Thursday, February 02, 2023

UK
Simpsons strike episode on day of industrial action a coincidence says Channel 4


Max McLean, PA
Wed, 1 February 2023 at 1:29 pm GMT-7·2-min read

Channel 4 was congratulated by viewers for showing a Simpsons episode centred around workers’ rights on a day of widespread industrial action in the UK, but the broadcaster said it was a coincidence.

The channel’s 6pm showing of the US cartoon on Wednesday was Last Exit to Springfield, a season four episode widely regarded as one of the show’s best.

The story sees Homer Simpson go up against Mr Burns to fight for the employees’ dental plan, culminating in a strike at the power plant.

The Simpsons creator Matt Groening (left) and voice of Homer Dan Castellaneta (Ian West/PA)

Mr Burns turns off the power to the city in retaliation but the solidarity of the workers eventually forces his hand, and Homer wins back the dental plan.

Meanwhile, Wednesday was described as the country’s biggest day of strike action in a decade, with workers walking out in increasingly bitter disputes over pay, jobs and conditions.

“Walkout Wednesday” saw thousands of schools closed for the day because of action by the National Education Union (NEU) and picket lines were mounted outside railway stations, schools, government departments and universities across the country.

Striking members and supporters of the National Education Union (NEU) in Trafalgar Square, London (James Manning/PA)

It did not take long for Channel 4 viewers to spot a link between the day’s industrial action and the themes present in Wednesday’s Simpsons showing.

“The Simpsons. Channel 4. Very apt episode considering the amount of strikes taking place,” tweeted Alex Ramsden.

“Channel 4 playing the strike ep of the Simpsons. Solidarity,” wrote Twitter user Hannah Fretwell.

“Well done Channel 4 for putting on The Simpsons episode where all the power plant workers go on strike!” tweeted a Twitter user simply known as Jim.

However, the broadcaster confirmed to the PA news agency the timing was simply a coincidence.


"Last Exit to Springfield" is the seventeenth episode of the fourth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 11, 1993.[1] The plot revolves around Homer Simpson becoming president of the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant's trade union and leading the workers of the plant in a strike in order to restore their dental plan so that he does not have to buy braces for Lisa.









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California Threatens to Blow Up a Deal to Save the Colorado River

Jake Bittle, Grist
Wed, February 1, 2023 

A view of the Colorado River as it flows around Horseshoe Bend on June 23, 2021 in Page, Arizona.

After months of tense negotiation, a half-dozen states have reached an agreement to drastically cut their water usage and stabilize the drought-stricken Colorado River — as long as California doesn’t blow up the deal. The plan, which was developed without the input of Mexico or Native American tribes that rely on the river, seeks to stave off total collapse in the river for another few years, giving water users time to find a comprehensive solution for the chronically-depleted waterway.

On Monday, six out of the seven states that rely on the Colorado announced their support for steep emergency cuts totaling more than 2 million acre-feet of water, or roughly a quarter of annual usage from the river. The multi-state agreement, prodded into existence by the Biden administration’s threats to impose its own cuts, will likely serve as a blueprint for the federal government as it manages the river over the next four years, ushering in a new era of conservation in the drought-wracked Southwest. While the exact consequences of these massive cuts are still largely uncertain, they will almost certainly spell disaster for water-intensive agriculture operations and new residential development in the region’s booming cities.

But California, which takes more water than any other state, has rejected the proposal as too onerous, instead proposing its own plan with a less stringent scheme for cutting water usage. If the federal government does adopt the six-state framework, powerful farmers in California’s Imperial Valley may sue to stop it, setting up a legal showdown that could derail the Biden administration’s drought response efforts.

Nevertheless, the general consensus on pursuing immediate, dramatic water cuts is unprecedented.

“It puts something down on the table that we haven’t had before,” said Elizabeth Koebele, an associate professor at the University of Nevada-Reno who studies the Colorado River. “The states are saying, ‘We recognize just how bad it is, and we’re willing to take cuts much, much sooner than we had previously agreed to.’”

The Colorado River has been oversubscribed for more than a century thanks to a much-maligned 1922 contract that allocated more water than actually existed, but it has also been shrinking over the past 20 years thanks to a millennium-scale drought made worse by climate change. Last year, as high winter temperatures caused the snowpack that feeds the river to vanish, water levels plummeted in the river’s two key reservoirs, Lake Powell and Lake Mead, threatening to knock out electricity generation at two major dams.

Federal officials intervened in June, ordering the seven Colorado River Basin states to find a way to reduce their annual water usage by between 2 and 4 million acre-feet. This was a jaw-dropping demand, far more than the states had ever contemplated cutting, and they blew through an initial August deadline to find a solution. The feds upped the pressure in October, threatening to impose unilateral cuts if state officials didn’t work out a solution.

As the interstate talks proceeded, long-buried conflicts began to resurface. The first major conflict is between the Upper Basin states — Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah — and the Lower Basin states: Nevada, Arizona, California, and Mexico. The Upper Basin states argue that the Lower Basin states should be the ones to cut water in response to the drought. These states use much more water, the argument goes, and they also waste a lot of water that evaporates as it flows downstream through reservoirs and canals. The Lower Basin states, meanwhile, argue that no states should be exempt from cuts, given the scale of reductions needed.

