California tenants rise up, demand rent caps from city halls
By JANIE HAR

yesterday

1 of 15

Kim Carlson, from left, and her two grandsons Thomas Heidt, 12, and Treveyon Carlson, 9, pose for a photograph outside her apartment at the Delta Pines complex, Friday, Nov. 4, 2022, in Antioch, Calif. Despite a landmark renter protection law approved by California legislators in 2019, tenants across the country’s most populous state are taking to ballot boxes and city councils to demand even more safeguards. They want to crack down on tenant harassment, shoddy living conditions and unresponsive landlords that are usually faceless corporations. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)


ANTIOCH, Calif. (AP) — Kim Carlson’s apartment has flooded with human feces multiple times, the plumbing never fixed in the low-income housing complex she calls home in the San Francisco Bay Area suburb of Antioch.

Her property manager is verbally abusive and calls her 9-year-old grandson, who has autism, a slur word, she said. Her heater was busted for a month this winter and the dishwasher has mold growing under it. But the final straw came in May: a $500 rent increase, bringing the rent on the two-bedroom to $1,854 a month.

Carlson and other tenants hit with similarly high increases converged on Antioch’s City Hall for marathon hearings, pleading for protection. In September, the City Council on a 3-2 vote approved a 3% cap on annual increases.

Kim Carlson, third from left, her two grandsons and community organizer Devin Williams, right, walk around the Delta Pines apartment complex, in Antioch, Calif. 

(AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Carlson, who is disabled and under treatment for lymphoma cancer, starts to weep imagining what her life could be like.

“Just normality, just freedom, just being able to walk outside and breathe and not have to walk outside and wonder what is going to happen next,” said Carlson, 54, who lives with her daughter and two grandsons at the Delta Pines apartment complex. “You know, for the kids to feel safe. My babies don’t feel safe.”

Despite a landmark renter protection law approved by California legislators in 2019, tenants across the country’s most populous state are taking to ballot boxes and city councils to demand even more safeguards. They want to crack down on tenant harassment, shoddy living conditions and unresponsive landlords that are usually faceless corporations.

Two buildings which were destroyed in a March fire remain at the Delta Pines apartment complex. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)


Elected officials, for their part, appear more willing than in years past to regulate what is a private contract between landlord and tenant. In addition to Antioch, city councils in Bell Gardens, Pomona, Oxnard and Oakland all lowered maximum rent increases this year as inflation hit a 40-year high. Other city councils put the issue on the Nov. 8 ballot.

Leah Simon-Weisberg, legal director for the advocacy group Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment, says local officials can no longer pretend supply and demand works when so many families are facing homelessness. In June, 1.3 million California households reported being behind on rent, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The situation in working-class Antioch — where more than half the population is Black or Latino — illustrates how tenuous even a win for tenants can be.

The two council members who voted in favor of rent stabilization are up for re-election Tuesday, with one of them, Tamisha Torres-Walker, facing a former council member she narrowly beat two years ago. The local newspaper endorsed Joy Motts and called Torres-Walker, who was homeless as a young adult, polarizing.

Mayor Lamar Thorpe, who provided the third vote, faces sexual harassment allegations by two women, which he denies. They are part of a progressive Black majority.

If either member loses her seat, the rent ordinance could be repealed.

The two council members who voted no are both in the real estate industry, and not up for re-election.

A once largely white suburb, Antioch has become more politically liberal as Black, Latino and low-income residents forced out of San Francisco and Oakland moved in. Advocates tried for years to mobilize tenants, but it took the shockingly high rent-hike notices and the expiration of a statewide eviction moratorium in June to get movement.

Outraged tenants jammed into council chambers describing refrigerators pieced from spare parts and washing machines that reeked of rotten eggs. They spoke of skipping meals, working multiple jobs and living in constant terror of becoming homeless, sleeping in their car and washing their children with bottled water.

Kim Carlson pulls back a curtain to show belongings she keeps on her terrace she says were destroyed by flooding from a sewage backup years ago at her home. 

(AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

“We saw a lot of fear, a lot of desperation,” said Rhea Laughlin, an organizer with First 5 Contra Costa, a county initiative that focuses on early childhood. But, she said, she also saw people summon the courage “to go before council, to rally, to march, to speak to the press and be exposed in a way that I think tenants were too afraid to do before, but now really felt they had little to lose.”

Teresa Farias, 36, said she was terrified to speak in public but she was even more afraid that she, her husband and their three children, ages 3 to 14, would have to leave their home. When the family received a $361 rent increase notice in May, she called the East County Regional Group, a parent advocacy organization supported by First 5. They told her to start knocking on doors and talk to her neighbors.

“I really don’t know where my strength came from, to be able to speak in public, to be able to speak in front of the City Council ... to ask them to help us with this issue,” she said in Spanish outside her home at the Casa Blanca apartments.

California’s tenant protection law limits rent increases to a maximum 10% a year. But many types of housing are exempt, including low-income complexes funded by government tax credits and increasingly owned by corporations, limited liability companies or limited partnerships.

Kim Carlson flips through a binder of documents chronicling grievances with the Delta Pines apartment complex. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

The tenants who flooded City Council meetings drew largely from four affordable-housing complexes, including sister properties Delta Pines and Casa Blanca, where an estimated 150 households received large rent increases in May. The properties are linked to Shaoul Levy, founder of real estate investment firm Levy Affiliated in Santa Monica.

The rent increases never took effect, rescinded by the landlord as the City Council moved toward approving rent stabilization. Levy did not respond to emails seeking comment.

Council member Michael Barbanica, who owns a real estate and property management company, called the rent hikes outrageous, but said the city could have worked with the district attorney’s office to prosecute price-gouging corporate landlords.

Instead, the rent cap penalizes all local landlords, some of whom are now planning to sell, he said.

“They’re not the ones doing 30-40-50% increases,” Barbanica said, “yet they were caught in the crossfire.”

But, Carlson said, the city needs to pass even more tenant protections. The apartment complex is infested with roaches and her neighbors are too scared to speak up, she said.

Her apartment has flooded at least seven times in the eight years she’s lived there, she said, flipping through cellphone photos of her toilet and bathtub filled with dark yellow-brown water. In October 2020, she slipped from water pouring down from the upstairs apartment and dislocated her hip.

