The loud and clear message behind our class-action suit against DeSantis

Oscar Chacón -

Last week, the nonprofit immigrant advocacy group Lawyers for Civil Rights filed a federal class-action suit on behalf of Venezuelan migrants whom Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis flew to Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, in a political stunt. Alianza Americas, the organization I help lead, is a co-plaintiff.


The loud and clear message behind our class-action suit against DeSantis© Ray Ewing

Our suit against DeSantis and others involved in abruptly sending nearly 50 migrants to Martha’s Vineyard seeks a nationwide injunction to stop this sort of relocation of immigrants, which we believe to be fraudulent. These recent arrivals, all of whom have been screened and approved for entry into the U.S., have little to their names other than the determination to build better lives for their families.

Because undocumented immigrants are routinely taken advantage of by people in power, the suit is a significant example of members of the immigration community’s agency in a legal system in which they often feel powerless or simply don't understand.

Our organization is a network of groups that help immigrants achieve a sustainable way of life throughout the Americas. Before I led it, I worked for nearly 25 years with different organizations helping newcomers in the U.S., so I am accustomed to hearing the stories of people who are trying to navigate a complicated system.

But this year, as Republican governors ramped up transporting migrants unannounced to sanctuary cities, that feeling of powerlessness that frequently engulfs the immigrant community I serve — my community — showed up at the door of Alianza in a new way.

The biggest challenge is that without family or friends in the areas where they have been dropped off, many migrants lack the kind of connections that help support marginalized communities.

Migrants’ lawyer slams DeSantis for using them as ‘political props’

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It is through our coalition that we heard about a woman who said she was still cramping and weak from the miscarriage she suffered after crossing the Rio Grande when she boarded a bus that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott sent to Washington, D.C.

And in Chicago, where migrants have begun showing up recently, volunteer organizations that we work with trekked with boxes from church to church, school to school, trying to wrangle up enough donations of winter coats for those who have arrived and the many more who are sure to come by December.

Those who’ve braved the arduous journey to risk a new start in the U.S. have often survived unspeakable trauma and exhaustion, even before getting here. For example, on the plane DeSantis commandeered to Martha’s Vineyard using Florida’s federal Covid-19 aid, there was a man who said that before he made it to the U.S., he was kidnapped in Mexico and tortured by captors who pulled out his teeth with pliers.

Their pains began in their home countries, where a combination of deepening impoverishment because of the economic impact of Covid-19 and increasingly dictatorial approaches to governing is pushing people out of their countries.

When they arrive, immigrants deserve to be treated as far more than the agentless pawns they are often portrayed to be in our hyperpartisan debates. They are powerful.

We’ve brought flavor, color and diversity to the U.S.’s cultural landscape. We’ve brought hugely positive economic, social and cultural benefits to a country with an aging population, bolstered by the labor of hard-working, young, dynamic newcomers who are filling critical areas in the U.S. labor market. In the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, immigrant workers played a decisive role in what have been dubbed “essential functions” across the country.

You would hardly get a sense of that from the narratives pushed by DeSantis and his ilk. Instead, the implicit message is that migrants are undesirable — unless there’s a chance to use them for right-wing news fodder. At the very least, Florida authorities should have called their counterparts in Massachusetts so they were prepared to receive the migrants, which they never did.

Ultimately, the Martha’s Vineyard case is an opportunity to reflect on how we can do better, honoring the critical role migrants play in bettering our nation.

Right now, our immigration system pours incredible resources into keeping immigrants away rather than recognizing them for what they are: powerful agents for good.

One area where we can improve is in providing orderly transportation options for new arrivals. People deserve support in reuniting with their families in the U.S. and reaching their destinations; that’s just part of what it means to receive people in a welcoming, dignified way.

We should also provide work permits for asylum-seekers as expeditiously as possible. Instead of having them wait for months for the legal right to work, we need to empower asylum-seekers to support themselves economically and integrate fully into their communities. It’s ironic that amid a labor shortage, we are trying to make life impossible for people who hope to come to the U.S. and do what they’ve done for decades. Namely, to help generate incredible wealth for the country.

Finally, we need to modernize our humanitarian protection laws. The architecture of U.S. asylum law dates back to the 1951 United Nations Refugee Convention, where what it meant to be a “refugee” was defined. Back then, the word was reserved for anyone with a “well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion” in their countries of origin.

But that was more than 70 years ago. Today, other realities drive people to flee their homes and seek asylum abroad, such as gang violence and the effects of climate change.

Out-of-date asylum laws are just one subset of a much larger problem. Overall, our immigration laws are obsolete and impractical. The basis for much of today’s policies remains rooted in 1996’s Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act. It increased the number of people considered deportable and mandated re-entry bans for deported undocumented immigrants who had resided in the U.S. for extended periods. This law has separated many families. Our laws should be geared toward maximizing the potential of people who migrate, not punishing and excluding them.

The Martha’s Vineyard lawsuit is a chance for us to revisit the conversation about whether we are truly prepared to honor our promise of being a country that welcomes immigrants. It is in our best interest to integrate immigrants who’ve brought incredible benefits and improvements to our communities. It is a shame that all too many unscrupulous politicians see is a chance to drum up hate and fear — but as we’ve seen from the heroic efforts in recent months to welcome those arriving on buses and planes, solidarity is stronger than hate every time.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com

Iran’s impunity to attack Kurds grows with massive escalation in Iraq - analysis

By SETH J. FRANTZMAN - Yesterday - JERUSALEM POST

The Iranian regime launched repeated attacks on Iraq on Wednesday, increasing the number of groups and people it is targeting. Tehran has used artillery, drones and rockets to attack the region over the past several days, according to local reports.

Pro-government peoples rally against the recent protest gatherings in Iran, after the Friday prayer ceremony in Tehran, Iran September 23, 2022.

© (photo credit: Majid Asgaripour/ WANA via Reuters)

There are fears that Iran could launch a ground operation – an unlikely scenario, but one that nevertheless illustrates its feeling of impunity in attacking Kurds.