The other main conflict is between Arizona and California, the two largest Lower Basin water users and the main targets of future cuts. California’s water rights trump Arizona’s, and therefore the Golden State argues that Arizona should shoulder almost the whole burden of future cuts. Arizona argues in turn that its farms and subdivisions have already cut their water usage in recent years as the drought has gotten worse, and that water-rich farmers in California should do more to help.

In the middle of these warring parties is Nevada, which takes only a tiny share of the river’s water and has emerged as the Switzerland of the Colorado River system over the past year. Water officials from the Silver State have been trying since late summer to broker a compromise between the Upper and Lower Basins and between Arizona and California, culminating in an intense session of talks in Las Vegas in December.

The talks were only partly successful. Officials managed to work out a framework that meets the Biden administration’s demands for major cuts, bringing an end to a year of uncertain back-and-forth. The proposal would cut more than a million acre-feet of water each from Arizona and California during the driest years, plus another 625,000 acre-feet from Mexico and 67,000 acre-feet from Nevada, adding new reductions to account for water that evaporates as it moves downstream. In return for these Lower Basin cuts, the Upper Basin states have agreed to move more water downstream to Lake Powell, helping protect that reservoir’s critical energy infrastructure — but they haven’t committed to reduce any water usage themselves.

“It seems like the Lower Basin states conceded to the Upper Basin,” said Koebele. An earlier version of the six-state proposal called for the Upper Basin to reduce water usage by a collective 500,000 acre-feet, but that call was absent from the final framework.

While the fight between the Upper and Lower Basin states appears neutralized, the conflict between the Lower Basin’s two biggest users is ongoing. Around 40 percent of the agreement’s proposed reductions come from California, where state officials have slammed it as a violation of their senior water rights, derived from a series of laws and court decisions known collectively as the “law of the river.”

“The modeling proposal submitted by the six other basin states is inconsistent with the Law of the River and does not form a seven-state consensus approach,” said J.B. Hamby, California’s lead representative in the talks. Hamby argued that penalizing California for evaporation losses on the river contradicts the legal precedent that gives California clear seniority over Arizona.

Officials from the Golden State released their own rough framework for dealing with the drought on Tuesday. The plan offers a more forgiving schedule than the six-state framework, saving the largest cuts for when Lake Mead’s water level is extremely low, and it forces more pain on Arizona and Mexico. The framework only requires California to cut around 400,000 acre-feet of new water, which the biggest water users already volunteered to do last September in exchange for federal money to restore the drought-stricken Salton Sea. Water users in the state haven’t made new commitments since.

If the Biden administration moves forward with the plan, it may trigger legal action from the Imperial Irrigation District, which represents powerful fruit and vegetable farmers in California’s Imperial Valley. The district sued to block a previous drought agreement back in 2019, and its farmers have the most to lose from the new framework, since they’ve been insulated from all previous cuts. The state’s other major water user, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, has signaled tentative approval for the broad strokes of six-state formula, indicating that a compromise between the two plans might be possible, although it’s not clear such a compromise would please Imperial’s farmers.

“I don’t see how we avoid Imperial suing, other than a bunch of big snowpack,” said John Fleck, a professor of water policy at the University of New Mexico. In response to a request for comment from Grist about litigation, an Imperial spokesperson emphasized the need for “constructive dialogue and mutual understanding.” If Imperial did sue and win, the outcome would likely be even further pain for Arizona and Mexico, where farmers and cities are already struggling to deal with previous cuts.

Koebele told Grist that while the exact numbers may change, federal officials will likely adopt some version of the six-state proposal by the end of the summer. Even a modified version would alter life in the Southwest over the next four years, imposing a harsh new regime on a region whose water-guzzling produces a substantial portion of the nation’s vegetables and cattle feed. Major cities like Phoenix, Los Angeles, and Tijuana would also see water cuts, threatening growth in those places.

Steep as the new cuts are, though, they will only last until 2026, when basin leaders will gather again to work out a long-term plan for managing the river over the next two decades. Unlike the current round of emergency talks, that long-term negotiation will include representatives from Mexico and the dozens of Native American tribes that rely on the river.

Koebele said that the questions in those talks will be even more difficult than the ones the states are debating now. Instead of just figuring out who takes cuts in the driest years, the parties will have to figure out how to apportion a perennially smaller river while also fulfilling new tribal claims on long-sought water rights. The present crisis has only delayed progress on those bigger questions.

“Because of the dire situation, we’ve really had to turn our attention to managing for the present,” she said. “So these actions feel more like a Band-Aid to me.”

Gizmodo

Colorado River: US states fail to reach deal on cutting water use

Wed, February 1, 2023 

The Colorado River provides water to more than 40 million people across seven states and Mexico

Seven US Western states that rely on the drought-stricken Colorado River have failed to reach an agreement on cutting water consumption.

California, the largest user, did not join a water cut proposal put forward by six others by a federally requested 31 January deadline.

A two-decade drought has shrunk the river basin's water supply to historically low levels.

The deadlock could prompt the US government to impose unilateral cuts.

The Colorado River provides drinking water to more than 40 million people in the seven Western states - Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming, Nevada, Arizona and California.- 

But the drought in the region has reduced the river's flow significantly, and the states have consumed more water than is available, prompting the Interior Department to ask for restricting water use.

The government had asked for a plan to reduce water use from the Colorado River basin by two to four million acre-feet, or one-third of the river's yearly average flow.

Six of the states agreed on a plan that would bring it down by two million acre-feet of water. Under that plan, California - the state with the largest water consumption rate - would need to cut more than one million acre-feet.