She has never been compensated, including all the gifts lost when the apartment flooded with water on Christmas Eve 2017. Two months later, in February 2018, feces and urine bubbled from the tub and toilets.

“We got two five-gallon buckets and a bag of plastic bags brought to us and we had to (urinate and defecate) in those buckets for five days because the toilets were blown off the floor,” Carlson said.

The toilets still gurgle, indicating blockage. That’s when she shuts off the water and waits for plumbers to clear the backup.

Tenant organizer Devin Williams grew up in Antioch after his parents moved out of San Francisco in 2003, part of a migration of Black residents leaving city centers for cheaper homes in safer suburbs. The 32-year-old is devastated that the same opportunity is not available to tenants like Carlson now.

Devin Williams, left, talks with Kim Carlson and her two grandsons while looking at the two buildings which were destroyed by a fire in March at the Delta Pines apartment complex. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

“People have a responsibility to make sure people have habitable living conditions,” he said. “And their lives are just being exploited because people want to make money.”

Kim Carlson, right, hugs her 9-year old grandson Treveyon Carlson at her apartment at the Delta Pines complex. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Photos of the mayor and council members hang on a wall inside City Hall in Antioch, Calif.. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Thomas Heidt, left, and Treveyon Carlson, right, race to the playground at the Delta Pines apartment complex. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Kim Carlson poses for a photograph at her apartment at the Delta Pines apartment complex. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

A padlock and chain restricts access to a basketball court at Delta Pines apartment complex. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

The precarious position of the working class and the prospects for a radicalization of the masses in Russia

Andrei Ritsky

WSWS.ORG

A number of economic forecasts for Russia confirm that an attack on the already precarious position of the Russian working class is underway in the remaining months of 2022 and the year 2023. The forecasts emphasize the country’s volatile economic situation, which is increasing the pressure on the Putin regime and setting the stage for a widespread mobilization of the Russian working class.

On Wednesday, November 2, MBFinance, an online market analysis and forecasting platform, published a short, eight-minute forecast for the Russian economy. The very beginning of the article explicitly refers to the “disappointing forecasts of economists and analysts for the remainder of 2022-2023.”

“Many experts argue that unless Russia comes up with a detailed, new draft for economic reforms in the very near future ... the country will face imminent trouble. The greatest pessimists predict a situation similar to that of the wild 90s in the foreseeable future: widespread unemployment and poverty,” writes the author of the article, Igor Kuznetsov.

The article notes the shocking fact that only 3 percent of the population have no financial and material problems. The remaining 97 percent, or 140 million people have them, and most of them experience serious financial difficulties. This shows the whole essence of capitalism.

Only 12 percent of Russians can afford to pay for most commodities, except an apartment or a house. Thirty-five percent are unable to buy appliances. Twenty-three percent of the population can afford to buy groceries to avoid starvation but are unable to afford new clothes and shoes.

Eight percent of Russians are unable to buy even food, which puts them in real danger of dying of hunger or going into debt. For them, the only choice is either a slow and painful life of debt or an equally painful death by starvation. The number of poor Russians has risen by 3 million within just three months this year, and 60 percent of the population, or about 87 million people, are on the brink of poverty.

The article references the economic expert Konstantin Selyanin. In his opinion, the most pessimistic forecast suggests nothing less than the collapse of Russia’s economy in the very near future. According to Selyanin, we are effectively already witnessing the biggest economic collapse in the entire history of Russia since the Stalinist dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.

This is indeed true. While the world is sinking into recession due to tight central bank policies, Russia has already entered its own recession, caused by the reaction of the imperialist powers to Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. It would be too optimistic to believe that Russia has already “survived” this recession.

Despite all the sanctions, Russia was, and still is, an important raw material supplier for the world market. Direct economic relations between Western countries and Russia have indeed declined to a record low, but there are many intermediaries on the world stage. There is also a large uncontrolled trade market on a world scale, which plays no less of a role than the controlled one, and in which Russia has a substantial share.

Kuznetsov’s article brings up a report by Dmitry Belousov, head of the Center for Macroeconomic Analysis and Short-Term Forecasting (CMASTF). The report raises three “possible” paths for Russia’s economic development:

The first path is autarky. Kuznetsov writes: “In this option, Russia will have to produce everything necessary for its development on its own, even if this means reducing the quality of manufactured products, including both consumer products and those that are necessary for the operation of industry. This will affect the standard of living of the country’s population, which could be significantly reduced by this path. This path will be the only possible one if Russia transitions to a ‘war economy’ as a result of a further escalation of the conflict with the enemy countries.”

Thus, this option is considered possible in the case of an expansion of the conflict in Ukraine between Russia and NATO. This is indeed quite likely to happen, since capitalist wars have always been accompanied by the dissociation of countries from the world market, a decline in industrial production and a serious collapse in living standards. But this situation seriously threatens the position of the capitalist class as well.

In the case of autarky, the country would be set back decades. Such a radical collapse can only lead to an equally radical explosion of the struggles of the working class against the bourgeoisie. The main question will not be whether this explosion takes place, but what level of consciousness the working class will have and the extent to which the revolutionary party of the proletariat will successfully influence it.

The second path is “institutional inertia.” According to the article, this is the most likely path of economic development.

“This is the situation that has been developing for the last 15 years: [the aim has been] to maintain as much macroeconomic stability as possible, implement investment projects, finance their obligations,” writes the author of the article. “Under this scenario, unemployment will remain high up to 2030, within 6%, wages and labor productivity will not increase. With such a method Russia will face the following: in such indicators as quality of life, national security, and technological development the country will inevitably lag behind the rest of the world, which will give rise to a ‘gray economy’ as it existed in the 1980s.”

The reader should recall that it was this “gray economy” of the 1980s that contributed to a serious political and economic crisis by the mid-1980s, which forced the Stalinist bureaucracy to adopt Gorbachev’s “perestroika” policies, which in fact proposed a counterrevolutionary way to resolve the crisis: the restoration of capitalism in the Soviet Union.

