Trump, Biden policies shifted trade from China at a cost, study shows


Sat, August 26, 2023
By Howard Schneider

JACKSON HOLE, Wyoming (Reuters) - U.S. trade has shifted away from China due to policies enacted by the Biden and Trump administrations, but U.S. reliance on China-linked supply chains has not necessarily been reduced and consumers have faced higher costs, according to new research presented on Saturday at a Federal Reserve economic symposium.

Despite deglobalization fears after the coronavirus pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine, overall trade "has held steady at just under 60% of world (gross domestic product)rather than gone into freefall," Laura Alfaro, an economist at Harvard Business School, and Davin Chor, an associate professor at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, concluded in their paper, which was presented at the annual gathering of central bankers and economists in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

But U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods, recently enacted industrial policies, and the pandemic, do seem to have touched off a "'great reallocation' in supply chain activity: Direct US sourcing from China has decreased," from 21.6% of U.S. imports as of 2016 to 16.5% last year, Alfaro and Chor wrote.

What's less certain is what that means, with the authors saying the shift from China is raising prices for consumers without clearly providing offsetting benefits in the form of, for example, improved manufacturing efficiency in the U.S.

It is not even certain that the decline in China's U.S. import share represents a true delinking, they said.

Vietnam and Mexico, for example, appear to have captured much of the reallocated trade, the authors said, based on an analysis of goods import and export patterns, while an increase in U.S. purchases of less processed goods from abroad was "indicative of some reshoring of production stages."

And among companies, they said, "concerns are being voiced over the wisdom of sprawling supply chains that can expose firms and countries to the risk of disruptions," from events like the pandemic or severe weather, or policy shocks like tariffs.

Yet in the background, the researchers noted that China had "stepped up" its trade and investment activity with Vietnam and Mexico, as well as other countries.

"The U.S. could well remain indirectly connected to China through its trade and global value chain links with these third-party countries," they argued.

Prices for goods from some countries, moreover, were beginning to rise.

"The recent policy restrictions to shift sourcing patterns or even to encourage substitution toward domestic inputs are poised to add to wage and cost pressures in the U.S.," the research found, a pointed conclusion as the Fed tries to lower inflation by slowing the U.S. economy.

(Reporting by Howard Schneider; Editing by Paul Simao)

Tech war: Biden's decree zaps lucrative investments in China's chip and AI sectors

South China Morning Post
Sat, August 26, 2023 

It is most likely that China's largest chip foundry, a key piece of the puzzle in Beijing's efforts to achieve greater self-sufficiency in semiconductors, would not have been able to set up its first plant in Shanghai's suburbs in the early 2000s without funding from American investors such as Walden International and Goldman Sachs.

Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC) is just one of many Chinese firms that received US venture capital funding from investors seeking extraordinary returns from China's economic take-off, a bold example of the marriage of domestic technological ambition with adventurous American funds.

However, amid rising geopolitical tensions between the world's two biggest economies and the implementation of tough US investment curbs, prospects for such collaboration in future have dimmed, dealing a direct blow to China's ambitions to become a global power in artificial intelligence (AI). Industry insiders and analysts say the withdrawal of financial support and technical expertise is a game-changer.

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"The damage is done in the sense that a lot of people will be scared away from the China market", said Ben Harburg, managing partner at MSA Capital, a Beijing-based venture capital fund. "We will avoid sectors that we think are at risk or may fall foul of current or future US sanctions," said Harburg in a recent interview with the Post.

MSA Capital manages US dollar funds with capital from sovereign wealth funds, international asset managers and pension funds, as well as Chinese entrepreneurs.

With more investors like MSA Capital trying to dodge the sanctions bullet, the backers of these funds will also have to rethink their China strategies given rising geopolitical acrimony.

Elton Jiang, founding partner at Shanghai-based Genilink Capital which backs chip start-up Black Sesame Technologies among others, said American investors will not only stop putting money into certain sectors but may also divest from companies in existing portfolios to comply with new restrictions.

Jiang added that the biggest disruption from new investment restrictions will be the deterrence factor for potential investors in China.

While US dollar limited partners (LPs) - the investors who back venture funds without being involved in day-to-day management - come from all over the world, including America, the Middle East and Southeast Asia, "historically LPs from the US account for the most significant share of all types of dollar LPs," said Jiang. "The investment restrictions will make the LPs have second thoughts about allocating any money to China."

In August, the Biden administration unveiled an executive order aimed at restricting US venture capital and private equity investments in Chinese companies involved in semiconductors, microelectronics, quantum technologies and AI systems.

