TORY GOVT WANTS TO PRIVATIZE
Manitoba minister attacks NDP and union in video about liquor stores strike

The Canadian Press
Mon, August 14, 2023 



WINNIPEG — Manitoba's minister responsible for the province's liquor and lotteries corporation says people who are upset they can't buy alcohol due to a strike by staff at Crown-owned liquor stores should blame "the NDP and their union friends."

Andrew Smith's comments were contained in a video that was posted Friday to the governing Progressive Conservatives' Facebook page, where he said the Opposition prevented passage of government legislation that would have allowed more private liquor sales.

"It's summertime. We know that everyone likes a nice cold drink. But unfortunately that's not going to be possible this weekend thanks to the NDP and their union friends," Smith said in the video.

"You could have had alcohol purchases in grocery stores, your local corner store. These types of changes were made possible by our PC government, but unfortunately the NDP delayed that legislation."

All Liquor Marts in Manitoba except two in Winnipeg were to be closed over the weekend due to an ongoing labour dispute. Some 1,400 workers who have been without a collective agreement for more than a year started a provincewide strike last week after the Crown-owned Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries shuttered more of its locations as contract talks stalled.

The workers had been holding short-term strikes since July, but decided to ramp up efforts after Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries failed to meet their requests.

Earlier this year, the New Democrats used procedural rules in the legislature to delay passage of two liquor bills beyond the summer break.

One of the bills would pave the way for a pilot project in which liquor would be available in more retail environments such as corner stores or grocery stores. The second bill would allow private beer vendors and specialty wine stores to sell a wider range of alcohol products.

"(NDP Leader) Wab Kinew and the union bosses don't want you, the consumer, to have choice," Smith said in Friday's video, which featured him opening a beverage at the end of it.

Under legislature rules, the Opposition can delay up to five bills beyond the summer break. Normally, that pushes back the bills' passage until the fall. But with an election this year, the delayed bills may not come to a final vote.

Voters head to the polls in a provincial election on Oct. 3, and parties are already making statements about their platforms.

Kinew posted a short video statement on Sunday saying Premier Heather Stefanson could end the strike today.

"If I were the premier of Manitoba, I would ensure that you, the people of Manitoba get your beer. And I would ensure that people who serve it to you are paid a fair wage. It's that simple," Kinew said in the video.

Smith's video appeared to conflict with remarks reported in other media by Stefanson on Friday, in which she accused the striking workers' union of "politicizing" the issue. An interview request to Smith was passed on to the PC Party, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.

The president of the Manitoba Government and General Employees' Union said last week the latest contract offer was for four years with two per cent wage hikes each year and some wage adjustments to compensate for minimum wage in the province going up to $15.30 this fall.

Christopher Adams, an adjunct professor of political studies at the University of Manitoba, said the PCs have been focusing on the NDP's ties to organized labour, and the strike at liquor stores is one that affects people closely.

Adams said a lot of people view two per cent annual increases as small compared to inflation, but those opinions could change if the strike continues.

"It depends how the middle class will perceive it over the next month," Adams said. "And I think the longer it goes for, the more chance it will start bending towards the PC's side of things as people become more affected by the strike."

Lisa Naylor, the NDP critic for Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries, said her party delayed the legislation that would have allowed more private liquor sales because it felt the issue needed more study.

Naylor said there were concerns about alcohol being available for sale in corner stores such as 7-Eleven, where families shop.

"I think Manitobans are losing patience with a government that is so bent on interfering in the fair bargaining process and doesn't care about workers, and continues to pick fights with workers, especially low-paid workers," Naylor said in an interview.

"So far, folks are supporting the workers. That's what we just keep seeing everywhere."

—By Rob Drinkwater in Edmonton.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 14, 2023.

The Canadian Press

Museum to honor Navajo Code Talkers is about $40 million shy of reality

Tue, August 15, 2023 

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A museum in New Mexico to honor the Navajo Code Talkers is about $40 million shy of becoming a reality, according to organizers.

The state put $6.4 million in capital outlay funds toward the project this year, but the museum’s organizers face a significant financial climb before doors can open, the Santa Fe New Mexican reported Tuesday.

“Our capacity is severely limited,” said Regan Hawthorne, CEO of the Navajo Code Talkers Museum. “We’re still fledgling. We’re still gaining momentum in finding our identity.”

Hawthorne’s late father, Roy Hawthorne, was a Marine who served as a Code Talker on South Pacific islands from 1942 to 1945.

The complex, unbreakable code was developed by an original group of 29 Navajo Marines in 1942. They used it in combat communications in Pacific campaigns during World War II and helped U.S. forces gain ground and victories.

Only three of the original Navajo Code Talkers are still alive.

The Chevron Mining Co. donated more than 200 acres in McKinley County in 2009 for a Code Talkers museum, but the project has not gained much momentum since then.

