CAPITALI$T ANARCHY

The Race To Develop Hydrogen Storage

Editor OilPrice.com
Fri, December 23, 2022 at 3:00 PM MST·4 min read

Around the globe, energy companies and governments are racing to develop their hydrogen storage capacity in an attempt to boost their energy security and reduce their reliance on natural gas. As investment into the research and development of hydrogen technologies increases, several world powers are developing better storage solutions to support the rollout of hydrogen for a multitude of uses. Boosting storage capacity will allow countries to produce and store hydrogen for use much in the same way as natural gas.

As part of its National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap, the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) discusses the potential for increasing hydrogen storage. It considers the alternative approaches to hydrogen storage to decide on the optimal option for long-term storage. Hydrogen can be kept in a number of different ways, either in gaseous or liquid vessels, in underground formations, or in materials such as hydrogen carriers. Depending on how the hydrogen will be used, each of these options can be appropriate.

There are already commercial tanks and liquid dewars being used in the U.S., mainly on energy sites and fuelling stations. As huge quantities of liquid hydrogen are used in aerospace, the Kennedy Space Center in Florida is home to a storage vessel for 1.25 million gallons of liquid hydrogen. Underground caverns are also used to store hydrogen for use in the petrochemical industry, with three large-scale geological hydrogen storage caverns in the U.S. at present. Most of these caverns are excavated in salt deposits near areas intended for hydrogen use. The DoE roadmap identifies some of the regions in the U.S. most suitable for greater cavern storage development, both for hydrogen and for carbon from carbon capture and storage (CCS) operations.

The DoE highlights hydrogen storage as key for the advancement of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies for stationary power, portable power, and transportation. Due to its low ambient temperature density hydrogen has a low energy per unit volume, and it requires specialist forms of storage. Tanks used to keep hydrogen gas must sustain a high pressure of between 350–700 bars. And liquid hydrogen needs to be stored at cryogenic temperatures, as it has a boiling point of −252.8°C. The U.S. Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office (HFTO) aims to develop hydrogen storage options to meet the DoE hydrogen storage targets for onboard light-duty vehicles, material-handling equipment, and portable power applications.


In the U.K., the energy company SSE started work this month on the excavation of an underground cavern in east Yorkshire to store hydrogen for use when urgently needed. The project includes a 35-megawatt electrolyzer to produce green hydrogen that will be stored in the giant cavern. The hydrogen can be used to fire a turbine to supply power to the grid during times of peak demand. SSE hopes the Pathfinder project, which is expected to cost over $120 million, will offer a blueprint for larger-scale hydrogen storage projects in the future. It expects the project to be operational by 2025. Siemens Energy will be carrying out the project’s design and engineering work. SSE has even bigger long-term plans, having partnered with Norwegian energy firm Equinor to develop the Keadby hydrogen power station on the same site for 2028. It is expected to be the world’s first big 100 percent hydrogen-fired power station.

The firm hopes to attract government funding for its low-carbon hydrogen operations. As the U.K. faces record low temperatures and soaring energy prices, with fears of gas shortages, SSE is offering an alternative renewable energy that it expects will one day take the place of natural gas. The slow development of the green hydrogen sector is mainly due to the high costs incurred with the set-up of operations. However, government funding for these types of projects could help technologies advance more quickly and become cheaper to roll out on a bigger scale.

The European Union is also developing its hydrogen storage plans. It sees hydrogen storage as key to supplying renewable energy to power grids as needed. As hydrogen can be stored in large quantities over long periods of time, it offers greater energy security in the transition to green. It can help make energy systems more flexible, balancing supply with demand. This is an issue that plagues the green energy industry, as solar and wind projects often fail to provide energy during the peak hours of demand. New hydrogen storage facilities, as well as the expansion of the region’s battery storage capacity, could help boost reliable renewable energy provision.

As investment in hydrogen technology and production continues to increase worldwide, companies are shifting their focus to hydrogen storage as a means to make the energy supply from the renewable energy sector more reliable. This could support a more rapid transition away from fossil fuels, as well as boost energy security around the globe.

By Felicity Bradstock for Oilprice.com

Is Ford's $2.7 Billion Mistake a Warning for General Motors?

By Daniel Miller – Dec 24, 2022 

MOTLEY FOOL

KEY POINTS

Ford's speed bump with Argo AI cost it a pretty penny.

The company says Level 4 advanced driver assistance systems won't generate profits in the near term.

Ford's big venture into autonomous vehicles cost it a whopping $2.7 billion write-off. GM isn't showing any signs of slowing its pursuits.

Over the past few years, unmistakable buzz has surrounded autonomous vehicle technology as start-ups and major manufacturers are both battling to be king of a new frontier.

However, with Ford Motor Company's (F 0.44%) shift away from trying to develop fully autonomous driving technology via Argo AI -- and the accompanying $2.7 billion impairment -- investors might be wondering if driving toward fully autonomous vehicles is a mistake and whether General Motors (GM 0.90%) will soon be admitting what Ford did.

Ford: The payoff will take longer than anticipated

Argo AI was a self-driving vehicle technology start-up with Ford and Volkswagen Group as the main backers. Long story short, it was unable to attract new investors and announced in the fall that it would shut down operations.

