HOW TO SAVE THE EARTH
IF HUMANS GO TO MARS, WE NEED AN EARTH FLAG — HERE’S WHY

Opinion: We are approaching the point when humans make the leap off Earth and onto other planets. When we get there, how will we represent ourselves?

OSKAR PERNEFELDT
4.22.2022 

WHEN NEIL ARMSTRONG SET FOOT ON THE MOON ON JULY 21, 1969, I WASN’T EVEN BORN. I’VE HEARD STORIES ABOUT HOW THE WORLD HELD ITS BREATH — A LONG, EXCRUCIATING INHALE — WHILE THEY WATCHED ON TV AS THE EAGLE LUNAR LANDER SLOWLY APPROACHED OUR NEAREST NEIGHBOR’S ROCKY SURFACE.

When history’s most iconic footprint was made, all of Earth cheered. But it was an American flag that we left behind. As we look to putting humans back on the Moon and perhaps Mars, we need to broaden our perspective of what we are representing. We need an Earth Flag.


I understand why the U.S. flag is on the Moon. American tax dollars funded the mission, and the flag was a potent message in the ongoing Cold War. Flags play a role in the way humans view one another. But they also play a part in how we view the planet.

How to Save the Earth: On Earth Day 2022, Inverse explores some of the most ambitious, exciting, and controversial efforts to save our planet.

In 2015, I designed a flag for Earth. The proposal was part of my graduation project at Beckmans College of Design in Stockholm, Sweden. After months of diving deep into my passion, vexillology (the study of flags), I posted the flag online.


The International Flag of Planet Earth.Courtesy of Oskar Pernefeldt

Pressing enter on my keyboard that day completely changed my life. Global news channels did stories on my work, and my website got more than 450,000 hits in its first 24 hours. The initiative has since grown into a nonprofit organization with volunteers around the globe. But the world is also a very different place today than seven years ago.

Now, space companies send paying customers into orbit for days at a time. This month, the International Space Station hosted four commercial crew members as part of Axiom-1. We are approaching the point when humans make the leap off Earth and onto the surfaces of other planets. When we get there, how will we represent ourselves?

A PLANETARY FLAG FOR AN INTERPLANETARY PEOPLE

The International Flag of Planet Earth represents the territory “Planet Earth.” Since humans first invented flags, they have served as graphic symbols to categorize entities. For instance, cities, municipalities, states, institutions, and nations have flags. Today, in the post-Cold War era, no nation can legally claim ownership of outer space. This fact, coupled with the hierarchy of our planet’s flag system, begs the question: Why not adopt a planet-wide flag to fly in space?


When humans go to Mars, will they fly an Earth Flag?

Courtesy of Oskar Pernefeldt

This argument is logical, but it will also push the shift in perspective we need to face up to severe global challenges on Earth. In 1994, the astronomer Carl Sagan highlighted this profound emotional impact in his famous speech on the photo “Pale Blue Dot”:

“THAT’S HERE. THAT’S HOME. THAT’S US.”

This photo, taken by the Voyager craft in 1990, displays a tiny blue dot called Earth, floating in a vast space — this speck is all we’ve ever known.

Since human-crewed spaceflight became a reality in the sixties, space travelers have reported experiencing a cognitive shift after their time above the Earth. In orbit, national borders are no longer apparent, and it becomes clear that all of us back on planet Earth are in this together. Named the Overview Effect, it is, in short, a revelation experienced when seeing Earth from afar.

Sadly, this experience is only ever had by a select few. More people might experience this shift in perspective on the ground if they had a clear symbol of Earth as a planetary body. I believe a Planet Earth flag could play an essential part in this change. I firmly believe that every time someone sees this flag, they will know that they are a part of something greater than themselves. As humans, we share the challenges and possibilities of our home planet. We also share the responsibility to sustain this planet so that it can sustain us and all other life here.

Although it may be easiest to grasp why a flag for planet Earth plays a role in the arena of space, a flag like this also has the potential to create social, cultural, and environmental ripple effects for us back on Earth.