Regan Hawthorne said the museum’s leaders have to finalize a deal with the Navajo Nation on the land for the museum.

To avoid a problem with the state’s anti-donation clause, he said, museum leaders are working on a deal to give or sell the land to the tribe.

Regan Hawthorne added that finding funding has been challenging, in part because of confusion over the land and museum organizers' lack of an office where they can meet people and solicit financial support.

The tribe celebrates the Code Talkers every Aug. 14 and have done so since 1982, when President Ronald Reagan proclaimed the date as National Navajo Code Talkers Day.

On Monday, the 25th Navajo Nation Council paid tribute to the Code Talkers again at an event held at the Navajo Veterans Memorial Park in Window Rock, Arizona.

The Associated Press

Georgia’s indictment of Trump is a confirmation of states’ rights, a favorite cause of Republicans since Reagan

Stefanie Lindquist, Foundation Professor of Law and Political Science, Arizona State University
Mon, August 14, 2023 

Fulton County Sheriff officers block off a street in front of the Fulton County Courthouse on August 14, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

For the past 50 years, Republican policymakers and judges have sought to bolster federalism in the United States. Since Ronald Reagan’s first inaugural address in 1981, Republicans have been calling for policymakers to rein in the federal government in favor of devolving more power to the states.

Contrary to what it sounds like, “federalism” does not mean a strong central government. Instead, it refers to a system of government in which the people may be regulated by both the federal and state governments.

Reagan succinctly expressed it in his 1981 inaugural speech: “It is my intention to curb the size and influence of the Federal establishment and to demand recognition of the distinction between the powers granted to the Federal Government and those reserved to the States or to the people.”

All U.S. citizens are actually citizens of two separate governments: They are citizens of the United States as well as citizens of the state in which they live. And they are subject to two systems of law as a result.

The Framers valued federalism – and the division of power between different levels of government – as a bulwark against tyranny and a protector of liberty.

But this division of power has doubled the trouble for the leading Republican in the country: former president and likely GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump, who now stands indicted on 13 criminal counts by a Fulton County, Georgia, grand jury for “knowingly and willfully” joining “a conspiracy to unlawfully change the outcome of the election.” Eighteen others were also indicted on a variety of charges related to the attempt to overturn the election.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis in an April 19, 2023, portrait in Atlanta. AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File

Prosecutions by ‘separate sovereign governments’

With federalism come two sources of law – state and federal – which creates a complex web of regulations that can lead to criminal charges at both the state and federal levels, even for the same behavior.

While this may sound like a violation of the constitutional ban on double jeopardy, that constitutional protection only applies to repeated prosecutions by the same sovereign government. The state and federal governments are separate sovereign governments.

The federal government may criminalize behavior within the constraints imposed by the U.S. Constitution that limit federal power. Most federal crimes involve some form of interstate travel or transactions, for example. But the states’ criminal codes may often regulate the same behavior or additional behaviors with different standards and different penalties.

For example, when Timothy McVeigh blew up the federal building in Oklahoma City in 1995, he was subject to prosecution by both state and federal officials for violations of the laws of both governments.

McVeigh committed federal crimes, such as use of a weapon of mass destruction on federal property and the murder of federal law enforcement officers. The state of Oklahoma [could also have prosecuted him] for violating Oklahoma murder statutes, among other state criminal violations, although once McVeigh was convicted and sentenced to death in a federal trial, Oklahoma prosecutors did not ultimately seek to bring a case against him.

Donald Trump is now experiencing the full weight of a system of government in which criminal law is produced and enforced by law enforcement agencies and prosecutors across 50 states and by one powerful central government.

Fulton County Court Clerk Che Alexander arrives with indictments for Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney on August 14, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. Megan Varner/Getty Images

The ‘very essence’ of federalism

Trump’s activities in Georgia and New York may be prosecuted independently by state prosecutors – district attorneys and state attorneys general – under those states’ criminal codes.

At the same time, many of the facts implicated in the Georgia and New York cases could contribute to, or be relevant to, federal criminal prosecutions as well.

Prosecutions at both levels represent the very essence of federalism in action.

Usually in such circumstances, state and federal prosecutors must negotiate with one another about who will bring their prosecutions first, and how the state and federal trials will be managed and accommodated by each government.

But no matter what, neither set of officials has the power to deny the other the chance to prosecute a defendant who has violated the laws of their respective jurisdictions.

There is abundant irony in the fact that federalism – championed by Republicans and conservative judges for decades – now has come to haunt the leading Republican for the U.S. presidency.

And even more ironic is that even if he becomes president again, Donald Trump will not have the authority to pardon himself – if that is even constitutional – or anyone else for the violation of state crimes.

Presidential pardon authority extends to federal crimes alone.

