Podcast: How Reporters Uncovered a Massive Illegal Shark Finning Operation


Through an exhaustive interview process with deckhands who worked throughout the company’s fleet, the team showed that Dalian Ocean Fishing deliberately used banned gear to target sharks across a huge swath of the western Pacific Ocean.

January 1, 2023 by Mongabay 


By Mike Gaworecki

Podcast host Mike G. speaks with Mongabay reporters who conducted recent investigations revealing a major and illegal shark finning operation by one of China’s largest fishing fleets, and the involvement of a major Japanese company, Mitsubishi, in buying that fleet’s products.

Through an exhaustive interview process with deckhands who worked throughout the company’s fleet, the team showed that Dalian Ocean Fishing deliberately used banned gear to target sharks across a huge swath of the western Pacific Ocean.
The Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission is currently meeting to discuss policies that would crack down even further on use of this gear, and we speak with Phil Jacobson who is there covering the event.

We also speak with Japan-based reporter Annelise Giseburt who was able to verify that the illegal operation benefited greatly from selling a massive share of its tuna catch to the Japanese conglomerate Mitsubishi.

A major investigative report recently published by Mongabay uncovered a massive, clandestine and illegal shark finning operation across the fleet of one of China’s biggest tuna fishing companies.

Listen here:

We speak with Mongabay’s senior editor for Southeast Asia, Philip Jacobson, who conducted the investigation together with Basten Gokkon, a senior Indonesia staff writer for Mongabay. Jacobson details how he and Gokkon can now reveal that the Dalian Ocean Fishing (DOF) company was using banned fishing gear to deliberately catch sharks in international waters on such a massive scale that the shark catch for the entire country of China may have been undercounted for years.

The Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission is currently meeting to discuss policies that would crack down even further on use of this gear, and Jacobson is there covering the event.

Then reporter Annelise Gisebert, a Japan-based freelance journalist, shares how she conducted a follow-up investigation into who was doing business with DOF while it was conducting its illegal shark finning operation. She tells us that most of DOF’s tuna was purchased by the seafood trading arm of Japan’s Mitsubishi Corporation.


The investigations

:Exclusive: Shark finning rampant across Chinese tuna firm’s fleet

How Mitsubishi vacuumed up tuna from a rogue Chinese fishing fleet

In September of 2021, Mongabay published its first exposé of DOF, an award-winning investigation that looked into the company’s labor practices and living conditions on its fishing vessels. That investigation came after the news broke that four Indonesian deckhands had fallen sick and died from unknown illnesses due to the horrendous conditions on one of their boats.

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This post was previously published on news.mongabay.com and under a Creative Commons license CC BY-ND 4.

Extra cops were sent to protect generals' homes on Jan. 6 instead of the Capitol — even though they weren't needed

Sarah K. Burris
January 01, 2023

Capitol police in riot uniform (Photo by Julian Leshay)

Washington Post reporter Carol Leonnig wrote Sunday that among the failures on Jan. 6 was the lack of police available at the attack site. One of those reasons places the blame on the Pentagon itself.

According to the report, Steven A. Sund's new book, the FBI, Department of Homeland Security and even the U.S. Capitol Police were aware that there was chatter about right-wing extremists going after the Capitol. Still, they didn't take steps to protect the members. In fact, senior military leaders delayed sending help because they had their own political and tactical worries, the book alleges.

“Courage Under Fire,” which will be published Tuesday, reveals that Sund believes it could all happen again.

He describes his own personal shock as 10,000 protesters descended on the building and began beating and attacking police officers.

"Sund said his shock shifted to agony as he unsuccessfully begged military generals for National Guard reinforcements," said the Post. "Though they delayed sending help until it was too late for Sund’s overrun corps, he says that he later discovered that the Pentagon had rushed to send security teams to protect military officials’ homes in Washington, none of which were under attack."

He had a call with two generals at about 2:35 p.m., about 20 minutes after the attackers broke through the doors and lawmakers were rushing to safety. He said that Lt. Gen. Walter Piatt said he didn't like the optics of sending uniformed Guard soldiers to the Capitol but would put them at roadside checkpoints. The comment is shocking because it's exactly what Donald Trump and Republicans have claimed Nancy Pelosi said before the attack. It turns out, it came from Trump's allies instead.

Republicans are plotting a hearing where they can name Pelosi as the problem for Jan. 6. They've published their own report, but it is a far cry from the Jan. 6 committee's thousands of pages of information and interviews.

“It’s a response I will never forget for the rest of my life,” Sund writes in the book. He recalled hearing the frantic voices of officers being sent to the command center while he was on the phone: “Shots fired in the Capitol, shots fired in the Capitol.”