HOW TO MAKE THE EARTH FLAG OUR PLANET’S SYMBOL

It’s pretty easy to establish the Planet Earth Flag; we have to use it. Some people already use it: The flag appeared in the award-winning 2019 video game Observation: In the game, the flag is placed around a space station setting.

The Earth Flag is featured in the video game Observation, which takes place on a space station.Courtesy of Oskar Pernefeldt

Exposure is vital for many reasons. It gives people a swift reminder that we share this planet. It also reinforces the flag’s position in its journey toward becoming the official flag of our world.

Another organization using the flag now is The Observatory of Economic Complexity, part of the MIT Media Lab. They use the flag to visualize global economic data. We hope to inspire people to use the flag in many ways. Together, we can create a snowball effect and establish an Earth identity.

People's support for the flag needs to grow organically for it to reach an official status as the flag of Earth. Think about the Pride Flag: Once upon a time, in 1978, artist Gilbert Baker designed a Rainbow Flag, and it flew at a Pride parade. Today, the Rainbow Flag is a rallying symbol of a diverse LGBTQ+ community throughout the world. It is an emblem of a coherent, collective identity. That transformation took time and commitment.


The Rainbow Flag, photographed here in 1985, became a symbol of the LGBTQ+ community over time.

Bromberger Hoover Photography/Archive Photos/Getty Images

Flags and identity go hand in hand. The International Flag of Planet Earth is not intended to exclude national flags. In our current times, transnationalism is often part of our modern sense of identity. The global community can — in some ways — make us feel less connected since it is harder to perceive. But if harnessed, it has the potential to provide a different perspective, a broader sense of connection, and global solidarity. There is incredible power in the sense of belonging.

As diverse people of Earth, we have to acknowledge the fact that we have many things in common. As we are entering an era of tremendous new leaps within space exploration, we have an opportunity to rally behind a flag that symbolizes what we share. May the flag remind us of the beautiful planet we call home and how interconnected all life really is.

How to Save the Earth: On Earth Day 2022, Inverse explores some of the most ambitious, exciting, and controversial efforts to save our planet.

MY FAVORITE EARTH FLAG

VIRGINIA

County grants approval for Amazon’s helix-shaped HQ tower

This artist rendering provided by Amazon shows the next phase of the company's headquarters redevelopment to be built in Arlington, Va. The Arlington county Board gave approval Saturday, April 23, 2022 to Amazon's plans to build a unique, helix-shaped tower as the centerpiece of its emerging second headquarters in northern Virginia.(NBBJ/Amazon via AP)

FALLS CHURCH, Va. (AP) — The Arlington County Board gave unanimous approval Saturday to Amazon’s plans to build a unique, helix-shaped tower as the centerpiece of its emerging second headquarters in northern Virginia.

Amazon announced the plans in February 2021 for the eye-catching, 350-foot tower to anchor the second phase of its redevelopment plans. The new office towers will support a second headquarters for Amazon that is expected to welcome more than 25,000 workers when it’s complete.

The helix is one of several office towers granted approval, but the helix stands out. The spiral design features a walkable ramp wrapping around the building with trees and greenery planted to resemble a mountain hike.

Amazon has said the building is designed to help people connect to nature, and the outdoor mountain climb will be open to the public on weekends.

Since then, the plans have gone through the famously thorough review process of Arlington County, including numerous public hearings. Earlier this month, the county planning commission voted 9-0 to support the project.

On Saturday, the County Board voted 5-0 to approve the plans. They also include park space and will accommodate a community high school, along with ground level retail.

Amazon has said it hopes to complete the project in 2025.

Because skyscrapers are banned in the District of Columbia, and the Amazon buildings will be among the tallest in Arlington County, from some vantage points the helix will dominate the region’s skyline like no building other than the Washington Monument.

IT'S QUANTUM REALITY TIME
CERN restarts Large Hadron Collider in quest to unlock origins of the universe
BE PREPARED FOR ANYTHING

April 22 (UPI) -- Scientists at the European Council for Nuclear Research restarted the Large Hadron Collider on Friday, more than three years after the world's most powerful particle accelerator was paused for maintenance and upgrades.

