Roussopoulos: "We need a high-level delegation to investigate Turkish use of chemical weapons"

Dimitrios I. Roussopoulos talks to journalist Erem Kansoy about why Turkey must be investigated and challenged on the use of chemical weapons in South Kurdistan.

Dimitrios is a political activist, writer, editor, publisher, community organizer and public speaker, living in the city of Montreal. Since the late 1950s, he has been active in peace initiatives, ecology projects, and in the cooperative movement. Since 2001, he has led the Taskforce on Municipal Democracy of the City of Montréal. He is also involved in the World Social Forums, and continues to advance the need for an extra-parliamentary opposition in Canada. (HIS TERM FOR ANARCHISM)

Roussopoulos is the founder of Black Rose Books and the author and editor of numerous books.

The interview was prepared with the support of the Freedom for Ocalan Campaign and the Peace in Kurdistan campaign in collaboration with Medya Haber TV and Sterk TV.

Peace in Kurdistan - https://www.peaceinkurdistancampaign.com

Campaign Against Criminalising Communities (CAMPACC} - http://www.campacc.org.uk

Medya Haber https://www.medyahaber.info/

 

Political activist Dimitrios Roussopoulos calls for the formation of an international delegation to investigate the use of chemical weapons by the Turkish state.

EREM KANSOY
LONDON
Thursday, 2 Dec 2021, 09:52

Dimitrios Roussopoulos is a political activist, writer, editor, publisher and public speaker. He lives in Montréal. Since the late 1950s he has been actively involved in peace initiatives, ecology projects and cooperative movements. Since 2001 he has headed the Department of Local Democracy for the City of Montréal. He also takes part in world social forums and supports the establishment of an extra-parliamentary opposition in Canada. In this conversation with ANF, Roussopoulos commented on the silence of international institutions about the use of chemical weapons by the Turkish state.

Why is the United Nations (UN) silent despite evidence of the use of chemical weapons against the Kurds?

In fact, the UN is an organization of politicians from different countries who all act in the interests of their countries. The work on the use of chemical weapons and, above all, on their detection is extremely inadequate. There are very few reports of the use of chemical weapons, and the fact that independent sources are not working on them is a major problem.

Do you think that independent investigative delegations need to be sent to the region immediately, or do you recommend that evidence from the region be brought to the UN laboratories?

The OPCW works as an independent institution; it has around 5,000 employees and a budget of millions. It is a very serious problem that they have not yet carried out their own independent research to prove that chemical weapons are used, for example, by the Turkish army. Therefore, there is no up-to-date report from institutions like the OPCW or any institution in the European Union or the United Nations that shows whether or not chemical weapons are used. That is actually our biggest shortcoming at the moment.

Which measures can be taken internationally against the Turkish state?

A top international delegation should be organized. It should visit the regions we are talking about. After its return, the delegation has to report what it saw and what the people in the region said. This report must be sent to all relevant institutions. Something like this can only be achieved through public pressure. People should organize themselves with this in mind.

Would you want to take part in such a delegation?

I would definitely go. I would like to do that if the necessary conditions are in place, because I have been active in campaigns for nuclear disarmament for many years and I am very sensitive to these issues. I always want war crimes investigated.

In 2003, international powers invaded Iraq under the pretext of chemical weapons. Why don't these powers take even a small step against the Turkish state's use of chemical weapons?

The President of the EU Commission for Human Rights and Security says there is no evidence of the use of chemical weapons. He has recommended Turkey, Syria and Iraq, and also the Kurdish people, to hold talks on a peaceful solution. This clearly shows us how necessary it is to put what has happened in serious reports in order to be able to investigate the situation independently. This is the way to get international discussions going on this issue.

How Uganda’s endangered mountain gorillas survived the pandemic

Relationships between forest dwellers and the animals have deteriorated in recent years, especially during the pandemic.

A gorilla trapped in a snare in Bwindi forest, Uganda 

[File: Jack Dutton/Al Jazeera]

By Jack Dutton
Published On 5 Apr 2022

Bwindi, Uganda – According to legend, the Batwa pygmy forest dwellers of southwestern Uganda have lived in the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest for more than 300 years, sharing their home with the majority of the world’s endangered mountain gorillas, but also being wary of them.

If the Batwa met a gorilla in the forest on the way to a hunt, they would feel like they met a bad omen, Wilber Tumwesigye, one of the Bwindi ranger guides told Al Jazeera.

“They would then think that they’re not going to be successful, so what they did was go back home,” he said. “They saw them as a bad animal. That’s also why I think these gorillas have survived. If it wasn’t for that, they would be spearing them and eating them.”

The forest is home to approximately 500 mountain gorillas, nearly half of the world’s gorilla population. In 1991, when Bwindi was established as a national park for the gorillas, authorities controversially evicted the Indigenous people from the forest, to nearby districts.

Still, humans and gorillas continued to interact. Conservationists and tourists often go gorilla trekking in the forest, and villagers often come into the park to look for food and natural resources. Sometimes, the primates also come to nearby villages to feed on farmers’ crops.

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic began and that wiped out tourism in Bwindi, but interactions between the gorillas and villagers conversely increased. Between March and October 2020, at the height of the pandemic, the park was closed to the public.

During that period, illegal poaching for bushmeat also skyrocketed.