That decision cost Ford a whopping $2.7 billion in a noncash, pre-tax impairment on its large investment in Argo, and largely led to the automaker's $827 million net loss during the third quarter.

Perhaps more telling for Ford investors, and more concerning for broader automotive investors, was the company's admission that bringing Level 4 advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) to the market profitably isn't close to feasible right now.

"We're optimistic about a future for L4 ADAS, but profitable, fully autonomous vehicles at scale are a long way off and we won't necessarily have to create that technology ourselves," said President and CEO Jim Farley in a press release.

Ford switched gears and decided the better opportunity for its investors would be to focus on Level 2 and Level 3 systems, which do not totally cut out a human driver. Management believes that strategy could better serve customers by providing services, options, and thus profitability in the near term.

What about Ford's crosstown rival?

Ford's moves with Argo AI mark a rare divergence between it and rival General Motors, which has received much admiration for Cruise, its autonomous technology subsidiary into which it put $2.1 billion this year to up its stake from 60% to 80%.

It's a fair question for investors to ask if General Motors is throwing capital into a money pit, and not cutting its losses on technology that is far out from scale and profitability. So far, GM is adamant it's not making a mistake, and believes Cruise is making operational progress.

Cruise is expanding into two new markets, Austin and Phoenix, with its San Francisco operations continuing to grow. Management believes Cruise will generate revenue of $1 billion by 2025, but that's dependent on safety and regulatory approvals.

Investors won't have to wait long to see if that $1 billion figure is hit by mid-decade, and as they see how the dollars start to add up, they'll have better insight into whether Cruise's $50 billion annual revenue target by 2030 makes sense.

Fork in the road

If GM succeeds and hits its targets with Cruise revenue by the end of this decade, it will be one of the most massive victories by an automaker this century. And investors will be well rewarded for this success.

If it turns out GM is replicating Ford's mistakes and throwing money into a buzzword that's far from helping the company's bottom line, investors will have plenty to complain about.

It's impossible to know how this will turn out and investors choosing between Ford and General Motors need to figure out their stance on autonomous vehicle development, as it represents a rare major difference in strategy between the two

GOOD NEWS 4 GIG WORKERS

IRS delays $600 income reporting rule for U.S. gig workers


 The Internal Revenue Service building is seen in Washington

Fri, December 23, 2022

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Internal Revenue Service said on Friday it would delay a new rule requiring more extensive reporting by gig workers and others who are paid through third party apps, after complaints the rule was too onerous.

The rule, part of the COVID-19 relief bill called the "American Rescue Plan," would have required people paid over $600 in 2022 on third party payment apps like Venmo or PayPal to report that figure as income to the tax agency. The previous reporting requirement threshold was 200 transactions or $20,000.

"The IRS and Treasury heard a number of concerns regarding the timeline of implementation of these changes under the American Rescue Plan,” said Acting IRS Commissioner Doug O’Donnell. The rule will now apply to money earned in 2023, the agency said.

Millions of Americans earn significant portions of their income through freelance gigs, selling items through websites like eBay and Etsy and through home rental apps.

(Reporting by Heather Timmons; Editing by Josie Kao)

CRIMINAL CRYPTO CAPITALI$M;FTX

Caroline Ellison reportedly told court 'I knew it was wrong.' Here's what could be next for the onetime crypto exec and SBF's ex-girlfriend.

Sindhu Sundar
Fri, December 23, 2022


Tyler Le/Insider

Caroline Ellison, Alameda's ex-CEO, is out on a $250,000 bond after pleading guilty in the FTX case.

She reportedly expressed contrition in court, saying, "I knew that it was wrong."

Cooperators may give up a high level of autonomy in hopes of a lighter sentence, legal experts said.

Caroline Ellison's world is about to get a whole lot smaller since the heady days of working and living with a group of colleagues — including her ex-boyfriend, FTX's former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried — in the Bahamas.

The plea deals thatEllison, who was the CEO of Bankman-Fried's trading firm Alameda Research, and FTX cofounder Gary Wang have struck with federal prosecutors in New York free them each on $250,000 bonds.

At a hearing on Dec. 19, before those plea deals were made public, Ellison told the New York federal court overseeing the FTX criminal cases that she is "truly sorry" and that she "knew that it was wrong," the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. She also said she knew FTX essentially allowed Alameda to borrow customer funds, according to Bloomberg.

"I understood that if Alameda's FTX accounts had significant negative balances in any particular currency, it meant that Alameda was borrowing funds that FTX's customers had deposited on the exchange," according to a transcript of the hearing cited by Bloomberg.

Ellison and Wang's plea deals don't involve the same rigid surveillance imposed on Bankman-Fried, who left a New York federal court on Thursday on a $250 million bail and wearing an ankle monitor. But cooperators like Ellison may still be fairly tethered to prosecutors and alienated from former circles while the government builds its case against Bankman-Fried.

For instance, Ellison's deal all but forbids her from talking about the events surrounding FTX and Alameda without prosecutors' permission, and limits her travel to within the continental US.

Attorneys for Ellison and others in the web of FTX and Alameda have most likely also advised their clients against communicating with one another during the US government's ongoing criminal investigation, white-collar experts told Insider.