Ostensibly, the Iranian regime claims to be targeting “terrorist” groups, but it has expanded the number of groups and areas it is attacking. It has attacked the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI), as well as Komala and the Kurdistan Freedom Party, or PAK, over the past several days.

“Dozens of Iranian explosive-laden drones targeted the positions of the Kurdish opposition parties in Iraq’s Kurdistan Region early on Wednesday,” the Kurdistan24 news channel reported, citing Iran’s military.

This appears to be a major operation, as Iran is using kamikaze-style drones. Iran has also exported Shahed-136 drones to Russia, though it is unclear if Tehran is using the same drones to attack Kurdish groups.

“The Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran headquarters in the Koya district was similarly targeted by dozens of suicide drones,” Kurdistan24 reported. “The residential compounds of the party were attacked as well, Mohammad Nazif Qadiri, a senior party official, said.”

The headquarters of the Sulaymaniyah-based Komala Party of Iranian Kurdistan was hit by similar attacks on Wednesday, its commander told Kurdistan 24. In addition, six members of the PAK were killed by a drone and missile attack south of Erbil.

This is thought to be the reason that there are fears of Iranian attacks on Perde, a town that lies between Erbil and Kirkuk. Iranian-backed Shi’ite militias operate near Kirkuk, the site of clashes in 2017, when the Iraqi government sought to force Kurdish forces to leave the city.

Related video: Iran protests continue as crackdown escalates

Duration 7:30

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The US has condemned the attacks, saying in response to a question from Kurdistan24: “We condemn violations of Iraqi sovereignty and territorial integrity, including the reported shelling by Iran’s forces in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region.”

This has not deterred Iran, however. Attacks continued to occur against KDPI throughout Wednesday afternoon. According to local residents, a pregnant woman was killed in the IRGC missile attack on Koy Sanjaq, and further casualties were expected.

Iran has attacked this area several times, including a missile attack in 2018 and other smaller attacks over the past few years, and it has targeted Erbil with rockets and drones. The impunity that Iran believes it enjoys is clear. Pro-Iranian groups in Iraq have also targeted Erbil International Airport. There have been attacks on gas and energy facilities near Kalak and also on the road from Sulaymaniyah to Kirkuk.

The Islamic Republic has shown over the past few years that it feels it can attack US forces in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan Region, as well as Kurdish opposition and dissident groups.

The larger context of this is clear. Iran is exporting drones to Russia, the same kind it uses to terrorize the Kurdish Region and the same kind it wants to export to groups in Iraq, Syria and Yemen to threaten the Gulf and to threaten Israel and US forces in Syria. Iran has already attempted drone attacks against the Jewish state, such as in February 2018, May 2021 and earlier this year. These attacks have expanded to include drones flown from Iran.

Iran has also claimed to target the “Mossad” in northern Iraq, linking its war on Kurdish groups with its conflict with Israel. This means that Tehran is now using the protests as a pretext to launch more attacks in the Kurdistan Region, and it is seeking to neutralize or destroy a plethora of Kurdish resistance groups, including KDPI, Komala and PAK. It may even increase the attacks to target PJAK, a Left-leaning Kurdish group.

Iran’s use of missiles, drones and artillery illustrates not only its new way of war, using precision drone and missile attacks, but also its sense of impunity that it can strike in Iraq, close to centers of power in Erbil, and destabilize the region. Iran knows that the Kurdistan Region is among the most wealthy and stable in Iraq and that it is close to US forces’ facilities.

The Kurdish Peshmerga, the armed forces of the autonomous region, receives support from the US and the West. They have attempted to unify and reform their units, strengthening the region. Iran wants the region divided and weak. Its attacks are meant to show that the Kurdistan Region cannot defend itself. Many Kurds from Iran fled to Iraq to enjoy the freedom and opportunities it offers.

Iran appears to be purposely terrorizing civilians now in the Kurdistan Region. Videos that were published on Wednesday afternoon showed terrified children and parents. The regime seems to be indicating that if it cannot crush protests at home, it will use its power to attack random people in Iraq.

There are a number of Kurdish opposition groups from Iran that have supporters and bases in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Their houses and camps are usually spread out and quite small and modest. Iran has threatened to target these areas for years and likely knows the location of many of these groups and their supporters.

It has also been sending agents to the Kurdistan Region for years, keeping tabs on the opposition and also engaging in assassinations and other types of attacks. This is well known to Iranians who live in northern Iraq, especially among Kurds. They know that Iran has tried to infiltrate their communities and spy on them.

Opposition groups also know that Iran has threatened and carried out attacks, and it is clear that Wednesday’s attacks are an escalation of some sort. The number of missiles and drones used and the many locations that were targeted point to an expanding conflict and Tehran’s attempt to stamp out these groups in one fell swoop.

Kurdish officials: Death toll climbs in Iranian drone attack

By SALAR SALIM, Associated Press - Yesterday

KOYA, Iraq (AP) — An Iranian drone bombing campaign targeting the bases of an Iranian-Kurdish opposition group in northern Iraq on Wednesday killed at least nine people and wounded 32 others, the Kurdish Regional Government’s Health Ministry said.

Smoke billows in the village of Zrgoiz, near Sulaimaniyah, Iraq, where the bases of several Iranian opposition groups are located, Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022. An Iranian drone bombing campaign targeting the bases of an Iranian-Kurdish opposition group in northern Iraq has killed nd wounded dozens. (AP PhotoAla Hoshyar, Metrography)© Provided by Associated Press


Members of exiled Komala Party inspect aftermath of bombing in the village of Zrgoiz, near Sulaimaniyah, Iraq, where the bases of several Iranian opposition groups are located, Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022. An Iranian drone bombing campaign targeting the bases of an Iranian-Kurdish opposition group in northern Iraq has killed nd wounded dozens. (AP PhotoAla Hoshyar, Metrography)© Provided by Associated Press

The strikes took place as demonstrations continued to engulf the Islamic Republic after the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman who was detained by the Iranian morality police.