“Over the six-month period, we collected 832 snares – that translates to around 150 snares in a month,” said Nelson Guma, chief warden for the Bwindi Mgahinga Conservation Area (BMCA). “Before the lockdown, in a year, we would get around 20.”

The snares help catch bush meat – such as antelope, duiker and bushpigs – for the hunter’s consumption and to sell to community members.

“A bush pig can fetch up to 100,000 shillings ($28),” says Nahabwe Job, 45, a Bwindi conservation ranger in Buhoma, a village on the northern edge of the park. He is a member of the Human Gorilla Conflict Group (HUGO), established in 1998 to mediate human-gorilla conflicts.

Charles Tumwesigye (unrelated to Wilber), deputy director, field operations at the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), saw similar spikes in illegal poaching in national parks across the country.

“People left town because they couldn’t work. They were redundant and we thought that many youths who were working in towns, because of the lockdowns, had gone and set snares in the parks,” he said.

“[Also] even the rangers who go out to monitor illegal activities were not going to work, so the poachers thought: ‘Now there is a lockdown, nobody can go so it’s an opportunity for us to go and set snares without being caught.’”

Ugandan Wildlife Authority’s Chief Park Warden of Murchison Falls Edison Nuwamanya, standing by snares villagers use to capture wild animals for bush meat 

[File: Jack Dutton/ Al Jazeera]

Before the pandemic, tourism made up 7.7 percent of Uganda’s GDP. Bwindi alone brought in $2m monthly and accounted for 60 percent of UWA’s revenue.

By the end of 2020, local businesses close to the park – safari lodges, tour companies, souvenir shops – all but closed down. The villages around the park usually get 20 percent of the total funds from the gorilla tracking permits tourists buy for Bwindi.

The money is paid annually and goes towards community projects, such as new schools and health centres. But in 2020 and 2021, they were not given that money because of the dramatic drop in tourism, Guma said.
Death and deterrence

In June 2020, one of Uganda’s best-known mountain gorillas was killed by a poacher. Rafiki, a 25-year-old large silverback who led a group of 17 gorillas, was speared to death by a poacher who had set traps to catch bush meat.

In his testimony, the suspect said he had come to check on the traps when he saw Rafiki’s group there. The man said the animal saw him as a threat and attacked him, so he had to lunge at Rafiki in self-defence.

A court handed the perpetrator an 11-year prison sentence – the longest anyone has ever been put in jail for killing a wild animal in Uganda.

Rafiki’s group was habituated, meaning that the apes were used to human contact and would not usually act aggressively. Job said the communities were “shocked” after Rafiki’s death, so the UWA and villagers had to implement a conservation action plan to prevent a repeat incident in future.

Gorillas were often coming out of the park and into villages, where they would feed on farmers’ crops and vegetation like eucalyptus trees for their high salt content. Villagers were encouraged to replace these trees with crops like tea and coffee, which are unpalatable to the great apes but are good revenue earners.

The UWA established “flight camps” — bases of 24 rangers situated in hunting hotspots in the national park to stop poaching and the gorillas getting caught in the traps. Four camps were initially established, with rangers patrolling eight-kilometre radiuses, and three remain active, Guma said. The camps deterred poachers from laying traps in the forest, shifting location depending on the position of poachers.

Five HUGO members, individuals in the community who have received conservation training – are stationed in each village next to Bwindi. During the pandemic, they met regularly and also herded gorillas back into the forest whenever they came into the villages and the wildlife authority was not present.

Without tourism, many villagers living close to the park were without income and much food, so the UWA and local conservationists supplied villages with fast-growing seeds — such as pumpkins, tomatoes, onions and amaranths — for sustenance. Community members were also educated about conservation issues and the health risks of eating bushmeat.

Villagers, especially those working in the park, like the porters and rangers, were encouraged to get vaccinated to protect the gorillas from COVID-19. Tourists were also told to wear masks, sanitise and social distance from the gorillas to protect them from airborne diseases.

COVID-19 concerns

Since Rafiki, no other gorillas have died amid a surge in poaching during the pandemic and since 2020, there have been at least 34 new births, according to Guma. Still, concerns about COVID-19 remain.

“It’s one of the things that keeps me awake at night, especially when you’ve had these variants, the Delta and the Omicron variant which is very, very contagious,” veterinarian and gorilla expert Dr Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka said.

Although there have been no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Bwindi’s gorillas, the disease has quickly spread among gorillas in zoos in Atlanta, Prague and San Diego.

Humans share about 98.4 percent of their DNA with gorillas. “The cost of illness was similar to humans, where the eldest aged Silverback got very, very ill, it was 48 years old, and he had to get monoclonal antibodies, which is a very expensive treatment for COVID,” the vet said.

In the wild, gorillas move around in groups and silverbacks – older dominant males – may fight among themselves, meaning that a virus can quickly spread.

If COVID-19 spread to the endangered population, Kalema-Zikusoka said, they would require 24-hour monitoring and quarantining, which would be “a total nightmare” because they are wild animals.

Currently, only 6.5 percent of Ugandans are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, but she argued that when the vaccine is widely available, it should become mandatory. “The community of Bwindi knows that if they want tourism to come back like it was before, they need to be vaccinated,” she said.