The restoration of capitalism ended with the liquidation of the Soviet Union and the establishment in its place of 15 “independent” capitalist republics, open to “partnership” with Western and Eastern capital through the world capitalist market. The consequences of this disintegration are still being felt to this day. The U.S.-NATO proxy war against Russia in Ukraine is one such consequence.

Therefore, if this economic path is realized, it is safe to say that a serious political crisis awaits capitalist Russia. For Putin’s regime, this crisis could be fatal. Another question is: Who will replace Putin’s bourgeois rule: other defenders of bourgeois society or revolutionary Marxists who stand on the principles of the October Revolution?

The third and final possible path is the “struggle for growth.” The article presents this path as the second most likely to be realized after “institutional inertia.” These two economic strategies are the subject of debate among the Russian ruling elite, which is trying to somehow cope with the storm coming at them from the West and from within, that is, from the Russian working class.

“The authorities and business will act together,” Kuznetsov writes, “the role of the state in the economy will increase, but the profits will be kept by private companies. Technology would have to be borrowed, and active entry into all sorts of markets would have to be ensured. This path would allow to keep the unemployment rate within the natural 4-5%, and the incomes of the population would grow by about 2.5-3.7% every year. Forecasts for this scenario are more positive—in a couple of years the country would reach a pre-crisis state”—a very positive scenario indeed.

Looking at the global environment, there is no guarantee that the third “optimistic” scenario will work. For Russia to be able to gain access to all sorts of markets, the war must end. But the fact is that the war is not going to end, its very existence is testimony to the crisis of the entire global capitalist system.

The Russian working class faces the same threats as the working class in other capitalist countries. Unemployment in Russia is expected to reach 6.5 percent next year, thus putting 1.6 million jobs at risk. Food inflation will still remain at 9 percent, and the interest rate of the Central Bank of Russia will remain at 6 percent.

For the first time in many years, the state budget will go into deficit. State expenditure will be reduced, first of all in the social sphere. National debt will rise from 18 percent to 23 percent of GDP. GDP growth will be negative throughout 2023. The course of the global recession will also determine the domestic economic situation in Russia.

“All for the front, all for victory” will be the justifying slogan of the future financial and economic machinations of Putin’s regime. The first wave of mobilization has come to an end, but there is already talk in the open about the second wave. What guarantee is there that the second wave will be at least as good as the first? Putin’s regime can give no guarantees other than guarantees for a further deterioration of the situation.

In its report for the first half of 2022, published August 30, Labor Protest Monitoring, analyzing the feverish state of labor protest in Russia, noted:

“All of this suggests increasing fluctuations and at the same time an increase in protest. Periods of relative decline do not compensate for the growth [in protest activity]. The peak of periods of growth [in protests] and the minimum point reached in periods of growth are both constantly increasing. This means that there is a general increase in protest. In general, there is a rather alarming dynamic with a tendency to increase despite the high variability of the data.”

This was written only with regard to the first half of 2022, when the Russian working class was paralyzed in February and March by Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, and only began to engage in serious protest activity by the summer. The second half of the year will likely not only continue this trend toward growing protests and strike activity, but intensify it.

Ultimately, the fate of the Russian working class is closely linked to the fate of the international working class, which is now at a turning point in the class struggle. Workers internationally are challenging the reactionary trade union apparatuses in their struggle against the cost-of-living crisis, the war and the ongoing pandemic. Russian workers face the same problems as workers everywhere.

It is “optimistic” stupidity and short-sightedness to hope that the capitalist powers will bring about an early end to the war. The redivision of the world has just begun, with all major leaders acknowledging that the decisive decade in the establishment of a “new world order” is now underway. The perceived need by the capitalists for such a “new world order” and the drive by the imperialist powers toward a new redivision of the world is rooted in the crisis and irrationality of the world capitalist system, which is plagued by unresolved contradictions.

Some leaders seek the final realization of a “unipolar moment” (the US), others try to get out of a “stalemate” (Europe), others think about establishing a utopian project of “multipolarity” (China, Russia and others). Ultimately, all these methods are based on the preconception that capitalism must be preserved. We have nothing in common with these methods and conceptions, nor do we intend to.

The main purpose of the existence of the International Committee of the Fourth International and its sections and supporters around the world is the overthrow of the capitalist system, which has become an irrational system leading humanity to self-destruction. We conceive of the overthrow of capitalism only on the basis of an internationalist socialist perspective, developed in the course of all the previous experience of the workers’ movement.

The only revolutionary force capable of realizing a socialist alternative to capitalist barbarism is the international working class, which has been woven together by the threads of a globalized economy.

Only a worldwide mobilization of workers is capable of resolving the contradictions of capitalism: between the public character of production and the private-capitalist form of appropriation, the global economy and the division of the world into nation-states.

This mobilization is impossible without building a conscious Marxist-Trotskyist leadership in the working class. The International Committee seeks to resolve the crisis of proletarian leadership and to lead the working class to victory over a society of exploitation of man by man.

This will be possible if a section of the International Committee of the Fourth International is built and strengthened in each country. The Young Guard of Bolshevik-Leninists is fighting for the construction of such sections in Russia and throughout the former Soviet Union.

Bird conservationist marches through London wearing nothing but paint

Nov 5, 2022

WARNING: Contains partial nudity Author and conservationist, Hannah Bourne-Taylor, delivered a speech at Speaker’s Corner on Saturday painted from neck to toe in feathers in support of a national campaign for swifts, supported by the RSPB. The woman has marched through London unclothed and painted as a bird as part of a campaign to support declining species in the UK.

Bird conservationist prepares to march
through London wearing only paint

Rebecca Speare-Cole - 
A conservationist is preparing to march through London wearing nothing but paint to resemble a bird as part of a campaign to support declining species in the UK.

FotoJet© Provided by Evening Standard

Hannah Bourne-Taylor, 36, will launch a petition on Saturday asking to make “swift bricks” compulsory in new housing developments part of her campaign, The Feather Speech, which is supported by the Royal Society for Protection of Birds (RSPB) and the charity Rewriting Extinction.

Ms Bourne-Taylor, from London, will make a speech at Speaker’s Corner in Hyde Park at midday before marching to Downing Street.

It comes after her nature memoir Fledging went viral earlier this year following the publication of a newspaper article detailing how she reared a baby bird and let it nest in her hair for 84 days.