“Is that urgent enough for you now?” Sund barked at the military leader.

Read the full report by Leonnig at the Washington Post.

Rogers-Shaw: What’s next in the takeover saga?

Holly McKenzie-Sutter, BNN Bloomberg

Dec 30, 2022

Rogers’ historic $20-billion acquisition of Shaw Communications isn’t a done deal yet, though a late Thursday night Competition Tribunal decision approving the transaction takes the two telecom companies significantly closer to the end of the drawn-out takeover saga.

The telecom companies needed approval from Canada’s merger court in order to move forward with the transaction after a seven-month legal process, but there are a few hurdles the companies still need to clear to seal the deal, and unanswered questions remain about the sale’s impact on Canadian consumers.

COMPETITION BUREAU APPEAL 

The Tribunal led by Chief Justice Paul Crampton didn’t accept the arguments presented by the Competition Bureau and its commissioner Matthew Boswell that the sale could lessen competition, raise the cost of cellphone bills and lead to poorer customer service. 

But Boswell and his team have filed an appeal of the decision, a Competition Bureau spokesperson confirmed in an email to BNN Bloomberg on Friday. 

Rogers and Shaw said in a written statement on Friday that they were “deeply disappointed” in the antitrust watchdog’s move to appeal the sale, which they argued would be advantageous for consumers.

GOVERNMENT APPROVAL

Federal Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne must also approve some segments of the sale.

A spokesperson for Champagne said in a statement to BNNBloomberg.ca that the government would review the decision in detail and “have more to say in due course.”

Champagne has made statements stressing that he wants to encourage telecom competition and lower wireless prices for Canadians, but also said he would ultimately endorse the Rogers-Shaw sale with some conditions in place. Those include agreeing to sell Freedom Mobile to Quebecor, and lower wireless prices in Ontario and Western Canada by about 20 per cent.

University of Ottawa professor Jennifer Quaid, who specializes in competition law, said in a Friday interview with BNNBloomberg.ca that it’s unlikely that Champagne will reject the deal given that he has already publicly said what he intends to do, and the companies involved appear poised to meet his conditions.

“I don't think there's much uncertainty in terms of the minister's approval,” she said.

Competition lawyer Michael Osborne, chair of the Canadian competition practice at law firm Cozen O’Connor, said he doesn’t expect Champagne will “second-guess the tribunal” by imposing more conditions on the sale.  

“I expect the approval to come very quickly. And no, I don’t expect any further conditions,” Osborne said in a television interview with BNN Bloomberg on Friday.

TIMELINE OF THE SALE

The tribunal decision represents the biggest legal hurdle the companies had to overcome, Quaid said, and it clears the way for them to work on finalizing the deal.

Rogers and Shaw first announced the proposed takeover in March 2021, and Rogers said in a Friday statement that it would extend the date of the transaction to Jan. 31, 2023.

Both companies said they were “pleased” with the decision and pledged to work with Champagne on the final approval process.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR CANADIANS?

A summary of the tribunal decision published Thursday said the Rogers-Shaw acquisition was “not likely to prevent or lessen competition substantially,” and “not likely to result in materially higher prices” for consumers.

Still, some experts share the fears raised by the Competition Bureau in its bid to block the sale – that with less competition in the sector to drive down prices, everyday people could see the impact of the transaction play out on their monthly cellphone bills.

“I think many people are anticipating that prices will eventually either go up disproportionately or just go up in a way that competition doesn't properly correct for,” Vass Bednar, executive director of McMaster University’s master of public policy program, said in a phone interview with BNNBloomberg.ca on Friday.

While Champagne and the federal government have outlined conditions intended to lessen consumer impacts, Quaid said there isn’t a good mechanism in place to enforce them.

“The conditions that the minister expects, they all sound great, I'm just not sure how easy it's going to be to verify that they're being done and to do anything about it if they're not being followed,” she said. “This is kind of a wish list, and they just hope that there'll be some sort of desire to avoid public backlash.”

Bednar and Quaid both pointed out that the decision in the high-profile antitrust case has come at a pivotal moment for competition policy in Canada, as the government is currently holding consultations on the future of the country’s competition laws.

As Canadians grapple with cost of living increases from high inflation and rising interest rates, Bednar said people are highly sensitive to the consumer prices impacts of limited competition in sectors like telecom and grocery stores – an area the Competition Bureau is also currently probing.

Bednar said customers could end up leaving Rogers to voice their displeasure with the sale. The ongoing competition policy review also presents an opportunity for those frustrated with how the case has played out to share their perspectives, she said, as “the moment is kind of here for Canada to reform its competition laws.”