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for BUSHMEAT 

LITERACY IS REVOLUTIONARY

Texas leads among 26 states with book bans, free speech group says

By Nicole Chavez, CNN - 
© Jason Hoekema/The Brownsville Herald/AP

More than a 1,000 books have been banned in 86 school districts in 26 states across the United States, a new PEN America analysis shows.

PEN America, a literary and free expression advocacy organization, released a detailed analysis on Thursday of challenges to and bans on school library books and class curriculums. The group said it documented media reports, consulted school district websites, and spoke with librarians, authors and teachers from July 31, 2021, to March 31, 2022.

According to PEN America, in that period, there were 1,586 books banned. Texas led the country with the most book bans -- 713 -- affecting 16 school districts, followed by Pennsylvania and Florida with 456 and 204 bans, respectively. PEN America describes a book ban as "any action taken against a book based on its content" that leads to the removal or restriction of a previously accessible book. The analysis includes book removals or restrictions that lasted at least a day, the group says.

Jonathan Friedman, director of PEN America's Free Expression and Education program and lead author of the report, said challenges to books in American schools are nothing new, but the rate at which they have recently taken place is "unparalleled."

"Challenges to books, specifically books by non-White male authors, are happening at the highest rates we've ever seen," Friedman said. "What is happening in this country in terms of banning books in schools is unparalleled in its frequency, intensity, and success."

The group says the book bans were directed at 1,145 different titles, many of which tell stories related to LGBTQ people and people of color.

PEN America said the analysis of book titles was based on "standard publishing information provided through marketing and sales materials by publishers for books, as well as relevant reading and review of the books in question."

The findings are similar to those released earlier this week by the American Library Association. Both groups described the number of book challenges as unprecedented and named the same six titles among the most banned books.

Those six titles are, "Gender Queer" by Maia Kobabe, "Lawn Boy" by Jonathan Evison, "All Boys Aren't Blue" by George M. Johnson, "Out of Darkness" by Ashley Hope Perez, "The Bluest Eye," by Toni Morrison and "Beyond Magenta" by Susan Kuklin. Each title has been banned in at least 11 school districts.

Kobabe's book has been banned in 30 school districts, PEN America says, the most of any other book.

Politicians and school board members have played a significant role in book banning, PEN America says. At least 41% of book bans were linked to directives from state officials or elected lawmakers.

In Texas, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has pressured school boards to remove what he calls "pornography" from school libraries. Meanwhile in Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill late last month that requires school libraries to post more information about their collections and seek community input on materials they acquire.

The trend, PEN America says, is a departure from past book removal practices, which were usually initiated by community members.

The book bans "have become a favorite tool for state-wide and national political mobilization" with groups such as Moms for Liberty, a conservative group whose "mission is to organize, educate and empower parents," curating lists of books to be challenged and urging parents to mobilize, the analysis says.

The group also found that at least 96% of the bans were initiated by school administrators or board members and that for the most part, school officials did not follow existing guidelines, raising "serious concerns," it said.

The report also states that school officials were not transparent or made "opaque or ad hoc decisions" before removing book titles.

Suzanne Nossel, CEO of PEN America, said the wave of book bans represents a troubling retreat from America's historic commitment to First Amendment rights.

"By short-circuiting rights-protective review processes, these bans raise serious concerns in terms of constitutionality, and represent an affront to the role of our public schools as vital training grounds for democratic citizenship that instill a commitment to freedom of speech and thought," Nossel said.

 LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for BLASPHEMY 

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for FREE SPEECH 

Pakistan parliament to meet Saturday to decide PM Khan's fate

By Asif Shahzad and Gibran Naiyyar Peshimam

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) -Pakistan's parliament will convene on Saturday to vote on removing Imran Khan as prime minister, an official notice said on Friday, potentially cutting short his term as leader.

The country's top court ruled late on Thursday that Khan must face the no-confidence vote, which he is widely expected to lose, meaning he would be ousted from office.

The lower house of parliament has been convened for a session on Saturday at 10:30 a.m. (0530 GMT), the speaker's office said in an order paper. The vote, brought by the opposition leader Shehbaz Sharif, is the fourth point on the agenda.

Khan, a former cricket star who took office in 2018, was due to address the nation later on Friday. He said after Thursday's ruling that "My message to our nation is I have always and will continue to fight for (Pakistan) till the last ball".

A member of Khan's government denounced the Supreme Court's decision to quash the prime minister's effort to block the no-confidence vote.

"A judicial coup happened last night ... ending parliamentary supremacy!" Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari said on Twitter.

In its ruling, the Supreme Court said Khan had acted unconstitutionally in blocking the no-confidence vote when it was due to take place last Sunday, after which he dissolved parliament and called an election.

The ruling was the latest twist in a crisis that has threatened political and economic stability in the country of 220 million people, where the military has ruled for half its history.

Khan, who opposed the U.S.-led intervention in Afghanistan and has developed relations with Russia since he became prime minister, has accused the United States of supporting a plot to oust him. Washington has dismissed the accusation.

If he loses the no-confidence vote, the opposition will put forward a candidate for prime minister.

Shehbaz Sharif, the younger brother of three-time former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, said after the court ruling that the opposition had nominated him to take over should Khan be ousted.

ENDING UNCERTAINTY?