Washington's move to screen outbound investments came as American venture capital money was already drying up in the Chinese market, according to analysts at independent market research firm Rhodium Group. Its data shows that US backing of China start-ups plunged to a 10-year-low last year to US$1.27 billion, well down from a peak of US$14.4 billion in 2018.

While the tougher restrictions were largely anticipated by the global investment community, practitioners said that the announcement has been the final nail in the coffin for investment in the sanctioned sectors.

Kaidi Gao, an analyst at investment data service Pitchbook, said some of the largest LPs - such as pension funds on the private equity side - have now pulled back completely from fresh investment in China.

A recent report by investment research firm Preqin showed that China-focused VC funds raised US$2.7 billion from April to June, a plunge of 54.2 per cent from the previous quarter. Meanwhile, for sectors like semiconductors, funding has long been migrating to local yuan funds, according to local industry experts.

The Chinese founder of a memory controller chip design firm, who asked not to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter, told the Post on his return from a fundraising trip, that many small Chinese chip start-ups aim to supply state-backed companies when their products are ready or they go public on the mainland's tech-heavy STAR market. In this situation, "taking US money would send a bad signal in either case", he said.
.

An AI chip from Tongfu Microelectronics is displayed during the World Semiconductor Congress in Nanjing in China's eastern Jiangsu province on July 19, 2023. 

That comment echoes remarks made at the 2023 China Semiconductor Equipment Annual Conference (CSEAC) earlier this month, where an investor from venture capital fund Fountain Bridge Capital said they have long separated US funds and yuan funds for investment targets in China's semiconductor industry, with the latter the only way to currently invest in the sector.

The semiconductor sector has always been a special case, with long investment horizons and high risks due to its asset-heavy profile.

The sector used to be shunned by private money until China's self-sufficiency drive intensified due to increased tensions with Washington. Many Chinese private equity and venture capital funds were seen chasing executives at CSEAC to talk about investment opportunities.

To date the state-backed China Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund, also known as the Big Fund, has been the main vehicle for the Chinese government to pump money into the chip sector. The first phase of the fund raised US$19.7 billion with the second raising about US$30 billion, and it has made multiple bets on Chinese semiconductor companies since its creation in September 2014.

It is difficult to estimate the overall subsidy package extended by Beijing and local governments to the domestic chip industry, as many forms of grants are not necessarily handed out in cash terms.

The memory controller chip founder said the city government of Zhengzhou, capital of central Henan province, wants to have skin in the game by providing cheap land parcels, factory facilities and even by paying for some equipment rather than through direct investments, as some of their financial vehicles have been damaged by China's patchy economy.

However, for some industry practitioners, local yuan funding can never make up for the loss of US dollar funds, which typically have a long investment maturity and high-risk tolerance.

One Shanghai-based investor, who also requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the topic, said a strength of US dollar funds is their ability to back high-risk projects, setting them apart from many yuan funds that take money from so-called government guidance funds, which are typically more risk averse. Local currency funds are less likely to invest in early projects with no income, added the investor.

In a recent round-table discussion, Duane Kuang Ziping, founding and managing partner at China-based Qiming Venture Partners, said US dollar funds have a preference for risky projects that have the potential to generate outsized returns.

"Using graphics processing units (GPU) as an example, RMB funds would not bet on GPU projects until the world's first GPU start-up has been validated [for its potential]," Kuang said in dialogue with Yang Xiaolei, CEO at local investment intelligence service China Venture, according to an article published by the firm.

Kuang also said that despite the current ChatGPT frenzy in China - which has seen local firms rush to compete with OpenAI's breakthrough generative AI product, RMB funds would never have backed a research lab like OpenAI in the first place. This is because yuan funds will not take a risk if the development pattern and growth path are not already clear, he said.

With tougher US investment restrictions now in place, this poses a particular problem for those Chinese start-ups looking to replicate or exceed OpenAI's success with its ChatGPT chatbot, which can provide human-like responses to user questions.

The Shanghai-based investor said although the hype surrounding China's generative AI sector is still gathering steam, there are fundamental obstacles to turning a potential ChatGPT competitor into a profitable business.

The last batch of Chinese AI giants, such as SenseTime and Megvii, had a sizeable share of revenue coming from government orders or subsidies. But the Chinese government has not shown an equal amount of love for the generative AI sector, which will also be subject to the country's strict online censorship regime.

To date, all domestically-developed AI chat bots are still in the public testing phase, and no company has yet been given the green light to roll out their products to the public on a commercial basis.