“How this merger went through isn't necessarily emblematic of how the laws themselves are weak, but many people are saying this is further proof that Canada has overly weak merger control,” she said.

Quaid said she is also closely watching to see whether the “galvanizing” Rogers-Shaw case, focused on the longstanding issue of hefty wireless prices in Canada, motivates people to share their views on a usually dense area of public policy.

“It made what can sometimes be a pretty abstract thing very concrete for people,” she said of the case. “What I am curious to know is, will it make them angry enough or motivated enough to contribute to the consultation?”

Interview
Clear Political Plan Would Help Myanmar Resistance’s Cause: Ex-US Ambassador

By AUNG ZAW 2 January 2023

Scot Marciel served as US ambassador to Myanmar from 2016 to 2020. He recently spoke with The Irrawaddy’s editor-in-chief Aung Zaw about new US legislation authorizing nonlethal assistance for the Myanmar resistance, as well as efforts to isolate the Myanmar junta internationally and his outlook for the crisis-torn country for 2023, among other topics.

AUNG ZAW: 2023 is going to be a tough year for Myanmar and the Myanmar people. The regime is facing a very resilient and growing resistance on different fronts. We had some surprising news last week. The 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) was passed by the US Congress; it authorizes support for civil society and political prisoners in Myanmar and significantly it mentions the names of the ethnic armed organizations (EAOs), the civilian National Unity Government (NUG) and its armed wing, the People’s Defense Force (PDF). It provides nonlethal assistance to support the resistance and political groups in Myanmar. So how do you see that bill and how is it going to work in the Myanmar landscape?

SCOT MARCIEL: It’s important to remember that a lot of what the bill does is to authorize things, like funding, for example, which is great, but it doesn’t actually appropriate any money. So it’s mostly sending a strong message from Congress both to the people of Myanmar but also to the Biden administration that they want a bolder approach, a more active approach. My sense is that the Biden administration is moving that way anyway, so this bill will encourage the administration to go down the path it has been going but maybe faster.

On the ground resistance groups and opposition groups are very excited. Their spirit has been strengthened somehow. They welcome the bill. Myanmar people generally and opposition and democratic forces are always in favor of the US doing more. The regime responded quite strongly. They said it was a violation of sovereignty and interference in internal affairs. So how do you see this “nonlethal assistance”?

I don’t think we know yet exactly what’s going to happen. As I said the bill authorizes funding, but it’s a separate question of whether money will be appropriated for it and if so how the Biden administration would use it. But certainly there could be money for education, health care—again, not to the junta, but to pro-democracy forces, whether to the NUG or possibly through ethnic armed groups. I mean, we’ve [earlier] provided assistance for example to the Karen health department, even when I was there [as ambassador], so there’s more that could be done, even possibly for efforts at governance. We’ll have to see what the Biden administration decides to do.

The legislation mentions the NUG, PDFs, and EAOs.

Right. Again, we’ll have to see what the Biden administration decides to do with that authorization. But certainly it sends the message that Congress believes that the administration should be providing funding to those organizations. One important factor would be that for anywhere in the world the US has pretty high standards of accountability for the money. I don’t mean accountability in the sense of human rights. Any organization that the US government provides assistance to would need to show that it’s spending the money the way it says it is, and that the money’s not going to other places.

Last week there was interesting news about the UN Security Council resolution on Myanmar. For the first time in decades they’re calling for the release of all political prisoners, including State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and President U Win Myint, and to cease hostilities immediately and aggression towards the population. So it expressed deep concern, but what is next? What are the actions that should follow?

I was surprised, actually, to see the resolution. Whenever you try to get a Security Council resolution you have to make compromises to avoid the vetoes. So I’m sure that some wanted even stronger language but in the negotiations they had to soften it. Still, I think the Resolution is a very strong symbolic message of support for democracy and the resistance. And a very strong message—frankly, endorsed by Russia and China—to the junta that it’s not gaining support and may even be losing support. I would keep my expectations low about what to expect as a follow-up, just because, again, with the Security Council everything has to be negotiated. And if Russia or China or anyone else disagrees they can stop it. Particularly Russia and China because they have veto power.

It’s interesting to see that China and Russia did not support the regime this time. India also. As we’re speaking, a newly appointed Chinese special envoy is reportedly flying in to Myanmar to meet with the regime. China has a lot at stake in Myanmar’s stability, with investments, its Belt and Road Initiative infrastructure projects. China has been condemned for its support of the regime and the military. Whatever the US is doing China will be very cautious about, if not oppose. What do you think about what China is doing? And Russia has been the key country since the coup in terms of supporting the Myanmar military with hardware. The regime’s Air Force uses Russian jet fighters and helicopters to bomb the population and to go after resistance forces. So there are two major countries that keep supporting the regime.