Iran’s attacks targeted Koya, some 65 kilometers (35 miles) east of Irbil, said Soran Nuri, a member of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan. The group, known by the acronym KDPI, is a leftist armed opposition force banned in Iran.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in a statement said the attacks “impacted the Iranian refugee settlements” in Koya, and that refugees and other civilians were among the casualties.


Members of exiled Komala Party inspect aftermath of bombing in the village of Zrgoiz, near Sulaimaniyah, Iraq, where the bases of several Iranian opposition groups are located, Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022. An Iranian drone bombing campaign targeting the bases of an Iranian-Kurdish opposition group in northern Iraq has killed and wounded dozens. (AP PhotoAla Hoshyar, Metrography)© Provided by Associated Press

Iraq’s Foreign Ministry and the Kurdistan Regional Government have condemned the strikes.

Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency and broadcaster said the country’s Revolutionary Guard targeted bases of a separatist group in the north of Iraq with “precision missiles” and “suicide drones.”


Members of exiled Komala Party inspect aftermath of bombing in the village of Zrgoiz, near Sulaimaniyah, Iraq, where the bases of several Iranian opposition groups are located, Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022. An Iranian drone bombing campaign targeting the bases of an Iranian-Kurdish opposition group in northern Iraq has killed nd wounded dozens. (AP PhotoAla Hoshyar, Metrography)© Provided by Associated Press

Gen. Hasan Hasanzadeh of the Revolutionary Guard said 185 Basijis, a volunteer force, were injured by "machete and knife” in the unrest, state-run IRNA news agency reported Wednesday. Hasanzadeh also said rioters broke the skull of one of the Basij members. He added that five Basijis are hospitalized in intensive care.


Offices of several exiled Iranian groups are seen after bombing in the village of Zrgoiz, near Sulaimaniyah, Iraq, where the bases of several Iranian opposition groups are located, Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022. An Iranian drone bombing campaign targeting the bases of an Iranian-Kurdish opposition group in northern Iraq has killed nd wounded dozens. (AP PhotoAla Hoshyar, Metrography)© Provided by Associated Press

The Iranian drone strikes targeted a military camp, homes, offices and other areas around Koya, Nuri said. Nuri described the attack as ongoing.

Iraq's Foreign Ministry spokesman said the government in Baghdad was expected to summon the Iranian ambassador to deliver a diplomatic complaint over the strikes.

In Baghdad, four Katyusha rockets landed in the capital’s heavily fortified Green Zone on Wednesday as legislators gathered in parliament.

The zone, home to the U.S. Embassy in Iraq, is a frequent target of rocket and drone attacks that the United States blames on Iran-backed Iraqi militia groups.

The Iraqi military earlier said in a statement that one rocket landed near parliament, another near the parliament’s guesthouse, and a third at a junction near the Judicial Council. Two security officials told the AP that the fourth rocket also landed near parliament.

Related video: Iran's hardline president Raisi condemns 'rioters' as protests spread
Duration 3:17
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Iraqi state news reported four security officers were wounded.

The office of Iraq’s caretaker prime minister, Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, in a statement said security forces were pursuing the assailants who fired the rockets, and asked protesters to remain peaceful.


Members of exiled Komala Party inspect aftermath of bombing in the village of Zrgoiz, near Sulaimaniyah, Iraq, where the bases of several Iranian opposition groups are located, Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022. An Iranian drone bombing campaign targeting the bases of an Iranian-Kurdish opposition group in northern Iraq has killed nd wounded dozens. (AP PhotoAla Hoshyar, Metrography)© Provided by Associated Press

Cellphone footage circulating on social media showed smoke billowing from a carpark near the parliament building.

Following the first series of strikes in northern Iraq, Iran then shelled seven positions in Koya's stronghold in Qala, a KDPI official told The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity in order to speak publicly. The Qala area includes the party's politburo.

An Associated Press journalist saw ambulances racing through Koya after the strikes. Smoke rose from the site of one apparent strike as security forces closed off the area.

Meanwhile, security forces lobbed tear gas and fired rubber bullets at protesting Iranian Kurds in Sulimaniyah.

On Saturday and Monday, Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard unleashed a wave of drone and artillery strikes targeting Kurdish positions.

The attacks appear to be a response to the ongoing protests roiling Iran over the death of a 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman who was detained by the nation’s morality police.

The U.S. Department of State called the Iranian attacks an “unjustified violation of Iraqi sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

“We are also aware of reports of civilian casualties and deplore any loss of life caused by today’s attacks,” said spokesperson Ned Price in a statement. “Moreover, we further condemn comments from the government of Iran threatening additional attacks against Iraq.”

The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq said in a tweet that the country cannot be treated as “the region’s “backyard” where neighbors routinely, and with impunity, violate its sovereignty.”

“Rocket diplomacy is a reckless act with devastating consequences,” the U.N. agency said.

Meanwhile, Britain's State Minister for the Middle East said the attacks “demonstrate a repeated pattern of Iranian destabilizing activity in the region," while the German Foreign Ministry and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez also condemned Iran for the strikes.

The U.N. secretary-general called on Iran early Wednesday to refrain from using “unnecessary or disproportionate force” against protesters as unrest over a young woman's death in police custody spread across the country.

Antonio Guterres said through a spokesman that authorities should swiftly conduct an impartial investigation of Amini's death, which has sparked unrest across Iran’s provinces and the capital of Tehran.

“We are increasingly concerned about reports of rising fatalities, including women and children, related to the protests,” U.N. spokesman Stéphane Dujarric in a statement. “We underline the need for prompt, impartial and effective investigation into Ms. Mahsa Amini’s death by an independent competent authority.”

Protests have spread across at least 46 cities, towns and villages in Iran. State TV reported that at least 41 protesters and police have been killed since the demonstrations began Sept. 17.

An Associated Press count of official statements by authorities tallied at least 14 dead, with more than 1,500 demonstrators arrested.

Amnesty International Secretary General Agnès Callamard in a statement called for an international investigation over the deaths of protesters.

