WATCH OUT
TikTok community panics over ‘alternate dimension’ theories as CERN fires up Large Hadron Collider

IT CHANGES QUANTUM REALITY

Jona Jaupi,

Technology and Science

6 Jul 2022


MANY TikTok accounts have been sharing doomsday theories about CERN's Large Hadron Collider, sparking fear on the platform.

Conspiracy theories about the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) have been running rampant on TikTok, raking in millions of views.

1Many TikTok accounts have been sharing doomsday theories about CERN's Large Hadron ColliderCredit: Reuters

On July 4 2012, scientists used the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) to study a spin-zero particle known as the Higgs boson.

Ten years later, the Geneva-based physics institution announced they were firing up the LHC once more.

But now conspiracy theorists believe that the LHC will open a "portal" to another dimension following experimentation, which resumed on July 3.

One TikTok user claimed that scientists are trying to "reverse engineer the Big Bang".


READ MORE ON CERN


START UP
Large Hadron Collider RESTARTS with new discovery sparking wild conspiracy

WORLD WIDE WEB
Did CERN create the Internet?

"There's a possibility that this can create a black hole, an alternate universe or a portal," the TikToker said.

That video has garnered more than 400,000 likes and nearly 20,000 comments.

"I don’t know man I’m very concerned about it," one user commented under the popular reel.

A second TikToker made a similar claim in a separate video that has received more than 250,000 likes.


"The [scientists] are opening a portal to another dimension, where the other universes are," she said.

"They know this, they're just trying to hide it from you."

In response to the video, one fear-stricken user said: "Jesus Christ protect us all."

Meanwhile, other TikTok creators have been demystifying CERN and the LHC's purpose to others via 'debunking' videos'.

User @New_Age_Mythbuster posted a reel that shared facts from CERN's website in an attempt to quell people's fears.

CERN themselves posted information on their website underlining the accelerator's safety.

The scientists explain: "Although powerful for an accelerator, the energy reached in the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is modest by nature’s standards.

"Cosmic rays – particles produced by events in outer space – collide with particles in the Earth’s atmosphere at much greater energies than those of the LHC.

"These cosmic rays have been bombarding the Earth’s atmosphere as well as other astronomical bodies since these bodies were formed, with no harmful consequences.


"These planets and stars have stayed intact despite these higher energy collisions over billions of years."
What is the LHC?

CERN's Large Hadron Collider is the world’s largest and most powerful particle accelerator.

It's located 300 feet under the Swiff-French border in a massive tunnel.

First launched on September 10, 2008, LHC remains the latest addition to CERN’s accelerator complex.

What is CERN using the LHC for?

CERN studies high-energy physics and is using LHC to further its research.

LHC basically uses electromagnetic fields to make particles move extremely quickly.

CERN has been conducting a series of experiments that began on July 3, 2022.

On July 5, the experimental collisions at LHC uncovered three new "exotic particles", per Fox News.

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for CERN 

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for QUANTUM 

END ICBM TESTING
FAILURE TO LAUNCH
Vandenberg Space Force Base rocket launch – Missile EXPLODES seconds after take-off sparking fire on military base

Chris Bradford

 7 Jul 2022

A MISSILE rocket has exploded just seconds after it was launched.

The incident happened during a test event at the Vandenberg Space Base in California just after 11pm local time on Wednesday.

2A Minotaur II rocket exploded 11 seconds after it was launched

Credit: Not known, clear with picture desk

The incident happened at the Vandenberg Space Base in California (stock pic of base)

Credit: AFP

Officials said the Minotaur II rocket exploded 11 seconds after it was launched, according to the San Luis Obispo Tribune.

A fire broke out but there were no injuries.

Military officials revealed that debris was restricted to the "immediate vicinity" of the launch pad.

Col. Kris Barcomb, Space Launch Delta 30 vice commander, said: “We always have emergency response teams on standby prior to every launch. Safety is our priority at all times.”

It’s not known what caused the rocket to explode as investigations are underway.

