said the Masters was limiting them to one per person.

“I’m self-employed and need to get to work,” said Frettoloso, a house painter, who was weaving his way toward the gates while thousands of people were walking the other way onto the Augusta National grounds. “But I’ve gotten the gnomes just about every year. I got a ticket for the practice round and here I am and now I’m done.”

Gnomes made their Masters debut in 2016 and were a quick hit, though nobody seems to remember them being as much of a phenomenon as they are this week.

There’s a couple different versions of gnomes this year; the one that hundreds of people were lined up to get Tuesday morning was this year’s version of a caddy, standing about a foot high, dressed in a green-and-white striped Masters shirt, khakis, green-and-white shoes, a yellow cap and with a bag of clubs slung over his right shoulder.

Asking price at the Masters: $49.50.

Asking price online: Most were going for somewhere between $150 and $500 on Tuesday, depending on where you looked. The smaller version — a mini-gnome in the traditional white Masters caddie attire — could be had for considerably less.

On Tuesday, a worker at the store tried to reload the shelf with more product. The mission was futile: Shoppers were grabbing them as soon as they went on the shelf, and sometimes right from the worker himself.

“People will buy anything,” someone mused in the checkout line.

That they will, whether it’s gnomes, shirts, belts, hats and anything else they can get with the Masters logo. There’s countless reasons why: not everyone can get to the Masters since the ticket is among the toughest in sports, and the Masters also doesn’t sell merchandise online — except for some images, the Masters Journal and the Masters Annual that recaps tournament week.

And for the record, many on-site shoppers got bad news once they got into the Masters store Tuesday.

The gnomes were gone.

REALLY WILD GNOME

 IRAQI KURDISTAN
The ‘corruption haven’ of Barzani family revealed

The American Prospect website revealed the extent of the Barzani family's fraudulent and corrupt wealth in the United States.

ANF
NEWS DESK
Thursday, 7 Apr 2022, 13:54

The Barzani family is one of Virginia Real Estate's most important clients, as it is one of the primary residences of oligarchs, tax evaders, money launderers, and politicians who smuggled wealth out of their nation.

The expanding Barzani family's fortunes were documented on the website The American Prospect. Documents pertaining to the fraudulent money were also made available on the website.

On his website, Virginia property lawyer Dan Withers boasts that he can make your money invisible. From offshore companies to private trusts, he offers “innovative legal strategies” to his mega-rich clients “for whom anonymity and protection from liability are of paramount concern.”

Zack Kopplin and Basma Humadi of The American Prospect write that one of Withers’s clients appears to be the family of Nechirvan Barzani, president of Iraqi Kurdistan.

A QUASI-MONARCHY WORKING WITH SYSTEMATIC CORRUPTION

The report states the following:

“The family has ruled this semi-independent region in northern Iraq as a quasi-monarchy for generations, piling up vast wealth from allegedly crooked oil, telecom, and real estate deals. In December, The American Prospect exposed how the Kurdish president’s cousin, Masrour Barzani, who serves as the region’s prime minister, was exploiting American corporate secrecy laws to hide an eight-figure property investment in Miami. (Mr. Barzani denied the allegations.) The Barzanis may not have invaded a neighboring country, but State Department cables, leaked by WikiLeaks, have documented how the Kurdish state operates on systematic corruption.

Like his cousin, the Kurdish president is connected to secret overseas properties. But, in this case, his name doesn’t appear on any of the ownership documents directly. Instead, these assets are hidden behind complex systems of trusts and intermediaries, including employees, friends, and family.”

Neither Withers nor representatives of Nechirvan Barzani responded to requests for comment, and it’s not clear any laws have been broken, but the Kurdish president appears to have lots of laranjas. Between McLean, Virginia, and Dubai, The American Prospect identified nearly 300 properties, with a combined worth in the nine-figure range, connected to his relatives and associates.

The trail starts on Mottrom Drive, a street named after a Confederate soldier in Northern Virginia. Withers, the apparent laranja lawyer, went to a great deal of effort to hide the owners of four adjacent properties on this street, collectively purchased for over $20 million.