“Dozens of people, including children, have been killed so far and hundreds injured,” the statement read. "The voices of the courageous people of Iran desperately crying out for international support must not be ignored.”

The human rights organization added that it has documented cases of Iranian security forces sexually assaulting women protesters.

Meanwhile, the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists said it documented the arrests of at least 23 journalists as the clashes between security forces and protesters heated up.

CPJ in a Wednesday statement called on Iranian authorities to “immediately” release arrested journalists who covered Amini’s death and protests.

Dujarric added that Guterres stressed the need to respect human rights, including freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, and association during the meeting with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on September 22nd.

NOT SPEND; INVEST, SOCIALIZE THEM
Canadian utilities 'afraid' to spend on big plans for electricity grid: expert

Jeff Lagerquist - Yesterday 

Canadian utilities are not doing enough to prepare for soaring electricity demand, warns one policy expert who sees a "massive disconnect" between spending plans and forecasts for energy use.


Utilities fear costly missteps in navigating the energy transition, according to one policy expert.

"It's a big, big problem," Bruce Lourie, president of the net-zero-focused Ivey Foundation, told Yahoo Finance Canada on Tuesday. "Public utilities are afraid to own the risk of making wrong decisions."

Canada's federal government has committed to achieving a net-zero grid by 2035. Speaking at an event in Toronto hosted by the Canadian subsidiary of French cable and optical fibre-maker Nexans, Lourie says utilities also face the challenge of rapidly expanding the grid while replacing aging power generation infrastructure. His comments follow multiple reports calling for both rising electricity demand in Canada, and the need for more generation capacity.

According to the Canadian Climate Institute, electricity demand will be 1.6 to 2.1 times larger in 2050 compared to today. Researchers say that means installed capacity may need to more than triple from today's level. Last week, RBC called for electricity consumption to surge by 50 per cent in the next decade, risking power shortages in Ontario as early as 2026.

"Utilities are actually not doing a great job of forecasting the increase in building electrification, and the increase in vehicle electrification," Lourie said in an interview. "There is a massive disconnect right now."

A spokesperson for the Ontario Energy Board, regulator of electrical and natural gas utilities in Canada's most populous province, declined to comment on Lourie's assessment. Alectra, a municipally-owned electric utility serving about a million homes in Ontario, did not provide a comment in time for publication.

"After a decade of investment, we're still not spending enough on clean electricity, which needs $200 billion in investment by 2035 to meet current green grid goals, and more thereafter to accommodate rapid growth in electricity demand," RBC economist Colin Guldimann said in new research released on Wednesday.

Brady Yauch is markets and regulatory manager at the Ontario-based electricity price forecasting firm Power Advisory. He agrees there is a disconnect between utility spending plans and where demand is headed.

"Demand growth is expected to be much higher than what has occurred in the past decade. Electrification is likely to require significant investment from utilities, both in terms of wires and generation," he said in an email. "Utilities are starting to grasp it, but have not fully included it in their spending plans, and will likely face a pushback when they do."

With the exception of those in Quebec, Lourie says public utilities rarely think beyond the immediate needs of customers in their region. He adds that many are wary of major spending, and are sensitive to the risk of making costly missteps in navigating the energy transition, especially as more essential services like heat rely on electricity.

"If we get to the point where a majority of residences are also heated with electricity, and there is a power failure, that could be catastrophic," Lourie said. "I think there is a reluctance on the political side of the electricity industry, because they're afraid to own that risk."

Jeff Lagerquist is a senior reporter at Yahoo Finance Canada. Follow him on Twitter @jefflagerquist.

Download the Yahoo Finance app, available for Apple and Android.

World's First All-Electric Passenger Plane Takes its Maiden Flight

José Rodríguez Jr. - Yesterday 

The world’s first all-electric passenger airplane has finally taken flight. The Eviation Aircraft Alice went on its maiden voyage on Tuesday, after a series of setbacks and delays kept putting off the historic flight — officially bringing passenger planes into the EV age.


The all-electric Alice taxis after its successful test flight in Moses Lake, Washington.© Photo: Mathieu Lewis-Rolland (Getty Images)

The inaugural Alice flight was short and sweet, lasting eight minutes in all according to CNN. The EV plane took off early Tuesday morning from Grant County International Airport in Washington state, and reached a maximum altitude of 3,500 feet.


Photo: Mathieu Lewis-Rolland (Getty Images)© Photo: Mathieu Lewis-Rolland (Getty Images)

The plane’s max operating speed is 260 knots, just under 300 miles per hour, powered by two 640 kW (858 hp) electric motors, as GeekWire reports, but battery capacity hasn’t been finalized.

Eviation CEO Gregory Davis says the company is targeting a max range between 200 to 300 nautical miles, which would allow the passenger plane to operate flights ranging from 150 to 250 miles. Its maximum load is expected to be up to 2,600 pounds, and the Alice will carry two pilots and up to nine passengers.

Of course, Tuesday’s test flight of the EV passenger plane was without any passengers. This is just the first in a series of baby steps, according to test pilot Steve Crane. But it’s nonetheless a significant step ahead for passenger plane propulsion methods. The company tracked the progression, telling CNN:


This is history [...] We have not seen the propulsion technology change on the aircraft since we went from the piston engine to the turbine engine. It was the 1950s that was the last time you saw an entirely new technology like this come together.

What comes next is analysis of all the flight data and comparing that to the models Eviation developed in the lab. The company expects production models of the Alice to be ready and certified by the FAA by 2027, but that’s subject to change.

Related video: World's first all-electric plane achieves maiden flight in Washington
Duration 0:56
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The pace of battery tech is moving ahead quickly, which will affect the final production of the Alice in both good and bad ways. If Eviation could leverage lighter and energy-dense batteries, it could improve the plane’s performance. But improvements are likely to increase the zero-emission plane’s cost.


