IT'S A PAGAN HOLYDAY
War On Halloween! Fox News Wants To Cancel Holiday In Latest Right-Wing Freakout



Ed Mazza
Wed, September 28, 2022 

Fox News has found its latest thing to panic over.

The right-wing network is warning viewers about drugs disguised as candy ― especially Halloween candy. Some Fox News personalities are even calling for a halt to traditional Halloween activities.

See this clip posted by The Daily Beast:


The topic of drugs has been frequently featured on the network, even more so with the approach of the midterm elections. The Washington Post even noted a jump in references to fentanyl on Fox News when compared to CNN and MSNBC.

The network’s warnings are based in part on a DEA bulletin issued last month about “rainbow fentanyl” that looks like candy and which the agency described as “a deliberate effort by drug traffickers to drive addiction amongst kids and young adults.”

Experts are skeptical.

“I don’t think people will be giving these pills out as Halloween candy,” Joseph Palamar, an associate professor in the department of population health at NYU Langone Health, told CNN. Palamar, who has studied trends in illicit fentanyl, said the colorful pills have been around for years and that the real concern isn’t Halloween. It’s that the people who use the pills may leave them around at home, where children may find and take them.

Rolling Stone also reported that the colorful pills were neither new nor aimed at children.

“The idea that because [the pills] are colorful means that [cartels] must be trying to force fentanyl or ply children or their Halloween candy is markedly ridiculous,” Mariah Francis of the National Harm Reduction Coalition told the magazine.

The new scare fits in with years of largely unfounded reports and urban legends about hard drugs being distributed as Halloween candy.

Twitter users called out Fox News for its over-the-top response and accused the network of bringing right-wing cancel-culture to a beloved holiday:

This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.

Tiny Oregon town hosts 1st wind-solar-battery 'hybrid' plant





In this photo provided by Portland General Electric, windmills and solar panels are seen by massive batteries to store the energy generated at the Wheatridge Renewable Energy Facilities, May 24, 2022 in Lexington, Ore. The Wheatridge Renewable Energy Facilities was commissioned Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022, and is the first utility-scale plant of its kind in North America. Clean energy experts say the project, which can power 100,000 homes, addresses some key challenges facing the industry as the U.S. transitions away from fossil fuels. (Sarah Hamaker/Portland General Electric via AP)More

GILLIAN FLACCUS
Tue, September 27, 2022 

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A renewable energy plant being commissioned in Oregon on Wednesday that combines solar power, wind power and massive batteries to store the energy generated there is the first utility-scale plant of its kind in North America.

The project, which will generate enough electricity to power a small city at maximum output, addresses a key challenge facing the utility industry as the U.S. transitions away from fossil fuels and increasingly turns to solar and wind farms for power. Wind and solar are clean sources of power, but utilities have been forced to fill in gaps when the wind isn't blowing and the sun isn't shining with fossil fuels like coal or natural gas.

At the Oregon plant, massive lithium batteries will store up to 120 megawatt-hours of power generated by the 300-megawatt wind farms and 50-megawatt solar farm so it can be released to the electric grid on demand. At maximum output, the facility will produce more than half of the power that was generated by Oregon's last coal plant, which was demolished earlier this month.

On-site battery storage isn’t new, and interest in solar-plus-battery projects in particular has soared in the U.S. in recent years due to robust tax credits and incentives and the falling price of batteries. The Wheatridge Renewable Energy Facility in Oregon, however, is the first in the U.S. to combine integrated wind, solar and battery storage at such a large scale in one location, giving it even more flexibility to generate continuous output without relying on fossil fuels to fill in the gaps.
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The project is “getting closer and closer to having something with a very stable output profile that we traditionally think of being what’s capable with a fuel-based generation power plant," said Jason Burwen, vice president of energy storage at the American Clean Power Association, an advocacy group for the clean power industry.

“If the solar is chugging along and cloud cover comes over, the battery can kick in and make sure that the output is uninterrupted. As the sun goes down and the wind comes online, the battery can make sure that that’s very smooth so that it doesn’t, to the grid operator, look like anything unusual."

The plant located in a remote expanse three hours east of Portland is a partnership between NextEra Energy Resources and Portland General Electric, a public utility required to reduce carbon emissions by 100% by 2040 under an Oregon climate law passed last year, one of the most ambitious in the nation.

PGE’s customers are also demanding green power — nearly a quarter-million customers receive only renewable energy — and the Wheatridge project is “key to that decarbonization strategy,” said Kristen Sheeran, PGE’s director of sustainability strategy and resource planning.