My sense is that China is ultimately being quite pragmatic. It was happy to work with the old military regime as you recall, but then also perfectly happy to work with the NLD [National League for Democracy] government, with which it had good relations. And I assume it is working with the junta because the junta at least ostensibly has power. But I don’t think there’s any deep attachment or loyalty there. I think if the various forces aligned against the military were able to push the military out of power, China would be happy to work with those forces in government. And it’s important that we make it very clear that this is not a US-China issue. [This] is an internal Myanmar issue and we don’t want to turn it into a US-China matter. That’s part of the reason maybe for some caution on the US side. It is a fear that doing too much might provoke China into backing the junta even more strongly and then it becomes a US-China issue, which it should not be and which it is not.

Russia has fewer interests in Myanmar than China. I think [Russian President Vladimir] Putin likes to make mischief anywhere he can and gain influence anywhere he can. And in this case sell weapons and make some money. But I don’t think again there’s any deep, long-term attachment there. It’s just a target of opportunity for Russia. But of course Russia has its own problems. And if you flip it, from the junta’s point of view, working closely with Russia allows them to avoid excessive reliance on China, which they certainly want to do. But again, I don’t think Russia has very significant long-term interests [in Myanmar]. It’s just an opportunity for them.

As you said, China is very pragmatic. China can also be flexible. Whatever changes take place in Myanmar, its position is not fixed. It’s based on a foundation of pragmatism. Whether it’s the opposition forces or the EAOs, or democratic forces, or the junta, it can swing to the other side. It makes friends with everyone.

And this is why it makes sense for the NUG and the EAOs in whatever conversations they have with the Chinese to make it clear they’re not hostile to China. Because any government that emerges has to have at least a reasonable relationship with China.

The Chinese government probably has a sense that this regime may not last long, that it doesn’t have a future, and that it’s better for Beijing to deal with a more stable government that has support, right?

I think that’s true. It’s been clear for some time that the junta might be able to stay in power for some time just through pure brutality, but there’s no evidence at all that the junta will be able to stabilize or effectively govern the country or gain any kind of popular support. The Chinese know that. The challenge in many ways for the forces of resistance is that even as they’re trying to defeat the junta they also have to show on the political side that they present a stable alternative that will be able to overcome the historic mistrust among different ethnic groups. [That’s] not easy to do, and not something that can happen overnight. But I think the more that that happens and the more outside governments can see that at least there’s agreement on a path, on a roadmap—even if all the details need to be worked out over time—it becomes easier for other governments to see that there is an alternative to the junta that offers more stability.

This is a concern for the opposition and for the Myanmar people because unity is quite rare. But with the resistance going strong—if facing some ups and downs over the past two years—it seems they must come to an understanding that there must be some kind of common ground, if not a united front. If not, no kind of assistance, including that authorized by the NDAA, will arrive, because the resistance forces lack a common understanding or unity.

This is really challenging. You hear Myanmar people say “We’ve overcome a lot of the differences and now we’re working together.” Which is true, certainly there’s been a lot of change. There is a unity of purpose, at least among many, to push the military out of power. But then there’s the next stage of “What then?” I think it’s unrealistic to expect a detailed blueprint of exactly what a future federal democracy might look like. That might take years, possibly. But the more there can at least be agreement on the basic principles, such as what were outlined in the Federal Democracy Charter, and on the path forward — “Here’s what our plan will be for the next two years” — then that helps a lot both for the foreign governments but also for the Myanmar people. It also then gives other governments an alternative to the junta’s proposed—I hate to even call them “elections”, but what they’re calling “elections”. We all know that those will be a complete sham, and they won’t solve any of the problems, but to the extent that the opposition, the resistance can show, “Hey, here’s our path forward,” then that makes it easier for governments to say “Yes, we’re going to stay away from supporting these elections, or accepting these elections.”

The regime seems to be going ahead with its elections. Some governments may support them, because they feel that this is the only way to stabilize the country. For the regime it’s about extending its power and legitimizing its rule. In this regard, what can we expect from ASEAN? You were the US ambassador to Indonesia [2010-13]. Indonesia is going to hold the ASEAN chair for the next year. Do you think Indonesia will be different from Cambodia? It’s a sleeping giant, a huge country, politically strong, and thanks to the reforms there it’s one of the most promising countries in the region. On Myanmar, so far Indonesia has taken quite a strong stance. It’s quite surprising, isn’t it?