Officials planned to use the rocket with the LGM-35A Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile, which is currently under development.

US Air Force officials say that LGM-35A will replace the LGM-30 Minuteman III ICBM.

The Minuteman III ICBM has been in service for more than 50 years, the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center revealed.

The Vandenberg Space Force Base has been in use since 1941.

Book Review: Repression, Resistance and Great Power Game

In this 500-page work, Ambassador Talmiz Ahmad presents issues covering most of the important countries of West Asia and North Africa (WANA), its history, geography, religion, geopolitics, and most importantly people-the Arabs, Persians, Jews and Turks who have shaped the affairs of this region.

Troops loyal to Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi arrive to control a crowd of demonstrators in Tehran. Getty Images

Meena Singh Roy

UPDATED: 02 JUL 2022 

Book: West Asia at War
Author: Talmiz Ahmad

Ambassador Talmiz Ahmadin his recently published book, West Asia at War provides a brilliant analysis of the complex internal, regional and international politics of West Asia (or the Middle East). Covering the developments of the past two centuries to the most recent ones, the book offers a fresh narrative on the subject. The long history of this region has been that of repression, resistance and great power play. In his lucid and original account, all three aspects have been explained in great detail. Interestingly, the author has structured his approach to the West Asian narrative within the framework of resistance, thus reflecting this paradigm of resistance in 12 chapters of the book. The author draws special attention to the resistance of the Palestinian people. In his words, “ they still raise their hands to throw rocks at their occupiers and take bullets on their chests in the hundreds, looking for that day when Jews and Arabs will live side by side…. in peace”. Most of the research on the Middle East is dominated by Western discourse. However, Ambassador Ahmad offers a much-required Indian perspective on West Asian affairs. 

In this 500-page work, Ambassador Talmiz Ahmad presents issues covering most of the important countries of West Asia and North Africa (WANA), its history, geography, religion, geopolitics, and most importantly people-the Arabs, Persians, Jews and Turks who have shaped the affairs of this region through interactions for several centuries in terms of commerce, philosophy, faith, the art and literature and numerous wars. Other important aspects covered are the role of the extremal players mainly the West and their military interventions earlier by the Greeks and Romans and later by the British and French and more recently by the United States over the last fifty years. 

 

Two Muslim clerics ride a motorcycle and hold the Iranian flag during a rally to commemorate the 43rd Victory anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, which was held with motorcycles amid the Covid-19 outbreak | Photo: Getty Images

The author very succinctly brings out the negative impact of colonial/imperial control over West Asian countries for a very long period as he states, “West Asian societies found their creativity and initiatives crushed by their imperial masters, The latter controlled the political and economic order by making the ruler their puppet, and sought to reorganize the cultural order on Western lines”. He justifiably dedicates enough attention and space in the book to critical issues impacting the region -- Iran-Saudi rivalry, the Arab-Israel conflict, the nature of fragile state order and evolving socio-economic and political West Asian malaise and the major faultlines in the US policy in the WANA region. For a reader what makes the book more relevant is the inclusion of Afghanistan, the author’s own views on Quad 2 and the larger implications of these two on regional geopolitics. In recent times, West Asian countries have been involved in shaping the politico-economic future of Afghanistan. 

Besides, the book takes a deep insight into India’s relations beginning from 1950 until 2021 with this strategically important region. From an Indian viewpoint, the last two chapters covering all dimensions of India-West Asia relations, the West Asian malaise and finally the outlook for the region is extremely relevant part for the policymakers, experts and those who are interested in understanding the regional affairs. Though the author may not have been able to provide answers to all the critical questions or solutions to every challenge the region is exposed to both new and old, the study does reflect his practical experience, in-depth knowledge and deep understanding of regional affairs. The ease with which the author covers subjects like Arab Nationalism, The Islamic Revolution in Iran and political Islam in West Asia speaks volumes about his in-depth understanding of these issues. This book offers a comprehensive analysis of the most complex West Asian issues, highly recommended for students, academics, officials and even non-experts. 