Under the partnership, PGE owns one-third of the wind output and purchases all the facility’s power for its renewable energy portfolio. NextEra, which developed the site and operates it, owns two-thirds of the wind output and all of the solar output and storage.

“The mere fact that many other customers are looking at these types of facilities gives you a hint at what we think could be possible,” said David Lawlor, NextEra’s director of business development for the Pacific Northwest. “Definitely customers want firmer generation, starting with the battery storage in the back.”

Large-scale energy storage is critical as the U.S. shifts to more variable power sources like wind and solar, and Americans can expect to see similar projects across the country as that trend accelerates. National Renewable Energy Laboratory models show U.S. storage capacity may rise fivefold by 2050, yet experts say even this won't be enough to prevent extremely disruptive climate change.

Batteries aren't the only solution that the clean energy industry is trying out. Pumped storage generates power by sending huge volumes of water downhill through turbines and others are experimenting with forcing water underground and holding it there before releasing it to power turbines.

But interest in batteries for clean energy storage has grown dramatically in recent years at the same time that the cost of batteries is falling and the technology itself is improving, boosting interest in hybrid plants, experts say.

Generating capacity from hybrid plants increased 133% between 2020 and 2021 and by the end of last year, there were nearly 8,000 megawatts of wind or solar generation connected to storage, according to the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, which is managed by the University of California.

The vast majority of such projects are solar power with battery storage, largely because of tax credits, but projects in the pipeline include offshore wind-plus-battery, hydroelectric-plus-battery and at least nine facilities like the one in Oregon that will combine solar, wind and storage. Projects in the pipeline between 2023 and 2025 include ones in Washington, California, Arizona, Idaho, Iowa, Illinois and Oregon, according to Berkeley Lab.

Many researchers and pilots are working on alternatives to lithium ion batteries, however, largely because their intrinsic chemistry limits them to around four hours of storage and a longer duration would be more useful.

“There is no silver bullet. There’s no model or prototype that’s going to meet that entire need ... but wind and solar will certainly be in the mix," said PGE's Sheeran.

"This model can become a tool for decarbonization across the West as the whole country is driving toward very ambitious climate reduction goals.”

____

Follow Gillian Flaccus on Twitter: @gflaccus

HE WOULD BE CORRECT

Ruben Gallego ignites feud with fellow Democratic lawmaker Kyrsten Sinema, accusing her of wanting the GOP to win the House and the Senate

Cheryl Teh
Tue, September 27, 2022 a

Arizona Rep. Ruben Gallego previously teased the idea of mounting a potential challenge against Senator Krysten Sinema in the 2024 Democratic primary Kyrsten Sinema.

Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images; Alex Wong/Getty Images

Ruben Gallego took a jab at fellow Democrat Kyrsten Sinema on Monday.

Gallego said he sensed that Sinema would prefer it if the Democrats lost the House and Senate.

He said Sinema was "nowhere" to be seen while he was campaigning around their home state of Arizona.

Arizona Rep. Ruben Gallego hit out at his Democratic colleague, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema on Monday, accusing Sinema of secretly wanting their party to fail.

On Monday, Gallego re-tweeted reporting by Daily Beast reporter Ursula Perano on how Sinema was predicting a shift in power from the Democratic Party to the GOP in the upcoming midterms.

"I mean you could be out there helping our candidates @SenatorSinema But my sense is that you would actually prefer the Dems lose control of the Senate and House," Gallego wrote.

He also criticized Sinema for being absent from the party's campaigning efforts in their home state.

"Now that I think of it. I have been traveling the state and country. Donating, raising funds and encouraging people to come out and vote and I have seen you nowhere @SenatorSinema," Gallego tweeted.

Speaking to the Washington Examiner, Sinema's team declined to comment on Gallego's tweets but said that the senator had given more than $140,000 to Democratic candidates in this election cycle.

Representatives for Sinema did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

Sinema has been a stumbling block in the Democratic Party's attempts to pass legislation in the Senate.

For instance, Sinema was one of the lone holdouts in the way of the party passing the Inflation Reduction Act. Her colleague, fellow moderate Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, was even seen taking a knee in front of Sinema's desk to speak to her on the Senate floor while trying to obtain her make-or-break vote.

With Sinema's stance having stalled major pieces of Democratic legislation in the upper chamber, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Monday praised Sinema, calling her the "most effective first-term senator" he had seen during his decades in the Senate.