"Her day-to-day has to have dramatically changed based on these charges and her status as a cooperator," said Nancy DePodesta, who co-chairs the white-collar defense practice at Saul Ewing LLP and who was previously a federal prosecutor in Chicago.

"Yes, she's still free to go about life, so to speak, with certain restrictions, of course," DePodesta added. "But her former colleagues are going to shy away from her by virtue of the fact that she is cooperating."

An attorney for Ellison didn't respond to requests for comment on Thursday.

Ellison has pleaded guilty to seven counts against her in a charging document called an information, which prosecutors unveiled this week. The government has portrayed Ellison and Wang as active henchmen in Bankman-Fried's alleged scheme to use FTX customer funds to bring money into his separate firm Alameda, according to a civil complaint filed on Wednesday by the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

The criminal counts against Ellison, including for wire fraud and conspiracy, mirror those against Bankman-Fried. But unlike his charges, hers weren't a product of a grand jury indictment, as her cooperation and plea relieved prosecutors of taking that step.

The counts against Ellison carry a maximum penalty of 110 years, if the sentences for each were to be stacked up. But her cooperation could secure her a much lighter sentence, perhaps even no jail time at all, depending on how useful prosecutors find her help, and what the judge decides.

"It would be nothing close to what they'd be exposed to if they were to go to trial," said Andrey Spektor, a white collar partner at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP and former federal prosecutor in Brooklyn. Spektor was referring to the kinds of sentences that cooperators can expect.

But there's a long road ahead. Bankman-Fried's own proceedings in the US are just beginning, and he is expected to enter his plea on Jan. 3.

Cooperators like Ellison and Wang typically remain behind the scenes. They won't be sentenced until after prosecutors unveil much more of their investigation and Bankman-Fried's own fate becomes clearer.

In the meantime, Ellison and Wang would be expected to continue working with investigators.

"Even though we might not be seeing her in court any time soon, prosecutors are likely to be working with her insofar as they believe she has more information that would help them," said Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond.

Caroline Ellison told a judge that FTX executives secretly borrowed billions from Alameda Research, report says 

Sam Tabahriti
Sat, December 24, 2022

Caroline Ellison told a judge that FTX executives received billions in hidden loans from Alameda Research.Tyler Le/Insider

Caroline Ellison told a judge that FTX execs secretly borrowed billions from Alameda Research.


She said she and Sam Bankman-Fried concealed the credit line from FTX investors and customers.


She pleaded guilty to several charges on December 19 that carry jail sentences of up to 110 years.

Caroline Ellison said FTX executives received billions in hidden loans from Alameda Research, according to a transcript of her plea hearing seen by Reuters.

The former Alameda CEO said that she agreed with Sam Bankman-Fried to hide from FTX investors, lenders, and customers that the trading platform could borrow unlimited sums from Alameda, Reuters reported.

Ellison told US District Judge Ronnie Abrams in Manhattan federal court that they "prepared certain quarterly balance sheets that concealed the extent of Alameda's borrowing and the billions of dollars in loans that Alameda had made to FTX executives and to related parties," according to the news agency.

Ellison, Bankman-Fried's ex-girlfriend, pleaded guilty to seven charges on December 19, carrying up to 110 years in prison after striking a plea deal with the Justice Department. The court unsealed the transcript of her plea hearing on December 22.

FTX cofounder Gary Wang also pleaded guilty. The plea deals that they both have struck with federal prosecutors in New York freed them each on bonds of $250,000. Ellison and Wang are now cooperating with prosecutors as part of their plea agreements.

Wang said during his plea hearing on December 19 that he was directed to change FTX code to give Alameda special privileges on the trading platform.

Ellison has agreed to waive any defenses to the charges. Per her deal with prosecutors, she also agreed to pay restitution that is yet to be determined. She must also provide documents, records, and evidence to prosecutors, as well as testify to a grand jury or at court trials when requested.

A lawyer for Ellison did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider.

In November, Reuters reported that Bankman-Fried secretly moved $10 billion in FTX customer funds to Alameda Research. Up to $2 billion is still missing, sources told the news agency.

Bankman-Fried told Reuters the sum was not "secretly" transferred: "We had confusing internal labeling and misread it."

FTX filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on November 11 after it imploded, wiping out customer deposits worth billions. Bankman-Fried resigned as CEO the same day.

Read the SEC complaint accusing former Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison and FTX cofounder Gary Wang of participating in a years-long fraud with Sam Bankman-Fried




Grace Dean
Thu, December 22, 2022

Two execs associated with Sam Bankman-Fried are facing criminal charges, the SEC said.

It said Alameda Research's Caroline Ellison and FTX's Gary Wang were "active participants" in fraud.

Two of Sam Bankman-Fried's top executives are accused of participating in a scheme to defraud FTX's equity investors and customers, the Securities and Exchange Commission said in a complaint published Wednesday.

Bankman-Fried, who cofounded the crypto trading platform FTX and the hedge fund Alameda Research, was arrested in the Bahamas last week and was extradited to the US on Wednesday, where federal prosecutors have charged him with eight counts including wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

The SEC on Wednesday said it had also filed charges against Caroline Ellison, the former CEO of Alameda, and Wang, who cofounded FTX and served as its chief technology officer. The regulator accused Ellison and Wang of being "active participants" in what it has described as a years-long scheme led by Bankman-Fried to defraud customers and investors.