The first beams of protons began spinning in opposite directions, marking the start of what is expected to be four years of data gathering in the search for dark matter, according to CERN.

The collider works by smashing particles together to allow scientists to study what's inside. Data collection is expected to begin in the summer after ramping up the energy and intensity of the beams.

"These beams circulated at injection energy and contained a relatively small number of protons. High-intensity, high-energy collisions are a couple of months away," Rhodri Jones, head of CERN's Beams department said.

"But first beams represent the successful restart of the accelerator after all the hard work of the long shutdown."

The third run of the 16-mile-long collider, which was launched in 2008, is expected to produce collisions at record energy of 13.6 trillion electronvolts and in record numbers, thanks to extensive upgrades. This will allow physicists from around the world to study the Higgs boson in detail.

The Higgs boson, also known as the "God particle,"(IT SHOULD BE CALLED BY ITS CORRECT FULL NAME;"THAT GODDAMN PARTICLE")

is an elusive subatomic particle discovered at the Large Hadron Collider in 2012 that scientists believe may be a fundamental building block of the universe.

Experiments during the third run of the Large Hadron Collider will test the standard model of particle physics and improve understanding of cosmic-ray physics and a state of matter known as quark-gluon plasma, which was existed at the time of the Big Bang.

  

SEE  https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2008/01/dark-matter-or-ether.html 

 LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for DARK ENERGY 

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for DARK MATTER 

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for CERN 

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for LHC 

EARLY START FOR FIRE SEASON
Wildfires spread causing evacuation orders in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico

The Tunnel Fire in Cococino County, Ariz. has burned more than 20,000 acres and was only 3% contained Friday afternoon. 

Photo courtesy of Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management


April 22 (UPI) -- Wildfires are continuing to spread in New Mexico, Colorado and Arizona, bringing evacuation orders or alerts in all three states, local officials said Friday.

New Mexico's Cooks Peak Fire has burned more than 21,000 acres near the border of Mora and Colfax counties.

Firefighters have been unable to contain the blaze amid drought conditions and high winds, as well as an abundance of dry brush and grass which serves as fuel for the rapidly-spreading fire.

The blaze broke out on Sunday, and the eastern side of the fire remained the most as of Friday afternoon, moving increasingly closer to the Colfax County line.

The communities of Rayado, Sweetwater and Sunnyside are under mandatory evacuation orders, while people living in Cimarron, Philmont Scout Ranch, and Miami have been told to be ready to leave at a moment's notice by the Mora and Colfax County Sheriff's offices.

Several other communities are under "ready" status for evacuation orders.

To the north, fires are burning in Colorado, where evacuation orders have been issued for areas north of Colorado Springs.

By Friday afternoon, the Colorado Springs Fire Department had extinguished the bulk of the Farm Fire without the loss of any structures. However, existing evacuation orders covering an entire residential subdivision, remained in place as of 2 p.m. MDT.

A number of areas across the state are at risk of extreme fire danger Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said Friday during a news conference.

"We know that this issue is about more than one fire," Polis said, bringing up the link between climate change and the growing severity of wildfires. "It's really about tackling the increased fire threat."

Wind gusts topping out at 50 mph have created challenges for firefighters, amid an extreme fire danger rating.

To the west, the Tunnel Fire continues burning 14 miles northeast of Flagstaff, Ariz. Flames consumed more than 20,000 acres as of Friday morning, as strong and regularly shifting winds are causing major problems, according to fire officials.

The fire broke out on Sunday night and is only 3% contained.

As of Thursday night, some 109 properties were impacted by the fire, including 30 burned residences and 24 with destroyed outbuildings, the Coconino County Sheriff's Office reported.

More than 750 homes had been evacuated as of Thursday afternoon.

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey declared a state of emergency Thursday morning because of the fire, the cause of which remains under investigation.

The Tunnel Fire has also forced many Navajo families to evacuate, with at at least one home destroyed.

About 20 Navajo families had to evacuate.

Northern Arizona University offered help Friday.

University president José Luis Cruz Rivera posted a message saying that the institution will provide immediate help with housing, meals and emergency funding.