Meanwhile, Gallego has teased the idea of mounting a potential challenge against Sinema in the 2024 Democratic primary. Gallego also told CNN in January that he had been approached about possibly challenging Sinema.

"To be honest, I have gotten a lot of encouragement from elected officials, from senators, from unions, from your traditional Democratic groups, big donors," he said. "Everything you can imagine under the sun."

Sen. Sinema defends bipartisanship at McConnell Center


Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., speaks during a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committee hearing to examine social media's impact on homeland security, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022, on Capitol Hill in Washington. 

(AP Photo/Alex Brandon) 

JONATHAN J. COOPER
Mon, September 26, 2022 at 1:01 PM·3 min read

PHOENIX (AP) — Most Americans prefer politicians who work across the aisle, Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema said Monday in a forceful defense of her brand of bipartisanship, which has infuriated the left and is likely to draw her a primary challenge.

Members of Congress face “intense pressure” to play to the extreme elements of their own party, alienating the American people from their government, Sinema argued in a speech in Kentucky, where she spoke at a University of Louisville center named for Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. Both parties are responsible, she said.

“More and more it seems like Americans are being told that in order to be a member of either political party, you must adhere to a strict set list of policy viewpoints,” Sinema said. “But I don’t think that’s how a majority of Arizonans or Kentuckians or everyday Americans think."

Sinema plays an outsized role in defining what's possible in Congress. One of two moderate Democrats in the 50-50 Senate, her willingness to buck the rest of her party has limited the ambitions of President Joe Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

She is a staunch defender of the filibuster, a Senate rule effectively requiring 60 votes to pass most legislation in the 100-member body. Many Democrats, including Biden, say the filibuster leads to gridlock by giving a minority of lawmakers the ability to veto.

She said the filibuster should be restored for areas where it's been eliminated, such as judicial confirmations.

“Those of you who are parents in the room know, the best thing you can do for your child is not give them everything they want,” Sinema said. “And that’s important to the United States Senate as well. We shouldn’t get everything we want in the moment. Because later, upon cooler reflection, you recognize that has probably gone too far.”

The Senate is meant to be slow and deliberative, she said, and the filibuster ensures lasting progress that doesn't swing wildly as the parties trade off control of Congress.

Sinema pointed to a series of bipartisan compromises that produced a massive infrastructure spending bill, subsidies for semiconductor manufacturers and the widest-ranging gun control bill in decades following the shooting at a school in Uvalde, Texas.

She signaled no plans to change her approach as she nears her first reelection campaign in 2024, when she is likely to face stiff opposition from the left. Liberal groups are already raising money to fund an eventual Democratic primary challenger.

“If you don’t fit in in today’s Washington, trust me, they want to kick you out,” Sinema said. “But I’ve never really wanted to fit in. Not in Washington and not anywhere else.”

McConnell showered praise on Sinema's deal-making prowess and her steadfast commitment to maintaining the filibuster.

“She is, in my view, one of the most effective first-term senators I’ve seen in my time in the Senate,” McConnell said. “She is today what we have too few of in the Democratic Party — a genuine moderate and a dealmaker.”

HINDUTVA WAR ON ISLAM

PFI ban: What is Popular Front of India and why has India outlawed it?

Swaminathan Natarajan and Faisal Mohammed Ali - BBC World Service
Wed, September 28, 2022 

The Popular Front of India says it has hundreds of thousands of supporters across the country

The Indian government has banned the Popular Front of India (PFI) - a controversial Muslim group - for five years for allegedly having links with terror groups.

The ban, announced on Wednesday morning, comes amid a crackdown on the organisation - over the past week, authorities have twice raided its offices across several states and arrested many of its leaders.

The PFI, which denies the allegations against it, has held nationwide protests against the raids in recent days.

About the ban

The government says it has banned the PFI and its associate groups for allegedly undertaking "unlawful activities" which are "prejudicial to the integrity, sovereignty and security of the country".

It has cited the group's alleged links with banned Islamist groups - the Students Islamic Movement of India (Simi) and the Jamat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) - as well as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

"The PFI and its associates or affiliates or fronts operate openly as a socio-economic, educational and political organisation but, they have been pursuing a secret agenda to radicalise a particular section of the society working towards undermining the concept of democracy," the federal home ministry said in a statement.

Reports say that more than 250 people linked to the group have been arrested during raids held on 22 September and 27 September.

The searches were carried out by India's top anti-terror agency, the National Investigation Agency (NIA), and the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which fights financial crimes.