This article is republished from The Conversation, an independent nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts.

It was written by: Stefanie Lindquist, Arizona State University.

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Some Georgia Republicans get it: Fani Willis just did them a huge favor

Amanda Marcotte

Tue, August 15, 2023 

Joe Raedle/Getty Images


Let's hope Georgia Republicans remember the manners their mamas taught them, because if Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis succeeds in her mission of punishing Donald Trump, they owe her a big pile of thank-you cards. I recommend 11,780 cards, one for every vote that Trump demanded that Georgia Secretary State Brad Raffensperger "find" during their infamous phone conversation on Jan. 2, 2021. They should probably include some bouquets of flowers and perhaps a peach cobbler or two. As Republican leaders on the ground in Georgia are no doubt aware, if Trump doesn't pay for his crimes, they could very well find themselves once again being told by their party leader: Break the law for me, or lose your political career.

On Monday, the grand jury convened by Willis pushed late into the night before returning a startling, sweeping 98-page racketeering indictment that names Trump and 18 other felony defendants (as well as more than two dozen unindicted co-conspirators and "others not named"). Willis has outlined a large-scale conspiracy intended to keep Trump in power after losing the 2020 presidential election. The indictment names an all-star roster of well-known Trump confidants and advisers — including Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman, Mark Meadows, Jeff Clark, Jenna Ellis and Sidney Powell — as well as lower-level Georgia Republicans allegedly involved in the "fake elector" scheme or in breaching the voting systems in a rural county.

It's not just Democrats who seem to feel giddy about this. Some Georgia Republicans appear to be quietly celebrating the potential downfall of a man who seemed determined to rope all of them into a dangerous criminal conspiracy. After all, these are people, as the Washington Post reported Monday, who heard Donald Trump Jr. present them with a choice: Risk prison for his dad or face the destruction of their careers.

While major players in national Republican politics, including House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, have decided to die on the hill of defending Trump, many state Republican leaders in Georgia (and lots of other places) seem more interested to see Trump behind bars and out of their lives for good. Willis' indictments appear to rest heavily on the testimony of state and local Republicans, some of whom were seen going in and out of the Atlanta courtroom Monday. In front of a jury and the nation, this makes it a lot tougher for Trump and his supporters to sell the "partisan witch hunt" narrative. One of those GOP witnesses, former Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, seems especially clear-headed about the fact that Trump is a parasite on his party's hide, and will suck them dry if he's not forcibly removed.

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"As Republicans we need to take our medicine and realize the election wasn't rigged," Duncan told Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporter Greg Bluestein, after giving testimony before the grand jury Monday. "Donald Trump was the worst candidate ever, in the history of our party. Even worse than Herschel Walker. And now we are going to have to pivot from there."

Duncan's optimism that his party can "pivot" away from Trump and recover from the MAGA infection anytime soon may be overly optimistic. All he needs to do is look at the immense power that an insurrection-friendly member of Congress from his state, Marjorie Taylor Greene, has amassed in the GOP Congress. Republicans have turned against democracy not just because of Donald Trump, but because of their own growing awareness that right's political agenda is widely unpopular among most Americans.

We can all agree with Duncan, however, that it would be nice if Trump were too busy serving time to run for president.

During the coup, one quote from an anonymous Republican official became immediately infamous as a symptom for the party's failure to take Trump's fascist yearnings seriously: "What is the downside for humoring him for this little bit of time? No one seriously thinks the results will change."

But it's the second part of the quote that came to mind for me during the coverage of these indictments: "He went golfing this weekend. It's not like he's plotting how to prevent Joe Biden from taking power on Jan. 20. He's tweeting about filing some lawsuits, those lawsuits will fail, then he'll tweet some more about how the election was stolen, and then he'll leave."

Yeah, that's not how it went, is it?

We've since learned how much Trump did to try to overturn the results of the election. The evidence that's been released paints a picture of a man singularly obsessed with leading this coup. He worked the phones relentlessly, pressuring state and local officials to break the law for him. He held multiple scheming meetings with his co-conspirators. He badgered Vice President Mike Pence on Christmas Day to steal the election for him. He falsified documents, including a notarized document appealing to Justice Clarence Thomas to halt the electoral vote count. Trump worked harder on his coup, it's fair to say, than he has ever done in either politics or business.

Details like this offer some insight into why Duncan and other Republicans are pinning their hopes on this indictment being the event that finally break the spell Trump holds over the GOP base. It's not just that a possible trial of Trump and the other defendants in Georgia would almost entirely feature Republican witnesses, undermining Trump's efforts to paint this as Democratic persecution. The high drama of the evening was also a reminder of one big difference between Georgia's state courts and the federal courts in which special counsel Jack Smith must work: Cameras. Federal courts hate 'em, but Georgia has them.