Speaking to the PA news agency as she got ready on Saturday morning, the author and conservationist said: “I’m feeling quite cold, I’m feeling quite weird that I’m naked and reasonably apprehensive about what’s to come but I’m excited.”

Ms Bourne-Taylor said the renowned artist Guido Daniele started painting her at 8am on Friday, adding she had to try to avoid smudging it as she slept overnight.

Asked why she is staging the protest unclothed and resembling a bird, she said: “Because I’m a person of no influence so when it comes to the environmental crisis, I feel completely helpless as an everyday person and I suddenly realised that I could change that if I could use visual imagery.”

“So the Feather Speech is all about how there are leading scientists and an world-renowned artist coming together for the birds.

“And I know that visual imagery can be very powerful, it can also be very positive and hopeful and this is not a disruptive campaign.

“And even though at the heart of it is something incredibly heartbreaking, which are these birds which are facing national extinction – a bit of a doom and gloom story – this body image is beautiful and positive and seeks to find the connection between us and the birds that live in our walls.”


Ms Bourne-Taylor added that she has “Lady Godiva” hair, hoping that the combination will “change the fate of these birds”.

She said the petition, which she hopes 100,000 people will sign so it will be debated in Parliament, is calling for “swift bricks” in all new housing developments because they are proven to be beneficial nesting environments for four red-listed species – swifts, house sparrows, house martins and starling

Bird Conservationist marches through London wearing only paint

Duration 1:26   View on Watch

Their decline is directly correlated with development projects despite not being acknowledged in the government’s Biodiversity Net Gains, Ms Taylor-Bourne said.

“I love these birds. The idea of them not being in British skies is a nightmare, much more than being naked in public subject to ridicule,” she said.

The conservationist also said the wider aim is to “try to engage everybody in this country”.

“If we all looked up and looked out for these birds, we wouldn’t need a change of policy to help protect them so it’s about creating awareness,” she said.

“These birds are epic, they are iconic. They come with their screening parties and their iconic silhouettes.”

“They’re worth fighting for, they’re worth it to me and they’re worth it to a lot of people,” she said, adding: “Every bird counts.

RSPB executive director Emma Marsh said: “Swifts are one of many species desperately in need of our help.

“More than half have disappeared from UK skies in just 20 years, partly because of a lack of suitable nesting sites.

“As Hannah’s amazing campaign highlights, swift bricks should be compulsory in all new housing developments,” she continued.

“I would urge everyone to sign this petition to help ensure swifts and other species that have traditionally nested in the cavities of our buildings have a safe home to return to every year.”

To sign the petition go to: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/626737.

Register now for one of the Evening Standard’s newsletters. From a daily news briefing to Homes & Property insights, plus lifestyle, going out, offers and more. For the best stories in your inbox, click here.

Mongolians and chess, almost as traditional as herding and wrestling
International chess master Jigjidsuren coached the Mongolian national chess team until he turned 70. / Courtesy of Antonio Graceffo.

By Antonio Graceffo in Ulaanbaatar November 5, 2022

At this year's 44th World Chess Olympiad, Mongolia shook up the world when the Mongolian women’s team defeated the seventh-ranked Americans. Overall, the Mongolian men’s team placed 35th out of 188 countries, while the women placed 15th out of 162.

When one thinks of Mongolia, one very probably thinks of horses and wrestling, but certainly not chess. But chess has a long history in the country. Mongolians’ ancestors played ankle bones and chess during the 13th century, and possibly before, while Mongolian traditional chess, shatar, dates back to the Great Mongol Empire.

The Mongolian word for international chess is in fact shatar. A medieval variation of the game is called Hiashatar, which means “Bodyguard Chess” (Shatranj). The pieces are the same as in traditional chess except that there is an additional piece called a Bodyguard (also called 'Senior Adviser' or 'Warrior'), which can slide one or two steps in any direction. However, a Bodyguard cannot checkmate the enemy king. 'Hiashatar' is believed to be about 500 years old.



A Mongolian chess, or shatar, set (Credit: Immanuel Giel, cc-by-sa 3.0).

An ancient legend about the origin of Mongolian chess tells of a khan, or king, who lived “long, long ago”. After fighting in many wars, he decided that training alone was not enough for victory. So, he established the position of bodyguard in his entourage, and the position was then added to the game of chess.

The Mongol names for the pieces are:

King - noyon (prince, duke)

Queen - bers (fantastic animal resembling a big dog)

Knight - mori (horse)

Rook - tereg (chariot, vehicle)

Bishop - teme (camel)

Pawn - fu (child, young)

Bodyguard - hia (senior adviser, warrior, bodyguard)

The first Mongolian national chess championship was held in 1948, and the country’s first women’s chess championship was held in 1954. The Mongolian Chess Championship is currently organised by the Mongolian Chess Federation (Mongolian: Монголын Шатрын Холбоо). Bazar Khatanbaatar holds the record for most national championships won, with eight victories; Tsagaan Battsetseg holds the women's record, with seven.


Chess is hugely popular in Mongolia, it's not unusual to see a game taking place on a bench (Photo courtesy of Antonio Graceffo).

One of the proudest achievements for Mongolians in international chess came in 1967 at the Sousse Interzonal when American Bobby Fischer played against Mongolian champion Lhamsuren Myagmarsuren. Myagmarsuren won the Mongolian national title four times in 1965, 1980, 1981 and 1982, and was awarded the title of international master in 1967. His nickname in the Internet Chess Club is "Shatar” (the Mongolian word for chess).

Although Lhamsuren Myagmarsuren lost to Fischer, the match resulted in a new technique called The Mongolian tactic. According to the tale, Fischer had asked Lhamsuren Myagmarsuren his name several times, but could neither spell nor pronounce it. So, he just wrote “Mongolian” on the paper. Since then, Lhamsuren Myagmarsuren’s special technique has been known as the Mongolian tactic.

In 2020, the International Chess Federation awarded stipends to a number of retired players including Lhamsuren Myagmarsuren. His match with Fischer has inspired Mongolian chess players down the decades. There is even a photo of Lhamsuren Myagmarsuren hanging in Zuunii Shatar chess club near the centre of Ulaanbaatar.