The NIA said that during the searches, it seized "incriminating documents, cash, sharp-edged weapons and a large number of digital devices".

In a statement issued after the first raid, the Popular Front of India had described the action against it as "witch hunting" and accused the NIA of making baseless claims to create "an atmosphere of terror" .
What is PFI?

Formed in 2006, the PFI describes itself "as a non-governmental social organisation whose stated objective is to work for the poor and disadvantaged people in the country and to oppose oppression and exploitation".

Many Hindu groups had demanded a ban on the PFI

The PFI came into existence after the National Development Front (NDF) - a controversial organisation established in Kerala a few years after the Babri mosque was demolished in 1992 - merged with two other organisations from the south. Over the next few years, it developed a broader base as more organisations across India merged with it.

At present, the PFI, which has a strong presence in Kerala and Karnataka, is active in more than 20 Indian states and says its cadre strength is in the "hundreds of thousands".
Why is PFI controversial?

In its mission statement on its website, the PFI claims to want to establish an "egalitarian society where everyone enjoys freedom, justice and a sense of security". It says that changes in economic policies are required so that Dalits (formerly untouchables), tribal people and minorities get their rights.

However, the government has registered a host of charges against the group and its members, including "sedition, creating enmity between different sections of society and taking steps to destabilise India".

The PFI first stepped into the limelight in 2010 after an attack on a college professor in Kerala. The assault came after several Muslim groups accused him of asking derogatory questions about the Prophet Muhammad in an examination. A court convicted some of its members for the attack, although the PFI distanced itself from the accused.

More recently, members from the group were also linked to the beheading of a Hindu man in the western state of Rajasthan in June.

A few months ago, police in the eastern state of Bihar claimed that the group had allegedly circulated a document that spoke of making India an Islamic nation. The PFI had denied the allegations saying that the document - India 2047: Towards Rule of Islamic India - was forged.

One of the main allegations against the PFI has been its connection to Simi, which was outlawed by the government in 2001. The PFI has also been linked to the Indian Mujahideen, another banned militant group.

Karnataka's government has accused the PFI of instigating protests against a school ban on wearing hijabs

Prof P Koya, a founding member of the PFI and its earlier incarnation NDF, had denied these allegations in an earlier conservation with the BBC and said that he established NDF in 1993, years after his relations with Simi ended in 1981.

Authorities have also linked the PFI to several incidents of political violence.

In 2018, in the coastal city of Ernakulam in Kerala, PFI activists were accused of stabbing to death a leader of the left-wing Students Federation of India (SFI).

How popular is PFI?

PFI leaders get a lot of media attention for speeches which some consider to be provocative.

The group claims to have a large supporter-base, but it has not enjoyed much political success so far. Its registered political party - the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) - has participated in local elections in Kerala and has enjoyed modest success, but hasn't won any parliamentary seats.

"The PFI is not a significant political or social force in India. Whatever influence it has is mainly limited to Kerala and some other southern states. Muslims in the rest of India do not even know of its existence as a political entity," says Adil Mehdi, retired prof from Jamia Millia Islamia university in the capital, Delhi.

Earlier this year, the Karnataka government accused the PFI of inciting protests after a school in the state banned female students from wearing hijabs. Observers said the student and women wing of PFI - Campus Front of India, and National Women's Front - actively participated in these pro-hijab demonstrations.

Hindu groups, aligned with India's governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), had long demanded a total ban on the PFI and the Kerala High Court once described it as an "extremist organisation".

However, the PFI continues to deny any involvement in terror activities and analysts point out that terrorism charges, used to conduct raids and arrests, often fail scrutiny in court.

RETURN TO THE MIDDLE AGES
Orthodox Church leader says Russian soldiers dying in Ukraine will be cleansed of sin

Mon, September 26, 2022 

(Reuters) - The head of the Russian Orthodox Church has said that Russian soldiers who die in the war against Ukraine will be cleansed of all their sins, days after President Vladimir Putin ordered the country's first mobilisation since World War Two.

Patriarch Kirill is a key Putin ally and backer of the invasion. He has previously criticised those who oppose the war and called on Russians to rally round the Kremlin.

"Many are dying on the fields of internecine warfare," Kirill, 75, said in his first Sunday address since the mobilisation order. "The Church prays that this battle will end as soon as possible, so that as few brothers as possible will kill each other in this fratricidal war."