Charges dropped against woman jailed in Tennessee voter fraud case


A prosecutor dropped all charges against Pamela Moses, a Tennessee woman with previous felony convictions who had been sentenced to six years in jail for erroneously attempting to restore her right to vote. File photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo



April 23 (UPI) -- A prosecutor dropped all charges against Pamela Moses, a Tennessee woman with previous felony convictions who was sentenced to six years in jail for erroneously attempting to restore her right to vote.

Her conviction was thrown out in February, shortly after The Guardian uncovered an email between two high level officials in the state's department of corrections suggesting that Moses had made an error in good faith and hadn't intentionally tricked her probation officer into reinstating her voting ability.

Moses had been scheduled to appear again in court on Monday to find out if prosecutors would pursue a retrial. Instead, Shelby County District Attorney General Amy Weirich announced on Friday she was dropping the charges against her.

"In the interest of judicial economy, we are dismissing her illegal registration case and her violation of probation," Weirich said in a press release.

Moses was on probation linked to a 2015 conviction for tampering with evidence. In 2019, she decided she wanted to participate in the upcoming election.

A judge told Moses that she was still on probation in September 2019. But when she double-checked with her probation officer, the officer told her she was actually done with her felony probation and gave Moses a certificate restoring her right to vote.

Moses submitted the paperwork to her local elections office. The next day, the Department of Correction sent a letter to the local elections commission stating that the probation officer had made a mistake and that Moses was not actually eligible to vote.

She was convicted of consenting to a false entry on official election documents. At a January hearing, Judge W. Mark Ward of the Shelby County Criminal Court told Moses that she'd "tricked the probation department" into giving her the document. Moses maintained she'd been following the instructions of her probation officer and the elections office.

"The case should not have been prosecuted right from the beginning because there was no trickery," Bede Anyanwu, Moses' lawyer, told The New York Times on Saturday.

The 2019 conviction and sentencing of Moses, who is Black, caused outrage among civil rights activists. Many claimed that her case highlighted disparities in how people of color are treated by the judicial system, as well as how Byzantine voting rights laws leave people with felony convictions unsure of their rights.

In 2020, the NAACP filed a lawsuit against Tennessee. The organization is challenging the state's "unequal, inaccessible, opaque, and error-ridden implementation of the statutes granting restoration of voting rights to citizens who lost the right to vote because of a felony conviction," the lawsuit states.

Moses remains permanently ineligible to vote under Tennessee law due to her 2015 conviction, regardless of her probation status.

U.S. seniors, Black patients receive alarming levels of inappropriate antibiotics

By HealthDay News

A new study found that 64% of antibiotic prescriptions for Black patients, 58% of those for Hispanic patients, 74% of those for people aged 65 and older, and 58% of those for males were inappropriate. 

File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo

The majority of antibiotic prescriptions for U.S. seniors and Black and Hispanic Americans are inappropriate, a new report reveals.

For the study, researchers analyzed federal government data on more than 7 billion outpatient visits to doctors' offices, hospital clinics and emergency departments nationwide between 2009 and 2016.

Nearly 8 million visits (11%) led to antibiotic prescriptions, the researchers reported Thursday at a meeting of the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases in Lisbon, Portugal. Research presented at meetings should be considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

"Our results suggest that Black and Hispanic patients may not be properly treated and are receiving antibiotic prescriptions even when not indicated," said study leader Dr. Eric Young, of the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio.

"We know that physicians typically send patients home with antibiotics if they suspect their symptoms may lead to an infection," Young explained in a meeting news release. "This practice becomes more common when patients are unlikely to return for a follow-up visit (i.e., no established care within a clinic or hospital system), which more frequently happens in minority populations."

Antibiotic prescribing rates were highest in Black and Hispanic patients (122 and 139 prescriptions per 1,000 visits, respectively), the study found. They were also high in patients under age 18 and females (114 and 170 prescriptions per 1,000 visits, respectively).

In all, 64% of antibiotic prescriptions for Black patients, 58% of those for Hispanic patients, 74% of those for people aged 65 and older, and 58% of those for males were inappropriate, the researchers reported.