There are several layers of secrecy. On the county assessor’s website, the owners’ names have been either recorded as controlled by Withers as a trustee or “withheld by request.” The physical deeds for the four properties show that they are controlled by two related living trusts, the Mottrom Trust and the Dulany Trust, along with an anonymous company. This entire apparatus was set up and operated by Withers.

It is an effective smoke screen, but old records reveal the name of a real person connected to the purchases. One of the properties was transferred into the Mottrom Trust by a Nabila Mustafa. Even this is obfuscation. Mustafa is also known by another name, Nabila Barzani. She is the wife of the Kurdish president.

A similar network is involved with buying and selling other assets in the surrounding area. With help from the same lawyer, at least two more properties, worth $3 million, passed through a vehicle called the Blue Ridge Trust. Again, the owners’ names were withheld online, but this trust was operated by a man named Jameel Sindi. A source familiar with the Barzanis confirmed Sindi was an employee of the Kurdish president—making him almost certainly another laranja. Sindi also granted the lawyer, Withers, a power of attorney to purchase a third property for close to $1 million. Just like the last set of properties, these are also linked to a close relative of Nechirvan Barzani. One of his brothers is named on documents transferring property into the Blue Ridge Trust.

A cool $24 million is a lot of money, but it’s chump change compared to another set of laranja properties held overseas.

According to a leaked ledger of Dubai property data, obtained by the Center for Advanced Defense Studies, Salar Hakim, the husband of the Kurdish president’s late aunt, is the largest identified Iraqi property owner in the city. He is linked to at least 288 different skyscraper apartments across the city, including nearly a sixth of the units at The Grand, a fancy new waterfront tower with an infinity pool. (When contacted, Hakim confirmed he owned the properties, but otherwise declined to comment.)

It’s hard to put an exact price on these assets, but the cheapest properties that are comparable to ones owned by Hakim are worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. Others go for much more. The Kurdish president’s uncle’s full holdings are certainly worth well over $100 million at least and could generate millions in rent every month.

It is hard to imagine a licit reason for Hakim to possess this wealth. He is a successful banker and chairman of the Kurdistan International Islamic Bank, but the bank’s public financial documents do not indicate it generates the profit or is paying its leadership the type of salary that can float these purchases. Neither does it seem plausible that the properties are a legitimate bank investment. The bank’s most recently available annual report shows the only properties it owns are inside Iraqi Kurdistan and worth about $16 million.

However, a laranja scheme to conceal money from rigged insurance markets, oil smuggling, or crooked contracts might look exactly like this.

Hakim’s finances are deeply intertwined with those of his relatives. Another of the Kurdish president’s brothers owns part of Hakim’s bank, and the president’s son just sold over $30 million worth of the bank’s shares.

The United States doesn’t want to be the next United Arab Emirates, stuffed to its back teeth with the anonymous money of kleptocrats, narco traffickers, and arms dealers. But the strategies that the Kurdish president’s family has used to accumulate secret American properties are the same tools that other oligarchs, including Americans and Russians, are using to hide their own wealth here. We are on our way to becoming another major international haven for crime and corruption.

Luckily, some reforms are on the table. Banning laranjas and requiring the full public disclosure of the beneficial ownership of every property and company in the United States would be the best step, but a good stepping-stone is the ENABLERS Act. Introduced by several members of Congress after the release of the Pandora Papers, the ENABLERS Act would require laranjas to do basic due diligence on their clients. “If a client walks in your door and asks you to set up a company, or asks you to serve as a trustee, you should have to know whom you’re dealing with,” said Scott Greytak, the director of advocacy for the U.S. office of Transparency International. “At the least, this means collecting and reporting key information about them to Treasury that can be used to guard against money laundering and the financing of corruption.”

The role the West has played in housing money for Putin and his oligarchs has proved beyond any question that financial secrecy, used to facilitate corruption, is much more than some minor good-government issue. The Department of Justice has created a new task force to focus on Russian corruption, but there is every reason they should target other kleptocrats in the process. “Let’s not let these efforts end with seizing the dirty money and assets of one specific country’s corrupt leaders,” said Greytak. “Let’s go after all of the people who have been stealing from their people and laundering that money into the United States.”

Ten years of the Rojava Revolution: What to do?