"But at the same time, the Church realises that if somebody, driven by a sense of duty and the need to fulfil their oath ... goes to do what their duty calls of them, and if a person dies in the performance of this duty, then they have undoubtedly committed an act equivalent to sacrifice. They will have sacrificed themselves for others. And therefore, we believe that this sacrifice washes away all the sins that a person has committed."

Russia says it is calling up some 300,000 additional troops to fight in Ukraine, in a mobilisation drive that has stoked public anger, led to an exodus of military-age men and triggered protests across the country.

Kirill's support for the war in Ukraine has deepened a rift between the Russian branch of the Orthodox Church and other wings of Orthodoxy around the world. Pope Francis, head of the Catholic Church, has been a vocal opponent of the war, and has appeared to scold Kirill's position in several public addresses, including earlier this month when he said God does not support war.

(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)

Head of Russian church tells soldiers that death in Ukraine will cleanse their sins

Emily Cleary
Mon, September 26, 2022 

Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian church, has said Russian soldiers' sins will be 'cleansed' if they die fighting in Ukraine. (Getty)

The head of the Russian Orthodox Church has told Russian soldiers that death in Ukraine will absolve them of all sins.

Patriarch Kirill, who in February justified Putin's decision to invade Ukraine on spiritual and ideological grounds, made the remarks after Moscow said up to 300,000 reservists would be called up to fight.

The decision has sparked pockets of protests across Russia, with one monitoring group reporting more than 700 people being detained in 32 different cities.

Russia's top priest said: "Willingness to make sacrifices is the greatest expression of the best of human qualities.

"We know that today many die in the fields of internecine warfare. The Church prays that this battle will end as soon as possible, that as few brothers as possible will kill each other in this fratricidal war."

He then went on to reassure those called up to fight that should they die, their death would be a "sacrifice" and would "cleanse" their sins.

He said: "At the same time, the Church realises that if someone, guided by a sense of duty, by the need to be loyal to the oath, remains true to his calling and goes to fulfil what their duty calls, and if that person dies while fulfilling this duty, he is undoubtedly accomplishes an act that equals a sacrifice.

"He sacrifices himself for the others.

Up to 300,000 men are being called up to join Russia's army fighting in Ukraine in the biggest mobilisation since World War II. (Getty)

"That is why we believe that this sacrifice cleanses all the sins that a person has committed."

Patriarch Kirill also said in his sermon on Sunday that he prayed for the fighting to end.

Last week Russia began its first military mobilisation since World War Two to enlist citizens to fight in Ukraine.

Vladimir Putin announced plans to mobilise 300,000 reserves to fight in the war in Ukraine, prioritising those with combat experience. He signed a new decree on Saturday that soldiers who surrender, desert, or refuse to fight can face up to 10 years in prison.




Last week, after the mobilisation announcement, Kirrill said in a sermon that a person of "true faith" is not subject to the fear of death.

He said that a person becomes "invincible" when there is a "strong dimension associated with eternity" in him, and he ceases to be afraid of death.

"Faith makes a person very strong, because it transfers his consciousness from everyday life, from material worries, to caring for the soul, for eternity," he said. "Namely, the fear of death drives a warrior from the battlefield, pushes the weak to betrayal and even to rebel against their brothers. But true faith destroys the fear of death."

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that soldiers who surrender, desert, or refuse to fight can face up to ten years in prison. (Getty)

On Monday a report by independent Russian media outlet Meduza, which is based in Latvia, suggested that men of military age could be banned from leaving the country, as thousands try to flee Putin's call-up.

The initial call to action led thousands to try and escape the country, with tickets to neighbouring countries Turkey and Azerbaijan - neither of which require visas for Russians - selling out within hours and thousands traveling to Finland by land.

The ban is expected to be introduced on Wednesday, after voting in the referendums in Russian-seized areas of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia in Ukraine has ended.

British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly told the Mirror: “We know what Vladimir Putin is doing.

“He is planning to fabricate the outcome of those referenda, he is planning to use that to annex sovereign Ukrainian territory, and he is planning to use it as a further pretext to escalate his aggression.”

'A DANGEROUS CULT'

Children removed from Jewish sect's jungle compound in Mexico



Raffi Berg - BBC News
Tue, September 27, 2022 at 10:20 AM·4 min read

Children and older teenagers have been removed from the jungle compound of a Jewish sect in Mexico following a raid by police, the BBC has learned.

Two members of Lev Tahor were arrested on suspicion of human trafficking and serious sexual offences, including rape, Israel's foreign ministry said.

A three-year-old child removed from the compound has been flown to Israel.

Lev Tahor (Hebrew for Pure Heart) is known for extremist practices and imposing a strict regime on members.