On the business side, companies have been beta-testing their AI bots in traditional industries to improve efficiency and lower costs. But the financial case has yet to be proven.

iFlyTek, a Chinese AI firm that said it had surpassed the capacity of OpenAI's ChatGPT in October, saw its net income fall 74 per cent in the first half from a year earlier. The revenue plunge came months after the Anhui, Hefei-based company launched its ChatGPT-like bot SparkDesk in early May, trumpeting its integration into a wide range of traditional industries.

Baidu, which unveiled its Ernie Bot earlier this year, had a strong second quarter with revenue growth of 15 per cent, but financial details related to its generative AI efforts are scant.

Co-founder, chairman and CEO Robin Li Yanhong said in the earnings call that generative AI "holds immense transformative power in numerous industries, presenting a significant market opportunity" for the company, without disclosing how much revenue it has made from the service.

Despite the hazy financials, generative AI remains a hot sector for investors.

"The AI leaders are mainly in China and the US ... where the technologies are mostly being created and the leading companies are going to be," said Jeffrey Towson, a partner at research firm TechMoat Consulting. "There is a lot of capital in the world. But only two big epicentres for AI."

But as the geopolitical storm continues to gather for US investors in China, it seems increasingly likely that they will steer clear.

Long-time SMIC investor Walden International has watched as the foundry delisted from the New York Stock Exchange in 2019 after 15 years of trading and floated its shares in Shanghai the following year.

The Big Fund and local firms such as Datang Telecom Technology as well as China Information and Communication Technology Group among other state-affiliated firms, have since emerged as some of SMIC's biggest backers, according to the company's latest annual report.

Meanwhile, the San Francisco-based firm has just received a letter from the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party expressing "serious concern" and probing its investments in Chinese tech start-ups.

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

Japan prepares shape-shifting Moon rover for launch after Indian success

Julian Ryall
Sat, August 26, 2023 

The probe has been dubbed the ‘Moon Sniper’ due to the precision

with which it is meant to hit its landing target - Jaxa

Japan is preparing to fire the latest shot in the intensifying international space race with the launch on Monday of its “Moon Sniper” lander mission.

A domestically built H2-A rocket is scheduled to take off from southern Japan on Sunday night, carrying a lander module that is expected to reach the lunar surface in four to six months.

The rocket, the launch of which has been pushed back due to poor weather, will also deploy an x-ray imaging satellite.

Earlier this week, India completed the historic landing of a craft near the lunar south, becoming only the fourth nation to achieve a so-called soft-landing on the Moon after the United States, Russia and China.

Japan’s hopes of keeping up in the race to exploit the Moon’s resources are now focused on the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (Slim), although the probe has been dubbed the “Moon Sniper” due to the precision with which it is meant to hit its landing target.

Less than 8ft high and weighing 1,545lbs, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (Jaxa) is aiming to land its spacecraft within 300ft of its target on the surface, significantly better than the mile or more that is traditionally regarded as an accurate touch-down. The agency plans to put the probe down in the Sea of Nectar, in the lower latitudes of the near side of the Moon.

Jaxa is aiming to put the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon probe in the Sea of Nectar, in the lower latitudes of the near side of the Moon - AFP/Getty

“This is part of the space race, the race to find water in the form of ice near the polar regions“, said Kazuto Suzuki, a professor of science and technology policy at Tokyo University.

“But the primary purpose of this mission is to demonstrate the technology and techniques required to safely and accurately land on the Moon,” he said. “That is extremely difficult to do, partly because of the six-second delay in communications between control here on Earth and the lander, as we have seen recently with the Russian craft.”

The mission will also use a palm-sized, shape-shifting mini-rover developed with a toy company to investigate how the Moon was formed by examining exposed pieces of the lunar mantle.

The SORA-Q robot will unfold like a Transformer, splitting in half and exposing a pair of cameras and dividing its two hemispheres into wheels before springing into action.

Japan’s space programme has not been immune to failure, with communications lost with Jaxa’s Moon-lander Omotenashi in November last year. The first attempt by a private company to land a craft on the Moon also fell short in April, with J-Space saying its probe was damaged in a “hard landing”.

Rockets have also experienced problems, with a next-generation H3 model failing shortly after lift-off in March and an Epsilon rocket similarly destroyed five months previously. A ground test of an Epsilon S solid rocket motor last month ended in a devastating explosion after 50 seconds.

Jaxa is nevertheless undeterred from its mission, said Prof Suzuki, and the Slim mission is seen as a building-block for further exploration of our solar system.

“Currently it is Russia and China that are trying to establish a permanent base on the surface of the Moon, which is why they are searching for water in the polar regions, but Japan is allied with the US on its Artemis project,” he said.