The rupee currency hit all-time lows on Thursday and foreign exchange reserves tumbled.

Pakistan's central bank hiked its benchmark interest rate by 250 basis points on Thursday, the largest such move since 1996.

On Friday, markets opened higher on investor hopes the crisis might be easing. The Pakistan Stock Exchange was up 680 points, or 1.5%, and the rupee had rebounded from historic lows.

"The court decision will end political uncertainty and constitutional crisis to a large extent. This will help restore come confidence in the markets," Muhammad Sohail of Karachi-based Topline Securities told Reuters.

"However economic challenges remain and it will be interesting to see how new set-up takes bold steps to put things in order," he added.

Pakistan's sovereign dollar bonds stumbled again on Friday, however.

The 2029 issue dropped more than 1 cent to 88.6 cents on the dollar while shorter-dated issues traded around the mid-70s cents, Tradeweb data showed. The country's bonds had traded close to par of 100 cents at the start of the year.

The opposition has said it wants early elections but only after delivering Khan a political defeat and passing legislation that it says is needed to ensure the next polls are free and fair.

The election commission has said the earliest it can hold elections is in October, which means any new government will have to deal with pressing economic issues before that.

(Reporting by Asif Shahzad, Gibran Naiyyar Peshimam and Syed Raza Hassan in IslamabadAdditional reporting by Karin Strohecker in LondonWriting by Alasdair PalEditing by Sanjeev Miglani, Robert Birsel and Frances Kerry)

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M

CANADIAN Billionaire Fined Huge Penalty for Funneling $1.75M to Pro-Trump PAC

Jake Thomas - 
Newsweek
© Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

U.S. election regulators have hit a Canadian billionaire with one of their largest ever penalties for illegally funneling money to a political action committee affiliated with former President Donald Trump.

The Federal Election Commission fined Barry Zekelman, a Canadian steel executive, and two of his companies $975,000 for directing $1.75 million to the Trump-aligned America First Action, in violation of America's ban on foreign nationals donating to federal elections.

The fine stems from a complaint filed in 2019 by Campaign Legal Center, an elections watchdog group that cited reporting from The New York Times. The complaint alleged that Zekelman used his companies to direct the money to the super PAC in hopes of influencing Trump's tariff's on steel imports.

Super PACs are political action committees that can raise unlimited amounts of money from corporations and individuals. Adav Noti, vice president and legal director of Campaign Legal Center, said in a statement that the fine, the FEC's third largest, should serve as a warning to super PACs.

"Imposing this serious penalty helps protect the voices of voters from being drowned out by foreign corporations and other special interests," Noti said. "Super PACs funded by foreign money are just one example of how wealthy special interests use campaign contributions to rig the political system in their favor."

Zekelman, CEO of Zekelman Industries, used the company's subsidiary, Wheatland Tube, Inc., to make the series of alleged illicit donations in 2018, according to FEC documents.

Responding to the allegations, Zekelman argued the donations were not illegal because the president of Pennsylvania-based pipe manufacturer Wheatland Tube is a U.S. citizen, according to FEC filings assessing the penalty.

However, the FEC determined that "Zekelman Industries, through the actions of its executives, provided substantial assistance in Wheatland Tube's making of prohibited foreign national contributions."

Mickey McNamara, who serves as president of Wheatland Tube and general counsel of Zekelman Industries, said in a sworn declaration that he made the decision to contribute to the PAC after speaking with Zekelman, according to an FEC filing. McNamara said he made the decision to contribute independently and did not know that having Zekelman participate in the discussion would have any legal implications, the filing states.

"The available information nevertheless indicates that there is reason to believe that Zekelman, a foreign national, directed or participated in Wheatland Tube's decision-making process to make the contributions, and Zekelman Industries, through the actions of its executives who report to Zekelman, provided substantial assistance in the making of the prohibited contributions," reads the FEC filing.

The FEC noted that it "did not find that the violation was knowing or willful."

As part of the FEC's decision, Zekelman and his companies must also request a refund of the contributions or that the money be handed over to the U.S. Treasury.

Newsweek has reached out to Zekelman's attorney for comment.

Feral pigs may outsmart Alberta's new bounty hunters, boar expert warns

An open hunt intended to eradicate Alberta's wild boar population may instead make the feral swine more elusive to bounty hunters, a researcher warns.


© Submitted by Ryan Brook

Wild boars are extremely clever and elusive, says Ryan Brook, an associate professor in the agriculture department at the University of Saskatchewan.

Wallis Snowdon - CBC

The province has placed a price on the heads of wild pigs — re-establishing a bounty program designed to root out stubborn populations of the invasive species.

The hunt must be carefully managed, said Ryan Brook, an associate professor in the agriculture department of the University of Saskatchewan and director of the Canada Wild Pig Research Project.

Sporadic hunting will make the animals harder to track, Brook said. Wild boar quickly learn to disperse and evade threats — and will pass these tricks onto their young.

"Wild pigs are incredibly smart, incredibly elusive," Brook said.

"The more pressure you put on them from chasing them or shooting at them — any kind of thing that puts pressure on them and makes them nervous — they will become more and more nocturnal to the point where they may be only active during total darkness."

The province announced Tuesday that hunters, landowners and government-approved trappers will be rewarded for killing boars.