A little bit surprising, but not that much if you remember that Indonesia has come a long way internally. They care about democracy, but also about proper governance. I mean in Myanmar I don’t think it’s right to say it’s just about democracy. I’m not a Myanmar person but my sense is people are resisting not only because they want democracy but also because they want some hope for their future. And I think [Indonesia] doesn’t want to see a Myanmar that’s falling apart and is in a humanitarian crisis over many years. So I would expect [Indonesia] including Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi will be quite active. Certainly more sympathetic to the forces of democracy and open to change. I think ASEAN as a whole though is probably going to remain divided. I don’t know what this recent meeting in Bangkok [organized by Thailand and attended by the junta’s foreign minister and his Thai, Vietnamese, Lao and Cambodian counterparts] was all about. It didn’t look good, but I can’t say for sure. There will be a temptation for some ASEAN countries to accept the results of elections just because they don’t see another way out of the crisis. And so the challenge for Myanmar people is to explain to those governments why these elections are not a path out of the crisis. Because they won’t solve the fundamental problem… First, they’ll be a joke in many ways, with very limited participation and possibly significant violence, but also, because so many political leaders and activists are in prison. They won’t serve as a path out of the crisis. And that’s the key message that governments in ASEAN and elsewhere that are searching for a way out of the current situation need to hear.

Especially for neighboring countries including Thailand. Thailand is a country that has absorbed refugees, asylum seekers, fleeing activists and politicians. From a humanitarian standpoint, Thailand has been kind to those who have arrived here. But Thailand is also very worried about the house burning next to them. It is on fire now. Last year we were talking about a humanitarian corridor and US assistance and refugee camps along the border areas. And also the security challenges of the refugee situation. If the US wants to do more, it will have to talk more with Thailand, which is a key country if there is to be change.

I agree Thailand is critical. The Thais know what is happening inside Myanmar. They have to know that the junta doesn’t represent a source of stability going forward. They have relations with the military so they don’t want to upend those. I’m not involved, but I would imagine that US officials are talking to Thai officials about this regularly, both the politics but also the humanitarian side. Knowing Thailand a little bit, we shouldn’t expect or ask the Thais to make some grand announcement. But rather, just pragmatically on the ground to do as much as possible to help both the people seeking asylum, but also to facilitate aid getting in to Myanmar, because the more aid that gets in to help people, then the more those people won’t feel the need to come to Thailand. So it’s in their interest. But the Thais would have to do that rather quietly for a lot of political reasons.

To go back to the earlier question about what the Myanmar people are expecting, it’s not about democracy alone. It’s about a government being transparent. Even if it’s an authoritarian model, we still want the government to be transparent. They don’t want the country to be ruled by thugs and criminals. Today Myanmar is obviously ruled by thugs and criminals.

We as Americans always prefer democracy. We like to see democracy and individual rights protected. No governments including our own are perfect democracies. We all have our faults. But there are governments that are more on the authoritarian side but still provide a lot of services and benefits to their populations. And which don’t bomb them and torture them to death on a daily basis, like the junta does. So as I’ve said before the junta is the worst regime in Southeast Asia since the Khmer Rouge. There is nothing positive that they are doing for the country or for the world. It’s all negative. It’s always dangerous to say “anything would be better.” But in this case almost anything would be better. That said, I don’t think the Myanmar people have to settle for a lousy government that’s just a little bit better than the junta. I think people can and do expect more than that. Ideally that’s democracy in a federal system. At a bare minimum a government that doesn’t butcher its people, provides some services, some transparency, and returns the sense of hope that a lot of people felt during the previous decade.

Over the last two years, everything the country hoped for and built over the previous 10 years has all gone. Many of the younger generation, who have a lot of good skills, have left the country. Seeing them I’m more hopeful because they are better equipped in terms of language, technology and skills. They have more exposure to the outside world, they’re more hopeful, they know how to negotiate, they know how to work, so I think this gives a sense of hope for the country. But it really leaves us feeling hopeless to see how the regime is behaving.

Yeah. There’s no hope for the country as long as that regime is in power. Even if some people might have this or that concern about the NUG or other forces of resistance, the NUG, some of the EROs, and other groups struggling against the junta offer a lot of hope and the potential for real progress. The junta offers none of that. We all know what’s going to happen if they stay in power.

Going back to the NDAA, what do you expect in terms of broader sanctions against the regime and its cronies? What do you say to Myanmar people who want to see the regime punished seriously, and an end to the flow of funds and other assistance it needs to survive, including the proceeds from gas and oil sales? What do you foresee in this area?

I haven’t been talking to people in Washington so I don’t know specifically what they have in mind. I know they’re looking regularly at what sanctions might actually have an impact, particularly on the flow of finances to the junta and to people supporting the junta, so I would expect that you will see additional sanctions, but I don’t know specifically which ones. As to whether the US administration will impose sanctions on MOGE [Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise], I don’t know. I know it’s something they’ve looked at. I think there have been concerns about that possibly resulting in a cut in power both in Yangon but also in Thailand, which makes it—I know a lot of people like to think that’s an easy answer; it’s not easy. If it was easy it would have been done. It is complicated but I assume the administration is continuing to look at that and study that.