 

A Palestinian protester takes cover behind a shield from Israeli soldiers during a demonstration against Israeli settlements in the village of Kafr Qaddum near the West Bank city of Nablus. | Photo: Getty Images

More importantly, the book presents an Indian perspective on West Asia and a very different yet new narrative on India’s policy approach with a detailed account of how “India supported by like-minded countries with an abiding interest in the regional peace, become the peacemakers to lead the process” through the regional cooperative security arrangement. It is argued that “now that the US is no longer viewed as a credible security-provider, the opportunity has emerged for the littoral nations to commence some interactions among themselves towards shaping a regional security arrangement”. According to Ambassador Ahmad as “more uncertain and contentious regional and global scenarios are emerging” there is indeed required for a new ‘strategic culture’ that shapes a vision for regional peace and, to realise it, a strategic approach that is holistic in perception and long-term in its application” .While author argues for proposed regional cooperative security arrangements but concludes with a pessimistic note that “ the prospects of successful change across West Asia and North Africa remains very remote”, leaving the reader to speculate if ever the region will see peace, development and good order. In this excellent research covering almost every dimension of the region, one wonders why China, a major actor does not get the required focus by the author. China remains a major player in the region and its future involvement in the region is likely to have far-reaching implications for the region and beyond. Similarly, some additional focus on the new energy game would have enriched the existing excellent work by Ambassador Ahmad. The book is a major contribution to the existing literature on the subject. 

(Review by Meena Singh Roy, Senior Fellow and Head West and Central Asia, Tillotoma Foundation and former Head West Asia and Eurasia, IDSA.)

U.S. basketball star Griner admits Russian drugs charge but denies intent

U.S. basketball player Brittney Griner's trial in KhimkiThu, July 7, 2022 at 7:45 AM·2 min read

KHIMKI, Russia (Reuters) -U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner pleaded guilty to a drugs charge in a Russian court on Thursday but denied she had intentionally broken the law.

Griner was speaking at the second hearing of her trial on the narcotics charge that could see her sentenced to up to 10 years in prison, days after she urged U.S. President Joe Biden to secure her release.

"I'd like to plead guilty, your honour. But there was no intent. I didn't want to break the law," Griner said, speaking quietly in English which was then translated into Russian for the court.

"I'd like to give my testimony later. I need time to prepare," she added.

The next court hearing was scheduled for July 14.

Griner's lawyer Alexander Boykov told reporters they were hoping for the most lenient sentencing possible.

The two-time Olympic gold medallist was detained in February at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport with vape cartridges containing hashish oil, which is illegal in Russia, and has been kept in custody since.

In a handwritten note, she appealed to Biden directly earlier this week to step up U.S. efforts to bring her home.

"I realize you are dealing with so much, but please don't forget about me and the other American detainees..." Griner wrote. "Please do all you can to bring us home."

Biden spoke to Griner's wife on Wednesday, telling her he was working to have her released "as soon as possible", the White House said.

U.S. officials and many athletes have called for the release of Griner - or "BG" as she is known to basketball fans - who they say has been wrongfully detained.

Her case has also prompted concerns that Moscow could use it as leverage to negotiate the release of a high-profile Russian citizen in U.S. custody.

Russian authorities say there is no basis to consider Griner's detention illegal and that the case against her is not political despite Moscow's fraught relations with United States over the Russian military intervention in Ukraine.

Moscow's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Thursday that it was difficult to exchange prisoners with the United States and suggested Washington stop talking about the fate of Griner.

Griner, a centre for the Phoenix Mercury in the Women's National Basketball Association, had played for UMMC Ekaterinburg in the Russian Women's Basketball Premier League to boost her income during the WNBA off-season, like several other U.S. players.

The Russian foreign ministry has said Griner could appeal her sentence or apply for clemency once a verdict has been delivered.