In recent years, Mongolia has repeatedly distinguished itself in international chess. Khulan Enksaikhan (25) led her team to gold at the 2020 Asian University Chess Championship (AUC). In 2021, 12-year-old N. Sodbileg won a silver medal at the under-17 World Amateur Chess Championship held in Rhodes, Greece.

In 2021, a most unique chess honour was won by Mongolia, when Mongolian inmates won the first ever Intercontinental Online Chess Championship for Prisoners. In October this year, the Mongolian women’s chess team won the 2nd Intercontinental Online Chess Championship for Prisoners. The event, organised by the International Chess Federation (FIDE) and the Cook County Sheriff’s Office (Chicago, US) was the largest chess event ever organised among correctional facilities.

International master and world grand master Batchimeg Tuvshintugs, who works at the Court Decision Making Agency of Mongolia, teaches chess in prisons and organiss tournaments. She explained that Mongolia has been organising chess events in its prisons since 1956, and it has now become a tradition.

FIDE president Arkady Dvorkovich attended the online closing ceremony where he congratulated the winning teams and extended a special message of encouragement "We all hope that at some moment of your life, you will be free to make your own choices, and chess will help you to make those choices rationally."

Tuvshintugs told Chess News that it was no wonder that the prisoners could play chess so well because the Mongolian amateur chess level was quite high, a sentiment supported by 76-year-old international chess master Jigjidsuren, coach of the Zuunii Shatar chess club, who believes that Mongolian children are exceptionally intelligent and particularly good at chess.

Jigjidsuren began playing chess in 1960 at the age of 11. He originally learned by watching his parents play in the countryside. Later, he studied under both Mongolian and Russian masters, eventually being admitted to the Russian chess university in 1971. He graduated in 1975. After a lengthy career as a world-class chess player, Jigjidsuren was asked to coach the national team, a job he did until he turned 70. Since his retirement, he has been coaching at Zuunii Shatar chess club.

Jigjidsuren explained “Mongolian children are very good at chess actually. The reason why is that Mongolians are much more intellectual and have a high brain capacity. And I came to this conclusion by observing many, many kids along the way of coaching and teaching lessons to the children.”

He estimated that 30 to 40% of the Mongolian population knows how to play chess. “We don’t have an exact number on this, but by observation, I have seen an instance where the whole town can play chess in the countryside. It is actually a rare occasion to find families without a chess board.”

When asked if Mongolians played chess in their gers (yurts) to kill time during the long winters, Jigjidsuren objected that while some may only be killing time, for most, “there is always a purpose when they are playing chess. The parents want their children to have a strong mind, a respectful manner and high potential, and they believe that chess helps in all those aspects.” He even drew a connection between herding and chess. “There used to be a lot of ways to educate kids back in the days of nomadic tradition.”

Chess is not only played in gers and chess clubs in Mongolia, it’s also played on the street.

Fifty-seven-year-old Naymtsogt is one of several chess experts who play outdoors, for money, on the benches in front of the central sports centre in Ulaanbaatar. He has been playing chess since he was seven. He first learned it from his parents, but later studied under Russian and Mongolian masters and grandmasters. While he can also play Mongolian chess, he focuses on international chess. Since 2008, he has been playing on the street, averaging five to six opponents per day.

Naymtsogt said that he particularly likes chess because, “There is nothing to cheat on in chess. It’s just simply a mind game. There is a lesson on how to start and how to proceed and how to end your moves and in chess you will be able to master it.”



After he defeated me in a relatively long game (pictured above), he said “You’re a very aggressive player. The game itself should be played like this.” Knowing I was a wrestler, he said wrestling was the same as chess. In Europe and America, catch wrestling is often referred to as physical chess. So, it was interesting to hear a chess master make the same comparison.

Jigjidsuren went on to draw more parallels between wrestling and chess. “Wrestling is a tradition which covers a minimum number of people that have a well built or developed body. For chess, it does not require anything physical or does not depend on gender. Secondly, chess is not a seasonal sport. You can play it anywhere you want, anytime.”

And the Mongolians do play chess anywhere, anytime. In the gers, in the streets, in the chess clubs and academies, in Russia, and at the world level.

Antonio Graceffo, PhD, China-MBA, is an economist and China analyst who has spent over 20 years in Asia, including seven in China, two and a half in Taiwan, and three in Mongolia. He conducted post-doctoral studies in international trade, at School of Economics Shanghai University, holds a PhD. from Shanghai University of Sport, and a China-MBA from Shanghai Jiaotong University. Antonio is the author of seven books about Asia, three of which are about the Chinese economy. For the past 10 years, he has been reporting on the Chinese economy, the US-China trade war, investment, geopolitics and defence. Since 2019, Antonio has been based out of Ulaanbaatar, where he continues his China economic research, while also reporting on the Mongolian economy. In addition to publishing reports and articles on a regular basis, he makes frequent appearances as a China economic expert on NTD TV, Bloomberg Mongolia TV and VTV.

Space rice promises robust new varieties

November 6, 2022

ANN/CHINA DAILY – Mutated rice seeds brought from space may provide new species on Earth and result in higher yields than their terrestrial counterparts.

At a scientific research demonstration base in Wuhan, Hubei province, workers from Hubei Jinguang Agricultural Technology Co recently completed harvesting space rice from 20 hectares of paddies where they had planted seeds from China’s Shenzhou-12 manned space mission.

Space breeding is a process in which seeds are exposed to cosmic radiation and microgravity during a space mission to mutate their genes and are returned to Earth to generate new species.

Back on Earth, scientists examine and evaluate the mutations.

Some can be positive, conferring properties favoured by farmers, such as greater yields, shorter growth periods and better resistance to disease.

“On September 17, 2021, we got back the seeds carried by the Shenzhou-12 manned spaceship when it returned to Earth after three months in space,” said President of Hubei Jinguang Agricultural Technology Co Gao Xuegang.

“The high-quality seeds that we carefully selected include corn, rapeseed and rice.”

After the seeds went through an additional selection process and were germinated by experts at China’s Space Breeding Achievement Transformation Centre, the rice seedlings were planted in Hainan province in November 2021 to generate more seeds.

In June, 150 kilogrammes (kg) of high-quality space-bred rice seeds were selected and planted on 20 hectares in Wuhan.