It advocates child marriage, inflicts harsh punishments for even minor transgressions and requires women and girls as young as three years old to completely cover up with robes.

The stricture has earned the group the nickname the Jewish Taliban, because of seeming similarities with the dress code enforced by the Sunni Muslim extremist group which controls Afghanistan.

Police made their way into the compound 11 miles (17.5km) north of Tapachula in Chiapas state on Friday morning.

They had been instructed by a federal judge to detain several leaders suspected of child abuse and rescue members of the sect, following an investigation by the attorney general's Special Prosecutor for Organised Crime (Femdo).

An Israeli source connected to the operation said the boys and girls were quickly separated from the rest of the group, because of fears their lives could be at risk from members trying to prevent them from being removed.

Twenty-six members were found in the compound, among them Israelis with dual citizenships including Canada, the US and Guatemala, Israel's foreign ministry said.

It said a Canadian and an Israeli citizen were arrested, while two other wanted members reportedly left the compound two days before the raid and are being sought. Five more were detained for allegedly breaking immigration rules.

The remaining members are being housed at a facility of the Mexican Ministry of Welfare pending a decision on what will happen to them, the Israeli foreign ministry said.

The three-year-old son of an Israeli, Yisrael Amir, who had previously left the group, was among those removed from the compound. Mr Amir, who was present during the raid, flew back to Israel with his son on Monday.

'Dangerous cult'

The Mexican police worked alongside a four-man volunteer team from Israel, including former Mossad agents, in planning and carrying out the operation.

The elite police unit which raided the compound "very carefully and without resorting to any violence" included both male and female officers because of the number of women and children in the sect, the Israel source said.

"The Mexican authorities did their duty in the best possible way," the source added.

The operation was set in motion about two years ago, when Mr Amir and other relatives of some of those in the group asked one of the former agents for help.

The team travelled between Israel and Guatemala, where the branch had lived since 2014, carrying out surveillance operations and working with local authorities, law enforcement and a Guatemalan private investigator.

In January, about 40-50 members illegally crossed into Mexico, where they continued to be tracked, settling in the jungle north of Tapachula.

The leadership in Guatemala has been at the centre of a kidnapping case since 2018, when two children who had been taken to New York by their mother who had fled the community were snatched back. They were recovered three weeks later in Mexico.

Nine of the sect's members were charged in connection with the case. Four - including the founder's son and current leader Nachman Helbrans - have been jailed, while one was convicted, but freed because of time already served and another is due to be sentenced in November. Two are awaiting trial and one is in custody in Guatemala.

Lev Tahor was formed in Israel in 1988 by Rabbi Shlomo Helbrans, who later moved to the US. He served two years in prison after being convicted of kidnapping in 1994 and drowned in Mexico in 2017.

Numbering up to about 350 members, Lev Tahor has been forced to move from country to country in recent years after coming under scrutiny from local authorities. It is currently spread between Israel, the US, North Macedonia, Morocco, Mexico and Guatemala. Between 70 and 80 members are still in Guatemala.

While the group is often described as ultra-Orthodox, it follows its own sets of rules and has been declared a "dangerous cult" by an Israeli court.

Its leaders have denied breaking local laws and say the group is being targeted because of its beliefs.

Exclusive-U.S. seeks allies as split emerges over global plastics pollution treaty




Tue, September 27, 2022 
By John Geddie and Valerie Volcovici

WASHINGTON D.C. (Reuters) - The United States is seeking to form a coalition of countries to drive negotiations on a global plastic pollution treaty, weeks after a similar group involving several other G7 nations was launched, according to a document seen by Reuters.

The move underlines its desire to keep the treaty's focus on the efforts of individual countries in a model similar to the 2015 Paris climate accord, rather than provide new universal rules favoured by other major nations, according to six government and civil society sources involved in the talks.

United Nations members agreed in February to create the world's first treaty to tackle the scourge of plastic waste which extends from ocean trenches to mountain tops, with the aim of finalising it by the end of 2024.

In August, 20 countries, including Britain, Canada, France, Germany and several developing nations at the sharp end of the environmental crisis, formed a "High Ambition Coalition To End Plastic Pollution" advocating for the treaty to include global standards, bans and restrictions on plastic.

Now, the United States is seeking to form its own group with a different approach, and has invited several countries to join including Australia and Japan, the sources said.

A concept note for its coalition seen by Reuters says "the development of national action plans" should be "the primary mechanism" for countries to contribute to the treaty, an approach environmentalists say will not be robust enough to curb the runaway problem.