(Reporting by Reuters; editing by Guy Faulconbridge, Mark Trevelyan, Angus MacSwan and Jonathan Oatis)

BAHA’IS OF IRAN

44 Iranian Baha’is arrested, arraigned or jailed in June

JULY 5, 2022
IRANWIRE

The Iranian government’s systematic campaign to persecute the Baha’i religious minority accelerated again this past week with the arrest, court hearing or imprisonment of at least 18 more Baha’i citizens across the country, bringing the June total to 44 people. Hundreds of others, meanwhile, also await summonses to court or to prison.

The Baha’i International Community (BIC) said the increasing pace of arrests and imprisonments in recent weeks constituted a worrying new chapter in the persecution and shows that the authorities are increasingly implementing their plans to jail or otherwise harass the Baha’i community.

The past week saw the new arrests of three women in Shiraz, including two in their early twenties, and a 41-year-old mother of two, all of whom remain in detention without charge in the detention center of the Shiraz Intelligence Office.

One of the young women had previously sought entry to university in 2019 after passing Iran’s national entrance exams. The authorities told her that she had an “incomplete file”—a common experience among Baha’is who apply and are denied entrance to university. Baha’is have been denied access to higher education in Iran since the 1983 Cultural Revolution.

The father of one of these young women had a heart attack after his daughter's arrest.

Seven other Baha’is, all of whom had been previously arrested and released on bail, were also summoned to court hearings last week and await the outcomes.

In Bandar-e-Lengeh, in southern Iran, officials forced the closure of a Baha’i-owned workshop and denied business licenses to two other optical businesses, depriving these families of their livelihoods and further strangling the economic opportunity of members of the community.

In Sanandaj, and several other small cities in the ethnic Kurdish region of western Iran, members of the Baha’i community have been under constant surveillance, harassment and have been threatened because of their beliefs.

“The Baha’is in Iran hardly make it through a single week without suffering new arrests, summonses to prison and other forms of persecution by the Iranian government,” said Bani Dugal, Principal Representative of the BIC to the United Nations. “We are sounding the alarm: the Baha’is in Iran are suffering the worst coordinated attack we have seen in many years.”

The latest developments follow the issuing of jail and exile sentences against 26 Baha’is in Shiraz last month on charges of assembly and collusion “for the purpose of causing intellectual and ideological insecurity in Muslim society.” The BIC insists the Baha’is had, in fact, been gathering across Shiraz as part of their efforts to address local community needs and to assess the severity of the region’s water crisis. A number of young children will be separated from their parents as a result of these sentences.

Two years ago, also in Shiraz, 40 other Baha’is were summoned before a revolutionary court where an official threatened to ‘uproot’ the community from the city.

IranWire's founding Editor-in-Chief, Maziar Bahari, who made several films about the Baha’is in Iran, said the ongoing arrests showed that the Iranian government was trying to “bury” the Baha’i community in the country.

“The Iranian authorities jail you if they want the world to forget about you and to make you lose hope for the future,” Bahari said. “Thousands of Baha’is in Iran have been jailed over the past 40 years, which testifies to Iran’s ambition to bury the Baha’is, and now it seems this situation is getting worse. I hope the international community can press the Iranian government to relent.”