Photo: Mathieu Lewis-Rolland (Getty Images)© Photo: Mathieu Lewis-Rolland (Getty Images)

Three years ago, Eviation said the plane would have a list price of $4 million, Now that the price of precious battery metals has gone up, Eviation says not to rely on the prices initially mentioned. Airlines will likely have to pay a lot more come 2027, and with a nine-passenger capacity and up to 250 miles of range, it may not sound like a bargain. But this is a start.

Regional airlines Cape Air and Global Crossing Airlines, both based in the U.S., have placed orders for 75 and 50 Alice planes, respectively. Cape Air says it flies more than 400 regional flights per day in cities across the U.S. and Caribbean, and the Alice could “easily” cover 80 percent of its flights.

It’s not just regional airlines who are interested in the Alice. DHL Express plans to have a small fleet of all-electric planes, and the courier has placed an order for 12 Alice eCargo planes. Just like the passenger plane, the cargo version will have relatively low capacities compared to traditional planes. But, again, fully-electric planes are literally just getting off the ground.


Photo: Mathieu Lewis-Rolland (Getty Images)© Photo: Mathieu Lewis-Rolland (Getty Images)

A German bunker full of blood and urine has the best record of how chemicals contaminate us

Florian Sturm - Tuesday -  National Geographic

Fifteen minutes southeast of this university town, residential streets give way to farm fields, and the road winds and narrows. Next to a large wood, behind a tall chain-link fence, lie five old military bunkers—low swells in the landscape, their curved roofs covered with grass.

At the German Environmental Specimen Bank, Dominik Lermen stands among cryo-storage tanks that hold thousands of vials of blood and urine. A scientist at the Fraunhofer Institute for Biomedical Engineering, Lerman leads the team that collects samples every year from students and stores them here on behalf of the German Environment Agency.© Provided by National Geographic

Dominik Lermen heads toward one and takes a bunch of keys out of his pocket. The clattering is swallowed by birds chirping and wind whooshing through the trees. Finally, he finds the right key, and I follow him through the plain green door—into the world’s best archive of how humans have been contaminated by chemical pollutants.


The specimen bank is housed in a bunker that once served as a medical depot for the German army, outside the western city of Münster.© Provided by National Geographic

“In here,” Lermen says, “we’ve got about 400,000 samples from more than 17,000 people. Mostly whole blood, urine, and plasma.”

We’re standing in a huge, windowless, dimly lit room, with bare concrete walls around six feet thick. White pillars prop up the curving roof. It’s cold—a little over 50ºF—but not nearly as cold as it is inside the 42 stainless steel cryo-vats that fill the room in neat rows. Each is about six feet tall, two feet across, and connected to metal pipes that run the length of the building.

This is the human-sample archive of the German Environmental Specimen Bank (ESB), an effort by the federal environment ministry “to systematically monitor and analyse human exposure to chemicals like lead, mercury, plasticizers and others,” Lermen says. More than four decades old, it’s the best and longest record of its kind.


Inside the tanks, liquid nitrogen keeps the samples in a deep freeze below -256ºF. The vials are stored in racks that sit in the cloud of gaseous nitrogen above the liquid.© Provided by National Geographic

Every year Lermen and his colleagues from the Fraunhofer Institute for Biomedical Engineering collect and analyze samples of blood and urine from volunteers from the four corners of Germany, then store the samples here for future research. The project has two goals: to reveal which substances have already accumulated in large and potentially dangerous quantities in German bodies, and to verify whether bans and regulations of some of those substances have actually worked.


Till Weber, a scientist at the German Environment Agency, manages the specimen bank. It began operating in 1985 and maintains the world's most consistent record—and one of the longest—of humans' changing chemical burden.© Provided by National Geographic

Regulation clearly can work: Blood levels of lead and mercury have plummeted in recent decades in Germany, as they have in other industrialized countries. At the same time, the proliferation of synthetic organic compounds such as PFAS (aka “forever chemicals”) has created disquieting new threats that make the work done in this obscure facility all the more urgent.

Lermen, 44, bald with a full beard and a pleasantly sonorous voice, puts on a face shield, climbs up a mobile stairway, and lifts the lid off one of the tall cryo-storage vats. White fog gushes from the opening and dissipates as it sinks to the concrete floor.

“All of these tanks are filled with about 160 liters of liquid nitrogen,” Lermen says. “Only at these extreme temperatures can we ensure the longevity of our archive.”

His hands and forearms protected by special gloves, Lermen reaches into the tank and lifts a rack full of vials from the nitrogen cloud that sits above the liquid nitrogen lake. The temperature in the cloud is below -160°C, or -256°F. After a few moments, he lowers the rack back into the container and closes the lid.

“When we take the samples out of the tank, the vials experience a rapid change of temperature of about 170°,” he says. “Of course, we want to keep this to a minimum.” If you’re trying to preserve a record for eternity, every second counts.
'Students are our early warning'


Some 400,000 samples are stored in the bunker outside Münster, and new ones are added every year from four sampling locations around Germany.© Provided by National Geographic

Though scientists at the University of Münster began hatching plans for the ESB in the 1970s, it was officially launched in 1985. The first samples were collected from people near Münster, in western Germany, but after West and East Germany were reunited in 1990, the annual sampling program was expanded to Greifswald in the north, Halle in the east, and Ulm in the south. The idea was to get a truly national picture of chemical contamination.


A cryo-workbench in the bunker allows the samples to be checked and analyzed without interrupting the cold chain—which is essential for preserving them as a long-term record.© Provided by National Geographic

The ESB also collects environmental samples—bird eggs, plants, fish, mussels, deer, earthworms, and soil— from 14 different locations, including cities, nature reserves, and farms. But only human samples are stored in the Münster bunker, a former army medical depot. The archive moved here from the university in 2012. The thick walls, strong enough to withstand a bomb or a plane crash, also shield the samples from cosmic radiation that might otherwise degrade them over the very long term.

The samples in the bunker are taken not from Germans of all ages, but only from students between 20 and 29 years of age—in part to exclude people who might have high occupational exposure to chemicals.

“We deliberately sample students” as indicators of the threat faced by the population at large, says Marike Kolossa-Gehring, lead scientist and project manager of the ESB at the German Environment Agency in Berlin.