California had previously offered to reduce their consumption by just 400,000 acre-feet.

The Chair of the Colorado River Board of California told the Associated Press that the state "remains focused on practical solutions that can be implemented now to protect volumes of water in storage without driving conflict and litigation", and that it plans to submit its own plan.

The six other states submitted a proposal to the US Bureau of Reclamation that outlined ways to reduce water consumption.

The plan includes cutting water use from Lake Powell and Lake Mead to prevent the two critical reservoirs from reaching "dead pool" - i.e. when water in a reservoir drops so low that it cannot flow downstream.

"We recognise that over the past twenty-plus years there is simply far less water flowing into the Colorado River system than the amount that leaves it, and that we have effectively run out of storage to deplete," the states said in their letter.

They added they will continue to work together with hopes of reaching consensus on "how best to share the burden" of protecting the water system.

Recent reports show that the Colorado River's water flows were down 20% in 2000 and by 2050 that number is estimated to more than double.

A report in the journal Nature last year found 2000-2021 to be the driest 22-year period for southwestern North America in at least 1,200 years.

California submits rival Colorado River water plan

Wed, 1 February 2023


California has submitted a rival plan for use of the Colorado River, after six other states accused it of refusing to cooperate in the battle over usage of a dwindling major US watercourse.

Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming were given until January 31 to come up with a plan to slash the amount of water they take from the river -- or face a solution imposed by Washington.

Everyone apart from California agreed on a proposal that would see a reduction in the amount of water that makes it as far as the most populous state in the country, where critics say farmers use too much to grow crops for export.


On Tuesday, California offered its own solution, and offered to trim its own use, but in the meantime to revert to the over-subscribed status quo.

"In the absence of a seven-state consensus proposal (we) should maintain existing protections to California’s senior entitlements," the Colorado River Board of California said in its submission to the Bureau of Reclamation, the federal government department with responsibility for water.

That came after a behind-closed-doors proposal last week from the state's representatives to model what would happen if big cities like Phoenix and Las Vegas were cut off from the water supply, CNN reported.

The suggestion was met with strong pushback from other negotiators, the broadcaster said, citing people familiar with the matter.

Eventually, the other six states huddled, and submitted a framework of water consumption ceilings, with the bulk of the cuts falling on California to "mitigate the risk of either Lake Powell or Lake Mead reaching dead pool."

Both reservoirs, fed by the Colorado River, have seen their levels plunge over the past two decades as a punishing drought grips the western United States.

Adel Hagekhalil, general manager of Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, said the state's proposal followed two decades of reductions from the region.

"We are committed to doing more now. But we must do it in a way that does not harm half of the people who rely on the river - the 19 million people of Southern California," he said.

"We must do it in a way that does not devastate our $1.6 trillion economy, an economic engine for the entire United States.

"The proposal presented today by California does all of this by equitably sharing the risk among Basin states without adversely affecting any one agency or state. The plan presented yesterday, which shut out California, does not."

The Colorado River rises in the Rocky Mountains and flows through Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, California and northern Mexico, where it empties into the Gulf of California.

It is fed primarily by snow accumulated at high altitude that gradually melts during the warmer months.

But declining precipitation and rising temperatures caused by humanity's unchecked burning of fossil fuels means less snow falls, and what does fall, melts faster.

That means less water reaches a river that is crucial to the great cities of the west like Las Vegas and Los Angeles, as well as to tens of thousands of acres (hectares) of farmland.

pr-hg/tjj

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DeSantis Takes On the Education Establishment, and Builds His Brand

Stephanie Saul, Patricia Mazzei and Trip Gabriel
Wed, February 1, 2023 

Patricia Okker, facing camera, president of New College of Florida in Sarasota, is embraced by a supporter on Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023. (Todd Anderson/The New York Times)

Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, as he positions himself for a run for president next year, has become an increasingly vocal culture warrior, vowing to take on liberal orthodoxy and its champions, whether they are at Disney, on Martha’s Vineyard or in the state’s public libraries.

But his crusade has perhaps played out most dramatically in classrooms and on university campuses. He has banned instruction about gender identity and sexual orientation in kindergarten through third grade; limited what schools and employers can teach about racism and other aspects of history; and rejected math textbooks en masse for what the state called “indoctrination.” Most recently, he banned the College Board’s Advanced Placement courses in African American studies for high school students.

On Tuesday, DeSantis, a Republican, took his most aggressive swing yet at the education establishment, announcing a proposed overhaul of the state’s higher education system that would eliminate what he called “ideological conformity.” If enacted, courses in Western civilization would be mandated; diversity and equity programs would be eliminated; and the protections of tenure would be reduced.

His plan for the state’s education system is in lockstep with other recent moves — banning abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, shipping a planeload of Venezuelan migrants to Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts and stripping Disney, a once politically untouchable corporate giant in Florida, of favors it has enjoyed for half a century.

His pugilistic approach was rewarded by voters, who reelected him by a 19 percentage-point margin in November.

Appearing on Tuesday at the State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota, one of the state’s 28 publicly funded state and community colleges, DeSantis vowed to turn the page on agendas that he said were “hostile to academic freedom” in Florida’s higher education system. The programs “impose ideological conformity to try to provoke political activism,” DeSantis said. “That’s not what we believe is appropriate for the state of Florida.”

He had already moved to overhaul the leadership of the New College of Florida, a small liberal arts school in Sarasota that has struggled with enrollment but calls itself a place for “freethinkers.” It is regarded as among the most progressive of Florida’s 12 public universities.