July 19 marks the tenth anniversary of the start of the Rojava Revolution. To prepare and position itself in times of change, Kon-Med suggests looking to this beacon in the search for alternative models of society.


ANF
DORTMUND
Wednesday, 6 Apr 2022

July 19, 2012 marks the beginning of one of the most significant revolutions of the 21st century: the Rojava Revolution. On that day, the uprising in Kobanê gave birth to an emancipatory and social project that is a beacon of hope not only for Syria and the Middle East, but ultimately for the entire world. The people of the Democratic Federation of Northeast Syria have not only succeeded in beating back the barbarism of the so-called ISIS. Their newly organized coexistence opens up prospects for a more just, peaceful and free world.

In view of the tenth anniversary of the revolution, Zübeyde Zümrüt and Engin Sever, the co-presidents of the Kurdish umbrella organization Kon-Med, have now presented an appeal entitled "What to do?" with suggestions on how to mark this day. Furthermore, in view of the current crises, they propose to start looking for alternative models of society in order to prepare and position themselves in times of change. The Rojava revolution could be a shining example in this regard.

"On July 19, 2022, the revolution in Rojava will celebrate its tenth anniversary. A revolution prepared by decades of preliminary work by the Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan was able to emerge and blossom ten years ago during the Arab Spring and in the midst of the Syrian civil war. State forces withdrew from the region and the self-defense forces that had been formed began to beat back the so-called Islamic State (ISIS) piece by piece. Meanwhile, people began to create self-governing structures that included all ethnicities and all faith communities on the ground. The further ISIS was pushed back, the broader the social organization in Rojava became.

What is the situation of the revolution in Rojava after almost ten years?

Neither the constant attacks by ISIS and the Turkish state nor the comprehensive economic embargo faced by Rojava have been able to intimidate the people. Defying all these aggressions, the people of the region built, step by step, a self-government based on the idea of the non-state concept of democratic confederalism.

Always keeping in mind the three pillars of democratic confederalism - women's liberation, social ecology and grassroots democracy - all areas of life were reorganized. An alternative educational, health and legal system was created. An alternative economic model, which places the establishment of cooperatives at its center, is also spreading more and more. The right of every citizen to have a say is ensured by the communities and councils that have been created. Last but not least, organized self-defense is an important factor in protecting self-government in northern and eastern Syria.

What does the revolution in Rojava mean for us?

Rojava became known primarily for the fight of the YPG and YPJ (People's Defense Units and Women's Defense Units) against ISIS. But the importance of this region goes far beyond the armed resistance that has been waged there. In Rojava, not only was the world protected from jihadist terror, but also a democratic model was created there that represents hope for people worldwide. The Rojava revolution may have its starting point in the Middle East, but it is a system that can be thought of and lived globally.

Today we live in times when one crisis is followed by another. Almost every day, new threats seem to emerge that endanger all of humanity. We are indeed on the verge of changing times. It is precisely against this background that it is important to embark on a search for alternative models of society. The revolution of Rojava can serve as a shining example for all of us in this regard.

What to do?

The revolution itself and its ten years of resistance have only been possible because of the international solidarity that has accompanied it from the beginning and that it still experiences today. Accordingly, we as Kon-Med call for July 19, 2022 to be taken as an occasion to celebrate here in all cities, in all villages and everywhere, this day, as the day of the revolution. Organize large and small street festivals, concerts or other events. Network with local structures to existing soli committees and establish contact with our local associations and council structures. If you need help, you are also welcome to approach us. The revolution of Rojava is our common revolution! Therefore, its tenth anniversary is also reason enough to celebrate together! Bijî Şoreşa Rojava!"

Well-known figures from around the world demand freedom for Abdullah Öcalan


Well-known figures from around the world celebrated the 73rd birthday of Abdullah Öcalan, whom they describe as "one of the greatest political thinkers of our time", and demanded his freedom.


ANF
NEWS DESK
Tuesday, 5 Apr 2022,

Well-known intellectuals, writers and politicians from different parts of the world celebrated the 73rd birthday of Kurdish people's leader Abdullah Öcalan with messages they posted on social media. The messages called for Öcalan's freedom.