Amish communities are adapting a surprising new technology in their homes and farms: ‘It’s really taken off’

Erin Feiger
Sat, August 26, 2023 

Amish barns and solar panels are probably not two things most people think of as going together, but times are changing. Anabaptist World recently reported that Amish communities are starting to adopt solar as their source of power.

It’s a long-held misconception that the Amish use no electricity at all. Instead, most of them simply believe that relying heavily on electricity or access to public power grids will tie them too closely to the rest of the world.

Some Amish people have used gas and diesel generators to produce electricity and candles or kerosene lamps to light their homes. However, as solar panel technology improves and prices drop, these generators and lamps are becoming less attractive.

For the Amish, solar power allows access to clean, renewable energy while remaining off-grid. The shift benefits the environment as well.

Burning kerosene, like burning all dirty energy, releases carbon dioxide. Kerosene lamps also produce black carbon, which absorbs light and heats its surroundings.

According to the Climate & Clean Air Coalition, mass black carbon has a per-unit warming impact on climate that can be up to 1,500 times stronger than carbon dioxide.

Burning kerosene also comes with severe health risks and can damage the lungs and increase asthma and cancer risks. Exposure to diesel exhaust can also cause serious health conditions like asthma and respiratory illnesses and can worsen existing heart and lung disease.

Switching to solar eliminates all of this, although the trend is still fairly recent in Amish communities.

“We really didn’t see a lot of adoption until 2015 or maybe even later … In the last four years, it’s really taken off,” Mark Horst, the owner of King Solar in Kansas, told Anabaptist World.

But many believe the technology will continue to gain popularity.

“For a commercial scale — say a chicken house with feed lines or power tools in a shop — 15 years ago, technology wasn’t there to power that … It’s changing faster than ever now,” James Mast, founder of ARK Battery in Ohio, told Anabaptist World.

Another Diesel Tuner Nailed With $1M Fine for Emissions Tampering

Chris Rosales
Sat, August 26, 2023 

Despite the recent news that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) no longer lists emissions defeat devices as a top priority, there’s still no two ways about it: Tampering with a tune to defeat emissions controls is still considered a federal crime. The federal government has just hit a diesel tuner in Idaho with a $1 million fine for selling external tuning devices that defeated onboard emissions controls

GDP Tuning and Gorilla Performance, owned by Barry Pierce, pled guilty to conspiracy to violate the Clean Air Act and agreed to pay $1 million in criminal fines. According to the Justice Department, the two companies conspired to sell “tens of thousands of tuning devices and accompanying software” that “tampered with vehicles’ on-board diagnostic (OBD) systems.” The devices described are essentially external ECU tuners that are common in the diesel truck and gasoline car aftermarket.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4r6XnsiFTp8

While companies can sell tuning devices, they must pass the muster of the EPA, and the California Air Resources Board (CARB) for certain states. These devices are often limited in their tuning ability. For example, they cannot disable OBD monitors, especially ones that monitor emissions. They cannot adjust fueling and ignition parameters but can adjust boost levels. Most importantly, they must comply with all emissions regulations.

Where GDP Tuning and Pierce fell afoul of the EPA was supplying tuners that could circumvent emissions devices, effectively selling “defeat devices” en masse. These tuners were not restricted in their capability and could freely adjust certain parameters that pushed the tuning devices into non-compliance.

Diesel tuning is a particular spot of interest for federal investigators as the emissions from tuning diesel engines has the potential to be more harmful than that of gasoline engines. Diesels typically emit more particulates and oxides of nitrogen (NOx) than gasoline engines. This is seen most prominently in coal rolling.

Nonetheless, this is a sure sign that even if the EPA is slightly lifting off the proverbial gas pedal, it still has its foot firmly planted on it.

THIS HAPPENS IN UCP ALBERTA TOO
Experts sound alarm over concerning ‘propaganda’ found in public school curriculum: ‘It’s evil more than it is stupid’
Leo Collis
Sat, August 26, 2023 a


The Florida Department of Education has approved screening videos that deny the Earth’s changing climate to schoolchildren in the state, according to the Guardian.

Animations from Prager University Foundation, a conservative group that pushes untruths about sustainable energy and the warming of the planet, will now be a part of the public school curriculum in Florida.

What’s happening? 

On the organization’s website, Prager University Foundation states it is “not an accredited university, nor do we claim to be.” In fact, it is a media platform and advocacy group that was founded by right-wing radio host Dennis Prager.

It has produced a number of videos that present “alternative” viewpoints on subjects such as racism, slavery, sexuality, and climate science.

The videos approved to be shown to children from kindergarten to fifth grade feature characters who question several sustainable actions, such as moving away from dirty energy sources, switching to renewable energy, and reducing reliance on plastics.