Trappers will be awarded $75 per set of ears, with the expectation that they have killed an entire sounder. Hunters and landowners will also get $75 per set.

The hunting bounty is a pilot program that began April 1 and will run for the next year. To date, the County of Stettler and the Municipal District of Peace have signed on.

The trapper side of the program will run until the spring of 2024.

The Wild Boar Control Program includes expanded surveillance and new compensation for farmers.

Brook said there is no silver bullet to eradicate the prolific breeders. Increased surveillance along with trapping efforts will likely be most effective, he said.

"One of the things that stands out really positively for the Alberta program is it recognizes that there's no one tool to fix this," he said. "There's no one magic option that's going to remove them.

"I do have some reservations about bounties, but I hesitate to be too critical because anytime anybody is doing things to find and remove pigs on the landscape is a very good thing."

Alberta has been waging a decades-long battle against the pigs, which have been spotted in at least 28 municipalities.

Running amok

Wild boar's ability to survive in almost any climate makes them among the most prolific invasive species in North America.

A hybrid of domestic pigs and European wild boar, the animals can weigh up to 150 kilograms, and have a woolly undercoat that protects them from the cold.

They usually live in the forest, emerging to devour crops, contaminate water sources and harass livestock. They also carry diseases that can be transmitted to domestic pigs.

They have been found in at least 39 states, with populations entrenched in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba with scattered infestations in B.C., Ontario and Quebec.

One of the largest feral populations can be found in Texas where bounties have been in place for years.

Boar are very clever and hunting them too heavily in one area can just drive them into new territory, said Allen Williams, owner of Dos Plumas Hunting Ranch, a hog hunting ranch northwest of Abilene.

"If you put enough pressure on them, they'll just find another place to go that's impenetrable."

The animals are clever, incredibly hardy, and will eat almost anything, he said.

"They can adapt to anything," Williams said. "They can make a living on anything. They can eat a rock and make a living off it, I think."

Wild boar were first introduced to Alberta in the 1970s and 1980s for breeding and game farming.

In those early days, the hogs were often allowed to roam at large. Few believed feral pigs could survive Alberta winters. Instead, escapees thrived.

The Old Yeller effect

In May 2008, as the pigs began to destroy crops with greater frequency, the province declared them an official pest and launched a bounty program, offering Albertans $50 per pig.

More than 1,000 wild boars were killed through the program but it was shut down in 2017, in part due to declining interest.

Williams expects Alberta hunters will be keen to rejoin Albera's bounty hunt.

He said there is a certain mystique about the animals, which he credits to a scene in the Disney film Old Yeller when a young farming boy is attacked by wild hogs.

"That created in everybody's mind, at such a young age, that these things are just out to kill anything that walks by," he said.

"That sense of excitement, that a bit of danger, if you will, is a fixation."

' SKIN IN THE GAME'

Ohio GOP Senate hopeful: Middle class doesn't pay fair share


COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Mike Gibbons, a leading Republican Senate candidate from Ohio, said at a media event last fall that middle-class Americans don't pay “any kind of a fair share” of income taxes.

“The top 20% of earners in the United States pay 82% of federal income tax — and, if you do the math, and 45% to 50% don’t pay any income tax, you can see the middle class is not really paying any kind of a fair share, depending on how you want to define it,” Gibbons said.
THEY DON'T EARN ENOUGH

The comments by Gibbons, a millionaire investment banker from Cleveland, were made in a September episode of “The Landscape” podcast by Crain's Cleveland Business. But they could take on new resonance after Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida, a potential 2024 presidential candidate, introduced a governing plan in February that has divided the party over its call to raise taxes on millions of Americans who don’t earn enough to pay federal income taxes.

Scott, who leads the Senate Republicans’ campaign arm, has said that paying even a small tax would give poor people “skin in the game” to boost their interest and involvement in how tax dollars are spent.

Other leading Republicans, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, have distanced themselves from Scott's proposal, worried that the prospect of raising taxes on lower-income Americans could prompt election-year attacks from Democrats.

Campaign spokesperson Samantha Cotten said Friday that Gibbons has pledged not to raise taxes on individuals or businesses.

“Mike Gibbons does not support tax increases on any American — and never has,” she said in a statement. “Mike is a businessman, not a career politician and he understands economics and how to implement smart ideas and strategies that will benefit all Americans.”

Yet, ahead of the May 3 primary, Republican rivals are looking to use the comments against Gibbons. One opponent, Republican Mark Pukita, has had it posted on his YouTube page for the last three weeks with the caption "Tax Hike Mike Gibbons.”

Asked about the Scott plan during a Republican Senate debate last week, former Ohio Republican chair Jane Timken said she opposes his proposal to raise taxes on the middle class, while “Hillbilly Elegy” author J.D. Vance said the GOP needs to stand for “middle-class people being able to raise a family and do it on a single income.”

In the video, Gibbons is pictured before a campaign backdrop and criticizes Democrats for advancing an “absolutely false” narrative that “the middle class is getting screwed and the wealthy, the elite, are cheating everybody” because they "need the middle class to win an election.” He says he doesn't have a problem with a "progressive tax system structure" but notes that the wealthy already pay a lot in taxes.

Gibbons asks: “How much of the total tax bill can a very small percentage of the nation pay and still be a democracy?"