Yes, the early part of the evening was a bit underwhelming as Judge Robert McBurney received the indictment, flipped through its pages and then joke to reporters in the room, "Was it all that you hoped it would be?" But when Willis' 98-page whopper finally dropped shortly after 11 p.m., it was worth the wait. And there were the cameras, which weren't present for any of the federal court proceedings. This trial, if it actually goes forward at some point in our lifetimes, will likely be on live TV.

Trump has benefited from the camera-free atmosphere of his previous indictments, including the one he faced in New York, which tends not to permit cameras in the courtroom. We got just one set of photos from that arraignment, showing Trump's grumpy-defendant face, and that was it in terms of evocative imagery. That essentially creates an information vacuum Trump and his propagandists can fill with lies.

As we saw in the House Jan. 6 committee hearings last summer, the wiggle-and-lie games that Trump and his apologists play gets a lot more difficult when they're faced with televised testimony and evidence. Trump's dramatic self-own during his deposition in E. Jean Carroll's civil suit was more of the same. The bullshit train tends to go off the rails during cross-examination. It's entirely possible that relentless trial coverage, full of videos and screen captures that make clear how guilty Trump and his allies are, could do real damage to the MAGA tribe's efforts to keep pretending their man is the innocent victim of a witch hunt.

For the purposes of the anti-MAGA majority, TV may not matter, beyond the emotional satisfaction of watching Trump make poop-face expressions, day after day, as he faces the possibility of real accountability. MAGA is a movement based more on the rising bitterness of a shrinking right wing minority than on Donald Trump's alleged personal charisma. If Trump disappears tomorrow, all those folks would still be out there.

You can see why Republicans like Geoff Duncan, who still have hopes of salvaging their party, feel like they can see daylight at last. For them, Trump's criminal conduct is the biggest threat. After all, in a purple state like Georgia (which has many deep-red regions) Republicans do just fine with the democratic system. They still win elections much of the time — Georgia has two Democratic senators, but the GOP holds the state house and controls the state legislature, and generally doesn't need to worry about going to jail. Trump has threatened to destroy all that, pretty much permanently.

So, hey, Republicans: Don't sign the card if you're feeling shy, but send Fani Willis flowers, chocolates and a really nice thank-you card. She's put a tremendous amount of work into saving your party from itself. She deserves it.

AAA is offering a new game-changing service for drivers with electric vehicles: ‘I would like to see this expand more’

Jane Donohue
Mon, August 14, 2023



Demand for electric vehicles is at an all-time high as drivers are recognizing the benefits for their wallets and the environment.

To answer this demand, AAA has partnered with Blink Charging, a designer and manufacturer of EV charging stations, to provide more charging options for AAA members.

Of the company’s many services, its roadside assistance is perhaps the most well known. AAA members can request towing, tire changes, winching, and a variety of other roadside services from local providers contracted by AAA.

Now, under the new partnership, Blink Charging will supply these providers and AAA branch offices with EV charging stations. The partnership will apply to 60,000 locations across the country.

AAA has already been working to expand its offerings to EV drivers. In December, the group announced that trucks in 15 cities would be equipped with mobile EV charging stations to give drivers the boost they needed to reach the nearest charging station.

The partnership is a win-win. AAA can provide better assistance to EV drivers, and EV owners concerned about their vehicle running out of charge on the road can feel assured that the nearest charging station is never far away.

One of the most common reasons people don’t buy EVs is because they experience “range anxiety” — the fear of running out of charge. As charging stations become more widespread, drivers can put that worry to rest and make the switch.

Even taking into account the electricity used for charging, EVs create less planet-overheating carbon pollution than vehicles with combustion engines. More EV drivers means less harmful pollution in our atmosphere.

Regarding the partnership, Michael Battaglia, Blink’s chief revenue officer, said in a statement: “As EVs become increasingly commonplace, there is a growing demand for charging services with roadside assistance. Teaming up with AAA presents a great solution.”

Drivers were excited to hear about AAA’s new offerings for EVs and hoped the program would become widespread.

“This is great,” one person commented on Electrek’s article reporting the news. “I would like to see this expand more.”

“Trucks with mobile chargers are a great idea,” another added. “We need those trucks in rural areas where there aren’t many chargers.”

Evergrande’s EV Maker Soars on $500 Million Stake Sale Deal

Anne Riley Moffat and Craig Trudell
Mon, August 14, 2023 



(Bloomberg) -- The electric-vehicle unit of defaulted property developer China Evergrande Group agreed to sell a roughly 28% stake to Dubai-based startup NWTN Inc., sending the carmaker’s shares soaring Tuesday on expectations the deal could keep it in business.

NWTN will invest $500 million in China Evergrande New Energy Vehicle Group Ltd. in exchange for shares and a majority of the EV maker’s board, the companies announced Monday. The transaction is subject to conditions including Evergrande Group’s debt restructuring, as well as regulatory and shareholder approvals.