Why is this concerning?

Florida governor Ron DeSantis has been waging a campaign against what he believes are “woke” issues, and the actions of humans relating to an increase in global temperatures is one particular topic he is pushing back on.

Now, videos featuring climate-denial talking points could be shown to children as young as five years old.

Adrienne McCarthy, a researcher at Kansas State University, told the Guardian why this is particularly troubling.

“It’s propaganda 101,” she said. “Equating people concerned about climate change with Nazis can have long-term impacts on young, impressionable people. The beliefs PragerU are pushing forward overlap with far-right extremist beliefs. The fear is that they will bring this sort of extremist beliefs into mainstream society.”

In a piece for Mother Jones, principal climate scientist at the Union of Concerned Scientists Kristina Dahl annotated the transcript of one of these videos, demonstrating how the visuals and script are trying to convince the viewer to ignore the findings of scientific research.

“It’s evil more than it is stupid,” said a Reddit user discussing the Guardian article, while another lamented the forces enabling this and anti-environmental policy planning like Project 2025 as “doing the bidding of oil companies.”

How can we stop climate misinformation?

It can be difficult to change people’s minds or to prevent children from being taught provable falsehoods, but remaining steadfast in your sustainability efforts can go a long way.

If you continue to implement positive change, such as driving an electric car, switching to renewable energy, or ensuring household waste is recycled appropriately, you will set a good example for your children and neighbors that will hopefully prove admirable. Providing teachable moments at home will also help children to see the benefits of sustainable actions.

Otherwise, when it comes to education, raising issues with your local school board can help stop the spread of misinformation in the classroom.

UN experts challenge Saudi Aramco over climate change

AFP
Sat, August 26, 2023


UN experts have written to oil firm Saudi Aramco over allegations that their activities are fuelling climate change-related negative impacts on human rights

 (Fayez Nureldine)

UN experts have written to oil firm Saudi Aramco and its financial backers challenging them on allegations that their activities are fuelling climate change-related negative impacts on human rights.

A cache of correspondence was published Saturday on a United Nations human rights special procedures website, exactly two months after it was sent.

The letters said UN experts had received information "concerning Saudi Aramco's business activities... which are adversely impacting the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change".

The allegations accused Aramco of "maintained crude oil production, exploration for further oil and gas reserves, expansion into fossil fuel gas, and misrepresentation of information", the letters said.

"Such activities have negative impacts on the enjoyment of the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment."

The letters to Aramco and its backers were sent by a number of experts including the UN working group on human rights and transnational corporations, as well as UN special rapporteurs dealing with rights and climate change; a clean and sustainable environment; management of hazardous substances; and on safe drinking water and sanitation.

The UN experts also alleged Aramco's activities appeared to be "contrary to the goals, obligations and commitments under the Paris Agreement on climate change", which was signed in 2015 and set the ambitious target of limiting the world to a temperature increase of 1.5 degrees Celsius.

- 'Largest emitter' claim -

The UN experts claimed these activities were funded by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, as well as 11 major international banks, investment banks and firms, which also received similar letters.

Letters also went to the home states of these companies: Britain, France, Japan, Saudi Arabia and the United States.

Some of these letters were made public on Saturday.

The letters asserted that fossil fuels account for more than 75 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, and cited reports claiming that over half of such emissions could be traced to 25 fossil fuel business enterprises, "with Saudi Aramco ranking as the largest greenhouse gas emitter".

"Therefore, through its historic emissions, it is alleged that Saudi Aramco has already significantly contributed to adverse climate change-related human rights impacts.

"The company's current exploitation of fossil fuels and proposed business plans will continue to cause adverse climate change-related human rights impacts."

UN experts are unpaid independent figures who do not speak for the UN but are mandated to report their findings to it.

- 'Significantly worsened' impacts -

Aramco's "refusal to reduce its production of oil and gas -- and continued exploration for more oil and gas -- contributes to the risk of overshoot of the 1.5C carbon budget, with resultant significantly worsened climate change-related human rights impacts".

The letter asked for Aramco's observations on 10 points, within 60 days, after which the letter and any response received would be made public.

No such reply from Aramco was on the UN human rights special procedures website early Sunday.

The largely state-owned Aramco is undertaking investments to ramp up national production capacity to 13 million barrels per day by 2027.

Aramco reported record profits totalling $161.1 billion last year.

Aramco is the main source of revenue for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's sweeping economic and social reform programme known as Vision 2030, which aims to shift the economy away from fossil fuels.

rjm/dhw

Peoria teacher sues district after being harassed for supporting transgender students

Perry Vandell, Arizona Republic
Sat, August 26, 2023 

Peoria Unified School District.