Newly reported actions taken against the Baha’is this month include:On 28 June 2022, Mrs. Jila Sharafi Nasrabadi, a Baha’i resident of Shiraz, was arrested by security forces, who searched her home and confiscated numerous items, and was taken to the detention center of the Shiraz Intelligence Office. Mrs. Nasrabadi, aged 41, is married and has two children.
On 26 June 2022, Ms. Shaghayegh Khanehzarrin, and Ms. Negar Ighani, both in their early 20s, were arrested in Shiraz. The charges against these two individuals are unknown and they remain in detention at the Shiraz Intelligence Office. On 20 June 2022, Mr. Moin Misaghi, Mr. Mehran Mosalla Nejad, and Ms. Negareh Ghaderi and Ms. Hayedeh Foroutan were summoned to appear in court in Shiraz.
On 19 June 2022, Mr. Said Abedi, Mr. Vahid Dana, and Mr. Salehi, first name unknown, were summoned to appear in court in Shiraz.On 18 June 2022, Mr. Fardin Naddafian, from Tehran, was transferred to Evin Prison to serve his sentence. Additional information is available regarding this case.On 17 June 2022, Ms. Haideh Ram was transferred to Adilabad Prison in Shiraz to serve her sentence. Five other Baha’is, Mr. Borhan Esmaili, Ms. Maryam Bashir, Ms. Faranak Sheikhi, Ms. Minou Bashir, and Ms. Dorna Ismaili, who had previously been sentenced to a total of more than 64 years in prison in a joint case with Ms. Ram, were also summoned to serve their sentences. Additional information is available regarding these cases.
On 15 June 2022, Ms. Samin Ehsani, a specialist in child education, was arrested and transferred to Evin Prison to serve her sentence. Additional information is available regarding this case.

The Baha’is, Iran’s largest non-Muslim religious minority, have been persecuted in Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. A secret memorandum approved by Iran’s Supreme Leader in 1991 calls for the “progress and development” of the Baha’i community to be blocked by barring them from university, disrupting their ability to earn livelihoods, and through other discriminatory means.

OUTLAW BULLFIGHTING

Five in hospital as Spain’s Pamplona bull run returns


BY AFP
Published July 7, 2022


Bulls raced through the course in two minutes 35 seconds with hundreds of people racing with them, leaving five people injured - Copyright AFP/File Charly TRIBALLEAU

Half-tonne fighting bulls knocked over thrill-seekers on Thursday in the first bull run since 2019 at Spain’s San Fermin festival in Pamplona, with five people taken to hospital.

No one was gored but several daredevils were trampled or knocked to the cobblestone pavement of the mediaeval northern city in the first of the festival’s eight early-morning bull runs.

Of those taken to hospital, one was treated for a leg injury, while another suffered a knock to the head while falling and a teenager sustained an arm injury, a Red Cross spokesman said.

Six bulls guided by six tame steers that keep the herd together cleared a path through a sea of hundreds of runners mostly dressed in traditional white outfits with red neck-scarves.

The bulls raced along the roughly 850-metre (928-yard) course from a holding pen to the city’s bull ring in two minutes and 35 seconds.

They will be killed in bullfights later Thursday.

“The bulls kept themselves in a tight pack, they steamrolled right through, so it was over very quickly,” said Gordon MacDonald, a 46-year-old IT worker from Glasgow who took part in the run.

“It was a long time since we ran here so everybody was a bit kind of nervous, we couldn’t remember exactly how it was going to go,” he told AFP.

People from around the world flock to the city of around 200,000 residents to test their bravery and enjoy the festival’s mix of round-the-clock parties, religious processions and concerts.

The annual festival, made famous by Ernest Hemingway’s 1926 novel “The Sun Also Rises”, was last held in 2019.

Officials called off the hugely popular event in 2020 and 2021 because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the first time the festival had been cancelled since Spain’s 1936-1939 civil war.

Sixteen people have died in the bull runs since 1910. The last death occurred in 2009.

Australia drops charge against lawyer over spying claim

Australia’s new government has dropped the 4-year-old prosecution of a lawyer over his alleged attempt to help East Timor prove Australia spied on it during multibillion-dollar oil and gas negotiations

ByRod Mcguirk Associated Press

July 07, 2022, 

 Lawyer Bernard Collaery, left, addresses the media as lawmaker Andrew Wilkie, right, looks on in Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, on June 28, 2018.

The Associated Press

CANBERRA, Australia -- Australia’s new government on Thursday dropped the 4-year-old prosecution of a lawyer over his alleged attempt to help East Timor prove that Australia had spied on the then-fledgling nation’s government in 2004 during multibillion-dollar oil and gas negotiations.

Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus maintained the longstanding government stance of refusing to confirm or deny whether the Australian Secret Intelligence Service, a spy agency that operates out of Australian embassies, bugged government offices in the East Timorese capital Dili.

“Having had regard to our national security, our national interest and the administration of justice, today I have determined that this prosecution should end,” Dreyfus said.

“My decision was informed by our government’s commitment to Australia’s national security and our commitment to our relations with our neighbors. This is an exceptional case,” Dreyfus added.

East Timor had lobbied for the charge to be dropped.

Australia's center-left Labor Party government had been reviewing Bernard Collaery’s case since it came to power for the first time in nine years at May elections.

The previous conservative government had approved in 2018 the prosecution of Collaery and his client, a former spy publicly known as Witness K, on charges that they had conspired to reveal secret information to East Timor.

A conservative coalition had also been in power in 2004 when the bugging is said to have occurred to give Australia an advantage in negotiations over a treaty to divide revenue from energy resources in the Timor Sea between the two nations.

East Timor, an impoverished nation of 1.5 million people on half of Timor Island north of Australia, had become independent of Indonesia in 2002.

Witness K, the former spy, pleaded guilty and was released from court in 2021 with a three-month suspended sentence.

Collaery had pleaded not guilty and was scheduled to stand trial in October.

Both Collaery and K had faced potential penalties of up to two years in prison. The penalty for the same offense has since been increased to 10 years.

The government canceled K’s passport before he was to testify at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague in 2014 in support of East Timor’s challenge to the validity of the 2006 energy treaty.

The East Timorese argued the treaty was invalid because Australia failed to negotiate in good faith by engaging in espionage.

K and Collaery had prepared for the East Timorese government two affidavits that identified K as a former ASIS member and details of ASIS functions, a court heard.

Australia and East Timor agreed on a new maritime border treaty in 2018.

Collaery did not respond to a request for comment on Thursday. When he was charged in 2018, Collaery blamed a political vendetta.

“The government will simply pursue this vindictive prosecution to ruin my reputation and career,” Collaery said.

Gas exporters see growing support for East Coast plant in Canada

Brian Platt, Bloomberg News 

JUNE 7,2022

Canada’s natural gas companies say there’s growing domestic support for new energy infrastructure to facilitate exports to Europe, even as the country pursues aggressive climate-change targets. 

Tim Egan, president of the Canadian Gas Association, said he believes the public is beginning to recognize that boosting exports to countries like Germany is the most significant way Canada will be able to help counteract Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. He cited recent polling that shows widespread approval for a shift in policy.

“I think Canadians are seeing what’s going on in Europe and are saying, ‘Look, there must be way we can help,’” Egan said by phone.

The energy crisis has given a boost to Canada’s fossil-fuel sector, which had been hemmed in for years by slumping prices and tightening environmental restrictions. 

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government is attempting to balance exporting more energy to help supply world markets while still making progress on decarbonizing production. Trudeau has targeted a 42 per cent cut to oil and gas emissions by 2030.

While a major exporter of natural gas, Canada currently lacks a liquefied natural gas terminal that could directly supply allied nations across the Atlantic Ocean. 

BOOSTING PRODUCTION

A public opinion survey conducted in April by Leger Marketing Inc. for the gas association found 58 per cent of respondents supported exports of LNG from the east coast, compared to 17 per cent opposed and the remainder unsure. When Europe and the Ukraine war were specifically mentioned, support rose to 63 per cent, according to the online poll.

The same proportion, 58 per cent, also said they would back the construction of new east coast terminals to export gas, with 21 per cent in opposition. That includes 63 per cent support in Atlantic Canada, where any such facility would likely be located.

In the short term, Canada has pledged to increase its exports to the US to help indirectly free up supplies to Europe, aiming to boost shipments by the equivalent of 100,000 barrels per day by the end of the year.

There are other new developments being considered that could allow Canada to ship directly to Europe, but will face more environmental scrutiny and opposition.

Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson has already pointed to one project that could be in operation by 2025. It would see Spain’s Repsol SA convert an existing LNG import facility in New Brunswick into an export terminal. Most of the infrastructure is already in place, meaning it may not need an extensive regulatory process, the minister said. 

However, Repsol currently uses the terminal to supply gas to the US, and it’s unclear if the company is prepared to make the switch. Supplying the terminal with gas from Western Canada would also require the existing pipeline network to be expanded, which could be politically difficult.

Other longer-term projects have been floated, but they would be new facilities and would require lengthy environmental assessments. Proposals include one in Nova Scotia by Pieridae Energy Ltd., one in Quebec by GNL Quebec Inc., and another in Canada’s easternmost province by LNG Newfoundland and Labrador Ltd.

Egan -- whose association represents Canadian distributors of natural gas -- said he’s heard plenty of interest in access to Canadian gas in his own conversations with diplomats from European countries.

“I’ve met with roughly half of them,” Egan said. “The overwhelming response is: Please try to do more, and more quickly. It’s the Europeans who are very blunt about this.”

Trudeau is scheduled to be in Germany later this month for a Group of Seven leaders summit, where European energy security is expected to be a top agenda item. 

Merchandise trade data released Tuesday shows Canada had $21.8 billion in natural gas exports over the last 12 months through April -- almost double pre-pandemic levels, and the highest since 2009.

CPP Investments looks global but no immediate plans to invest in Ukraine rebuild: CEO

Ross Marowits, The Canadian Press

Jun 23, 2022

Canada's largest pension fund manager says it will continue to look for investment opportunities around the world but has no current plans to help with Ukraine's eventual reconstruction once the war with Russia ends.

"We never close the door to an investment opportunity, but it would come back to us looking at it as an investment opportunity," CPP Investments CEO John Graham said in an interview Thursday.

Before taking such a step, it would first spend some time learning about the country because it's not familiar with its "investable universe."

He said the institution's only mandate is to maximize returns without an undue risk of loss. About 16 per cent of its investments are in Canada even though the country accounts for three per cent of the global economy.

"The way we've thought about our global expansion is we have tried to be very surgical on which countries we invest in because we want to invest in where we see opportunity."

That means primarily putting its money into large economies where it has some expertise, including China, India and Brazil.

Graham said investing globally is in the best interests of its 21 million contributors and beneficiaries.

The institution regularly analyzes potential geopolitical events to ensure it has a resilient portfolio that can withstand different shocks. A potential invasion of Taiwan by China that is top of mind for many these days is one of those scenarios.

Unlike many Canadian firms, CPP didn't have to divest from Russia over its invasion of Ukraine because it has no such investments within its active portfolio, Graham told a business audience following a luncheon speech to the Canadian Club of Toronto.

"The Russian invasion of Ukraine was a bit of a game-changer for people," he said.

In responding to a question from a member of the audience, Graham said it doesn't support total divestment from the oil and gas sector even though it began incorporating climate change risks and opportunities into its portfolio more than a decade ago.

"We believe it's counterproductive to achieving net zero," he said.

"This is going to require lots of capital and if the goal is to actually remove carbon from the economy then selling doesn't achieve that."

CPP has committed that its operations will be net zero by March 31, 2023 and its investment portfolio will be net zero by 2050. 

Earlier, Graham said active management will win the day against today's challenges of slowing economic growth, elevated inflation and weakened equity markets.

Simply exposing capital to markets has been a "winning strategy" over the past decade amid increasing valuations. 

But rising geopolitical tensions, supply chain disruptions, lockdowns and weakened public markets now make it an increasingly challenging environment for investors to navigate. 

"This grim picture might seem overwhelming, but in many ways CPP Investments was built for times like this," he said in his speech.

"We were specifically designed to create value over the very long term, and to be resilient in the face of wide-ranging market and economic conditions."

Graham said he expects inflation will remain elevated in the near-term largely because supply-side issues haven't been resolved. He pointed to pandemic lockdowns, national security and the war in Ukraine that disrupt the delivery of essential materials that fuel the global economy.