Bankman-Fried has been accused of siphoning off FTX customers' money for his personal use on venture investments, real-estate purchases, and political donations. The SEC says Bankman-Fried used Alameda as "his personal piggy bank."

The SEC said in its latest complaint that Ellison manipulated the price of FTT, FTX's in-house token, by purchasing large quantities on the open market. The agency said this inflated the valuation of Alameda Research's FTT holdings and caused the value of collateral on Alameda's balance sheet to be overstated, misleading investors.

The SEC said that Wang created software that helped divert FTX customer funds to Alameda and that Ellison misappropriated these funds for Alameda's trading activity. The SEC said special privileges given to Alameda enabled it to draw on FTX customer assets "to a virtually unlimited extent for its own uses."

The agency said Ellison and Wang also knew — or should have known — that statements Bankman-Fried made to investors about FTX's financial condition and risk management, as well as its separation from Alameda, were "false and misleading." It also said they knew FTX hadn't told its investors and customers that customer funds were used by Alameda for trading strategies and servicing debt to third-party lenders.

"When FTT and the rest of the house of cards collapsed, Mr. Bankman-Fried, Ms. Ellison, and Mr. Wang left investors holding the bag," the SEC's chair, Gary Gensler, said in a statement.

The SEC said Ellison and Wang were cooperating with the investigation.

Read the full complaint here:

SEC complaint against Carol... by Grace Dean

Photos of Caroline Ellison are hard to find, so here are 20 portraits by a robot of your fallen crypto queen wishing you a very happy holiday


Nicholas Carlson
Fri, December 23, 2022

Insider/Lensa

Perhaps you saw the news earlier this week that Caroline Ellison, the former Alameda Research CEO and ex-lover of Sam Bankman-Fried, pleaded guilty to charges that carry up to 110 years in prison.

If you did, you probably saw the same photo of Ellison that everyone has seen dozens of times.

I'm talking about the one where she's looking at the camera through big glasses with a big smile, looking more like a Hufflepuff than a notorious white-collar criminal.

We at Insider are a little tired of this photo and think the world also deserves a new image of such a notable person from the tumultuous year soon coming to a close.


So we paid the robots at Lensa to come up with a new one – or a new 20 or so. And now we'd like to share them with you.

So here you are! Happy holidays from Insider and a robot's vision of your fallen crypto queen, Caroline Ellison.

Charges against Ellison include conspiracy to commit wire fraud, securities fraud, and commodities fraud.

Insider/Lensa

There's also a charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Insider/Lensa

She waived her defense of all charges.

Insider/Lensa

She's agreed to pay restitution.

Lensa/Insider

That could be a big figure!

Insider/Lensa

FTX lost billions in client holdings.

Lensa/Insider

Much of the funds were allegedly lost via a hedge fund run by Ellison.

Lensa/Insider

Allegedly, FTX lent its clients' holdings to Alameda.

Insider/Lensa

Ellison is from the suburbs of Boston, where white Christmases are common.

Lensa/Insider

Her parents work at MIT.

Lensa/Insider

Funny enough, SBF's parents have worked at Stanford.

Lensa/Insider

Ellison later went to Stanford.

Insider/Lensa

After college, she worked at Jane Street, a Wall Street trading firm.

Lensa/Insider

She joined Alameda in 2018 after SBF reportedly told her "we don't really know what we're doing."

Lensa/Insider

Source: Forbes

She made the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in 2022! Wow!

Lensa/Insider

She and SBF and eight others lived together in the Bahamas.

Lensa/Insider

On a Tumblr believed to be hers, she described it as an "imperial Chinese harem."

Insider/Lensa

Source: Screenshot of the Ellison's supposed Tumblr provided by Twitter handle @OxHonky.

Reuters reported in November that Bankman-Fried allegedly secretly moved $10 billion in customer funds from FTX to Alameda Research.

Lensa/Insider

Source: Insider.

"We didn't secretly transfer," SBF told Reuters. "We had confusing internal labeling and misread it." Oops!

Insider/Lensa

Source: Insider.

Read the original article on Business Insider

CRIMINAL CRYPTO CAPITALI$M
FTX Urges Bankruptcy Court to Freeze $450M in Robinhood Shares Owed to Creditors



Liam J. Kelly
Fri, December 23, 2022 a

FTX, now in the hands of its new CEO John J. Ray III, is urging the bankruptcy court overseeing the exchange's unwinding to freeze roughly $450 million in Robinhood shares.

In a court filing, FTX argued that because there are so many creditors seeking ownership over these shares, "the asset should be frozen until this Court can resolve the issues in a manner that is fair to all creditors of the Debtors."

The 56 million shares in Robinhood Class A common stock are currently held in a brokerage account in New York City called ED&F Man Capital Markets Inc. Sam Bankman-Fried purchased these shares in May this year via a special-purpose holding company organized in Antigua and Barbuda called Emergent Fidelity Technologies.

FTX Eyeing Purchase of Robinhood: Report

The founder of FTX and its former CEO is one of the creditors hoping to get hold of the stockpile to pay for his extensive legal fees. BlockFi, the now-bankrupt crypto lender that was initially promised these shares, is another creditor, as is Yonathan Ben Shimon, who petitioned an Antigua-based court to appoint him the Robinhood shares.