A Peoria educator is suing the Peoria Unified School District after they say they faced extended harassment when they sent an email to their colleagues encouraging them to support transgender students.

A group of about 40 people gathered at Calbrisa Park on Wednesday to support nonbinary educator River Chunnui and call for an end to the harassment.

Chunnui was walking onto campus at Desert Harbor Elementary School in Peoria where they work as a special education teacher in 2022 when they noticed two students wearing colors from the transgender flag, they told The Arizona Republic.

Chunnui, who is nonbinary, understood the students were likely wearing the colors in observance of the date: March 31, 2022, Transgender Day of Visibility. Chunnui figured some educators might not have been aware of the day and sent an email to school staff on how they could support participating students.

Shortly after the email was sent, someone posted the message on social media and media outlets. It wasn’t long before the Peoria Unified School District placed Chunnui on administrative leave as it investigated whether the email violated policy.

It was months before the investigation concluded, determining Chunnui had committed no wrongdoing in sending the email.

River Chunnui speaks to a crowd of supporters on Aug. 23, 2023 after enduring over a year of harassment.

Despite the result of the investigation, Chunnui said they faced frequent and scathing harassment, from online threats where people accused them of “grooming” children to having rocks thrown into the windows of their house multiple times.

During a school board meeting roughly a year later, two board members — Heather Rooks and Rebecca Hill — voted not to renew Chunnui’s contract despite district staff informing the board that a separate process was required to discipline employees.

Chunnui ultimately filed a notice of claim against the district — a required precursor before filing a lawsuit against a government body — on July 13, alleging the district violated their civil rights after launching the investigation into the email and doing nothing to protect them from the harassment they received.

The claim seeks $52,000, court documents show. That includes $50,000 from the school district and $1,000 from each of the two board members

The Peoria Unified School District did not respond to a request for comment.

Chunnui told The Republic they found the tires on their car had been slashed Friday while it was parked in the school's secured parking lot.

The incident suggested that previous damage to their car — which Chunnui described as dents one might expect from bashing the vehicle with a baseball bat or crowbar — was intentional as opposed to a negligent driver who left the scene without leaving a note.

Trina Berg, president of the Peoria Education Association, called for the harassment against Chunnui to end at the rally.

“There is no reason to be damaging someone’s property because you don’t like something about them,” Berg said. “Bullying is not OK. We don’t tolerate it with our students and we sure as hell don’t tolerate it with our adults.”

Amber Gould, treasurer of the Arizona Education Association, also decried Chunnui's treatment along with the anti-LGBT legislation being enacted in the United States.

“We need to be even louder,” Gould said. “And we need to make sure that we are bringing people together to make sure this voice is heard. We need to make sure that our schools are inclusive — that our communities are inclusive — and that we stand up against this hate that has taken a political form.”

Chunnui thanked the group for the support as it reinforced their belief that the world can be safer and more accepting of those in the LGBTQ+ community both inside and outside the classroom.

“Clearly there are some challenges and there is work to do,” Chunnui said. “But I believe in the good in people. I believe that our collective voice can overpower the hatred that seeks to allow prejudice and bullying in our schools. Tonight has shown us the very power of community.”

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Peoria teacher River Chunnui sues district after harassment

SpaceX's Crew-7 Dragon capsule to dock at ISS with four astronauts aboard. Here's how to watch it live online.

Tariq Malik
Sat, August 26, 2023

three astronauts in white spacesuits with open helmet faceplates sit inside a SpaceX capsule in orbit

A SpaceX Dragon spacecraft carrying four astronauts will arrive at the International Space Station early Sunday (Aug. 27) and you can watch it all live online in a free livestream.

The Crew Dragon capsule Endurance is scheduled to reach the International Space Station (ISS) at 8:39 a.m. EDT (1239 GMT), where it will dock itself to a space-facing port on the outpost's U.S.-built Harmony module.

The docking will mark the end of a nearly 30-hour journey for the capsule's four-person crew, which launched in the wee hours of Saturday from NASA's Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. You can watch the docking live online, courtesy of NASA TV and SpaceX, starting at 6:45 a.m. EDT (1045 GMT). It will appear at start time in the window above, or you can watch directly from NASA TV.

"SpaceX, thanks for the ride, it was awesome," Crew-7 commander Jasmin Moghbeli of NASA said after the crew reached orbit. "Go Crew-7, awesome ride."