Democrats have spent the better part of a decade pushing for higher taxes on top earners and will likely do so again this year.

President Joe Biden included a “Billionaire Minimum Income Tax” in his 2023 budget proposal. In announcing the tax proposal, the Democrat asserted that “a firefighter and a teacher pay more than double” the tax rate that a billionaire pays.

According an analysis of 2019 Internal Revenue Service data, the most recent available, by the fiscally conservative Tax Foundation, the top 10% of Americans earn 47.3% of reported income and pay 70.9% of the income taxes. The bottom 50% of American wage earners report 11.5% of the income and pay 3.1% of the taxes. That leaves the middle 40% of Americans earning 41.2% of the income and paying 26.1% of the income taxes.

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a left-leaning think tank, argues that such figures do not reflect considerable amounts of wealth among high-income Americans that are shielded from taxation or are taxed at lower rates than wage earners.

Julie Carr Smyth, The Associated Press

Ukrainians shocked by 'crazy' scene at Chernobyl after Russian pullout reveals radioactive contamination

By Vasco Cotovio, Frederik Pleitgen, Byron Blunt and Daria Markina, CNN 
© Vasco Cotovio/CNN

The sudden ear-piercing beep of a radiation meter fills the room as a Ukrainian soldier walks in. This is where Russian soldiers were living at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, and radiation levels are now higher than normal.

There's no visible presence of the source of the radioactive material in the room, but Ukrainian officials say it's coming from small particles and dust that the soldiers brought into the building.

"They went to the Red Forest and brought radioactive material back with them on their shoes," soldier Ihor Ugolkov explains. "Other places are fine, but radiation increased here, because they were living here."

CNN was given exclusive access to the power plant for the first time since it came back into Ukrainian control.

Officials at the plant explain the levels inside the room used by Russian soldiers are only slightly above what the World Nuclear Association describes as naturally occurring radiation. One-time contact would not be dangerous but continuous exposure would pose a health hazard.

"They went everywhere, and they also took some radioactive dust on them [when they left]," Ugolkov adds.

It's an example of what Ukrainian officials say was the lax and careless behavior of Russian soldiers while they were in control of the site of the 1986 nuclear disaster. The area around Chernobyl, namely the Red Forest, is still the most nuclear contaminated area on the planet, with most of the radioactive particles present on the soil.

Ukrainian officials have released drone footage of what they say were trenches dug by Russian soldiers in that area, which is particularly radioactive. At a safe location, on the edges of that area, CNN saw a Russian military ration box that exhibited radiation levels 50 times above naturally occurring values.

Russian soldiers held Chernobyl for a month and are thought to have been operating in contaminated areas most of the time.

"It's crazy, really," Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko tells CNN at the plant. "I really have no idea why they did it (go into the Red Forest).

"But we can see they went in there, the soldiers who went there, came back here and the level of radiation increased."

Although Chernobyl is not an active power plant, the sarcophagus above the reactor that exploded nearly 36 years ago needs to be maintained to avoid further radiation leaks. There is also a considerable amount of spent nuclear fuel that needs to be looked after.

"That confinement is supposed to have electricity, it's supposed to have the ventilation system and so on," Galushchenko explains. "When the country cannot control this, and we are responsible, Ukraine is responsible for the security, of course, that is a threat."

Part of that threat also came from how Russian soldiers managed those responsible for maintaining the nuclear facilities.

[Our staff] were here from the first day of occupation, and they only had the possibility of being replaced a month later," he says. "When people are physically and morally exhausted, when you are under threat of guns, and you have this everyday pressure from the soldiers, it's really a very difficult job."

Volodymyr Falshovnyk, 64, is a shift manager at Chernobyl. He returned to the power plant on March 20 when the Russian military allowed the fatigued personnel to rotate with their colleagues from the nearby city of Slavutych, where many of the plant's workers live.

He says the staff were working under tremendous pressure, not just because of what was happening at Chernobyl, but also because of the news they were receiving from the outside world.

"Our relatives began to call and say that the city was being stormed, that there were wounded and dead," he says. "We asked the Russians what was going on and they said there were no regular Russian troops there but we continued to hear that there was shelling."

Falshovnyk also accused the Russian soldiers of looting the power plant.

"They gave us personnel from Rosatom (Russian Nuclear Agency) to escort us, and in their escort we toured the uncovered warehouses. They robbed these warehouses all the time," he adds.

Operating under those conditions was intense, but nothing compared to what the security staff endured.

The 169 Ukraine National Guard soldiers, who guarded the facility, were locked in the plant's Cold War era underground nuclear bunker, crammed up in tight quarters without access to natural light, fresh air or communication with the outside world, according to the Ukrainian Interior Minister.

"They were kept here for 30 days without sufficient lighting and food. They were not allowed outside. On the last day they were taken away from here to an unknown direction," Denys Monastyrskyy says while standing inside the bunker.

The minister says he believes the men have been taken to Russia, via Belarus, as prisoners of war, but doesn't know for certain.

"Today we know nothing about their fate unfortunately," he says.

CNN was shown inside the bunker and other places usually occupied by the plant's staff by Ukrainian officials who claimed Russian soldiers had ransacked the place. Clothes, hygiene supplies and other personal belongings were scattered all over the floor.