Evergrande NEV jumped as much as 47% in Hong Kong trading Tuesday, paring the gain to 21% as of 9:50 a.m. local time.

In its first report of financial results in two years, Evergrande NEV last month posted an $11.7 billion loss for 2021 and 2022 and warned of its ability to continue as a going concern. NWTN, founded by Chinese entrepreneur Alan Nan Wu, said it believes the automaker can help meet demand for EVs in the Middle East, including the United Arab Emirates.

The companies expect the deal to close in the fourth quarter.

Evergrande NEV stock is an important part of the wider group’s debt restructuring, which is among the largest ever in China. Evergrande has proposed that creditors can choose to receive a combination of new debt and instruments tied to the shares of its property-services unit, its EV division or the builder itself.

At its peak valuation in April 2021, Evergrande NEV was worth more than Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Co., despite not yet having started sales. It began delivering electric sport utility vehicles late last year.

Editorial: EVs have big batteries. They should come equipped to power homes and the grid in emergencies

The Times Editorial Board
Sun, August 13, 2023 

General Motors plans to build its electric cars and trucks with two-way charging capability that allow them to provide backup power. This should be a standard feature to help bolster the grid and cope with blackouts. (Gary Friedman/Los Angeles Times)

Efforts to give the nation’s growing fleet of electric vehicles a second job as backup power sources got a significant boost last week.

General Motors announced Tuesday that all of its electric vehicles will have two-way charging capability by model year 2026, with some available by 2024. The feature, known as vehicle-to-home, enables their massive batteries to power homes during blackouts, heat waves and other periods of high energy demand.

As it is now, electric cars remain a huge and largely untapped source of power for homes and buildings because only a handful of models are equipped with this technology.

GM’s announcement is good news, and a promising indication of where the auto market is headed. At a time when worsening heat waves and wildfires from climate change are raising the risk of outages and home and vehicle electrification puts more strain on the power grid, we need all the battery storage we can get.

This is another welcome development after GM's change of heart with the Chevrolet Bolt, the affordable, compact electric car the company planned to discontinue, only to announce last month that it would bring it back. The Bolt is one of the few EVs currently eligible for the full federal $7,500 tax credit, and its new version will come equipped with two-way charging.

There is a small but growing number of electric vehicle models that offer the ability to send electricity in both directions. Tesla, whose electric Model Y is California’s best-selling passenger vehicle, also plans for its lineup to be outfitted with two-way charging capabilities by 2025.

Read more: Editorial: California should tap its growing fleet of EVs to prevent blackouts

But consumers shouldn’t be dependent on the sometimes fickle pledges of carmakers. That’s why California lawmakers should support legislation to require backup power capability as a standard feature. Senate Bill 233, by state Sen. Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley), would require that all new electric vehicles sold in California have two-way charging capability starting in model year 2030.

It's a no-brainer. And if anything, 2030 isn't soon enough.

California has moved too slowly to enact policies to tap vehicle batteries to keep the lights on, because in an ideal world two-way charging requirements would have been in place well in advance of the auto market’s accelerating shift to electric. Electric, plug-in hybrid and fuel cell models now account for 1 in 4 of new car sales in California, and it would be a wasted opportunity if people are unable to use them as backup power sources or to feed into the electrical grid when demand is high.

Read more: Commentary: Goodbye gas. New all-electric homes show how to live without fossil fuels

It’s perplexing, though not entirely surprising, that automakers have opposed this legislation, calling a two-way charging requirement “premature” even as companies such as Hyundai, Kia, Nissan and Ford promote it as a desirable feature in some of their own vehicles.

The industry lobbying group, the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, wrote in a letter to lawmakers last month that customers should not be forced to pay for a feature they may not use, and “this technology is a competitive matter between vehicle manufacturers and should remain that way.”

It sounds like they just don’t like being told what to do.

But there is value in ensuring that all car buyers are able to benefit from this technology, not just those who can afford high-end models, such as the Ford F-150 Lightning, which boasts the ability to power a home for three days.

Read more: Editorial: Heat waves are disasters. Why don't they get federal disaster relief?

It also doesn't make sense to spend upwards of $10,000 on a home battery storage system, like a Tesla Powerwall, in addition to an electric car with a battery that could offer those same benefits.

Making two-way charging technology standard could help with EV adoption and raise the value proposition of going electric by making it clear that consumers will not only save on fuel and maintenance costs, but also gain attractive and practical new features.

Vehicles are not the only technological or financial obstacle that needs to be addressed. Charging stations should also be upgraded with the ability to send electricity in both directions, and it currently costs thousands of dollars to outfit a home with the equipment needed to feed electricity from a plugged-in vehicle to the grid.