BlockFi filed a lawsuit against Bankman-Fried shortly after announcing its bankruptcy in November, indicating that these Robinhood shares were promised as collateral. The complaint from that time alleges that Emergent Fidelity Technologies "has custody of the collateral that belongs to BlockFi."

Though the latest filing claims that these shares actually belong to the bankruptcy estate, it argues instead that due to this list of creditors, the court should hold off on any distribution of these shares.

"The Court need find only that the Robinhood Shares are 'arguably' estate property, which requires a finding that Alameda has 'arguable claims of right to the [Robinhood Shares], or a colorable basis for asserting an interest in the [Robinhood Shares].'”

This "colorable" claim, the filing argues, is enough that the $450 million in Robinhood shares should "remain frozen."

FTX opposes BlockFi's claim to Bankman-Fried's Robinhood shares



Thu, December 22, 2022
By Dietrich Knauth

(Reuters) - Collapsed crypto exchange FTX on Thursday asked a U.S. bankruptcy judge to stop crypto lender BlockFi from laying claim to more than $440 million worth of Robinhood stock purchased by indicted FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried.

BlockFi had filed a lawsuit on Nov. 28 demanding the turnover of 56 million Robinhood shares that were allegedly pledged as collateral for BlockFi's loans to the FTX-affiliated crypto hedge fund Alameda Research.

But FTX and Alameda went bankrupt without repaying the BlockFi loans, and U.S. bankruptcy law protects the companies from debt collection efforts like BlockFi's lawsuit, FTX said in a filing in U.S. bankruptcy court in Delaware.

FTX said it believes that the shares are actually owned by Alameda Research, and that the bankrupt FTX companies must hold onto the stock while investigating other disputed claims to the equity shares' ownership.

Bankman-Fried himself has claimed ownership of the Robinhood shares, and an individual FTX creditor has asked a court in Antigua, where FTX is incorporated, to make the Robinhood shares available to repay FTX creditors, according to FTX.

FTX said Bankman-Fried sought to claim the Robinhood shares as "a source of payment for legal expenses." Bankman-Fried was arraigned Thursday in New York on fraud charges, and released on a $250 million bond.

FTX, Alameda, and more than 100 FTX affiliates filed for bankruptcy protection on Nov. 11, after a three-day period in which customers withdrew $6 billion in assets from the crypto exchange.

FTX argued that BlockFi is attempting "an end-run" around U.S. legal protections for bankrupt companies by tailoring its lawsuit to target a non-bankrupt holding company rather than Alameda. Even though the company, Emergent Fidelity, holds the Robinhood shares, Alameda ultimately owns the shares and owes the debt to BlockFi, according to FTX.

BlockFi did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Emergent holds a 7.42% share of Robinhood, according to Refinitiv data. Bankman-Fried began building his stake in Robinhood in the middle of March, according to a U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission filing.

(Reporting by Dietrich Knauth; Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Stephen Coates)

THERE ARE LANDFILL FIRES IN THE THIRD WORLD
Landfill fire near Birmingham burning for almost a month

Fri, December 23, 2022 

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — An underground fire has been raging at an environmental landfill near Birmingham for almost a month, covering Alabama's largest metro area with smoke.

Now, state officials, local fire departments and county commissions are trying to determine the next steps and who will cover the costs associated with putting it out, al.com reported.

The fire started about a month ago at the Environmental Landfill, Inc., facility in St. Clair County, near the Birmingham suburbs of Moody and Trussville. James Mulkey, a fire inspector with the Moody Fire Department, said the department received its first call about the fire Nov. 25 at about 7:45 a.m.

“The fire has gotten into the pile of debris, which is very large,” Mulkey said. “The actual size of the debris pile, we’ve heard estimates from 23 to 50 acres, and it’s multiple layers. In some places, this thing is 100-150 feet deep. We’re not sure because of the way it was done. They would bring stuff in, pile dirt on top of it and then put another layer in.”

Mulkey said the fire is now almost entirely underground.

“There’s very little flame activity above ground,” Mulkey said. “If you see flame, it’s coming out of a crevice or a fissure from the ground and all the smoke is coming out of the ground.”

According to an Alabama Department of Environmental Management update posted Thursday, extinguishing the fire is “critical,” but will be difficult because of its location.

“It appears that unauthorized solid waste (i.e. non-vegetative) was removed from the site following an ADEM enforcement action prior to the fire," the update said.

The landfill is not regulated by ADEM because it is only supposed to accept “green waste,” things like storm debris, leaves and limbs and vegetative material. In reality, though, tires and other materials have been found at the landfill amid the fire.

ADEM External Affairs Chief Lynn Battle said the agency is investigating potential illegal dumping at the site.

“ADEM is aware that there is some unauthorized solid waste on this site. ADEM will determine the appropriate enforcement actions following the conclusion of its investigation and review of relevant information,” Battle told al.com via email.

Mulkey said he’s seen tires in the disposal area, but did not want to speculate as to whether there is other unauthorized waste in the burning pile. Efforts to reach the landfill owners for comment via email and telephone were unsuccessful.