DeSantis pointed to low enrollment and test scores at New College as part of the justification for seeking change there.

“If it was a private school, making those choices, that’s fine, I mean, what are you going to do,” he said. “But this is paid for by your tax dollars.”

The college’s board of trustees, with six new conservative members appointed by DeSantis, voted in a raucous meeting Tuesday afternoon to replace the president and agreed to appoint Richard Corcoran, a former state education commissioner, as the interim president beginning in March.

Corcoran will replace Patricia Okker, a longtime English professor and college administrator who was appointed in 2021.

While expressing her love for the college and its students, Okker called the move a hostile takeover. “I do not believe that students are being indoctrinated here at New College,” she said. “They are taught. They read Marx and they argue with Marx. They take world religions. They do not become Buddhists in February and turn into Christians in March.”

DeSantis also announced Tuesday that he had asked the Legislature to immediately free up $15 million to recruit new faculty and provide scholarships for New College.

In all, he requested from the Legislature $100 million a year for state universities.

“We’re putting our money where our mouth is,” he said.

New College is small, with nearly 700 students, but the shake-up reverberated throughout Florida, as did DeSantis’ proposed overhaul.

Andrew Gothard, president of the state’s faculty union, said the governor’s statements on the state’s system of higher education were perhaps his most aggressive yet.

“There’s this idea that Ron DeSantis thinks he and the Legislature have the right to tell Florida students what classes they can take and what degree programs,” said Gothard, who is on leave from his faculty job at Florida Atlantic University. “He says out of one side of his mouth that he believes in freedom and then he passes and proposes legislation and policies that are the exact opposite.”

At the board meeting, students, parents and professors defended the school and criticized the board members for acting unilaterally without their input.

Betsy Braden, who identified herself as the parent of a transgender student, said her daughter had thrived at the school.

“It seems many of the students that come here have determined that they don’t necessarily fit into other schools,” Braden said. “They embrace their differences and exhibit incredible bravery in staking a path forward. They thrive, they blossom, they go out into the world for the betterment of society. This is well documented. Why would you take this away from us?”

Corcoran, a DeSantis ally, had been mentioned as a possible president of Florida State University, but his candidacy was dropped following questions about whether he had a conflict of interest or the appropriate academic background.

A letter from Carlos Trujillo, the president of Continental Strategy, a consulting firm where Corcoran is a partner, said the firm hoped that his title at New College would become permanent.

Not since George W. Bush ran in 2000 to be “the education president” has a Republican seeking the Oval Office made school reform a central agenda item. That may have been because, for years, Democrats had a double-digit advantage in polling on education.

But since the pandemic started in 2020, when many Democratic-led states kept schools closed longer than Republican states did, often under pressure from teachers unions, some polling has suggested that education now plays better for Republicans. And Glenn Youngkin’s 2021 victory in the Virginia governor’s race, after a campaign focused on “parents’ rights” in public schools, was seen as a signal of the political potency of education with voters.

DeSantis’ attack on diversity, equity and inclusion programs coincides with the recent criticisms of such programs by conservative organizations and think tanks.

Examples of such initiatives include campus sessions on “microaggressions” — subtle slights usually based on race or gender — as well as requirements that candidates for faculty jobs submit statements describing their commitment to diversity.

“That’s basically like making people take a political oath,” DeSantis said Tuesday. He also attacked the programs for placing a “drain on resources and contributing to higher costs.”

Supporters of diversity, equity and inclusion programs and diverse curricula say they help students understand the broader world as well as their own biases and beliefs, improving their ability to engage in personal relationships as well as in the workplace.

DeSantis’ embrace of civics education, as well as the establishment of special civics programs at several of the state’s 12 public universities, dovetails with the growth of similar programs around the country, some partially funded by conservative donors.

The programs emphasize the study of Western civilization and economics, as well as the thinking of Western philosophers, frequently focusing on the Greeks and Romans. Critics of the programs say they sometimes gloss over the pitfalls of Western thinking and ignore the philosophies of non-Western civilizations.

“The core curriculum must be grounded in actual history, the actual philosophy that has shaped Western civilization,” DeSantis said. “We don’t want students to go through, at taxpayer expense, and graduate with a degree in zombie studies.”

The shake-up of New College, which also included the election of a new board chair, may be ongoing and dramatic, given the six new board members appointed by DeSantis.

They include Christopher Rufo, a senior fellow at Manhattan Institute who is known for his vigorous attacks on “critical race theory,” an academic concept that historical patterns of racism are ingrained in law and other modern institutions.

At the time of his appointment, Rufo, who lives and works in Washington state, tweeted that he was “recapturing” higher education.

Another new board member is Eddie Speir, who runs a Christian private school in Florida. He had recommended in a Substack posting before the meeting that the contracts of all the school’s faculty and staff be canceled.

The other new appointees include Matthew Spalding, dean of the Washington, D.C., campus of Hillsdale College, a private college in Michigan known for its conservative and Christian orientations. An aide to the governor has said that Hillsdale, which says it offers a classical education, is widely regarded as the governor’s model for remaking New College.

In addition to the governor’s six new appointees, the university system’s board of governors recently named a seventh member, Ryan T. Anderson, the head of a conservative think tank, the Ethics and Public Policy Center, which applies the Judeo-Christian tradition to contemporary questions of law, culture and politics. His selection was viewed as giving DeSantis a majority vote on the 13-member board.