It’s clear that state and federal officials and the auto industry need to do a lot more before we see the widespread use of electric vehicles to power homes or the electrical grid, but requiring this capability in new vehicles is a sensible first step. It is not just a nice-to-have amenity, like heated seats and a moon roof, but an essential feature for consumers and the power grid.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

IMPERIALISM & WORLD ECONOMY

China 'winning lion's share' of construction projects in Africa, study finds


South China Morning Post
Sun, August 13, 2023

In the 1990s, about eight out of 10 contracts to build infrastructure in Africa were won by Western companies.

That started to change when China made an aggressive push into the continent, with a "going out" strategy that encouraged Chinese companies to venture overseas in search of markets and raw materials.

By 2013, when Xi Jinping became China's president, Western firms were running 37 per cent of African infrastructure projects versus 12 per cent for Chinese companies, according to a new report by the Hinrich Foundation, an Asia-based philanthropic organisation.

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Now, the tables have turned. Chinese companies accounted for 31 per cent of African infrastructure contracts valued at US$50 million or more in 2022, compared with 12 per cent for Western firms, the study on Africa's growing clout in global trade and geopolitics found.

Chinese companies have built multibillion-dollar projects across the continent, including ports, railways, highways, bridges and hydroelectric dams - fuelled by Beijing's vast Belt and Road Initiative.

"This is a big change from 1990, when US and European companies won 85 per cent of African construction contracts," according to the study conducted by Keith Rockwell, a senior research fellow and former World Trade Organization director.

Rockwell said that under the belt and road strategy, launched in 2013, China had funded mega projects worth billions of dollars such as railways in Kenya and Ethiopia and ports in Djibouti and Nigeria.

In 10 years, engagement through the initiative has exceeded US$1 trillion globally, according to estimates by the Green Finance and Development Centre at Fudan University in Shanghai.

Rockwell noted that China is also Africa's largest trading partner, with US$250 billion in trade in 2021 compared with US$62 billion in US-Africa trade.

The study found that Chinese infrastructure projects in sub-Saharan Africa totalled US$155 billion over the past two years, and that such investments had given Beijing leverage over African governments. By contrast, total US foreign direct investment in Africa came to US$44.8 billion in 2021.

"With such close trade and business relations it's no surprise that China is winning the lion's share of infrastructure project contracts," Rockwell said.

Aly-Khan Satchu, a sub-­Saharan Africa geoeconomic ­analyst, said China had been more innovative in its financing and was "significantly speedier" in making its strategic pivot to the continent.

"Of course, there have been nuances in this pivot. In the early stage Africa's balance sheet was emerging from a restructuring and debt forgiveness and therefore there was a significant amount of space and China's lending reflected this in its 'aggressive' initial phase," Satchu said.

However, Rockwell noted that China is encountering some headwinds in its dealings with Africa. He said projects including a railway in Kenya and a traffic lighting project in Ghana had been controversial and had generated negative public reaction.

He said belt and road lending had fallen by 55 per cent from 2021 to 2022 to US$7.5 billion while overall lending fell from US$28.4 billion in 2016 to US$1.9 billion in 2020. "Some of this is due to the difficulty some African countries have faced in meeting their debt obligations," Rockwell added.

Still, he said China's relations with Africa were "broad and deep" and likely to remain strong for many years.

According to the study, China is clearly ahead in the great power competition for political and economic relationships in Africa. During the Donald Trump era, the US turned its back on Africa, while relations between Europe and its former African colonies have deteriorated, and China "rushed to fill the void".

That includes the exploration and extraction of critical metals such as cobalt and lithium - essential raw materials for making the rechargeable batteries that power electric vehicles and solar panels.

The study noted that Chinese companies have stolen a march on their US and EU rivals in converting metals to raw materials for batteries. Chinese companies are now sourcing lithium from Zimbabwe and Namibia while the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia are top sources for cobalt.

China's share of global lithium refining capacity is 58 per cent and until similar facilities are operational in Europe, the US or Africa itself, China will be the main customer for Africa's lithium, the study said, citing the International Energy Agency.

But it noted that Brussels and Washington are playing catch-up. To counter China's belt and road scheme, the US and its Group of Seven partners last year pledged US$600 billion over five years to the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment. Africa is likely to be the principal recipient of these funds.

The US has pledged to fund construction of the Lobito corridor railway line to transport minerals from the DRC and Zambia to the port on Angola's Atlantic coast.

The European Union in 2021 also unveiled the Global Gateway, which aims to mobilise up to €300 billion (US$330 billion) in investments between 2021 and 2027 to counter Chinese investments in developing countries, including in Africa.

Satchu said China had an "unassailable lead" in Africa, with significant "assets" on the ground after more than two decades of engagement.