The key is active management and diversification to mitigate risk and deliver a more resilient portfolio. That means investing in a wide range of asset classes and growth-oriented companies that perform differently throughout the economic cycle. 

"It is difficult to get this benefit if you are mainly a purely passive investor," he said. 

Graham said the institution's flexibility doesn't mean it's immune to market volatility or having a tough year or two.

The pension fund delivered a 6.8 per cent return last year to $539 billion. Its 10-year return was 10.8 per cent.

Graham said CPP doesn't try to call the bottom of markets, but rather stays invested and keeps looking for quality assets.

However, he said closing deals is more challenging because there's a big gap between buyers and sellers on price.

"We are also seeing less competition for high quality assets, as short-term money is sitting on the sidelines."

He suggested retail investors can stick handle today's economic challenges by following its example by thinking long-term.

• INVESTING

May 27, 2022

CPPIB's growth-equity team seeking targets amid 'perfect storm'

Layan Odeh, Bloomberg News

One of North America’s biggest institutional investors is pushing into the growth-equity business as it anticipates declines in private-company valuations will catch up with those of publicly traded stocks.

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, which managed $539 billion at the end of March, is building an arm that focuses on buying minority stakes in closely held firms as global markets face a “great reset,” the unit’s leader, Leon Pedersen, said in an interview. 

Markets are shifting from a scenario in which growth equities were “lifting all boats,” to one where it will be easier to differentiate between high-quality companies and those that are more vulnerable, Pedersen said Thursday.

“It’s almost like the perfect storm and it will be easier to identify the winners,” he said. 

Soaring inflation, rising interest rates and war in Europe have battered global equities, with the MSCI All Country World Index tumbling about 15 per cent this year. But the impact of the geopolitical and economic turmoil isn’t fully reflected in the valuations of private firms, with potential sellers resisting price cuts for now. 

CPPIB plans to wait for them to capitulate.

“It will take some time for the markets to actually find these new levels,” Pedersen said. 

The growth-equity team will focus on buying minority stakes in businesses focused on health care, and battery and food technologies, among others, he said. While the pension plan has invested in growth equities for years, it now has a team dedicated to that segment.  

Among CPPIB’s growth equity investments, according to its website, are 10x Future Technologies, a provider of business-to-business solutions for banks; software and database management firm Aerospike; and DriveWealth, a brokerage infrastructure platform.   

Investments in startups are expected to slow this year as growth-stage companies and venture-capital firms adopt a wait-and-see approach.

Many businesses have raised a lot of capital but are postponing deployment, Pedersen said. 

"Invest. Don't speculate," Graham said. "If you find yourself churning your portfolio, you should probably rethink the portfolio construction."

CANADA

Omers nears deal for UK utility contractor Network Plus

Dinesh Nair, Bloomberg News

Omers, the Canadian pension fund manager, is nearing a deal to acquire British utility services provider Network Plus, people with knowledge of the matter said. 

The investment firm could announce an agreement to buy Network Plus as soon as this week, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. A deal could value the business at around £600 million (US$714 million), according to the people. 

Network Plus is a contractor for major UK utilities and infrastructure firms, providing services such as project planning, construction and maintenance. It helps hook up gas connections, lay power lines, install underground internet cables, inspect water pipelines and fix wastewater blockages. 

The company’s customers include Cadent Gas Ltd., National Grid Plc, Yorkshire Water, Wales & West Utilities Ltd., Manchester Airport Group and Network Rail, according to its website. 

Investors ranging from pension funds to private equity firms have been pouring money into infrastructure plays as they seek to generate stable, recurring returns. PAI Partners is exploring a potential $2 billion sale of rival British utility contractor M Group Services, Bloomberg News reported in March. 

Talks over a deal for Network Plus are ongoing and could still fall apart, the people said. A representative for Omers declined to comment, while calls to Network Plus’s office weren’t answered. 

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