Tell us about the Russia connection. The regime continues to receive jet fighters from both China and Russia and use them to attack parts of the country where the resistance is strong. It’s heartbreaking to see near-daily bombings and air raids against innocent people, whose lives are being lost. What can the US and other partners and actors, at the UN level or other international levels, do to stop the flow of military hardware and assistance?

It’s very hard to stop the flow of fighter planes and weapons from Russia. We’re sanctioning Russia, too—for different reasons, related to Ukraine. So we’re already doing everything we can vis-à-vis Russia. I have seen various individuals and groups mention that there should be greater efforts to sanction aviation fuel. I don’t know the details of how that supply chain works but certainly I would hope and expect that the US together with like-minded governments is looking at whether there’s a way of cutting off that flow or at least making it much harder to get aviation fuel, because without that fuel of course the jets can’t fly.

How do you see Myanmar’s political landscape in 2023?

I think you’re going to see a continuation of what we’ve been seeing, which is a slow and steady generational shift within the resistance movement, younger people playing a bigger and bigger role, I think that will continue. I hope we’ll see continued progress in building up the relationship among all the different communities who share similar goals. I think that’s likely but it takes a lot of hard work and it requires overcoming some old thinking. I don’t see the junta gaining strength; it probably will continue to lose strength but it’s very hard to predict exactly what will happen. I wish I could say we’re going to see a miracle and everything’s going to be solved in six months. I think more likely, sadly, we will see more of the same on the ground with the junta gradually weakening and the forces aligned against it, the Myanmar people, gaining strength and hopefully being able to actually carry out governance at local levels in more parts of the country, including education and all these things that are so crucial for the future. So rather than the headlines at the top I would look more at the ground level. Because—you know this and people inside the country know this—young people have missed a lot of education. And getting more non-junta schools up and running and better quality local governance in more parts of the country is a huge area for 2023.

Aung ZawThe IrrawaddyAung Zaw is the founding Editor-in-Chief of The Irrawaddy.

AI infused everything on show at CES gadget extravaganza

The latest leaps in artificial intelligence in everything from cars, robots to appliances will be on full display at the annual Consumer Electronics Show

(FILES) In this file photo taken on January 10, 2020 attendees experience the LG OLED Wave made up of 200 55-inch LG OLED digital screens on the final day of the 2020 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada. (AFP)

AFP
PUBLISHED 02.01.2023 

The latest leaps in artificial intelligence in everything from cars, robots to appliances will be on full display at the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) opening Thursday in Las Vegas.

Forced by the pandemic to go virtual in 2021 and hybrid last year, tens of thousands of show-goers are hoping for a return to packed halls and rapid-fire deal-making that were long the hallmark of the annual gadget extravaganza.

"In 2022, it was a shadow of itself - empty halls, no meetings in hotel rooms," Avi Greengart, an analyst at Techspotential told AFP.

"Now, (we expect) crowds, trouble getting around and meetings behind closed doors - which is what a trade show is all about."

The CES show officially opens on January 5, but companies will begin to vie for the spotlight with the latest tech wizardry as early as Tuesday.

CES will be spread over more than 18 acres (seven hectares), from the sprawling Las Vegas Convention Center to pavilions set up in parking lots. Ballrooms and banquet rooms across Sin City will be used to hustle up business.

With transportation now computing's new frontier, next generation autos, trucks, boats, farm equipment, and even flying machines are expected to grab attention, according to analysts.

"It's going to feel almost like you're at an auto show," said Kevan Yalowitz, head of platform strategy at Accenture.

Kathy Hochul sworn in as New York’s 1st woman elected governor

Politics Jan 1, 2023 


Maysoon Khan, Associated Press/Report for America

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul was sworn in for her first elected term on Sunday, making history as the first woman elected to the position in the state.

The Democrat, launching her term as the 57th governor of New York, said her goals were to increase public safety and to make the state more affordable.

“Right now there are some fights we have to take on,” Hochul said after taking the oath of office at the Empire State Plaza Convention Center in Albany. “First we must and will make our streets safer.”

Hochul also called for making the state more affordable, citing the high cost of living. Also sworn in Sunday was Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado.

A native of Buffalo, Hochul, 64, defeated Republican congressman Lee Zeldin, an ally of Donald Trump, in November’s election to win the office that she took over in 2021 when former Gov. Andrew Cuomo resigned.