“This is the second time we planted space-bred rice, after a first success in 2021,” Gao said.

“During the whole process, we used no pesticides or chemical fertilisers. The rice harvested last year had better quality than common rice, a sweeter fragrance and a softer and waxier texture.”

Gao said the results of this year’s planting experiment show that space-bred seeds can be used as an early or late crop because of their adaptability.

“Because of the unusually high temperatures and severe drought this summer, diseases and insect pests were serious in some regions in the country, reducing the rice output,” he said.

“However, the space-bred rice showed strong drought resistance and good ability to resist pests and disease. Space rice was significantly less affected than ordinary rice.”

“Space breeding has outstanding advantages,” said an expert from the provincial academy of agricultural sciences Dong Hualin.

“Space creates a special mutagenesis environment, which is difficult to achieve on Earth.”

Mutagenesis is a process that leads to permanent and possibly inheritable genetic mutation.

“The high vacuum, high cleanliness, weightlessness, strong radiation, ultra-high-speed operation and magnetic wire cutting in space can greatly shorten the breeding period,” he said.

Scientists expect to produce 7,125 kg per hectare this year, Gao said. Some of the rice will be used for further breeding research and some will be supplied to the markets as a high-end product costing about CNY200 (USD27.46) per kilogramme.

So far, the company has conducted the planting experiment on more than 333 hectares of farmland in Jiangxi, Guizhou, Hunan and Shandong provinces in cooperation with local farmers.

“I believe there are good prospects for the industrial development of large-scale planting of space-bred rice,” said Dong.

UN General Assembly First Committee includes "community of shared future for humankind" in three resolutions

 06-Nov-2022
CGTN



The United Nations General Assembly First Committee has included in its three resolutions the notion of "a community of shared future for humankind."

This is the sixth consecutive time that the notion has been included in First Committee resolutions.

The resolutions are "Further Practical Measures for the Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space," "No First Placement of Weapons in Outer Space" and "Developments in the Field of Information and Telecommunications in the Context of International Security," which were adopted on Tuesday and Thursday respectively.

During the deliberations, a handful of countries raised questions about the phrase "a community of shared future for humankind" contained in the drafts and demanded separate votes on relevant paragraphs. In the voting, the inclusion of the notion was supported by more than 100 member states on all occasions.

Prior to the voting on Tuesday, Chinese Ambassador for Disarmament Affairs Li Song, also head of the Chinese delegation to the First Committee, noted that the phrase was not rejected by any state in the first two years of its inclusion in resolutions.

"It wasn't until 2019 that certain countries requested separate votes on the relevant paragraphs. This is outright political manipulation," Li said.

These countries are doing so simply because this concept was put forward by China. They are so obsessed with the Cold War mentality and ideological bias that they would oppose anything Chinese. In essence, they are trying to seek supremacy at the United Nations, he said.

"I would like to emphasize that expressions in UN documents reflect the collective wisdom of all member states. They are not the proprietary rights of any country. Today, a handful of countries can vote down anything Chinese, tomorrow they may well obstruct at will other countries' ideas that are positive, constructive and reflecting the shared interests of the broad membership," he said.

This is not the way things should work in the world, let alone in the United Nations, Li said.

"A community of shared future for humankind" is a neutral term without any ideological undertone. This concept is highly consistent with the content of the relevant draft resolutions, he said.

This concept is open, above-board and an embodiment of true multilateralism. It has been widely supported and recognized by the international community, Li said.

Nearly 1,000 migrants stranded on board NGO ships as storm hits

Three NGO ships are stranded in the Mediterranean as Italy and Malta fail to greenlight entrance into port.

More than 500 people are on board the Geo Barents as a storm hits the Mediterranean Sea 

[Candida Lobes/AP Photo]

By Federica Marsi
Published On 5 Nov 2022

Three charity-run vessels in the Mediterranean Sea are awaiting permission to disembark in Italy or Malta, as those on board need urgent assistance amid dwindling supplies and worsening weather conditions.

The vessels operated by Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres, or MSF), SOS Mediterranee and SOS Humanity, have been at sea for more than a week, carrying nearly 1,000 people in total.

Italy’s new right-wing government has acknowledged the receipt of their requests to disembark but has stopped short of greenlighting their entrance into port.

“The latest request was made yesterday evening but we received no response,” Riccardo Gatti, MSF team leader on board the Geo Barents, told Al Jazeera via video message.

Similar requests forwarded to the Maltese government have gone unacknowledged.

Gatti said on Saturday the Geo Barents had entered Italian waters to find shelter from an incoming storm, carrying 572 people on board, including an 11-month-old and three pregnant women.

MSF media adviser Candida Lobes said water was being rationed and food supplies were also dwindling. Due to overcrowding, respiratory and skin infections were also spreading.

“The situation is simply unacceptable,” Lobes said.

International obligations

European maritime-humanitarian organisation SOS Mediterranee has called on authorities to comply with international obligations and provide a predictable system of disembarkation.

“Survivors retrieved from distress at sea must no longer be traded into political debates,” the organisation said in a statement on Thursday.

Elisa Brivio, a press officer at SOS Mediterranee, told Al Jazeera that 234 people were on board its Ocean Viking ship, including 40 unaccompanied minors.

“Not everyone can sleep below deck, we prioritise women and children,” Brivio said. “The others are sleeping outside and yesterday we installed some protective tents to shield them from the winds and the storm.”

Among those rescued, many bear the signs of torture and mistreatment.

Till Rummenhohl, head of operations at SOS Humanity, said the 179 people on board the Humanity 1 were “fleeing from detention camps in Libya, where they faced great violence”.

Should no country offer a post of safety, they may be pushed back into international waters.

“[This] would be a clear breach of international law and the Geneva Convention,” Rummenhohl told Al Jazeera. “It’s their human right to apply for asylum and seek safety.”

Italy’s far-right government

Italy last month formed its first far-right-led government since the end of World War II, with Giorgia Meloni becoming the first woman to serve as prime minister.

Rome has insisted that the countries whose flags these NGO boats are flying should bear responsibility for the migrants and refugees on board.