The U.S.-led coalition aims to launch at or before the first round of treaty negotiations scheduled to take place in Uruguay from Nov. 28 to Dec. 2, the draft document says.

The State Department did not directly answer questions about the proposed coalition.

In an emailed statement, Monica Medina, the U.S. official leading its treaty negotiations, said the country was committed to ending plastic pollution by 2040.

"The best way is through a Paris-like agreement that helps countries take ambitious action and holds them accountable, let's them be innovative on finding solutions, and leads to action now and not later," she said.

The United States was a key architect of the country-driven approach of the Paris agreement, a landmark international deal to limit global warming to at least 2 degrees Celsius. But that deal has faced criticism for having no enforcement mechanism as countries have missed deadlines to ratchet up their climate actions.

Japan's vice minister for global environmental affairs, Hiroshi Ono, said he knew of a proposed coalition on plastic involving the United States but declined further comment. Australia's environment department said in a statement it was aware of different coalitions forming, without elaborating.

'LIGHT TOUCH'

Environmentalists say measures taken by individual countries must be complemented by more top-down measures like coordinated curbs on virgin plastic production and universal design standards to increase the recyclability of plastics.

Plastic production is forecast to double over the next 20 years while the amount of plastic flowing into the ocean will triple. That will cause widespread environmental damage, destroying sensitive ecosystems and putting some species at risk of extinction, according to a World Wildlife Fund study.

"We don't need a treaty for countries to decide themselves what their national actions should be. We need a treaty that can actually add on top of that," said Eirik Lindebjerg, global plastics policy manager at WWF, calling such an approach a "light touch."

However, Ono, the Japanese environment official, said that the treaty cannot take a "one-size-fits-all approach" as countries have different "national circumstances" and "priorities" towards upstream measures, like plastic production, or downstream measures, like waste collection.

Calls for tougher global measures such as those focused on plastic production have also met resistance from the powerful oil and petrochemical firms that make plastic. Industry groups have been lobbying governments, including the U.S., to reject any deal that would limit plastic manufacturing, Reuters reported in February.

John Hocevar, a campaign manager for Greenpeace, and two other sources who requested anonymity told Reuters that U.S. officials had privately said they are wary of agreeing to any global rules that would likely be rejected by its divided Congress.

That is why the United States is keen to pursue a Paris-like deal, the sources said, which did not have to be ratified by Congress because it largely relies on voluntary commitments based on national laws.

"If we are working from the position of we are only going to negotiate what we can get done at home, we've lost before we've even started," said Jane Patton, a U.S.-based campaign manager for plastics and petrochemicals at the Centre for International Environmental Law.

(Reporting by John Geddie and Valerie Volcovici; Editing by Marguerita Choy)

SEX POSITIVE WOMAN VS FASCIST MALE STATE

Myanmar OnlyFans model sentenced to six years jail


Frances Mao - BBC News
Wed, September 28, 2022 a

Nang Mwe San is seen here holding up her fingers , in what has become known as a popular protest symbol. 

IT WAS FIRST USED IN THAILAND BY PROTESTERS AGAINST THE JUNTA THERE, IT IS FROM THE MOVIE; 'THE HUNGER GAMES'

A Myanmar woman has been jailed for six years by a military court for posting pictures on adult subscription site OnlyFans, amongst other platforms.

Nang Mwe San, a model and former doctor, had been charged two weeks ago for "harming culture and dignity", military authorities said.

She had also previously taken part in protests against the military, which seized power in 2021 in a coup.

She is believed to be the first person in Myanmar jailed for OnlyFans content.

Another model, who had also posted pictures of her participation in protests on social media, was also arrested in August under the same law. Thinzar Wint Kyaw is to face trial in October.

Nang Mwe San was found guilty of distributing nude photos and videos on social media sites for a fee, under Section 33 (A) of the country's Electronics Transactions Law, which carries a maximum sentence of seven years.

The model lived in Yangon's North Dagon Township - an area where martial law is in force.

In such areas - and under state of emergency laws renewed by the Myanmar junta government earlier this year - those charged with crimes are tried in a military court where they're denied rights like access to a lawyer.

She was tried at the Insein Prison Court - the capital's notorious prison and the largest in Myanmar - where many political prisoners have been sent since the coup last year.

Her mother told the BBC's Burmese Service she was able to contact her daughter in recent weeks, but had not known of the sentencing until military media confirmed it on Wednesday.