© 2023 The New York Times Company
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ECOCIDE
Brazil Wants to Abandon a 34,000-Ton Ship at Sea. It Would be an Environmental Disaster

Ciara Nugent
Tue, January 31, 2023 

Brazilian aircraft carrier Sao Paulo (A12) seen in Rio de Janeiro on Aug. 11, 2016. 
Credit - Benoit Tessier—Reuters

Somewhere in the South Atlantic ocean right now, a 34,000-ton, 870-ft. aircraft carrier is floating aimlessly on the waves. The vessel, caught in an international dispute over its toxic contents, is about to become one of the biggest pieces of trash in the ocean.

The São Paulo, the only aircraft carrier in the Brazilian navy’s fleet, has been stuck in limbo for five months. Brazil sold the 60-year-old vessel for scrap to a Turkish shipyard in 2021, and in August 2022, it set off for Turkey from a naval base in Rio de Janeiro. But while it was on the move, Turkey rescinded its permission to enter, saying Brazil hadn’t been able to prove that the São Paulo was free of asbestos—a toxic mineral used in the construction of many 20th century ships. So, the boat turned around.

Brazil doesn’t want it back, though. In September, a port on the coast of Pernambuco state blocked the ship from docking. The port argued there was too big a risk that the ship would be abandoned, leaving port authorities to pick up the tab for moving it and dealing with the asbestos. That left the São Paulo circling off the Brazilian coast, until Jan. 20, when Brazil’s navy announced that it had pushed the ship out to international waters, where it remains. The navy says it had to do so because the aging ship, which incurred damage to its hull during its odyssey, could have run aground or sank on the Brazilian coast, threatening other boats and coastal wildlife.

The navy’s solution is to abandon the São Paulo at sea. On Saturday, military sources told Brazil’s Folha de São Paulo newspaper that the navy planned to use explosive to sink the vessel on Wednesday, seeing it as the only way to put an end to its controversial saga.

But on Tuesday night, responding to concerns from a federal environmental agency, Brazil’s public prosecutor filed a civil case against the navy, asking a federal court to order an immediate halt to any plans to detonate the ship.

The court’s decision will determine whether or not the São Paulo becomes an extreme case of vessel abandonment—a problem that plagues marine conservationists and coastal communities around the world. Ocean watchdogs say sinking a boat as big and old as the São Paulo would be an environmental disaster; as well as the asbestos, the ship contains hundreds of metric tons of other toxic substances in its electrical wiring, paints, and fuel stores, according to the Basel Action Network (BAN), an NGO.

Abandoning it at sea would constitute “gross negligence” and violate three separate international environmental conventions, says Jim Puckett, BAN’s executive director. “We’re talking about a ship containing both hazardous materials and valuable materials—it’s supposed to be brought into the territory of Brazil and managed in an environmentally sound way,” Puckett says. “You can’t just sink it.”

Approached for comment, the Brazilian navy directed TIME to its official announcements, which say only that the navy will not allow the São Paulo to return to Brazil.


Turkey's various opposition political parties, labour unions, and non-governmental organisations held a mass rally against the dismantle of Brazilian aircraft carrier Nae Sao Paulo in Aliaga district in Izmir, Turkey, on Aug. 4, 2022.Berkcan Zengin—GocherImagery/Reuters

It’s not uncommon for boats to be abandoned. Because they are expensive to maintain and to dispose of properly, tens of thousands of unwanted vessels—normally much smaller than an aircraft carrier—are left in harbors, on beaches, or at sea every year. In Nigeria, thousands of wrecked cargo ships and commercial fishing vessels litter the coast, destroying beach ecosystems and making waterways dangerous to pass for local communities. In Venice, around 2,000 abandoned small recreational boats are clogging up a local wetland. In the U.S., the Government Accountability Office estimates that from 2013 to 2016, there were 5,600 boats abandoned in U.S. waters—likely a very lowball estimate, according to Nancy Wallace, director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s marine debris program.

The problem is, what’s left onboard those boats doesn’t stay onboard. “Anytime there’s a vessel that’s left at sea, the first thing to think about is toxic chemicals, which can be very impactful to wildlife,” Wallace says. Abandoned boats of any size can cause oil spills and leach paint chemicals and microplastics into the water, while debris such as nets can come loose, trapping fish.

Older vessels can also contain so-called PCBs, a group of highly carcinogenic chemicals that were often used in electrical wiring before the 1970s and were globally banned under the 2001 Stockholm convention. When dumped in the ocean, scientists say PCBs work their way up the marine food chain, affecting everything from small crustaceans to orcas. BAN estimates that the São Paulo, which was built in France in the 1960s, contains around 300 metric tons of PCBs, based on analysis of its sister ship, the Clemencau. The NGO says leaving the vessel at sea would violate both the Stockholm convention and the 1996 London Protocol.

In Brazil, the face of the ship abandonment problem is Guanabara Bay in Rio de Janeiro state, where some 200 vessels, including cargo ships and oil tankers, have been left to rot by owners caught up in financial or legal troubles. Local NGOs say the resulting oil and chemical pollution has dramatically reduced native mangrove, tortoise, and dolphin populations, and has hurt the livelihoods of local fishermen. The bay made national headlines in November, when a storm caused a 660-ft. cargo ship to come loose from its moorings and crash into the Rio-Niteroi—Latin America’s longest over-water bridge.