SpaceX's Crew-7 mission for NASA is ferrying Moghbeli to the ISS with a truly international crew: pilot Andreas Mogensen of the European Space Agency; and mission specialists Konstantin Borisov of Russia's Roscosmos agency and Satoshi Furukawa of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. The quartet is the first all-international crew, with members from four different agencies and countries, to fly on the same Dragon capsule.

The mission is the seventh operational commercial crew flight for NASA by SpaceX, and the company's eighth for the U.S. space agency overall (including a crewed test flight). It is SpaceX's 11th crewed mission when including three private astronaut flights in recent years.

three astronauts in white spacesuits with open helmet faceplates sit inside a SpaceX capsule in orbit

The Crew-7 astronauts are beginning a six-month expedition to the space station and will relieve the four astronauts of NASA's Crew-6 mission, who are due to return shortly after Moghbeli and her crew arrive.

Crew-7 is the first spaceflight for Moghbeli, a U.S. Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel who became the second Iranian-American to fly in space on the flight. It is also Borisov's first flight.

Related: Meet the astronauts of Crew-7 flying with SpaceX

RELATED STORIES:

— SpaceX Crew-7 astronauts will handle over 200 science experiments on ISS

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While Morgensen and Furukawa have both flown to the ISS before, Morgensen is the first European ever to pilot a SpaceX Dragon capsule. SpaceX's Endurance capsule is also a space veteran, having flown the Crew-3 and Crew-5 astronaut missions to the station for NASA.

NASA and SpaceX have a special treat planned for Crew-7's arrival at the ISS on Sunday.

"We're gonna do a fly around fly around of the International Space Station and get some cool photos, and get that out to everybody to show what an awesome outpost we have," Joel Montalbano, NASA's space station program manager, told reporters after the launch.

'Sasha' the sloth breaks speed records as SpaceX Crew-7 zero-g indicator (photos)

Robert Z. Pearlman
Sat, August 26, 2023

"Sasha" the sloth, the SpaceX Crew-7 astronauts' zero-g indicator, is seen floating aboard the Dragon spacecraft "Endurance" after it entered Earth orbit on Saturday, Aug. 26, 2023.


A new record may have just been set for the fastest-moving sloth in the world.

And not just any sloth — a three-toed sloth.

"It is a three-toed sloth, not a two-toed sloth, because apparently that would be too fast for me," said Crew-7 pilot Andreas "Andy" Mogensen, a Danish astronaut with the European Space Agency (ESA), from on board SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft "Endurance," which was launched from Florida early Saturday morning (Aug. 26).

Now on his way to a six-month stay on the International Space Station, Mogensen, together with his three crewmates Jasmin Moghbeli of NASA, Satoshi Furukawa with JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) and Konstantin Borisov of Russia's federal space corporation Roscosmos, are in Earth orbit traveling 17,500 mph (28,200 kph).

As is "Sasha" the sloth.

The average speed of a three-toed sloth (on Earth) is 0.15 miles per hour (0.24 km/h).

Related: SpaceX launches international Crew-7 astronauts to ISS


More: SpaceX-Crew-7 mission - Live updates



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Sasha had a reason to move. As the astronauts' "zero-g indicator," it was the sloth's job to start floating in the cabin when the spacecraft entered orbit, signaling to the crew that they were now in the microgravity environment of space.

"I would like to introduce our zero-g indicator, which was selected by my three children," Mogensen radioed to Earth via SpaceX's mission control in Hawthorne, California. "They chose the sloth because it is one of their favorite animals."


ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen in Costa Rica, where he and his family saw sloths in the wild.

Mogensen recounted that on a trip to Costa Rica, he and his family were able to see sloths "in the wild," particularly on one memorable occasion.

"We were at the beach when a sloth — a very young sloth — appeared in the trees above us and hung out," Mogensen said. "It was a very special moment for us as a family."

Not that his children did not also have a second, less complimentary reason for choosing a sloth.

"Additionally, it is what my children like to call me — with strong encouragement from my wife," Mogensen said. "I'm always the last to leave the house whenever we are going anywhere. Personally, I think it's with good reason, but they say I'm the slowest person alive, which is also why it is a three-toed sloth."

The practice of flying zero-g indicators can be traced back to the very first person to fly into space, Soviet-era cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, who took a small doll with him on his 1961 mission to watch it float. Since then, other Russian missions have done the same and it became a custom.

When SpaceX began preparing to fly astronauts in 2019, it borrowed the tradition, which has also been adopted by other companies and NASA. Sasha the sloth will meet "Suhail," the symbol of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) astronaut program and Crew-6 zero-g indicator, when Crew-7 reaches the space station on Sunday.