ADEM has cautioned residents who live near the facility to consider limiting outdoor activities, installing high-efficiency filters in their heating and air conditioning systems and sealing their home with caulk or other materials where outside air may be leaking in.

The department also said the smoke is likely to continue being a problem for some time and “those with breathing-related health conditions may consider temporarily relocating.”

The fire is burning in unincorporated St. Clair County. The Moody Fire Department responded to the fire first because it was the closest but the area is not under their jurisdiction. It has been acting with the Alabama Forestry Commission and the St. Clair County Commission to make decisions, but the agencies are looking to take more aggressive action to extinguish the flames.

“All options are on the table,” Mulkey said. “Letting it burn itself out was one option that we looked at, but we realized that’s a pretty in-depth (fire) and we really can’t give a timeline on it.”

There’s also the issue of who makes the ultimate decision on a plan of action and who pays for it.

“It’s unincorporated St. Clair County, so the county commission will have a great deal of say,” Mulkey said. “As for regulatory agencies, and who’s ultimately responsible and financially responsible for this thing, that’s still a subject of some debate.”

ADEM is primarily investigating the fire to see if violations occurred that could be prosecuted once the fire is extinguished.

The Jefferson County Department of Health, which regulates air pollution in the Birmingham area, said it has received odor complaints, but the problem is outside its jurisdiction.

Michael Hansen, executive director of Birmingham-area air quality group GASP, said the response from the state has been insufficient.

“It’s absolutely unacceptable that state agencies are not doing more to protect the people from this dangerous air pollution event,” Hansen said. “We need a multi-agency state and local response to this situation.”

WHO IS GOING TO GIVE THE MOST TAX CREDITS

Japan lawmaker says TSMC is considering second plant in Japan



Fri, December 23, 2022 

TOKYO (Reuters) - A senior Japanese lawmaker said on Friday that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, the world's largest contract chip maker, is considering building a second plant in Japan in addition to an $8.6 billion dollar facility now under construction.

Yoshihiro Seki, secretary general of a ruling party lawmakers' group on chip industry strategy, also urged that Japan's government, which has pledged to provide up to 476 billion yen ($3.6 billion) in subsidies for the first TSMC plant, provide a favourable environment for investment.

"I believe TSMC is looking into further investments in Japan. We need to create an environment that would make them think they want to do advanced projects with us," Seki told Reuters in an interview.

TSMC said in an emailed statement that it did not rule out any possibility for Japan but there were no concrete plans at the moment.

The Taiwanese company is building a chip plant in southern Japan, with Sony Group Corp and auto parts maker Denso Corp each taking a minority stake. Production is due to start in late 2024.

TSMC is also investing $40 billion in a U.S. chipmaking plant in Arizona, and according to the Financial Times is in advanced talks with suppliers about possibly setting up its first European plant, as it diversifies its production base and addresses global demand for semiconductors.

Seki's group within Japan's Liberal Democratic Party is advocating for Japan to strengthen its semiconductor industry, which has fallen to less than a 10% share of the global market by revenue from more than half in the late 1980s.

"Technological innovation is fierce in the semiconductor industry," Seki said.

"We cannot be successful unless the public and private sectors act as one unified body."

In a policy speech in October, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida positioned semiconductors as pivotal to Japan's economic security and pledged to funnel public and private investments into the industry.

($1 = 132.6700 yen)

(Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka, Mayu Sakoda; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Edmund Klamann)

BONAPARTIST PUTSCH
Tunisia's political experiment threatens economic collapse

BARBARA SURK
Sat, December 24, 2022 

NICE, France (AP) — Tunisia’s increasingly authoritarian president appears determined to upend the country’s political system. The strategy is not only threatening a democracy once seen as a model for the Arab world, experts say it is also sending the economy toward a tailspin.

The International Monetary Fund has frozen an agreement meant to help the government get loans to pay public sector salaries and fill budget gaps aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the fallout from Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Foreign investors are pulling out of Tunisia, and ratings agencies are on alert. Inflation and joblessness are on the rise, and many Tunisians, once proud of their country’s relative prosperity, now struggle to make ends meet.

An election debacle a week ago has made matters worse: Just 11% of voters took part in a first-round vote for a new parliament meant to replace a legislature disbanded last year by President Kais Saied. Opposition figures, including from the popular Islamist movement Ennahdha, are demanding that he step down, and unions are threatening a general strike.

Saied himself designed the elections to replace and reshape the parliament, as part of broad reforms that bolster his powers and that he says will solve Tunisia's multiple crises. But voter disillusionment with the ruling class amid dire economic troubles contributed to a near-boycott of the election.

Tunisia’s Western allies, like the United States and France, have expressed concern and urged the president to forge an inclusive political dialogue that would benefit the sluggish economy. Tunisia was the birthplace of Arab Spring democratic uprisings 12 years ago.

Saied rejected criticism over the low voter turnout, saying what really matters is the second round of voting Jan. 19. He says his reforms are needed to rid the country of the corrupt political class and Tunisia’s foreign enemies. He lashed out at his political foes in the Ennahdha party, which had the largest number of lawmakers in the previous parliament, and ordered the arrest this week of its vice-president and former Prime Minister Ali Larayedeh on terrorism-related charges.