Inappropriate prescriptions were most often written for conditions not caused by a bacterial infection, such as non-bacterial skin conditions, viral respiratory tract infections and bronchitis, the study found.

The findings raise questions about the effectiveness of efforts to reduce inappropriate antibiotic prescribing and underscore the need to redouble efforts to cut down on that in primary care, the study authors said.

"In older adults, inappropriate prescribing in primary care is associated with a wide range of adverse outcomes, including emergency hospital attendances and admissions, adverse drug events and poorer quality of life," Young said. "Our results underscore that strategies to reduce inappropriate prescribing must be tailored for outpatient settings."

Overuse of antibiotics has led to resistant bacteria that are becoming more difficult, and sometimes impossible, to treat.

Antibiotic use is far higher in the United States than in many other countries, despite efforts to reduce inappropriate prescribing. Outpatient prescribing accounts for up to 90% of antibiotic use in the United States, and nearly 202 million courses of antibiotics were dispensed to outpatients in 2020, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

More information

There's more on antibiotics at the American Academy of Family Physicians.

Copyright © 2022 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

WAGE THEFT
Texas BBQ chain failed to pay $867K in shared tips to workers

A small barbecue restaurant chain in Texas failed to pay $867,572 in tips and overtime pay to more than 900 workers. Photo courtesy Roanoke Hard Eight/Facebook

April 23 (UPI) -- A small barbecue restaurant chain in Texas failed to pay $867,572 in tips and overtime pay to more than 900 workers, the U.S. Labor Department said.

Roanoke Hard Eight, which has five locations near the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, failed to pay their tipped employees all of their tips, the Labor Department said in a statement.

Restaurant executives, however, said that the situation stemmed from a misunderstanding over the Wages and the Fair Labor Standards Act that went into effect in 2019. The law prevents employers or managers from keeping tips received by workers.

Officials said hourly managers had received some of the tips earned by servers and were not paid the correct time-and-a-half rate for all hours worked above the 40-hour workweek.

"Roanoke Hard Eight violated the law by including managers in their tip pool. By doing so, the employer denied tipped workers some of their tips and managers proper overtime wages," said Jesus A. Valdez, the Labor Department's wage and hour district director in Dallas.

"As businesses struggle to find people to do the work needed to keep operating, employers would be wise to avoid violations or risk finding it even more difficult to retain and recruit workers who can choose to seek jobs where they will receive all of their rightful wages."

Matt Perry, the chief operating officer of Roanoke Hard Eight, said in a video message that the restaurant was "shocked and taken aback" by news reports of the recovered back wages and said the situation was a misunderstanding over federal labor laws.

Perry said that the restaurant had been audited by the Labor Department which had found that the restaurant's policies were not in compliance with federal law.

"We immediately took steps. We worked with our caseworker and also Director Valdez to make sure that our tip program was in compliance with the Department of Labor," Perry said.

"After that, we paid back all the employees of the tip-share that they were entitled to. We also took it a step further and also gave raises to our management team to compensate for the tip-share lost and as of August 2021 we are fully complaint."

Perry said the restaurant made sure with Valdez that it was still compliant with federal law after the Labor Department had released its statement.

"This was put to rest for us more than eight months ago and so, again, we were just shocked today but we wanted to take time out to tell our loyal customers and our employees and our staff at all our locations that we love you guys," Perry said.

"You guys are the heartbeat of what we do every day and we are very appreciative of the support and love that everybody has shown us over the last couple of days."

CAPITALI$M IN SPACE

Experts issue call to regulate space debris as levels of junk mount


An illustration depicts orbital debris, or space trash, above the Earth. The situation requires a regulatory regime, researchers say. File Photo courtesy of European Space Agency


April 23 (UPI) -- Proliferating levels of debris are posing a threat to the space environment and should be regulated as more satellites are being launched into space, researchers say.

Edinburgh University researchers said in a study published Friday in the journal Nature Astronomy the debris is troublesome, potentially affecting "professional astronomy, public stargazing and the cultural importance of the sky" to indigenous populations.