"Both the US and Europe need to come to the party in the context of the battle for minerals, which will power the new economy," he added.

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2023 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

Copyright (c) 2023. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

Chinese Military Says It’s Figured Out How to Build Laser Weapons That Can Fire Indefinitely

Noor Al-Sibai
Sun, August 13, 2023

Beam Me Up

The Chinese military has announced what could be a major breakthrough in energy weapon tech — if it holds up.

As the South China Morning Post reports, representatives from the country's National University of Defence Technology say they've developed a state-of-the-art cooling system that would allow high-energy lasers to remain powered up "infinitely" without getting too hot.

While laser technology has existed for decades, these high-energy beams generate so much excess heat that they often go haywire, hampering previous attempts at similar weapon systems around the world.

The new Chinese cooling system, according to the report, would use gas that blows through the weapon to remove excess heat and allow for weapons to shoot precise laser beams for an indefinite amount of time without losing power or getting distorted.

"High-quality beams can be produced not only in the first second, but also maintained indefinitely," the team wrote in a new paper on the purported cooling tech, published in the Chinese-language journal Acta Optica Sinica.

Arms Race

The United States has, as the SCMP notes, often dabbled in similar tech. But these projects have largely failed to become mainstream weapons because, as the report suggests, they simply weren't destructive enough.

In a tweet about the reports, former British military official Steve Weaver noted that if the news is true, it would put China ahead of the United States in more ways than one.

"If [Chinese scientists] have overcome the heating and distortion issues as claimed, in a (relatively) small enough unit for deployment," Weaver wrote, "this is a big breakthrough considering the US failures in this area."

Along with providing a supposedly cheaper alternative to old-school missile systems because it won't need traditional munitions, these cool lasers could also be used to shoot down satellites like those provided by Elon Musk's Starlink system, military scientists told the SCMP.

The claims should, of course, be taken with a grain of salt until we see the system in action — especially after the so-called room-temperature superconductor debacle.

Still, it's not outside the realm of possibility — because really, why not?

More on China: NASA Head Concerned That China Will Steal Lunar Resources

China's military claims to have found a way to build a laser weapon that can fire indefinitely

Marianne Guenot
Updated Mon, August 14, 2023 

An operational demonstration of the Office of Naval Research-sponsored Laser Weapon System while deployed to the Arabian Gulf.

John F. Williams/US Navy

• Armies around the world are testing high-energy laser weapons to intercept targets.

• If successful, the weapons could change warfare, as they travel near the speed of light.

• China said it found a way to shorten the cooldown, suggesting such a weapon could fire indefinitely.

Chinese scientists claim they have found a way to build a laser weapon that can be fired indefinitely, which would dramatically increase its effectiveness over other laser weapons.

If their claims are true, it means that China has leapfrogged over the US in developing high-energy laser weapons that could be used on the battlefield.

The capability China's military scientists claim to have developed, however, has not yet been seen in action.

Researchers at the National University of Defense Technology, a military-research institution in Hunan, said they developed a cooling system that allowed high-energy lasers to remain powered up without getting too hot, the South China Morning Post reported.

The system is a "huge breakthrough in improving the performance of high-energy laser systems," the scientists said in a paper published in Acta Optica Sinica, a Chinese-language peer-reviewed journal, on August 4, the South China Morning Post reported.

"High-quality beams can be produced not only in the first second but also maintained indefinitely," they added.

Laser beams can heat up gas in the air, which can reduce the quality of the beam and cause damage inside the laser chamber, the report said. To bypass this issue, the scientists said, they developed a system that could blow clean gas through the chamber and remove waste heat.

This allowed them to make the laser more compact and efficient, the South China Morning Post said.

"So far, many advanced designs and research progress on dynamic air-blowing thermal management in China have not been reported," the scientists said, the South China Morning Post reported. "This is the first time that some of the designs and test results [have gone] to the public," they said.

China and the US, among other nations, are looking to develop combat-ready high-energy laser weapons that can generate beams strong enough to melt steel.

High-powered laser weapons have the potential to be a game-changing technology for warfare and defense because they could shoot targets such as drones, missiles, and small aircraft at nearly the speed of light at lower costs than interceptor missiles. A challenge, though, has been cooldown time.

In a tweet about the reports, Steve Weaver, a former British military official, said that if the news on the achievement by the Chinese scientists was true, it would put China ahead of the US in more ways than one.

"This is a big breakthrough considering the US failures in this area," he said, highlighting a section of the South China Morning Post report pointing to US military systems that didn't quite meet expectations

An artist's impression of the US Army's Indirect Fire Protection Capability-High Energy Laser weapon system. Courtesy of Lockheed Martin

Major defense companies in the US have also been pushing forward the development of laser-based weapons as part of projects including the US Department of Defense's High Energy Laser Scaling Initiative. The beams could be used to defend sites from incoming threats.