“Students are not exposed to certain substances due to their job. And assuming that exposure to persistent substances tends to increase as well as accumulate with age, if we found high levels of substances already in young students, we would know that we must pay close attention to these substances in particular.

“In a sense, students are our early warning system.”
New blood for the bunker

Anjuli Weber, a 21-year-old medical student at the University of Ulm, is one recent recruit to this system. After hearing about the biobank from a campus-wide e-mail, she “was curious to learn more about it—as well as about the state of my body,” she says. Participants eventually receive a few of their test results.

One morning in May, Weber reports to the Fraunhofer Institute’s large mobile lab, which has pulled into a parking lot on the outskirts of Ulm for three days of testing. Before she goes inside, a staff member reviews details of Weber’s medical history and living situation, including her eating habits and use of medication and cosmetics. A dentist checks her teeth for amalgam fillings, which contain mercury and other metals.

Inside the truck, Weber encounters a state-of-the-art medical facility, with a shielded biosafety 2 lab for six workers, a mobile cryo-tank for storing samples, and a back office. She hands over a large, brown plastic bottle containing her urine from the past 24 hours.

A technician immediately starts analyzing it.

Then another technician draws about 180 milliliters, or six ounces, of Weber’s blood—around six times more than you might surrender in an ordinary medical test, but much less than the pint you give up when you donate. Within 45 minutes, the blood has been analyzed for routine parameters and divided into 16 whole blood and 24 plasma aliquots. Registered and bar-coded, they are placed in the liquid-nitrogen container, to be delivered to one of the bigger cryo-tanks in the bunker near Münster.

From there they’ll travel to external labs to be analyzed for toxic chemicals—through an uninterrupted cold chain that keeps the samples deeply frozen, thus limiting the risk that they’ll be altered.

There are about two dozen environmental specimen banks worldwide; the oldest, in Stockholm, dates to the 1960s. What makes the German ESB unique are the quality and consistency of its data. Whereas some ESBs work opportunistically—when a dead otter or whale washes up on shore, its tissues go into the bank too—the German archive follows a strict protocol and standard procedures. The same mobile lab travels to all four sampling sites around Germany every year.

“We have been using the same standardized sampling and storage methods for over three decades. That makes our data truly comparable and allows us to make confident analyses and predictions,” says Kolossa-Gehring.

Good news and bad

Back in the bunker, another environment agency scientist named Till Weber (no relation to Anjuli Weber) tells me that researchers from many countries have studied the German data. The results have been both uplifting and worrying.

One study shows that mercury levels in blood and urine fell by 57 percent and 86 percent respectively between 1995 and 2018. “One of the reasons for this continuous decline is the decreasing use of amalgam in dentistry and probably the awareness of mercury exposure from fish and seafood,” Weber says.

Lead has followed a similar trend. Data derived from 3,851 young adults in Münster shows that the average blood lead level decreased by about 87 percent between 1981 and 2019. The main reason: Germany’s ban on leaded gasoline took effect in 1988, and so car exhaust no longer pollutes the air with lead.

“No manufacturer deliberately puts harmful substances onto the market,” Weber believes. “But sometimes only with time do we learn about the true toxicity of certain chemicals. That’s what makes bio-monitoring like ours so important for the entire society.”

Even though certain testing is mandatory before using new substances in commercial products, data about long-term health effects is scarce for most of them. The number of synthetic chemicals is growing so fast it’s almost impossible to keep track of their individual effects, let alone their combined ones.

The European Union probably has the strongest chemical regulations. In April, the European Commission published a “restriction roadmap”: Up to 12,000 substances linked to hormonal disruption, cancer, obesity, or diabetes could be banned, officials said. It would be the “largest ever ban of toxic chemicals” to date, according to the European Environmental Bureau (EEB), a network of citizens’ groups, and it could come as a harsh blow to the petrochemical industry.

One main target: PFAS, dubbed “forever chemicals” because they take hundreds of years to naturally degrade. Food-packaging and flame retardants, waterproof clothing and outdoor gear, umbrellas and non-stick pans—all use toxic PFAS-substances.

Traces of these and other substances such as phthalates, which are used as solvents and as plasticizers, have been found in literally every sample since the ESB began looking for them, Lermen and Weber say. The chemicals are omnipresent and it is impossible to reliably trace their source. That is why regulating their use is extremely important.

Europe has banned or regulated individual phthalates, identified as endocrine disruptors that might interfere with reproduction, since 1999. Manufacturers have responded by changing the formula of banned substances ever so slightly to invent new, unregulated chemicals with similar features. Studies derived from the German ESB show that the overall exposure to phthalates has increased.

“This clearly indicates that the number of substitute chemicals keeps rising—and we don’t know a lot about their effects yet,” Kolossa-Gehring says.

It’s important for people to know as much as possible about the chemicals they’re exposed to, Till Weber says before closing the green door of the bunker for the day.

“We don’t want to scare anybody or tell them to not use any plastic in their life anymore. But all of us need to build an awareness of what’s around us, and, eventually, also inside our bodies.”

MISOGYNISTIC CULTURAL GENOCIDE

Millionaire under investigation after burning Frida Kahlo drawing

Zachary Folk - Tuesday

A millionaire is under investigation after video circulated of him burning a Frida Kahlo drawing at an NFT launch event for his company.


Martin Mobarak (left) is under investigation in Mexico after he burned a Frida Kahlo drawing at an event for his company (Picture: FridaNFT)© Provided by Metro

Martin Mobarak, a Mexican-American CEO, is under investigation by Mexico’s National Institute of Fine Arts and Literature (INBAL) after burning the piece of artwork at a launch event in Miami on July 30.

All of Kahlo’s artwork, including her paintings, drawings, and documents, are considered an ‘artistic monument’ in her home country, including pieces owned by private collectors.

‘The deliberate destruction of an artistic monument constitutes a crime in terms of the Federal Law on Archaeological, Artistic and Historical Monuments and Zones,’ INBAL said to Spanish and Basque language site Naiz.