Remains of abandoned ships are seen on the shores of the Guanabara Bay in Niteroi, Brazil, on Dec. 28, 2022.Pilar Olivares—Reuters

Removing such vessels is a major headache for governments. Hauling them out can cost anywhere from $8,000 (the per-boat cost for 14 recreational boats recently lifted out of the water in South Carolina) to $1.8 million (the cost for removing an 83-ft. fishing boat in Saipan in 2021, which had been degrading a nearby coral reef in the Northern Mariana Islands for six years after a 2015 storm left it too damaged for its owners to repair.)

But, thankfully, it is highly unusual for a ship as large as the São Paulo to be deliberately abandoned. That’s because large boats like cruise ships, container ships, and aircraft carriers contain vast amounts of high-quality valuable metals, especially steel, which can be salvaged and resold. (Recycling is also beneficial for the environment, since manufacturing new steel is extremely carbon-intensive.)

Puckett, from BAN, says the idea of sinking the São Paulo doesn’t make financial sense for Brazil. “It’s got millions of dollars worth of steel to be recycled, which far outweighs the cost of managing those hazardous materials,” he says. “I’ve never seen such a valuable ship being deliberately sunk.”

BAN is calling on Brazil’s new leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to step in. To comply with international treaties, including the Basel Convention restricting the export of toxic waste, Puckett says the navy must tow the São Paulo into a naval base, repair the damage to the hull, and then offer the recycling contract to new shipyards in Europe, which can safely remove the asbestos before dismantling the ship.

The case brought by Brazil’s public prosecutor’s office opens a last minute door to that happening. It asks the court to compel the navy to carry out a technical assessment of all the options for disposing of the ship, and find a way of doing so “”without risk to the environment and public health.” That might just save the São Paulo from a toxic watery grave.
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Israel jail crackdown sets up showdown with Palestinian prisoners
BEN-GVIR WILL DECLARE THEM ALL TERRORISTS 
AND EXECUTE THEM

Protest in solidarity with Palestinian prisoners held in Israel jails, at Erez crossing in the northern Gaza Strip

Thu, February 2, 2023 
By Ali Sawafta and Nidal al-Mughrabi

RAMALLAH, West Bank/GAZA (Reuters) - Soon after sirens sounded in Israel as rockets were fired from Gaza on Wednesday, hardline Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said he would press on with a crackdown on Palestinian prisoners that could further inflame tensions despite U.S. calls for calm.

Ben-Gvir this week ordered a halt to Palestinian security prisoners working in bread bakeries in two Israeli jails, saying he was cancelling "benefits and indulgences". He added: "The death penalty should be enacted for terrorists but until then, they should be treated as terrorists."

On Thursday, a state of heightened alert with reinforced staffing levels was imposed, a spokesperson for the prison service said. She said authorities had received intelligence that prisoners were planning to harm prison staff.

The looming showdown between the prisoners and Ben-Gvir comes days after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on both sides to do everything to lower tensions following weeks of violence in Jerusalem and the Israeli-occupied West Bank, as well as exchanges of cross-border fire with Gaza.

As a relatively unified group that largely transcends the factional divisions among Palestinian political and militant movements, the prisoners wield significant influence and Ben-Gvir's decision to take them on risks wider confrontation.

"He thinks that the prisoners issue is the easiest issue to show he is a serious leader," said Kadora Fares, head of the Palestinian Prisoners Society.

"He thinks that because 4,000 prisoners are in their jails he can do what he wants, but he will be choked because they affect the situation outside the jails."

Unless the standoff is resolved, he said, Palestinian prisoners will hold a mass hunger strike from March 22, at the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, traditionally a time of heightened tensions.

Added to stricter measures imposed in a number of jails and reports of clashes after guards confiscated electronic devices belonging to some women prisoners this week, Ben-Gvir's tough approach sets up a confrontation with a group that enjoys strong popular support among Palestinians.

BOILING POINT

Israel holds about 4,700 political prisoners, around 30 of them women, according to the Palestinian Addameer organisation that supports prisoner rights. The number includes convicted inmates as well as so-called administrative detainees, held without charge or trial.

One inmate reached by telephone, who did not want to be named for fear of reprisal by authorities in the prison where he is serving an extended sentence, said the situation in the jails had reached "boiling point", with male prisoners closely following what had happened to their female counterparts.

Hanan Al-Khatib, a lawyer for the Palestinian Agency for Prisoners and Ex-prisoners, said prison guards had conducted "provocative searches" in the rooms of three women inmates on Monday leading to protests in which two rooms were set on fire.

She said the measures against female prisoners led to "rebellion in all jails and the tension is escalating".

A spokesperson for Israel's prison service said two women had been put in solitary confinement after prisoners cheered the news that a lone Palestinian gunman had shot seven people near a synagogue on the outskirts of Jerusalem on Jan. 27.

"There were no clashes or use of tear gas or whatever they described there, there wasn't," said spokesperson Hana Herbst. "In solitary you don't have access to electronics, maybe that's what they were talking about."

Israeli prison authorities have allowed some leeway to political prisoners in exchange for cooperation in turning out for roll calls, cleaning their own corridors and vacating cells when guards come for checks. If inmates stopped doing these things in protest, running prisons smoothly would get harder.

But Ben-Gvir has made clear that he has little interest in such arrangements, opening the way for a confrontation, Palestinian groups warn, stoking an already tense situation close to eruption after months of raids in the West Bank.