CATALAN CUP: “WE JOIN THE #FREEÖCALAN CALL

Candidatura d'Unitat Popular Països Catalans (Catalonia People's Union-CUP) shared a post on its official Twitter account, recalling that the Kurdish people's leader has been in prison since 1999, and added that the struggle of the Kurdish people and human rights will win.

“We join the #FreeÖcalan call” said the CUP post.

The post said:

Avui Abdullah Öcalan fa 73 anys, empresonat des del 15 de gener de 1999. Ens sumem al crit #FreeÖcalan. La lluita del poble kurd i els DDHH guanyaran!


EUROPEAN MP SMERIGLIO: WE DEMAND FREEDOM

Massimiliano Smeriglio, born in Rome on 8 May 1966, was a professor at the University of Rome Three for years and has been a member of the European Parliament S&D Group since 2019. He celebrated the birthday of Kurdish people's leader Abdullah Öcalan with post. Smeriglio, while writing that Abdullah Öcalan has been in the prison of the Turkish state since 1999, referred to him as "the historical leader of the liberation struggle of the Kurdish people" and said: "We continue to demand his freedom".

The tweet shared by Italian Parliamentarian Smeriglio with the hashtag #FreeÖcalan:

Oggi è il 73esimo compleanno di Abdullah #Öcalan, storico leader della lotta di liberazione del popolo curdo. Ocalan è imprigionato nelle carceri turche dal 1999. Continuiamo a chiedere la sua liberazione.

#FreeÖcalan #4marzo

GIULIANO GRANATO: FREEDOM FIRST OF ALL

Giuliano Granato, the National Spokesperson of the People's Power in Italy (@potere_alpopolo), stated in his post that the isolation must end. In his tweet, Granato stated that it is not enough to wish Kurdish people's leader Abdullah Öcalan to be healthy; “It is necessary to demand the end of the terrible prison isolation that he was forced into, and above all, that he be free. #freeocalan!” said. Spokesperson Granato tweeted:

“Oggi, #4aprile, #AbdullahOcalan compie 73 anni. Öcalan è il leader kurdo prigioniero della Turchia da ben 23 anni. Non basta fargli gli auguri, serve rivendicare la fine del terribile isolamento carcerario cui è costretto e, soprattutto, la sua liberazione. #freeocalan!“


BASTA!: #FREEÖCALAN

Another political party wrote on social media on 4 April was Basels starke Alternative (BastA! -Basel's Strong Alternative) in Switzerland. BastA! Wrote: "Today, the leader of the Kurdish freedom movement Abdullah Öcalan is 73 years old". BastA! underlined that he has been imprisoned on the island of Imrali since 1999, and added that until 2018, approximately 750 visit requests by lawyers were rejected.

“Heute wird das Idol der kurdischen Befreiungsbewegung Abdullah Öcalan 73 Jahre alt. Seit dem 15. January 1999 ist er auf der Gefängnisinsel Imralı inhaftiert - bis 2018 wurden rund 750 Besuchsanträge der Anwälte abgelehnt. #FreeÖcalan”


AMEDEO CIACCHERI: THE GREATEST THINKER OF OUR AGES

Celebrating the birthday of the Kurdish people's leaderRome VIII. mayor Amedeo Ciaccheri, wrote: “The leader of the Kurdish people, Abdullah Öcalan, turns 73 today. One of the greatest political thinkers of our time, who can open new horizons for peace and democracy in the Middle East and the world, is still in inhumane conditions in Turkey since 1999. prisoner # FreeÖcalan


ARTIST CONSTANTINI: HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Italian painter and rights defender Gainluca Costantini shared the "Happy Birthday Abdullah Öcalan" tweet, adding a picture of Kurdish people's leader Abdullah Öcalan that he drew himself.


BLACK SOCIALISTS IN AMERICA: FREEDOM FOR ÖCALAN

“We believe that capitalism is a social and economic system that is opposed to freedom and justice. For this reason, we think that an international socialist movement is the strongest hope of achieving an egalitarian society that reflects the virtues of democracy and freedom.”

#FreeAbdullahOcalan, quoting the previous tweet in the 4 April post, anti-racist and anti-capitalist Black Socialists in America demanded freedom for Abdullah Öcalan.