The situation can also damage "the sustainability of commercial, civic and military activity in space," according to the report.

The research stems from a brief submitted to the U.S. Court of Appeals last year supporting the positions of several organizations against a Federal Communications Commission order granting license amendments for SpaceX Starlink satellites.

Each satellite has a roughly 50% chance of a collision each year from untracked debris, and that risk rises dramatically with any increase in debris, researchers contended.

"We have laid out the argument for the urgent need for orbital space to be considered part of the human environment," requiring "environmental protection through existing and new policies, rules and regulations at national and international levels," the researchers wrote.

They urged decisionmakers and policymakers "to consider the environmental impacts of all aspects of satellite constellations, including launch, operation and de-orbit, and to work with all stakeholders to co-create a shared, ethical, sustainable approach to space."

Scientists have already spotted more than 30,000 items of space debris in Earth's orbit through surveillance networks, according to a European Space Agency report released Thursday -- and that amount has been rising.

In the last two years alone, there has been an enormous increase in the number of commercial satellites launched to near-Earth space, with the vast majority of them being small satellites.

"Many of these constellations are launched to provide communication services around the globe," the ESA said. "They have great benefits, but will pose a challenge to long-term sustainability."

The low-Earth orbit has become congested with increased traffic and "the long-lasting nature of space debris in low-Earth Orbit is causing a significant number of close encounters, known as 'conjunctions,' between active satellites and other objects," the agency said.

On a positive note,researchers noted some progress has been made with space debris mitigation measures during the last decade, including rockets burned up via controlled reentries after launch and others placed in orbits that naturally decay within 25 years.

But researchers made it clear that more needs to be done based on future projections.

"The extrapolation of the current changing use of orbits and launch traffic, combined with continued fragmentations and limited post mission disposal success rate could lead to a cascade of collision events over the next centuries," they warned.

Researchers said the most effective way to avoid more collisions is to follow guidelines developed by the Inter-Agency Debris Committee calling for the disposal of spacecraft safely at the end of the mission.

They also said that another necessary step is actively cleaning up the existing debris.

The Clearspace-1 mission planned to launch in 2026 will be the first mission to remove a piece of space debris from orbit -- a defunct rocket part that came from a 2013 launch.

While more satellites reaching the end of their missions are being disposed of responsibly, the researchers said there is still more work to be done.

"An increasing percentage of disposal attempts are successful, but too many are left drifting in important orbits with no attempt made to remove them," they said. "A successful removal rate of at least 90% for all types of space object is required to limit the growth rate of space debris, before we can start cleaning it up."

International Space Station takes evasive action to avoid debris

2022/4/23 
© Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH

A general view of the International Space Station (ISS) orbiting Earth. ISS will be forced to undertake an unplanned evasive manoeuvre on Saturday to avoid colliding with space debris. NASA/dpa

The International Space Station (ISS) was forced to undertake an unplanned evasive manoeuvre on Saturday to avoid colliding with space debris.

The engines of the spaceship Progress MS-18 were turned on for 10 minutes, accelerating the ISS and lifting it 1.8 kilometres, according to Russian space agency Roscosmos. The Progress MS-18, which is used to resupply the ISS, is currently docked at the station.

The ISS is now flying at a height of 414 kilometres above the Earth after successfully completing the manoeuvre, Roscosmos said on Telegram. The maximum height the space station is permitted to orbit the Earth is just over 438 kilometres.

Debris is a growing problem for space travel. The ISS regularly needs to dodge objects flying as a collision could destroy it.

In November the ISS crew had to seek shelter in two space ships that were docked at the station after the Russian military destroyed a disused satellite. Fragments threatened to collide with the ISS, but in the end no harm was done.

PAKISTAN

Editorial

Imran Khan’s rallies

DAWN
Published April 23, 2022 -

AFTER three massive rallies in Peshawar, Karachi and Lahore, Imran Khan has proven that he still commands significant respect. The sudden revival of his political fortunes was quite unexpected, and it goes to show how shrewdly he has played the political hand he was dealt.