"We are heading towards an intifada (uprising) unless mediators intervene and end the criminal policies of Ben-Gvir that are driving the region to an explosion," Hamas official Mushir Al-Masri told a Gaza rally in support of women prisoners.

(Additional reporting by Emily Rose in Jerusalem; writing by James Mackenzie; editing by Mark Heinrich)
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House GOP votes to oust Democrat Omar from major committee
RACIST ISLAMOPHOBIC MISOGYNISTS HIDING BEHIND FAKE ANTI-SEMITISM OUTRAGE

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Jan. 25, 2023, in Washington. House Republicans are preparing to oust Omar from the House Foreign Affairs Committee. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File) 


KEVIN FREKING and LISA MASCARO
Wed, February 1, 2023 

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Republican-led House voted after raucous debate Thursday to oust Democrat Ilhan Omar from the chamber's Foreign Affairs Committee, citing her anti-Israel comments, in a dramatic escalation after Democrats last session booted far-right GOP lawmakers over incendiary remarks.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was able to solidify Republican support against the Somali-born Muslim woman in the new Congress although some GOP lawmakers had expressed reservations. Removal of lawmakers from House committees was essentially unprecedented until the Democratic ousters two years ago of hard-right Republican Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Paul Gosar of Arizona.

The 218-211 vote, along party lines, came after a heated, voices-raised debate in which Democrats accused the GOP of targeting Omar based on her race. Omar defended herself on the House floor, asking if anyone was surprised she was being targeted, “because when you push power, power pushes back." Democratic colleagues hugged and embraced their colleague during the vote.

“My voice will get louder and stronger, and my leadership will be celebrated around the world,” Omar said in a closing speech.

Republicans focused on six statements Omar has made that “under the totality of the circumstances, disqualify her from serving on the Committee of Foreign Affairs,” said Rep. Michael Guest, R-Miss.

“All members, both Republicans and Democrats alike who seek to serve on Foreign Affairs, should be held to the highest standard of conduct due to the international sensitivity and national security concerns under the jurisdiction of this committee,” Guest said.

The resolution proposed by Rep. Max Miller, R-Ohio, a former official in the Trump administration, declared, “Omar’s comments have brought dishonor to the House of Representatives.”

Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York said Omar has at times “made mistakes" and used antisemitic tropes that were condemned by House Democrats four years ago. But that's not what Thursday's vote was about, he said.

“It's not about accountability, it’s about political revenge," Jeffries said.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, went took it one step further, saying that the GOP's action was one of the “disgusting legacies after 9/11," a reference to he Sept. 11, 2001, attack — "the targeting and racism against Muslim-Americans throughout the United States of America. And this is an extension of that legacy."

She added, “This is about targeting women of color."

Omar is one of the first two Muslim women elected to Congress. She is also the first to wear a hijab in the House chamber after floor rules were changed to allow members to wear head coverings for religious reasons.

She quickly generated controversy after entering Congress in 2019 with a pair of tweets that suggested lawmakers who supported Israel were motivated by money.

In the first, she criticized the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC. “It’s all about the Benjamins baby,” she wrote, invoking slang about $100 bills.

Asked on Twitter who she though was paying members of Congress to support Israel, Omar responded, “AIPAC!”

The comments sparked a public rebuke from then House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Democrats who made clear that Omar had overstepped.

She soon apologized.

“We have to always be willing to step back and think through criticism, just as I expect people to hear me when others attack me about my identity,” Omar tweeted. “This is why I unequivocally apologize.”

Democrats rallied in a fiery defense of Omar and the experiences she brings to the Congress.

Black, Latino and progressive lawmakers in particular spoke of her unique voice in the House and criticized Republicans for what they called a racist attack.

“Racist gaslighting,” said Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo. A “revenge resolution,” said Rep. Primila Jayapal of Washington, the chair of the progressive caucus.

“It’s so painful to watch,” said Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., who joined Congress with Omar in 2019 the first two female Muslims elected to the House.

“To Congresswoman Omar, I am so sorry that our country is failing you today through this chamber,” Tlaib said through tears. “You belong on that committee.”

Omar’s previous comments were among several remarks highlighted in the resolutions seeking her removal from the Foreign Affairs Committee.

The chairman of the committee, Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas, argued for excluding Omar from the panel during a recent closed-door meeting with fellow Republicans.

“It’s just that her worldview of Israel is so diametrically opposed to the committee’s,” McCaul told reporters in describing his stance. “I don’t mind having differences of opinion, but this goes beyond that.”

McCarthy has already blocked Reps. Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell, both California Democrats, from rejoining the House Intelligence Committee once the GOP took control of the chamber in January. While appointments to the intelligence panel are the prerogative of the speaker, the action on Omar requires a House vote.

Several Republicans skeptical of removing Omar wanted “due process” for lawmakers who face removal. McCarthy said he told them he would work with Democrats on creating a due process system, but acknowledged it’s still a work in progress.
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Bone marrow transplant may halt brain blood vessel disease in adults with sickle cell disease

American Stroke Association International Stroke Conference 2023, Abstract 35

Reports and Proceedings

AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION

Research Highlights:

  • Among adults with sickle cell disease, bone marrow transplants halted or reversed damage to blood vessels in the brain, according to a new study.
  • Comparing brain images before and after bone marrow transplantation, researchers noted improvements in blood vessels and brain tissue over time.