READ MORE: Kathy Hochul wins governor’s race in New York

A former congresswoman, she served as Cuomo’s lieutenant governor before taking over in August 2021 and has tried to cast herself as a fresh start from Cuomo. He resigned amid sexual harassment allegations, which he denies.

New York Democratic U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer described her November victory as “breaking the glass ceiling.”

During her time as governor, New York passed some of the strictest gun laws in the nation, some of which are experiencing court challenges.

Delgado, a former Democratic U.S. representative who identifies as Afro-Latino, took over the position as lieutenant governor in May after Brian Benjamin resigned, and said he couldn’t “wait to get down to business” of “transparent” and “accountable” government.

New York Attorney General Letitia A. James, 64, also took oath Sunday for her second elected term in the position. She made history in 2018 as the first woman elected as the state’s attorney general and the first Black person to serve in the role.

“Four years ago I made a commitment to make this office a force of justice. I promise to fight for all New Yorkers, regardless of your political affiliation,” James, of Brooklyn, said.

Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli was sworn in for his fourth term. “We continue to live in a time of unprecedented challenge of evil and economic uncertainty. But we New Yorkers are resilient,” he said.

Maysoon Khan is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

Left: New York Gov. Kathy Hochul celebrates at her midterm election night party after winning re-election in New York, New York, Nov. 8, 2022. Photo by Brendan McDermid/REUTERS

By Associated Press
Kathy Hochul wins governor’s race in New York

By Michelle L. Price, Associated Press
Go Deeper 2022 midterms

Meta delays decision on revoking Trump’s Facebook suspension until later this month

BY MIKE WHEATLEY

Facebook parent company Meta Platforms Inc. is expected to delay making a decision on whether or not to allow former U.S. President Donald Trump to return to its social media platforms until later this month.

That’s according to a report today from the Financial Times, which cites sources involved in the matter as saying that Meta has established a “working group” to focus on the question that’s made up of public policy, communications and content moderation staff.

Meta President of Global Affairs Nick Clegg declined to comment on the report, but said at a conference in October that private firms “should tread with great thoughtfulness when seeking to, basically, silence political voices.”

Meta had been due to make a decision on Trump’s possible return by Jan. 7, but the establishment of a working group means that it will likely take longer to make a decision.

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and many other platforms banned Trump after the former president used social media to stir up a mob that later ransacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, following the certification of current president Joe Biden’s election win.

The delay in Meta’s decision comes days after a report that two Democratic lawmakers had urged the company not to allow Trump to resume using Facebook. Last month, California Rep. Adam Schiff and Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse penned an open letter to the company, arguing that recent posts by Trump on his own social media platform indicate he would likely violate Facebook’s policies if given the opportunity.

Since being kicked off conventional social media platforms, Trump has turned to his own platform, Truth Social, to communicate with his supporters as he plans a fresh run at the presidency in 2024. It’s said that Trump continues to peddle 2020 election fraud conspiracies on that platform. His remarks could be characterized as “election misinformation,” the Democrats say.

It’s not clear if Trump would resume posting on Facebook in the event his suspension is lifted, however. In November, new Twitter Inc. owner Elon Musk lifted the former president’s suspension following a public vote on the matter, but Trump has yet to make any tweets since that decision was announced.

 WHAT EXACTLY ARE DUST DEVILS?

BY RICHARD MILNER/JAN. 1, 2023 

Dust devils are one of those lesser-known meteorological phenomena that not only happen rarely, but are poorly understood. After all, when folks think of "weather," they might think of big, turbulent, headline-catching systems like hurricanes and blizzards. Dust devils, though, are tiny and can vanish within a few minutes, as the National Weather Service says. Known by a variety of names — dusters, whirlwinds, cyclones, or even willy willies — "sandspout" might be the best physical description. Dust devils typically look like funnels of sand spiraling up from the ground. Unlike their much bigger, ultra-destructive cousin tornadoes, however, dust devils are really nothing to worry about except under the most extreme conditions. And even then, they're not too dangerous.

By the most basic definition, a dust devil is a vortex: a mass of fluid, gas, or debris that looks like it's spinning around an invisible pole, per Definitions.net. This means that dust devils fall in the same general category of weather as hurricanes and tornadoes. All three feature spinning air, and are formed by the same collision of different air types: hot versus cold, moist versus dry, etc. But whereas hurricanes form over water when cold air slides under warm air (per the National Ocean Service), and tornadoes spiral down from clouds when hot air rises through cold air (per National Geographic), dust devils form on the ground. If ground temperature rises quickly, hot air can rush up through cold, heavier air and spiral into a dusty funnel shape.