BASQUE MEP BARRENA: WE CALL FOR ÖCALAN FREEDOM

Pernando Barrena, a Basque member of the European Parliament (MEP), also celebrated the birthday of Kurdish people's leader Abdullah Öcalan. He wrote:

On the occasion of the 73rd birthday of the Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan, who has been in prison since 15 January 1999, we demand the immediate end of his isolation and call for his freedom. #FreeÖcalan

US linguist Noam Chomsky supports international campaign demanding freedom for Abdullah Öcalan

US philosopher, historian and linguist Noam Chomsky supported the campaign launched in South Kurdistan for the freedom of Kurdish people's leader Abdullah Öcalan.


ANF
NEWS DESK
Wednesday, 6 Apr 2022,

The South Kurdistan Freedom for Öcalan Committee launched a broad campaign on the 23rd anniversary of the 15 February 1999 international conspiracy against Kurdish people's leader Abdullah Öcalan.

Many names from different parts of the world support the campaign.

American philosopher, historian and linguist Noam Chomsky joined the campaign's supporters.

According to the campaign organizers, Chomsky conveyed his support for the campaign in a special message, saying, "I am very happy to give my support."

Chomsky has been supporting the Kurdish people's struggle for many years and is among the entrepreneurs of the Peace Initiative for Kurdistan.

Time to redouble efforts for peace and renew call for Öcalan’s freedom, says Peace in Kurdistan

Peace in Kurdistan Campaign issued a statement to mark 4 April, Abdullah Öcalan's birthday.


ANF
LONDON
Tuesday, 5 Apr 2022,

"For yet another year, Abdullah Öcalan will spend his 73th birthday in isolation shuttered away in a Turkish prison cell on Imrali, as he has done so every day and every birthday for the past twenty-three years," said Peace in Kurdistan Campaign in a statement.

The London-based campaign group continued: "To be deprived of freedom for twenty-three years is seven years longer than the average life sentence in Britain. Lifers in British gaols are offered the chance of earlier release for good behaviour and are granted rights to education and social activities unless they are detained for committing the most heinous crimes imaginable. Abdullah Öcalan is not a common criminal; he is a political leader. His only crime was to defy the Turkish state and resist the savage repression of his people that this state inflicted on them and continues to do so.

While free and while incarcerated, Abdullah Öcalan has fought courageously for peace and reconciliation between the Turkish and Kurdish peoples; frequently defying criticism from some of his own support base. He has insisted that peace is not only possible, but essential."

Peace in Kurdistan added: "Turkey has rebuffed his appeals and silenced him. Abdullah Öcalan is deprived of even the basic requirements of what is necessary to be a human being; that is, interaction with other people; the conversations and friendship that we all take for granted and what even common prisoners held for murder and other terrible offences, are permitted.

Abdullah Öcalan is claimed by the Turkish state to be so dangerous that he must be kept in isolation and cannot be allowed to speak to the outside world, either directly or through intermediaries. These punishing conditions have been imposed on him for more than two decades. During that time, murderers have served their time and been released."

The statement said: "For Abdullah Öcalan there is at present no remission. He is given no indication that he will ever be released or even that his conditions will be relaxed; he is deprived of hope. This callous treatment is exceptional and inhuman; the Turkish state and its leader, President Erdogan, are flouting all the norms of international law and behaving inhumanely.

All human beings are entitled to hope for a betterment of their conditions. Hope of better times keeps us alive. Abdullah Öcalan is resilient, but he is human too. He is not a child and does not miss the normal birthday get togethers that other people enjoy. But he does deserve the right to enjoy a normal life and that entails the opportunity to meet and socialise with friends and loved ones. Human beings are social creatures; they crave the company of others.

To inflict isolation on an individual for such a long period of time is a cruelty that is beyond endurance for most ordinary people. Öcalan is a strong character and survives the ordeal, but by any standards of law, he has now earned his right to freedom."

The statement continued: "But this is not about the fate of one man or his physical discomfort, although these are important matters. Abdullah Öcalan is a national political leader. He is honoured as a hero by the Kurdish people for fighting the historic injustice that they suffer. Öcalan brought hope to the Kurds by building a movement and inspiring them with a vision that they could be free.