The Norwegian flag-bearing Ocean Viking and Geo Barents and the German-flagged Humanity 1 have been prevented from docking, while Italian patrols, including one carrying 456 people that arrived in Calabria on Thursday, were allowed to disembark.

Italy’s new interior minister, Matteo Piantedosi, told local media the government had intended to give flag-bearing countries an “immediate signal”.

“We cannot bear the burden of migrants collected at sea by foreign vessels operating systematically without any coordination with local authorities,” he said.

Piantedosi drafted new measures, alleging that the non-governmental groups violated procedure by not properly coordinating their rescues, a step setting the groundwork for Italy to close the ports.

Charities have denied circumventing procedures and say it is their duty to rescue people in distress at sea.

The German embassy this week urged Italy to provide swift help, saying NGO ships made an important contribution to saving lives at sea.

Norway said it bears no responsibility under human rights conventions or the law of the sea towards people taken on board private Norwegian-flagged vessels.

According to the United Nations refugee agency, coastal states such as Italy and Malta are obligated to accept people from rescue ships “as soon as practicable” and governments should cooperate to provide a place of safety for survivors.

“It is frankly absurd that the Italian and Maltese governments have not yet offered them a place of safety,” Matteo De Bellis, a researcher on asylum and migration at Amnesty International, told Al Jazeera.

“This incident signals a step back by Italian authorities in particular since the new government is resurrecting policies that we have seen implemented already in 2018 and 2019,” De Bellis added, referring to a “closed ports” policy implemented by then-Interior Minister and far-right leader Matteo Salvini.

“These policies were and continue to be in breach of international law,” he said.

“It is clear that European states must share responsibility for assisting people in need, but it is equally clear that Italy and Malta must cooperate in good faith to ensure that people rescued at sea are provided a place of safety.”

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA

Italy closes its ports to rescue ships, leaving 1,100 migrants in limbo

By —Colleen Barry, Associated Press
By —Emily Schultheis, Associated Press

Nov 5, 2022 

MILAN (AP) — Two German-run migrant rescue ships carrying nearly 300 rescued people were waiting off the eastern coast of Sicily on Saturday, one with permission to disembark its most vulnerable migrants while the other’s request for a safe port has gone unanswered despite “critical” conditions on board.

Chaos and uncertainty has resulted from the decision late Friday by Italy’s far-right-led government to close its ports to humanitarian rescue ships.

Nearly 1,100 rescued migrants aboard four ships run by European charity organizations are stuck in the Mediterranean Sea, some with people rescued as long as two weeks ago amid deteriorating conditions on board.

Both the Humanity 1 and the Rise Above ships, run by separate German humanitarian groups, were in Italian waters, both seeking shelter from rough seas. The Humanity 1, carrying 179 migrants, has received permission to disembark minors and people needing medical care, but the Rise Above’s request for port for its 93 rescued people has so far gone unanswered.

By the time darkness fell Saturday, the Humanity 1 still had not received any direct communications from Italian authorities regarding evacuations, spokesman Wasil Schauseil said.

The SOS Humanity charity challenged Italy’s move to distinguish “vulnerable” migrants, saying all were rescued at sea, which alone qualifies them for a safe port under international law.

Italy’s only Black lawmaker in the lower chamber, Abourbakar Soumahoro, said he would join migrants on the ship if Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni’s government did not act soon to aid all those blocked at sea.

Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said Friday that the Humanity 1 would be allowed in Italian waters only long enough to disembark minors and people in need of urgent medical care.

The measure was approved after Germany and France each called on Italy to grant a safe port to the migrants, and indicated they would receive some of the migrants so Italy wouldn’t bear the burden alone.

No such provisions have been offered to the other three ships, and both the Geo Barents, carrying 572 migrants, and the Rise Above have entered Italian waters without consent despite repeated requests for a safe port. The Ocean Viking with 234 migrants remained in international waters, south of the Strait of Messina.

READ MORE: Pope decries modern-day treatment of migrants as he declares 2 new saints

“We have been waiting for 10 days for a safe place to disembark the 572 survivors,” said Juan Mattias Gil, the head of mission for the Geo Barents. Operation chief Riccardo Gatti said besides suffering from skin and respiratory infections, many on board were stressed by the prolonged period at sea.

SOS Humanity, which operates Humanity 1, alone said it had made 19 requests for a safe port, all unanswered. The boat is carrying 100 unaccompanied minors as well as infants as young as 7 months.

Italy’s new far-right-led government is insisting that countries whose flag the charity-run ships fly must take on the migrants. Speaking at a news conference late Friday, Piantedosi described such vessels as “islands” that are under the jurisdiction of the flag countries.

Infrastructure Minister Matteo Salvini, known for his anti-migrant stance, cheered the new directive that he signed along with Italy’s defense and interior ministers.

“We stop being hostage to these foreign and private NGOs that organize the routes, the traffic, the transport and the migratory policies,” Salvini said in a Facebook video, repeating his allegation that the ships’ presence encourages smugglers.

Nongovernmental organizations reject that interpretation, and say they are obligated by the law of the sea to rescue people in distress and that coastal nations are obligated to provide a safe port as soon as feasible.

WATCH: Death toll surges as migrants try to reach Europe

“The Italian minister of interior’s decree is undoubtedly illegal,” says Mirka Schaefer, advocacy officer at SOS Humanity. “Pushing back refugees at the Italian border violates the Geneva Refugee Convention and international law.”

Most have traveled via Libya, where they set off in unseaworthy boats seeking a better life in Europe, often facing abuses by human traffickers along the way.

While the humanitarian-run boats are being denied a safe port, thousands of migrants have reached Italian shores over the last week, either on their own in fishing boats or rescued at sea by Italian authorities. On Saturday, 147 arrived in Augusta, including 59 on the oil ship Zagara that also carried two bodies.

The situation on the Rise Above was particularly desperate, with 93 people packed aboard a relatively small 25-meter (82-foot) boat. Spokeswoman Hermine Poschmann described a “very critical situation that … led to very great tensions” on board, because passengers saw land and didn’t understand why they weren’t docking.

The head of mission on the vessel, Clemens Ledwa, demanded a port of safety immediately, citing bad weather and the limited capacity of the small ship.

“This is not a wish. This is everyone’s right,’’ he said Friday night.