The reaffirmation of his supporters’ faith in him should give him enough confidence to proceed headlong into his campaign for early elections. As a leader, he ought to take this opportunity to turn a fresh page and rewrite his political destiny based on lessons learnt from his first stint in power. It is unfortunate that he, instead, continues to amplify a toxic narrative that risks turning the people of Pakistan against the state, its institutions and even themselves.

From between the lines of an angry speech, which has varied little from city to city, Mr Khan has demanded from the powers that be that they give him an early election. It is the only way, he says, to set right the wrong that he believes was done to him.

The call for a march on Islamabad, to be announced at a date of his choosing, is leverage for enforcing that demand. It remains to be seen how seriously and enthusiastically it is taken up by his supporters, if indeed matters come to that. However, it does have the potential to throw another spanner in the works for the new coalition government, which suddenly finds itself with everything to lose after walking itself into a political quagmire littered with economic landmines.

Editorial: Imran’s choice

Still, Mr Khan must realise that the best-laid plans often go awry.

Dharnas and jalsas alone may not be enough to sway the umpire’s finger, as they once did in 2014. His graph may be rising today, but political fortunes are fickle and subject to the vagaries of time. It would be prudent, therefore, that he finds a new tune to pipe for the people following him.

There has always been something distinctly Orwellian about Mr Khan’s vision for a ‘Naya Pakistan’, but the heady mix of religion and hyper-nationalism he has introduced in recent speeches takes it to another level. Granted that most among our political lot simply cannot resist appealing to our basest instincts when attempting to turn our loyalties against each other, but turning political differences with rival parties into grounds for hate and revulsion of the other is not only unnecessary; it is deplorable.

Mr Khan often describes Mohammad Ali Jinnah as his “only leader”, forgetting that it was statecraft and diplomacy that made Mr Jinnah ‘Quaid-i-Azam’. If Mr Khan wishes to emulate the Quaid, he needs something substantially more wholesome than a narrative that paints anyone who has ever disagreed with him as a traitor. He ought to rise above the politics of hate and adopt a narrative of inclusion and reconciliation instead.

Published in Dawn, April 23rd, 2022

Wife of Assange urges UK to block his extradition


Julian Assange's supporters accusing Washington of trying to muzzle reporting of legitimate security concerns (AFP/JOHN THYS)


Sat, April 23, 2022

Stella Assange, wife of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, urged the British government on Saturday not to sign his extradition order to the US, saying his fate will have repercussions throughout Europe.

A UK court on Wednesday issued a formal order to extradite the WikiLeaks founder to face trial in the United States over the publication of secret files relating to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

The final decision now rests with interior minister Priti Patel, although Assange could yet appeal.

"This is a political case, it has always been a political case," Stella Assange told AFP on the margins of a demonstration in support of her husband in Brussels.


"The trick that has been played by the various governments the UK Government, the Australian Government, the US government, is to say it's before the courts," she added.

"Now that the UK courts have issued the extradition order, there is no excuse. It is squarely in the political domain."

The ruling Wednesday by a magistrate in central London brings the long-running legal saga in the UK courts closer to a conclusion.

But Assange's lawyers have until May 18 to make representations to Patel and could potentially launch further appeals on other points in the case.

-- 'Democratic values at stake' --

The case has become a cause celebre for media freedom, with Julian Assange's supporters accusing Washington of trying to muzzle reporting of legitimate security concerns.

Washington wants to put him on trial in connection with the publication of 500,000 secret military files relating to the US-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Stella Assange said the grounds to appeal against extradition in the United Kingdom are very narrow," with the treaty "heavily tilted in favour of the United States".

The matters being raised "go to the heart of what it means to have a free and open society of having a free press", she said, and raised the possibility of taking the matter to the European Court of Human Rights if necessary.

"It is the soul of European values -- of democratic values -- that is at stake," she added.

"Julian has been in Belmarsh prison now for three years. He is in an increasingly weakened state of health. He had a mini-stroke in October."

The British government "is condemning war crimes in Ukraine, but it is going to show whether it is prepared to extradite a journalist for having exposed war crimes", she said.

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