More important of all is that how Öcalan is punished, humiliated and dehumanised by the Turkish state reflects how Turkey treats the Kurdish people as a whole. They continue to be repressed inside Turkey and attacked across the border. The ban on the HDP, the political party supported by Kurdish people in elections, is coming up before the Turkish Constitutional Court soon. If the ban is confirmed, the Kurds will be deprived of a political voice and representation in Turkey. Meanwhile, the Turkish military continue their intervention into northern Iraq (southern Kurdistan), killing and bombing civilians intermittently, with hardly a murmur of protest from the so-called international community and those who are supposed to uphold international law.

All the while, Turkey seeks a higher profile on the international stage as a peace maker by hosting the talks between Russia and Ukraine to bring the conflict in Europe to an end. Turkey’s allies look on approvingly and the world applauds Erdogan for his efforts at working to achieve peace. The hypocrisy and double standards are truly sickening.

Turkey should be judged by its actions with regards to the treatment of the Kurdish people and their leader Abdullah Öcalan. Peace in Kurdistan sends its greetings to Abdullah Ocalan on the occasion on his birthday and repeats once again the call for his immediate release.

The world must acknowledge that Öcalan has a vital role to play in the pursuit of peace and reconciliation between Turkey and the Kurds. This conflict raging for decades must never be forgotten. A solution is as urgent as ever."

Michigan governor sues to secure abortion rights, vacate ban

By DAVID EGGERT

FILE - Gov. Gretchen Whitmer speaks during a news conference in Lansing, Mich., Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2022. Whitmer sued Thursday, April 7, to protect abortion rights, asking a Michigan court to recognize a right to abortion under the state constitution and to overturn a 176-year-old ban that may take effect if the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling is vacated.(AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)


LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer sued Thursday to protect abortion rights, asking a Michigan court to recognize a right to abortion under the state constitution and to overturn a 176-year-old ban in the state that may take effect if the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling is vacated.

The Democratic governor’s preemptive lawsuit, which was filed in Oakland County against prosecutors in 13 counties with an abortion clinic, came as the U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative majority considers allowing states to ban abortion much earlier in pregnancy and potentially overturning the right. Planned Parenthood of Michigan and its chief medical officer filed a similar suit in the state Court of Claims to block enforcement of the 1931 law, which dates to an 1846 ban.

Whitmer, who is up for reelection this year, was expected to request that the Michigan Supreme Court quickly take her case rather than let it wind through lower trial and appellate courts. A favorable decision could enable abortions to continue in Michigan after the federal high court rules.

“It was important for us to take action now, to ensure that women and providers across the state of Michigan know whether abortions will still be available in the state because it impacts their lives and our health care providers’ practices. It’s crucial that we take this action now to secure and ensure that the Michigan Constitution protects this right that we have had available for 49 years,” the governor told The Associated Press, saying nearly 2.2 million women may lose access to a safe, legal medical procedure.

Michigan is among eight states with an unenforced abortion ban that was enacted before the 1973 Roe decision legalized abortion nationwide. States on both sides of the abortion issue have been taking a variety of steps to prepare for Roe being eroded or rescinded, including making it a crime to perform an abortion and banning legal action against people who aid or receive an abortion.

Michigan’s law makes it a felony to use an instrument or administer any substance with the intent “to procure the miscarriage” of a woman unless necessary to preserve her life.

Whitmer wants the Michigan Supreme Court to declare a state constitutional right to abortion and to strike down the 1931 law, which could go back into effect if Roe is overturned or weakened. The lawsuit argues that the law is invalid under the due process and equal protection clauses of the state constitution.

Michigan could soon be left with a near-total ban without even exceptions for rape and incest — “one of the most extreme laws in the country,” Whitmer said. Her call to repeal the law has gone nowhere in the Republican-controlled Legislature.

The state high court has four Democratic and three Republican justices.

Whitmer will ask that the court intervene in part to avoid legal uncertainty when the federal high court issues its ruling on Mississippi’s ban on abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy.

The complaint says that while the Michigan Supreme Court in 1973 ruled that Roe limited the effect of the state ban, the right to abortion has been undermined over 50 years of litigation in federal courts. The state’s high court has not said whether the state constitution protects the right. The Michigan Court of Appeals, in 1997, ruled there is no state constitutional right to abortion — a reason the Michigan Supreme Court should step in immediately, according to her office.