Myanmar's military overthrew Aung San Suu Kyi's democratically elected government in February 2021 - sparking huge protests across the country and a widespread resistance movement.

It's estimated more than 15,600 people - including Ms Suu Kyi, other lawmakers, activists and journalists - have been arrested since the military seized power.

More than 12,00 people remain detained while at least 2,322 political prisoners have been killed by the regime says the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, monitoring group.

Earlier this month, Britain's former ambassador to Myanmar Vicky Bowman and her husband were both jailed for a year for breaching immigration laws. But their case is likely to be about wider political concerns rather than immigration offences, for which foreigners are rarely prosecuted in Myanmar.

Lawsuit demands San Francisco stop homeless camp sweeps


 A man stands near tents on a sidewalk in San Francisco, Nov. 21, 2020. Advocates for homeless people sued the city of San Francisco, Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022, demanding that it stop harassing and destroying belongings of people living on the streets and commit to spending $4 billion for affordable housing. 

(AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)

JANIE HAR
Tue, September 27, 2022 

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Homeless people and their advocates sued the city of San Francisco on Tuesday, demanding that it stop harassing and destroying the belongings of people living on the streets with nowhere to go, and with the goal of forcing the city to spend billions of dollars on affordable homes that will keep residents housed.

The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area and others filed the lawsuit in federal court on behalf of the Coalition on Homelessness and seven individuals who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. Defendants include the city, several city departments and Mayor London Breed.

The complaint states that San Francisco “presents the image of a caring municipality” with a plan to address homelessness, but decades of inaction on affordable housing has left thousands forced to use tents and vehicles as shelter. An annual homelessness survey found 7,754 homeless people in 2022 with nearly 60% living unsheltered.

Not only has the city failed to construct affordable housing, according to the complaint, the city uses heavy-handed tactics to get homeless people to move, threatening to arrest or actually arresting people, and taking people's belongings in early morning encampment sweeps in which shelter is not offered, as required by law.

In addition to stopping illegal practices, “we need to change the conversation around what is causing homelessness here and get to proven solutions,” said Zal K. Shroff, senior attorney with the lawyers’ committee.

San Francisco is among many West coast cities where street homelessness has come increasingly under fire, from politicians and housed residents. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat and former mayor of San Francisco, has embraced clearing tent encampments, saying it is neither compassionate nor safe to allow people to live outdoors.

But the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled in 2018 that it's unconstitutional to cite or arrest people for sleeping in public when there is no shelter available.

In statements, both the mayor's office and the city attorney's office declined comment but said San Francisco is focused on expanding temporary shelter and providing more permanent housing options. Breed's office said the city has added nearly 3,000 permanent supportive housing units since 2020.

“Once we are served with the lawsuit, we will review the complaint and respond in court,” said Jen Kwart, spokesperson for the office of City Attorney David Chiu.

Shroff acknowledged the court can’t order San Francisco to build affordable housing, but the group hopes the lawsuit will push city leaders in that direction.

The lawsuit asks the court to order the city to stop punishing homeless people for sleeping and living on public property until it has sufficient shelter to offer. It also asks the court to stop the city from seizing property and to appoint a monitor to make sure the city follows through.

The seven named plaintiffs include David Martinez, a Latino man who sleeps in a cardboard box because city workers keep confiscating his tent and other belongings, according to the complaint.

Two of the plaintiffs are Black men unable to afford housing in the city where they were born and raised. Another is a double amputee whose prosthetics were taken by city workers in June.

Toro Castaño said in a legal declaration that in August 2020 he packed his belongings as ordered but city workers tossed all his stuff into a garbage truck, including his mother’s wedding kimono and a MacBook Pro laptop. They offered him a bed in a homeless shelter, which he declined for fear of catching the coronavirus.

“I do not think it was fair to force me to make that difficult healthcare choice under the threat of citation,” said Castaño, who is also Latino, in his declaration.

The city does not give 72 hours notice in advance of clearing an area or bag and tag property for homeless people to collect later, in violation of its own policies, according to the complaint. Homeless outreach workers do not know until hours after people have been forced out what kind of shelter, if any, is available that day.

"No one is saying the city should not remove trash, but when we’re seeing MacBook Pros, that’s just straight up targeting of unhoused people," Shroff said.

San Francisco has about 3,500 shelter beds, the mayor's office said.

The lawsuit estimates San Francisco would need to build nearly 6,700 new affordable units, which they estimate to cost $4.8 billion, to house every person currently unhoused in San Francisco.