“Saied seems impervious to criticism and intent on bulldozing his way to a new political system no matter how few Tunisians are engaged in the process,” said Monica Marks, a Tunisia expert and professor of Middle East politics at the New York University in Abu Dhabi.

“No Tunisian asked Saied to reinvent the wheel of Tunisian politics, to write a new constitution and revamp the election law,” Marks said. “What Tunisians have been asking for is a more respectful government that meets their bread-and-butter needs and gives them economic dignity.”

Saied’s promises to stabilize the economy helped ensure his landslide victory in the 2019 presidential election.

But he has yet to present an economic recovery plan or strategy for his deeply indebted government to secure funds to pay for food and energy subsidies. The president has sidelined economists in state institutions, stalling the country’s budget and souring the environment for foreign investors.

Tunisians have been hit with soaring food prices and shortages of fuel and basic staples like sugar, vegetable oil and rice in recent months. Inflation has reached 9.1%, the highest in three decades, according to the National Institute of Statistics, and unemployment is at 18% percent, according to the World Bank.

“President Saied naively seems to think that if only he can complete his political roadmap, the economy will fix itself,” said Geoff Porter, a New York City-based North Africa risk assessment analyst, in a recent brief.

Tunisia reached a preliminary agreement with the IMF on a $1.9 billion loan in October. It would enable the heavily indebted Tunisian government to access loans from other donors over a four-year period in return for sweeping economic reforms that include shrinking the public administration sector — one of the world’s largest — and a gradual lifting of subsidies.

The agreement was subject to the IMF executive board’s approval, scheduled for Dec. 19. The state news agency TAP reported that “the government and the IMF have agreed to postpone” the final decision on the loan to give Tunisian officials "more time to present a new reform plan for the country’s sluggish economy.”

Tunisia desperately needs access to the special drawing rights in order to avoid defaulting on external debt and to stabilize the economy, Porter said. He added: “Without the IMF funds, Tunisia’s economic freefall will accelerate.”

Foreign investors operating in Tunisia are worried.

Pharmaceutical manufacturers Novartis, Bayer and GlaxoSmithKline are leaving the country because they are not getting paid by the insufficiently funded state pharmaceutical distributor.

Royal Dutch Shell, which operates two gas fields that accounted for 40% of Tunisia’s domestic production, announced in November it will exit Tunisia by year’s end. Despite hype over the country’s hydrogen sector, nothing has been done to attract investors as the country’s regulatory institutions are paralyzed by Saied’s political moves, Porter said.

The president has also lost the tentative support of the country’s powerful trade union, the UGTT, for the IMF-prescribed reform plan in exchange for a bailout.

UGTT leader Noureddine Taboubi agreed with the government in August to discuss a new “social contract” to help Tunisians in financial distress, the state TAP news agency reported. But Taboubi, whose influential union represents 67% of Tunisia’s work force, mainly employed in the public sector, recently pulled back on his commitment. He renewed his opposition to the IMF’s main demands to receive a loan program: a public sector wage freeze and restructuring of state-owned enterprises.

___

Bouazza ben Bouazza contributed from Tunis, Tunisia.

 Tunisian law professor Kais Saied speaks to the reporters and supporters Sunday, Oct. 13, 2019 in Tunis. Despite an election debacle, Tunisia's increasingly authoritarian president appears determined to upend the country's political system, threatening to unravel the fragile democracy and collapse the economy in the North African nation that a decade ago stood out as a model of good governance and economic prosperity in the aftermath of the Arab Spring protests.

Iran top court accepts rapper Yasin's appeal against death sentence

Iranian flag is seen flying over Evin prison in Tehran

Sat, December 24, 2022 

(Reuters) -Iran's Supreme Court has accepted an appeal by rapper Saman Seydi Yasin against his death sentence even as it confirmed the same sentence against another protester, the judiciary said on Saturday.

Yasin, a Kurd who raps about inequality, oppression and unemployment, had been accused of attempting to kill security forces, setting a rubbish bin on fire and shooting three times into the air during anti-government protests, charges which he denied.

Yasin's mother last week pleaded in a video for help to save her son. "Where in the world have you seen a loved one's life is taken for a trash bin?" she said in the video posted on social media.

The court had initially said it had accepted the appeals of Yasin and another protester, but in a subsequent statement the judiciary's Mizan news agency said only Yasin's appeal had been accepted.

"The public relations of the Supreme Court of Iran has corrected its news: 'The appeal of Mohammad Qobadloo has not been accepted ... Saman Seydi's appeal has been accepted by the Supreme Court," the agency said.

Explaining the decision in its original statement, it cited flaws in investigating the case and said it had been referred back to the court for re-examination.

Qobadloo had been charged with killing a police agent and injuring five others with his car during the protests.

Unrest erupted across Iran in mid-September after the death in custody of Kurdish Iranian woman Mahsa Amini, who was arrested by morality police enforcing the Islamic Republic's strict dress code for women.

Late on Saturday, the 100th day of the protests, videos posted on social media showed night demonstrations said to be in areas including the capital Tehran, the northeastern city of Mashhad, Karaj west of Tehran, and Sanandaj, the centre of Kurdistan province in the northwest.