Related video: Frida Kahlo: The style of an icon
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Paris exhibition explores how fashion helped shape the identity of Mexican painter Frida Kahlo

Frida.NFT said owners of the new NFT could join them for another ‘historic event’ in November 2022.

Mobarak purchased the drawing for $10,000,000 in 2015 from the Mary Anne Martin Gallery in New York. The rest of Kahlo’s diary is stored at the Frida Kahlo Museum in Coyoacán.

Metro.co.uk has reached out to the gallery for further comment.

Métis Nation of Alberta prepares for historic constitution vote

CBC/Radio-Canada - Yesterday 

The Métis Nation of Alberta could soon have a definitive blueprint outlining their rights if citizens approve a constitution in November.


Audrey Poitras, president of the Métis Nation of Alberta, announced details Tuesday about the November vote on the MNA's constitution.© Jamie McCannel/CBC

The vote comes after years of consultation and community engagement to create a constitution leading to the nation having increased authority to negotiate their rights and claims.

"All my life I've heard about this point, it's about being recognized as being one of the Indigenous people and being able to form our own government," Audrey Poitras, president of the Métis Nation of Alberta, said in an interview with CBC's Edmonton AM on Monday.

"If you're going to be a government, you have to have a constitution that is designed by our people for our people as to how we will operate, how we will elect our officials, how we will design and deliver programs and how we will support our citizens in every aspect."   NONE OF THAT APPLIED TO CANADIAN CONFEDERATION OR OUR CONSTITUTION LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for CANADIEN 

During the 94th Annual General Assembly of the nation in August, the final draft of the Otipemisiwak Métis government constitution was approved and now just needs to be ratified.

In November, 56,000 citizens who are 16 years and older will be eligible to vote in person at ballot boxes, by mail, or online on the constitution.

The nation also asks citizens to update their contact information, either by phone or online, so voter packages can be delivered to people.

For the past three years, a constitution commission has been working to conduct community engagement with citizens.

The constitution touches upon a variety of areas of governance like defining electoral districts, land rights, children's services and health care.

Andrea Sandmaier is vice president for Region 2 of the Métis Nation of Alberta, which is based in Bonnyville, Alta. She said the vote will be historic.

"I think it's very significant and a long time coming for many years," Sandmaier said.

"The Métis citizens within Alberta have been looking for recognition, for self-government for a constitution, it's exciting."

Sandmaier is also optimistic about the increased accessibility of services and systemic change once more autonomy is created through the constitution.

"I think that family and children services will definitely be something that will be important to all Métis citizens across Alberta ... as well as things like restorative justice," Sandmaier said.

Voting will open on November 1 and continue until November 30.

If the constitution is ratified, Poitras said one of the biggest things on the agenda will be a provincial council election to be held in September 2023.

"We believe what our ancestors started, it's really important for us to continue, to try to finish," Poitras said.

IN THE PROVINCE OF ANTI-WOKENESS

Lethbridge School Division passes anti-racism and anti-oppression policy

Eloise Therien - Yesterday 

In an effort to better address racism and drive positive change, the Lethbridge School Division board passed a third-reading of Policy 103.1, Anti-Racism and Anti-Oppression.


Dr. Robert Plaxton Elementary School celebrated its grand opening Friday. Plaxton was the longest-serving superintendent for the Lethbridge School Division. September 17, 2021.

© Global News

According to a news release from LSD, the policy looks to "create an atmosphere of mutual respect, where everyone has the right to be treated fairly, equitably and with dignity and respect."

It was passed on Tuesday.

A group of staff, including administrators from K-12 within the division, formed an anti-racism and anti-oppression committee over the last couple of years.

Video: Anti-racism study helps Blood Tribe seek solutions

"Lots of our marginalized student did feel there was racism and parts of oppression and (the committee) just really wanted to make sure that we had policy, that foundation in place that protected those students so that if there was a concern they had an avenue to go," explained board chair Allison Purcell.

Purcell said it was important to have a specific policy addressing these issues despite having inclusion addressed in other division literature.

Read more:
‘There is still more to be done’: Alberta government releases plan to combat racism

"It is now everyone's responsibility to make sure that not only do we have a policy that supports our marginalized students, but we make our actions support this important policy."

Purcell explained the division wasn't mandated to develop this policy, but felt it was "the right thing to do," following and working with Edmonton Public Schools.

Video: EPSB urged to adopt more inclusive holiday calendar

"It is important to look at the people who are going to be relieved now that we have this policy," said Winston Churchill High School principal Tracey Wong, who is part of the committee.

“Our division’s support of this policy makes a clear statement and acknowledges historic and systemic racism.”

Read more:
Ottawa axes funding for anti-racism project over ‘vile’ tweets by consultant

In its policy, the board said it hopes to have a positive impact not only on staff and students, but the community as a whole.

Clement Esene, executive director of the BIPOC Foundation, works to connect Black, Indigenous and People of Colour in Western Canada with supports.

He knows racism can have a large societal impact as people grow up, and he applauds the division in taking this step.

"Research has shown how (trauma like racism) can affect people psychologically, especially in their formative years," Esene said. "It's just a lot more work for organizations like ourselves to work with these individuals and bring them up to par mentally to say: 'Hey guys, listen. You're more than enough.'

"We're looking forward to a world where we longer have to have a conversations like this, where our kids can grow up here and they can go to school, they can make friends and everybody can see each other beyond colour and all the prejudices that currently exist within our society."

Video: Montreal high school marks International Day of Peace with anti-racism workshop

Anastasia Sereda, a coordinator with the Southern Alberta Ethnic Association, is pleased to see this policy in place and would hope others consider following suit if they haven't already.

"I think anti-racism and breaking down (existing stereotypes) has to happen at an institutional and individual level," Sereda said. "The first thing is acknowledging it exists so we can move forward in a positive direction."

Read more:
Edmonton committee unanimously approves anti-racism strategy

Sereda, who has been a member of the SAEA for many years, sees the value in learning and appreciating other cultures.