___

Emily Schultheis reported from Berlin.

 

Swedish foreign minister criticizes politicians for waving PKK rags

'PKK is a terrorist organization and this type of behavior does not belong in a democracy,' says Billstrom

Leila Nezirevic |05.11.2022






LONDON

Sweden's Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom on Saturday strongly criticized two Left Party politicians for waving PKK terrorist organization rags in the council hall.

"PKK is a terrorist organization and this type of behavior does not belong in a democracy," he wrote on Twitter.

In an interview with public broadcaster SR, Billstrom said: "As organizations such as the YPG and PYD have links with the PKK, which is on the EU’s terror list, we will distance ourselves from these organizations in order not to spoil our relations with Türkiye."

Sweden's new Prime Minister ​​Ulf Kristersson also said that Sweden could not cooperate with those who have close relations with the PKK terrorist organization.

"As part of our decision, we will firmly oppose any activity that raises or supports terrorism on Swedish territories," Kristersson told Swedish TV channel TV4.

Former Justice Minister Morgan Johansson described the new government's decision to distance itself from the PKK/YPG terror group as "worrying and heinous."

Underlining that the government took the decision without presenting it to parliament, Johansson argued that the decision was unacceptable.

Earlier this year, three other left-wing members of parliament posed with PKK rags.

Sweden's then-Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said that the actions by the politicians were extremely inappropriate.

The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the EU, and US, and is responsible for the deaths of 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants.

The Swedish state has classified PKK as a terrorist group since 1984.

*Zehra Nur Duz contributed to the story in Ankara

South African Police Investigating Deaths of 21 Suspected Illegal Miners

November 05, 2022 
Linda Givetash

South African police investigate at the scene where more 21 bodies of suspected illegal miners were found near an active mine in Krugersdorp, South Africa, Nov. 3, 2022.

JOHANNESBURG —

South African police say the bodies of at least 21 suspected illegal miners were found outside an active mine this week in the town of Krugersdorp, west of Johannesburg. Police said murder is not suspected, but the bodies do appear to have been moved. Security analysts say the deaths are indicative of the prevalence of illicit mining activity in the country.

The discovery of the bodies has shocked the country and it is far from the first such incident.

The town also saw eight women gang-raped at gunpoint in July, and police at the time arrested dozens of illegal miners among the suspects.

“These guys are not random,” said Willem Els,a senior training coordinator with the Institute for Security Studies in Pretoria. They are part of massive well-organized organized crime syndicates that have operating transnational. So, we need the intelligence to guide us in order to develop good strategies. And then we need well-trained police officers that are well equipped in order to challenge this unique challenge that we have in the mining industry."

Els said the country’s intelligence and policing operations are failing and are even infiltrated by organized crime syndicates.

“Law enforcement in South Africa is not what it's supposed to be,” he said.”They're not on the level that they can really prevent this. We also have a challenge with porous borders in the region, where for instance, in countries like Zimbabwe, their deposits of gold are dwindling, the mines are closing, and those people are without work. And then it's a welcome opportunity for them to cross the border into South Africa, most of the time illegally.”

Experts say foreigners aren’t just digging underground but are part of international networks to sell the minerals overseas.

Witness Maluleke, professor of criminology at the University of Limpopo, said the activity wouldn’t be possible without South African involvement.

“The South African youth are part of it. And South African organized criminal networks are part of it, he said. “So, there's not much to say that it is only illegal immigrants that are contributing largely to this crime or this practice. It is misleading.”

Maluleke said tackling illegal mining requires efforts to address other factors that drive people to crime.

“People are not working,” he said. “So, they take these enterprises and opportunity to get money and to commit various crimes that are happening on our mines.”

The illicit activity is costing South Africa and the mining industry millions.

There are more than 6,000 derelict mines in the country, some of which have been abandoned for decades.

Police officials and experts say the mining industry needs to take more responsibility for properly closing old sites.

“Mining houses must take responsibility in policing themselves, in taking ethical and moral accountability, plan more effectively, and so forth,” said Jean Steyn, a criminal justice professor at the University of Zululand. “Mining houses must preventively act towards reducing illegal artisanal mining and use, for example, those that don't have work to rehabilitate the mines.”

The mine shaft near where the bodies were found had been flooded by recent rains, but police say autopsies will be conducted to determine cause of death.

Four Zimbabweans part of 21 illegal miners found dead in SA mine

The African Diaspora Forum (ADF), an umbrella body of migrant communities, has confirmed that four Zimbabweans were among the 21 suspected illegal miners whose bodies were discovered in a mineshaft in Krugersdorp, Gauteng, South Africa.

 Pic:New24

According to the ADF, authorities must take precautions to protect underground miners, especially during the rainy season.

Initially, 19 bodies of suspected illegal miners, known in South Africa as ‘zama zama,’ were discovered on Wednesday in Krugersdorp on the West Rand, but two more bodies were discovered on Thursday morning, bringing the total to 21.

Ten more suspected miners are said to be trapped elsewhere in Springs, on Gauteng’s eastern side.

In an interview with CITE, ADF Executive Director Ngqabutho Nicholas Mabhena, who is also the chairperson of the Zimbabwe Community in South Africa, said steps needed to be taken to protect underground miners, as he confirmed that four of the deceased were Zimbabweans.

“We know that four of those whose bodies were found are Zimbabwean as they were relatives. We are not sure of other deceased though there are rumours they are also migrants and that they might be Zimbabweans, that we can’t confirm. We can only confirm four,” Mabhena said.

“Our main concern is the safety underground, we call on everyone involved in the mining to make sure that before they go underground, there is safety. This is why we call for regulation of this mining so that safety can be put in place so we do not continue losing lives,” he said.

Mabhena stressed the importance of safety, citing other recent deaths of underground miners.

“This is not the first incident. It happened in 2016 we assisted in retrieving bodies of other miners who died underground in Johannesburg. In 2019, we did the same in Benoni. Early this year, some also died underground. We are worried about these deaths,” said the ADF executive director.

“ADF offers its condolences to the families of the 21 miners who died in Krugersdorp. We are told that the mine shaft was flooded because of the rainy season and people lost their lives. Our deepest condolences to the families.”