"The Russian military went through all Ukrainian clothes, personal belongings, like dogs, in search of, probably, money, valuables, laptops," Monastyrskyy continues. "There was looting here. The Russian military stole computers and equipment."

Moscow has said very little about what its soldiers did at Chernobyl. The last time the Russian Ministry of Defense mentioned the nuclear site was on February 26, confirming its capture and claiming it had made arrangements to ensure the safety of power units, the sarcophagus and a storage facility for spent nuclear fuel.
Chernobyl is not an isolated case

Ukrainian officials say the behavior of the Russian military and the treatment of Ukrainian staff at the Chernobyl power plant highlights the danger posed by Moscow's invasion as it gains control of plants in other areas.

In addition to the decommissioned reactors at Chernobyl, Ukraine has four active nuclear power plants, including the largest in Europe in Zaporizhzhia. The Russian military occupied that facility in early March, when it took control of the area, shelling some of site's buildings in the process.

"The situation there is also horrible, especially taking into account how they capture Zaporizhzhia because they fired at the station, with heavy weapons," Energy Minister Galushchenko says.

"It is really an act of nuclear terrorism," he adds. "I'm not even talking that they are shelling the stations well as a situation in Zaporizhzhia NPP, but when we do not have the possibility of being responsible for nuclear security, there's a threat."

And despite Ukraine having regained control of Chernobyl, Ukrainian officials fear that Russian soldiers could try to come back.

"We understand that today we must be ready for a new attack on a nuclear power plant at any moment. We will use the best world experience to ensure that the station is protected as the border is only a few dozen kilometers away," Interior Minister Monastyrskyy says.

"What we see [in Chernobyl] is a vivid example of outrage at a nuclear facility. It is the responsibility not only of Ukraine, but of the whole world, to keep the stations safe," he says. "The whole world watched live as tanks fired at nuclear power units [in Zaporizhzhia]. This history must never repeat itself."

Monastyrskyy says in order to do that his country needs continued international support.

"We are ready to invest in the future of Ukraine and in the future security of the world," he continues, repeating his government's call for additional weapons to be sent to Ukraine.

"Today the border between totalitarianism and democracy passes behind our backs, the border between freedom and oppression," he says. "We are ready to fight for it."


© Vasco Cotovio/CNNRussian soldiers ransacked the room where the plant staff were sleeping, looting some of their belongings, Falshovnyk says.


© Vasco Cotovio/CNNUkrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko says Russian soldiers have behaved irresponsibly in and around Ukrainian nuclear power plants.


© Vasco Cotovio/CNNUkrainian National Guardsmen were detained by Russian soldiers in Chernobyl's own underground nuclear bunker.


© Vasco Cotovio/CNNA Ukrainian soldier holds a radiation meter against a Russian military ration pack.


© Vasco Cotovio/CNNVolodymyr Falshovnyk, 64, shift manager at Chernobyl.

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for CHERNOBYL 

Michelle Yeoh on Inspiring Younger Generations of Asian Actors: 'We Deserve a Voice'

Kara Warner - Yesterday 


Nearly 40 years into her acclaimed career, Michelle Yeoh is receiving her best reviews to date, for her performance in the genre-defying fantasy Everything Everywhere All at Once.

© Provided by PeopleThomas Laisné

"Every time I make a movie, I hope the audience discovers something new about me," the star, 59, tells PEOPLE in the latest issue.

"What I really enjoyed doing [in Everything Everywhere All at Once] was the physical comedy, which I've not really done before. You've seen me in martial arts films — I'm always serene. I know exactly what I'm doing. I am the teacher, the mentor. And suddenly in this one, [my character] Evelyn Wang, she knows nothing. She's a very ordinary, aging housewife who's got so many troubles in her head. It was really fun."

The celebrated star is known for playing captivating superspy Wai Lin opposite Pierce Brosnan's James Bond in 1997's Tomorrow Never Dies, the formidable warrior Yu Shu Lien in 2000's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and more recently the regal and unwavering Eleanor Young in 2018's Crazy Rich Asians and the fierce Ying Nan in Marvel's 2021 hit Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.

She says she feels encouraged and excited about this moment in her career — both for the varied opportunities she has had and what it means for other Asian actors.

"What [is special about] this moment in my career is having so many people who look like me, especially the younger generation [of Asian actors], come up to me and say, 'Finally, I can see myself doing all these kinds of things because you are doing it,' " she says. "We have to stand up for ourselves and be courageous enough to have a voice. We deserve a voice. I think at this point in my career, that is what I'm really enjoying: the fact that we are getting more opportunities and the opportunities we deserve."

RELATED: Michelle Yeoh's New Role Was Originally Written for Jackie Chan, Reveal Movie's Directors


© Provided by PeopleAllyson Riggs

Related video: Michelle Yeoh Shares Her 5 Favorite Roles: ‘Crazy Rich Asians,’ ‘Memoirs of a Geisha’ and More (The Hollywood Reporter)

The Malaysia-born actress says when it comes to thinking about her work and what else she would like to accomplish, she prefers to go with the flow versus making to-do lists.