"It's just a nice thing to be able to celebrate your own cultural background and learn about other people's cultural backgrounds," she continued. "I think it's fun, but I also think it's important to just understanding one another in a community generally and building stronger bonds."

Global News also reached out to the Palliser School Division, which indicated it is also in the process of finalizing its own anti-racism and anti-oppression policy and will have updates soon.

Worker Rejecting Boss's Offer To Double Salary Praised: 'Know Your Worth'

Maria Azzurra Volpe - Yesterday 

The internet has praised a worker who rejected a pay rise after finding a new job that pays twice as much and offers better benefits.

In a post on Reddit, a user called ApprehensiveDoggo explained that they had worked for their employer for more than three years in a sales role. Even though they had made more than $11 million in sales since the start of the year, their salary was just $55,000.

"I got a job offer with a competitor, and with salary, commission and bonuses it works out to over 100k. I handed in my resignation and he had the audacity to call the CEO where within 10 minutes they offered me a 70k base, with a 30k bonus," the employee wrote.

Just one month earlier, ApprehensiveDoggo had asked for a pay rise and been told they weren't eligible for one.

The Pew Research Center has found that the top reasons for Americans to quit a job in 2021 were low pay (63 percent), a lack of opportunity for advancement (63 percent) and feeling disrespected at work (57 percent).

About one in five of the 6,000-plus adults surveyed, 19 percent, said they had left a job in 2021 by choice, rather than because they were fired, laid off or because a temporary post had ended.

ApprehensiveDoggo added: "The best part? They were SHOCKED that I still refused. I said if you were paying me what I was worth from the start, we wouldn't be having this conversation in the first place. Know your worth people!"

Their post, published in the Antiwork forum where people discuss their jobs with impartial strangers, has already been upvoted more than 25,300 times.

ApprehensiveDoggo told Newsweek: "Truthfully, it was the blatant disrespect. I was denied a raise just a month prior. If they were able to almost double my annual income within a 10-minute phone call, it's evident how much they had been underpaying me.

"Companies seem to have a bigger hiring budget than they do for employee retention and it's a huge reason why so many people job hop these days as it's the only way to get a leg up."

That matched the experience described by another Redditor, DankChunkyButtAgain, who wrote: "I had a friend who was a [computer engineering] major, and good at it too. Worked at a German auto company making 55-60k a year. Kept asking for a raise, and management was always 'working on it'. Finally got fed up and started applying for other jobs, got an offer for 120k.

"Puts in his resignation and suddenly your raise to 80k was just approved! He had to explain: A. He doesn't care anymore, he's already accepted the other offer, and B. Their raise is still 40k short of his current starting salary."

ChubbyNemo1004 recalled that in one previous job, they had asked themselves what it would take for them to stay "and came up with outlandish hypotheticals."

They added: "Then I realized it wasn't about the money. I was gone when my contract was up anyway. I would've taken less to leave that place. Sometimes the disrespect shown by people you trust is outrageous."

Another user, MajesticPension3475, pointed out: "Kind of pointless for them to only make the offer AFTER you got the other offer. They should have valued you enough to pay you what you are worth."

Scoredly11 said: "That's where we get into the true f***ed up nature of the job world. You're only worth what another company will take you away for. Every company that I've worked for only pays me the lowest amount that they can get away with."

Beerg33k suggested that ApprehensiveDoggo share his experiences with colleagues: "Now go tell your team what you were offered and what counter offer was. They aren't just screwing you over."

The uncomfortable truths in a new survey on religion reporting

Kelsey Dallas - Tuesday -DESERET NEWS

Pope Francis returns the ‘thumbs up’ sign to the crowd of faithful 

as he arrives in St. Peter’s Square at The Vatican for his weekly 

general audience, Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2022.

© Andrew Medichini, Associated Press

This article was first published in the State of Faith newsletter. Sign up to receive the newsletter in your inbox each Monday night.

My husband and I sometimes joke that constructive criticism is my love language. I have a probably unhealthy obsession with thinking about how things could have gone better, even when they went perfectly well.

Sounds fun, right?

For me, at least, it really is enjoyable to dream up possible improvements. Or at least it is until the conversation turns to religion journalism, apparently.

I discovered my discomfort with that topic last week when I was asked to write about a new study showing that people around the world aren’t that happy with the way the media covers religion. As I read through the report and worked on my article, I found myself arguing with the results and trying to write off people’s frustrations.

These survey respondents must not know what true religion journalism is, I thought. They must be letting one bad story color their whole view of the industry. I assured myself that, if they only knew me and other members of Religion News Association, they’d love us!

Almost as soon as my story was published, I realized that I needed to stop letting religion journalism off the hook. I heard from several readers, including faith leaders, about how they’d been burned by religion reporters in the past and about a pattern of problems, rather than an isolated incident.

Just this week, a story from The Guardian about lawn care and members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints reignited a debate about how religious scriptures are often taken out of context in news reports. Too often, journalists go hunting for passages that confirm their preconceived notions, rather than actually listening to the people of faith they’re writing about, tweeted McKay Coppins, a prominent Latter-day Saint, on Monday.

“I don’t mean to pile on — I don’t think that (Guardian) piece was written in bad faith,” he said. “But writing about religion is tricky. It’s very easy to inflate the importance of an obscure tradition or old quotes from faith leaders to fit your angle.”

Tweets like that one hurt my heart, because they remind me of mistakes I’ve made in the past. I shudder to think of times I’ve written about Catholic or Sikh or Jewish traditions without fact-checking my story with a Catholic or Sikh or Jewish person.

To be clear, I still think my industry is filled with amazing people doing amazing work. But, in many cases, they’re getting drowned out by others who are cutting corners or by entire news operations that are unwilling to fund thoughtful religion journalism.

There’s not much I can do by myself to solve this global problem, but I emerged from last week more committed than ever to regularly requesting feedback on my reporting and to giving my readers and sources a chance to tell me when I got something wrong.


So tell me: What do you like about this newsletter? What do you wish I covered more?