SPIRALING INTO A VACUUM

To understand how dust devils work, it might help to think back to elementary school lessons about heat and air: hot air is light and rises, and cold air is heavy and sinks. This is why if folks get stuck in a burning building, they should get low to the ground. Low air is cooler and breathable, as The New York Times recounts. So what happens if the natural, typical placement of air gets swapped, with cold on the top and hot on the bottom? Hot and cold air rush to replace each other, creating a vacuum that's filled by other air. And if moving air conforms to a spiral-like motion because of gravity and rotational speed, it makes a vortex. Ding ding: dust devil time.

As the National Weather Service continues, dust devils usually happen in certain regions because of those very specific, above-mentioned conditions. Dry, dusty places like Arizona are prime candidates, especially between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. when the sun rapidly heats the ground. There's got to be a light wind and a clear sky, too, which makes May through June likely months to spot a dust devil. They can happen any time of year, though, so long as the surface is composed of some material that heats much more quickly than the air above it. This is why they often appear above sand. Other likely spots include the junction between types of surfaces, like fields and dirt, or forests and roads.

SWIRLING INTO SHAPE ON EARTH AND MARS

Even though we call them "dust" devils, the phenomenon can be made of any loose, sandy debris small and light enough to be lifted by fast-moving air, as All the Science explains. There's no fear of a dust devil careening into a neighborhood and shredding houses and tossing cars, though. That being said, the National Weather Service reports that a particularly severe dust devil — a rarity, to be sure — hit Arizona's Coconino County Fairgrounds in 2000 at 75 miles per hour. That's as fast as an F1-ranked tornado on the Fujita Scale, as the National Weather Service again reports. However, because of the relatively small size of dust devils, and their short life, they're never going to be a severe threat to human life and property. They climb to heights ranging from 10 to 1000 feet, and are usually harmless enough to walk through, like this dude in South Korea did on Yahoo News. 

And in case you think that dust devils exist only on Earth, NASA has recorded footage of them on our celestial neighbor, Mars. As the National Air and Space Museum shows, martian dust devils tend to be way, way bigger than ones on Earth: up to 5 miles tall. One of them, in fact, swept directly through NASA's Perseverance Rover on September 27, 2021, as NASA reports. It was about as non-dramatic as you'd expect, but marked a moment of extreme luck that's hard to capture.

Havasupai Tribe Will Get US Federal 'Flood Damage' Aid
January 01, 2023 
Associated Press

Hikers enjoy the pools below Havasu Falls, one of three main waterfalls in Havasupai Canyon in Supai, Arizona, a pocket of the Grand Canyon, on April 8, 2006.

SUPAI, ARIZONA —

President Joe Biden has approved a disaster declaration made by the Havasupai Tribe in northern Arizona, freeing up funds for flood damage as it prepares to reopen for tourists after nearly three years.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency confirmed Sunday that federal emergency aid will be given to supplement the tribe's own recovery efforts from severe flooding last October.

The funds will be for the tribe and certain nonprofits to share costs for emergency work and repairs from flood damage.

It comes as the Havasupai Indian Reservation, which lies deep in a gorge off the Grand Canyon, is preparing to open its majestic blue-green waterfalls for visitors for the first time since March 2020. The tribe had closed to protect its members from the pandemic. Tribal officials decided to extend the closure through the 2022 tourism season.

Law Protects Export of Sacred Native American Items From US

In an update about tourism posted on their website last week, the tribe described how flooding had destroyed several bridges and left downed trees on trails needed for tourists and transporting goods and services into Supai Village.

The tribe, however, also said they are eager to welcome back tourists in February to see "flourishing flora and fauna and new waterfall flows."

Transport workers strike in Tunisia to protest delay in wages
Tunisia has been in deep political crisis that aggravated the country's economic conditions

 2/01/2023 Monday
AA


A strike by state transport company workers brought life to a halt in the Tunisian capital Tunis on Monday.

The protest was triggered by the delayed payment of wages and bonuses by the Tunisian authorities.

"We have decided to go on open strike until a date is set for the payment of our wages and bonuses," Wajih Zaidi, secretary general of the Association of Public Transport Operators, told reporters.

"We will continue the protest until the government and the Ministry of Finance meet the workers' demands," he added.

Metro and bus services in the capital Tunis came to a standstill as part of the strike.

According to a report by Anadolu Agency, hundreds of transport workers gathered in Kasbah Square in Tunis, holding banners demanding payment of their wages.

Last week, cab drivers in the capital had gone on strike to protest rising fuel prices and poor living conditions.

Tunisia is in the midst of a deep political crisis that has exacerbated the country's economic situation since President Kais Saied overthrew the government, suspended parliament and took over executive power in 2021.