"When I was younger, I used to make that to-do list and cross it off and feel like I had accomplished something," she says. "But [now] I find that limiting. Sometimes you stop listening or seeing the things that are around you. So that's what I do now: I go with the flow. Because especially in our line of work, you don't know what amazing directors are going to pop around the corner and say, 'Well, I really like your work, and I'd love to work with you.' So I don't make lists anymore."

Tackling the various and unexpected challenges involved with making Everything Everywhere All at Once was incredibly gratifying for Yeoh, who became fast friends with her costar and new fan Jamie Lee Curtis.


© Provided by PeopleRobby Klein/Contour/Getty

RELATED: Jamie Lee Curtis Says She Didn't Want to 'Conceal' Her Body for New Film Role: 'That Was My Goal'

"Michelle gives one of the great performances onscreen ever," raves Curtis. "Her ability to dodge in and out of multiple dialects and physical comedy and real drama and wacky sci-fi martial arts stuff — all seemingly effortlessly — is really quite jaw-dropping and thrilling to behold."

Yeoh returns the compliment to Curtis, whom she calls "the most generous, amazing woman, not just a brilliant artist talent." She adds, "But she brings her heart and soul she's so giving and always kind and thoughtful to everyone around her."

Looking ahead, the actress says she keeps an open mind and positive outlook on what she gets to do and will do in the future.

"I have to appreciate the ride I've been on," she says. "And I [continue to] appreciate it, because I believe if you sit back and keep thinking, 'Oh, how I could have done that [differently]...' No. You have to think forward. If you made a mistake, how do you make sure you don't do it again? It's by letting go and moving forward."

Everything Everywhere All at Once is now playing in theaters.

Michelle Yeoh has played a significant role on Star Trek: Discovery since the show launched in 2017. Playing Captain Philippa Georgiou, Yeoh played the mentor to Michael Burnham, who plays the leading role in the show.

Michelle Yeoh Discusses Her New Star Trek Spinoff Show

gamerant.com/michelle-yeoh-star-trek-spinoff/

In unusual step, Mexico president asks voters if he should go

Mexico will hold its first presidential recall referendum on Sunday, promoted by President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, on whether he should complete his six-year term -- an exercise that has split public opinion.


© CLAUDIO CRUZ

'Finish and go' reads the slogan on a T-shirt worn by a protester at a demonstration against the presidential recall referendum in Mexico City

AFP - Yesterday
© Pedro PARDO

With an approval rating of nearly 60 percent, the midterm popularity test appears unlikely to result in Lopez Obrador's early departure.

The president argues that submitting himself to the recall referendum is important for democracy, but critics see it as little more than an expensive propaganda exercise.

The 68-year-old self-styled anti-corruption, pro-austerity crusader was elected in 2018 vowing to overhaul Mexico's "neoliberal" economic model.

Lopez Obrador has promised not to seek reelection in 2024, following accusations by opponents that the referendum is a step towards changing the rules to enable him to stay in power beyond then.

The Mexican constitution limits presidents to one term.

Lopez Obrador "seeks, like any populist politician, to maintain the climate of polarization and encourage the narrative that the people are on his side," said political consultant Luis Carlos Ugalde, a former head of Mexico's electoral institute.

But Ugalde is skeptical the vote will smooth the way for Lopez Obrador staying in office beyond 2024.

"Perhaps there will be voices in his party that say he should stay, but the power of that voice will be minimal," Ugalde said.

A successful result on Sunday could inject momentum into Lopez Obrador's policy agenda, including controversial energy reforms.

Lopez Obrador's Morena party lost its absolute majority in the lower house of Congress in legislative elections last year.

The president also has his eye on the 2024 elections and the prospects for his party and possible successors including Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum.

- 'Populist exercise' -

Lopez Obrador has overseen a series of referendums since taking office on controversial issues including his "Maya Train" railroad project, and canceling a partially finished airport for Mexico City.

A public consultation held in August on whether to prosecute his predecessors for alleged corruption drew only a small fraction of voters to the polls.

The midterm recall referendum was incorporated into Mexico's constitution in 2019 at Lopez Obrador's initiative.

Some 93 million voters will be able to participate, but many are expected to stay home.

The outcome will be overwhelmingly in favor of Lopez Obrador completing his term, although in any case turnout is likely to be below the 40-percent level needed for the vote to be legally binding, predicted Ugalde.

The opposition parties PAN, PRI and PRD have urged Mexicans to abstain from voting in what they call a "populist exercise."

Lopez Obrador enjoyed an approval rating of 58 percent in March, although that was far below a peak of 81 percent seen in February 2019, according to a poll of polls by the Oraculus firm.

"It's kind of an oxymoron to have a recall process when you have a popular president," said Jorge Buendia, director of public opinion firm Buendia & Marquez.

"The strongest supporters of the president are those that are going to go to the polls," he told a panel discussion.

Lopez Obrador owes much of his popularity to his social welfare programs aimed at helping the poor, and dominates Mexico's news agenda with press conferences lasting up to three hours every weekday.

Lopez Obrador's critics say he is damaging democratic checks and balances with his attacks on bodies including the National Electoral Institute, which the president accuses of undermining the referendum.

"We will defend the National Electoral Institute, which is under attack by the presidency," said Amado Vazquez, a lawyer attending a protest against Sunday's vote in the western city of Guadalajara.

The referendum is biased in favor of the government and "in no way a citizen's vote," he added.

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