DALLAS, Feb. 2, 2023 — Bone marrow transplants prevented or improved blood vessel disease in the brains of adults with sickle cell disease, according to preliminary research to be presented at the American Stroke Association’s International Stroke Conference 2023. The meeting, to be held in person in Dallas and virtually Feb. 8-10, 2023, is a world premier meeting for researchers and clinicians dedicated to the science of stroke and brain health.

“Sickle cell disease is a group of inherited disorders caused by mutations in hemoglobin and is a major risk factor for stroke in children and adults. It causes abnormally shaped (sickled) red blood cells that interact with the inner lining of blood vessels and can lead to blockages in blood vessels,” said John K. Lynch, D.O., M.P.H., lead author of the study and an associate research physician in the Stroke Branch at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), a division of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland.

“The two main brain blood vessel complications of sickle cell disease are vasculopathy – where some vessels may become enlarged like an aneurysm, or some vessels may narrow and block; silent brain injuries can occur throughout the brain as a result of vasculopathy,” Lynch said.

Abnormal narrowing or bulging of blood vessels in the brain may lead to stroke, a major cause of death and disability in children and adults with sickle cell. Bone marrow is found in the center of most bones and contains stem cells that may transform into red blood cells, white blood cells or platelets. Previous research on bone marrow transplantation in children has been shown to be helpful. In this study, researchers explored the impact of bone marrow transplantation on the development and progression of blood vessel irregularities in adults with sickle cell.

“We were surprised that bone marrow transplant reversed some of the changes in brain vessels. We thought that bone marrow transplantation would stop the changes from getting worse, however, we did not think it would reverse the changes,” Lynch said. “The focus of our study was to determine if receiving stem cell transplants may lead to positive changes in blood vessels in the brain among those with sickle cell disease.”

Researchers examined a National Institutes of Health study population of adults with sickle cell disease who had received bone marrow transplants between 2004 and 2019. The patients received pre- and post-op MRI/MRA imaging that was reviewed by two independent imaging professionals and were scored for narrowing vessels in eight arteries of the brain and for any presence of aneurysms. Researchers then compared changes in blood vessels before and after bone marrow transplantation in 87 people (58% men, average age 32 years), during a follow-up period of more than 3 years.

The study found:

  • 28% of the people had evidence of blood vessel issues in the brain – 17% had narrowing vessels and 13% had bulging vessels that were present at the time of their bone marrow transplants.
  • Comparing blood-vessel abnormalities before and after bone marrow transplantation, researchers noted none of the participants without vessel abnormalities developed narrowing or bulging after the transplant.
  • A review of the brain imaging scans indicated that narrowing improved after the bone marrow transplant in 62% of patients with vessel abnormalities.

“Our study is unique in that we examined adults with sickle cell disease for a long period of time, and we were able to compare the differences in blood vessels and brain tissue over time,” Lynch said.

“We suspect that the reduction in the number of sickle cells and the improvement of the cells’ oxygen-carrying capacity led to a reduction in the number of strokes after bone marrow transplantation,” Lynch said.

Limitations of the study were that it did not include a comparison group of patients who did not receive bone-marrow transplants. In addition, some patients were followed for a short time while others were followed for longer periods. “We would need a more uniform follow-up time for all study participants to help us understand if it takes time for the vasculopathy to stop or get better, or if this happens quickly,” Lynch said.

“Our hope is that bone-marrow transplantation may be considered more often for people with sickle cell disease and that other less invasive and potentially life-saving treatments may be developed for people with sickle cell disease.”

Co-authors are Nathan Lightfoot, D.O.; Pranusha Pinna, D.O.; Nathan Bicher, M.D.; Matthew Hsieh, M.D.; Gina Norato, M.D.; and John F. Tisdale, M.D.  Authors’ disclosures are listed in the abstract.

The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), divisions of the National Institutes of Health.

Statements and conclusions of studies that are presented at the American Heart Association’s scientific meetings are solely those of the study authors and do not necessarily reflect the Association’s policy or position. The Association makes no representation or guarantee as to their accuracy or reliability. Abstracts presented at the Association’s scientific meetings are not peer-reviewed, rather, they are curated by independent review panels and are considered based on the potential to add to the diversity of scientific issues and views discussed at the meeting. The findings are considered preliminary until published as a full manuscript in a peer-reviewed scientific journal.

The Association receives funding primarily from individuals; foundations and corporations (including pharmaceutical, device manufacturers and other companies) also make donations and fund specific Association programs and events. The Association has strict policies to prevent these relationships from influencing the science content. Revenues from pharmaceutical and biotech companies, device manufacturers and health insurance providers and the Association’s overall financial information are available here.

Additional Resources:

The American Stroke Association’s International Stroke Conference (ISC) is the world’s premier meeting dedicated to the science and treatment of cerebrovascular disease. ISC 2023 will be held in person in Dallas and virtually, Feb. 8-10, 2023. The three-day conference will feature more than a thousand compelling presentations in categories that emphasize basic, clinical and translational sciences as research evolves toward a better understanding of stroke pathophysiology with the goal of developing more effective therapies. Engage in the International Stroke Conference on social media via #ISC23.

About the American Stroke Association

The American Stroke Association is devoted to saving people from stroke — the No. 2 cause of death in the world and a leading cause of serious disability. We team with millions of volunteers to fund innovative research, fight for stronger public health policies and provide lifesaving tools and information to prevent and treat stroke. The Dallas-based association officially launched in 1998 as a division of the American Heart Association. To learn more or to get involved, call 1-888-4STROKE or visit stroke.org. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter.


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