The US military has in recent years embraced these systems.

The Army, for example, has mounted 50-kilowatt lasers on its Stryker armored fighting vehicles, while the Navy's amphibious warship USS Portland, building on earlier testing, has tested a 150-kilowatt laser against a surface target. The Marines have tested a Compact Laser Weapons System in the range of 2 to 10 kilowatts, and the Air Force has received high-energy laser pods for its fighter jets.

Lockheed Martin announced last year it had delivered a 300-kilowatt laser to the Defense Department. It's now working on a more powerful, 500-kilowatt laser, the company's website says.

While there has been renewed interest in this technology, there are major limitations to its use.

Laser weapons are usually less powerful the farther away they are from the target and can be foiled by bad weather such as fog and storms, which can reduce the beam's range and quality, the US Government Accountability Office said, adding that cooling requirements could also limit their effectiveness.

THE AGGRESSOR PLEADS VICTIMHOOD

Kishida marks 78th anniversary of World War II's end without mentioning Japan's wartime aggression

MARI YAMAGUCHI
Updated Tue, August 15,2023





















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APTOPIX Japan WWII Anniversary

Doves are released in prayer of peace by worshippers at the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, Japan, Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2023. Japan held the annual memorial service for the war dead as the country marks the 78th anniversary of its defeat in the World War II.

 (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida renewed a peace pledge Tuesday as Japan observed the 78th anniversary of its World War II defeat but did not mention the country’s wartime aggression in Asia, while three of his former and current Cabinet ministers visited a shrine seen by neighboring countries as a symbol of militarism.

Japan will “stick to our resolve to never repeat the tragedy of the war,” Kishida said at a solemn ceremony in a speech that was almost identical to what he read last year.

The absence of any reference to Japanese aggression across Asia in the first half of the 1900s or its victims in the region followed a precedent set by then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2013, in what was seen by critics as a move to whitewash Japan’s wartime brutality.

Kishida stressed the destruction that Japan suffered from the war, including the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, fire bombings across Japan and the bloody ground battle on Okinawa, and the suffering of Japanese people. He said Japan will stick to its postwar peace pledge and will continue to cooperate with the world in solving global issues.

Kishida has been pushing for a significant buildup of Japan’s military under a new defense strategy that his government released in December, stressing a need to reinforce a strike capability in a major break from Japan’s self-defense-only postwar principle. The shift allows closer military cooperation with its ally, the United States, as well as their Indo-Pacific partners in the face of threats from China and North Korea.

Emperor Naruhito repeated his “deep remorse” over Japan’s wartime actions in a carefully nuanced phrase in his speech, like his father. Emperor Emeritus Akihito devoted his career to making amends for a war fought in the name of the wartime emperor, Hirohito, the current emperor’s grandfather.

Some 1,700 participants observed a minute of silence at noon during the ceremony at the Budokan arena. The crowd was much smaller than the 5,000 who attended in years before the coronavirus pandemic, and dozens of representatives from 10 prefectures in central and western Japan canceled their attendance as a tropical storm crossed their region.

Kishida refrained from praying Tuesday at the controversial Yasukuni Shrine just a block away from the ceremony and sent a religious ornament instead. But three former and current Cabinet ministers visited — Economic Security Minister Sanae Takaichi, former Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi and former Trade and Industry Minister Koichi Hagiuda.

Victims of Japanese aggression, especially China and the Koreas, see the shrine as a symbol of Japanese militarism because it honors convicted war criminals among about 2.5 million war dead.

South Korea’s Foreign Ministry expressed “deep disappointment and regret” over visits and offerings by Japanese leaders to Yasukuni Shrine, which it said glorifies Japan's war of aggression. It urged Japan to “squarely face history and demonstrate through action their humble reflection and sincere remorse for its past history.”

Japan's brutality during its 1910-1945 colonization of the Korean Peninsula has long strained ties between it and South Korea, although their relations have improved recently under pressure from Washington to strengthen their security cooperation to deal with a growing China threat.

China also denounced the shrine visits, with Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin saying the “negative move ... once again reflects Japan's wrong attitude towards history.”

China has made “stern” complaints to Japan, Wang told reporters at a daily briefing.

"I must stress that facing squarely and deeply reflecting on the history of aggression is an essential prerequisite for Japan to resume normal postwar relations with its Asian neighbors,” he said.

Many Chinese remain resentful over Japan’s aggression against China, particularly at the brutal outset of the 1937-1945 Second Sino-Japanese War that included the notorious Rape of Nanking. China’s ruling Communist Party bases much of its legitimacy on its opposition to the invaders and seeks to use the memory of the conflict as diplomatic leverage against Tokyo despite close trade ties between them.

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Associated Press writer Hyung-jin Kim in Seoul, South Korea, contributed to this report.