Dozens of protesters were seen braving rain and snow to chant slogans including "Death to the dictator" and "Death to (Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali) Khamenei!" Reuters could not immediately verify the videos.

DEATH PENALTY

Saturday's announcement follows the Supreme Court's suspension of protester Mahan Sadrat's death sentence 10 days ago. He had been charged with various alleged offences such as stabbing a security officer and setting fire to a motorcycle.

Iran hanged two protesters earlier this month: Mohsen Shekari, 23, who was accused of blocking a main road in September and wounding a member of the paramilitary Basij force with a knife, and Majid Reza Rahnavard, 23, who was accused of stabbing to death two Basij members, and publicly hanged from a construction crane.

Amnesty International called on the international community to pressure Iran to halt Qobadloo's execution and "not allow Iran’s machinery of death to claim another victim while (the) world’s attention is on celebrating the festive season".

Amnesty has said Iranian authorities are seeking the death penalty for at least 26 people in what it called "sham trials designed to intimidate those participating in the popular uprising that has rocked Iran".

It said all of those facing death sentences had been denied the right to adequate defence and access to lawyers of their choosing. Rights groups say defendants have instead to rely on state-appointed attorneys who do little to defend them.

Rights group HRANA said that, as of Friday, 506 protesters had been killed, including 69 minors. It said 66 members of the security forces had also been killed. As many as 18,516 protesters are believed to have been arrested, it said.

Officials have said that up to 300 people, including members of the security forces, had lost their lives in the unrest.

(Reporting by Dubai newsroom; Editing by Philippa Fletcher, David Holmes and Nick Macfie)

Could The Balkans Become The Next Frontline In Russia’s Geopolitical Game?


Milorad Dodik
Editor OilPrice.com
Fri, December 23, 2022 

The EU voted on December 15th to grant Bosnia-Herzegovina candidate status, paving the way for it to gain European Union membership. While Bosnians have long bemoaned (tongue-in-cheek) the fact that a country such as Romania was so easily admitted to the “exclusive” club, while Bosnia was sidelined indefinitely, Brussels reasoned that it was nearly impossible to admit a country divided into ethno-nationalist entities with a three-headed dysfunctional government that is, at best, paralyzed when it comes to decision-making. It had long been a local joke that the only legislative change the tripartite leadership had agreed on since Dayton was the abolishment of the death sentence. With a Bosnian Serb entity run like a micro-empire by Russian puppet Milorad Dodik, and a Federation entity with a Western bent, Brussels has always felt that it would be bringing on a country whose sovereignty was in question.

Russia’s war on Ukraine and its energy warfare with Europe at large changes things. Now it’s a geopolitical necessity to bring the Balkans into the fold. Instead of punishing Bosnia for its divisions, Brussels is now inclined to embrace the country before Russia and China start using these vulnerable states as puppets in wider geopolitical games. One “use” for Russia is the ability to create instability, either between former wartime rivals Bosnia and Serbia or between Serbia and Kosovo–or both. Neighboring Serbia is a Russian ally, and while everyone has been waiting for Putin to take advantage of this to destabilize the region and sow fears of a repeat of the 1992-1995 wars, he has not made such a move, and all is quiet on the Balkan front - for now, but all the while Putin is definitely sowing divisions and subtly working on fanning the flames of an Orthodox nationalism where he can. Even if no decisive move has been made, the threat looms large, and there will be a Russia trace in the current unrest in Kosovo. Moscow’s strategy is to foment unrest from behind the scenes. Chances are Bosnia does not view Brussels as much of a protective force.

Ask your average Bosnian whether they are dying to join the EU and you are likely to get a dismissive wave of the hand. The marketing allure has significantly dulled. Brexit made that clear. And neighboring Croatia isn’t necessarily having an easy ride in the EU. The Croatian Central Bank head is in a panic right now because the country is obliged to start using the euro on January 1st, and it’s going to be chaos - chaos of the sort that can bankrupt a nation. Then there’s the energy crisis and a European Union that failed miserably to protect itself against Russian blackmail, fully embracing Russian money. There aren’t many reasons left to join the EU now except from a geopolitical perspective, and we have NATO for that. Europe’s extending its hand now to Bosnia, but it’s too late. Russia already owns the Bosnian Serb entity’s (Republika Srpska) oil industry, via Serbia, and Dodik is bragging about a pet project to build a pipeline to import Russian gas. Bosnia might have begged at the beginning, but those times have passed. Now, Europe will beg for the Balkans as a bulwark against Russia. Though it’s late in the game, if Europe fully wins over Serbia, it will win Bosnia, too, most likely.

Natural gas plays a big role in all of this. Serbia’s pro-Russian president, Alexander Vucic, has refused to abide by EU sanctions because the country needs Russian gas. A new gas deal with Azerbaijan, however, renders this argument less powerful. The interconnector that will make this happen, between Bulgaria and Serbia, will be launched in 2023. Bosnia would like to get in on Azeri gas, too, which may be possible through the proposed Ionian-Adriatic Pipeline. But for now, Bosnia is relying on Russian gas via the TurkStream pipeline. In June, it extended its contracts with Gazprom until the end of this year, but in October, Gazprom hiked prices by 9.7% for the Bosnian Federation and by 5.6% for Republika Srpska.