The lawsuit points to “substantial ambiguity” about what the state ban prohibits.

Abortion rights advocates have launched a ballot drive to enshrine the right to abortion in the state constitution but need about 425,000 voter signatures to put the initiative on the November ballot.

Also Thursday, seven Democratic county prosecutors who were named in the lawsuit pledged to not enforce the anti-abortion law.

“We cannot and will not support criminalizing reproductive freedom or creating unsafe, untenable situations for health care providers and those who seek abortions in our communities,” said the elected prosecutors in Wayne, Oakland, Genesee, Washtenaw, Ingham, Kalamazoo and Marquette counties. “Instead, we will continue to dedicate our limited resources towards the prosecution of serious crimes and the pursuit of justice for all.”

The other six elected prosecutors who were sued are Republicans.

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Associated Press writer Corey Williams in West Bloomfield, Michigan, contributed to this report.

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Follow David Eggert at https://twitter.com/DavidEggert00

Abortion rights backers block ‘trigger’ law in Nebraska

By GRANT SCHULTE

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Abortion rights proponents scored a surprising victory in Nebraska by derailing a bill that would have automatically outlawed abortion if the U.S. Supreme Court ever overturns its Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized the procedure throughout the country.

The vote on Wednesday frustrated abortion rights opponents, who usually win fights over the issue in the conservative Legislature. More than a dozen other conservative states have passed similar measures already, but abortion rights backers in Nebraska managed to block it using a filibuster in the single-chamber Legislature.

The bill’s supporters fell two votes short of the 33 they needed to end the filibuster and force a vote. The 31-15 vote left the proposal essentially dead for the rest of the year, even though a majority of lawmakers supported it. The vote largely fell along party lines in the ostensibly nonpartisan Legislature.

In 2010, Nebraska became the first state to ban abortions after the 20th week of pregnancy, and the state outlawed a second-trimester abortion procedure in 2020 despite fervent protests from abortion rights supporters.

The latest bill, however, faced a tougher path because of the current makeup of the Legislature, where Republicans are one seat short of the supermajority needed to overcome filibusters. One Republican and Democrat each crossed party lines, effectively canceling the other’s vote. One Republican and two Democrats were absent.

Supporters argued that the majority of Nebraska voters oppose abortion, based on who the state consistently elects.

“We envision a Nebraska where every life is celebrated and protected,” said state Sen. Joni Albrecht, the bill’s sponsor.

Opponents assailed it as an intrusion on women’s autonomy and vowed not to budge in their opposition.

“In state by state, legislatures are taking a sledgehammer to women’s freedom,” said state Sen. Anna Wishart, of Lincoln.

The debate turned personal at times, with abortion rights supporters railing against the bill’s backers for supporting it even though it doesn’t include exceptions for rape or incest.

“Proponents of this bill have no shame left,” said state Sen. Megan Hunt, of Omaha, adding that she was offended as both a mother a sexual assault survivor. “I will cherish the time that I have worked here forever, but when I am term limited (out of office), I will probably not talk to most of you ever again.”

The debate came ahead of an expected June ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which concerns a Mississippi law that bans abortions after 15 weeks or pregnancy.

Both sides have told the court there’s no middle ground in the case. In anticipation of the ruling, 13 states have passed so-called trigger laws to automatically ban abortions if the court sides with abortion opponents. Ohio and Oklahoma approved their trigger laws last year.

The court’s original 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling allows state to regulate but not ban abortions up to the point of fetal viability, which is around the 24th week of a pregnance. Justices reaffirmed the decision in 1992.

The Nebraska vote drew promises of political retribution against some elected officials. Jim Pillen, a top Republican candidate for governor, said Thursday that he would work to unseat some lawmakers who are up for reelection and who voted to block the bill.

“Last night, the Legislature failed the people of Nebraska in voting to keep abortion legal,” Pillen said. “Abortion is murder, and as a pro-life state, the majority of Nebraskans realize we need to outlaw it.”

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Follow Grant Schulte on Twitter: https://twitter.com/GrantSchulte