Other dolls recently flown on SpaceX missions include a co-branded Build-A-Bear dressed in an Axiom Space AxEMU spacesuit; a "Little Thinker" Albert Einstein that flew with Crew-5; and a plush modeled after the golden retrievers that serve as assistance dogs at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

The Crew-7 zero-g indicator appears to be part of Wild Republic's Ecokins line of "soft and cuddly" plush animals made out of 100 percent recycled water bottles. The 8-inch (20-centimeter) Ecokins Sloth Mini retails for $14.

Whether slow or fast, Sasha the sloth may have one other lesson to teach about life in space.

"We have a saying in space and it's often true: Slow is smooth, smooth is fast," said Jessica Meir, a NASA astronaut who co-hosted the space agency's broadcast of the Crew-7 launch. "When you rush too much, especially in space doing a spacewalk or anything that you're doing, you get in trouble. So slow is smooth and smooth is fast."

James Webb Space Telescope instrument experiences glitch — but observatory remains in 'good health'

Monisha Ravisetti
Sat, August 26, 2023

This animation of the James Webb Space Telescope shows how light is reflected from its mirrors onto its scientific instruments.

There's good news and bad news about the James Webb Space Telescope.

The bad news is that one of the 'scope's instruments named the Mid-Infrared Instrument, or MIRI, has experienced a bit of an anomaly. But before you get too worried, the good news is that the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is still happy, healthy and heartily able to continue decoding the invisible universe for us.

Basically, in April, the JWST team announced that one of MIRI's four observing modes indicated a reduction in the amount of light registered by the instrument. However, after conducting an investigation into the issue, NASA said this change doesn't pose a risk to MIRI's science capabilities. "There is no risk to the instrument," NASA said in a blog post on Thursday (Aug. 24).

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Although, the anomaly might have an impact on the amount of exposure time needed when the instrument switches to the particular mode that's been affected.

The mode at hand, called Medium-Resolution Spectroscopy (MRS), is calibrated to obtain infrared data coming from distant regions of the cosmos associated with wavelengths between 5 and 28.5 microns. That range, according to NASA, is where emission from molecules and dust are typically found, making MRS perfect for finding things like planet-forming disks. But, as NASA explains in the blog post, the reduced signal is specific for MIRI imaging at the longer wavelengths specifically.

One of MIRI's other modes, called Low-Resolution Spectrography that specializes in wavelengths between 5 and 12 microns normally connected to object surfaces (like planets), is operating normally, the team says. A fourth MIRI mode, called Coronagraphic Imaging, is currently under investigation. That mode is programmed to directly detect exoplanets and dust disks around host stars through a mechanism known as coronagraphy, which relies on blocking light from one source to gather data about surrounding sources.

The JWST team also confirmed that the observatory is generally in "good health," and that "each of Webb's other scientific instruments remain unaffected." Those instruments include its Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam), Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec), Near-Infrared Imager and Slitless Spectrograph (NIRISS) and Fine Guidance Sensor (FGS).

CRYPTOZOOLOGY 

With drones and webcams, volunteer hunters join a new search for the mythical Loch Ness Monster

JILL LAWLESS
Sat, August 26, 2023 

LONDON (AP) — Mystery hunters converged on a Scottish lake on Saturday to look for signs of the mythical Loch Ness Monster.

The Loch Ness Center said researchers would try to seek evidence of Nessie using thermal-imaging drones, infrared cameras and a hydrophone to detect underwater sounds in the lake’s murky waters. The two-day event is being billed as the biggest survey of the lake in 50 years, and includes volunteers scanning the water from boats and the lakeshore, with others around the world joining in with webcams.

Alan McKenna of the Loch Ness Center said the aim was “to inspire a new generation of Loch Ness enthusiasts.”

McKenna told BBC radio the searchers were “looking for breaks in the surface and asking volunteers to record all manner of natural behavior on the loch.”

“Not every ripple or wave is a beastie. Some of those can be explained, but there are a handful that cannot,” he said.

The Loch Ness Center is located at the former Drumnadrochit Hotel, where the modern-day Nessie legend began. In 1933, manager Aldie Mackay reported spotting a “water beast” in the mountain-fringed loch, the largest body of freshwater by volume in the United Kingdom and at up to 750 feet (230 meters) one of the deepest.

The story kicked off an enduring worldwide fascination with finding the elusive monster, spawning hoaxes and hundreds of eyewitness accounts. Numerous theories have been put forward over the years, including that the creature may have been a prehistoric marine reptile, giant eels, a sturgeon or even an escaped circus elephant.

Many believe the sightings are pranks or can be explained by floating logs or strong winds, but the legend is a boon for tourism in the picturesque Scottish Highlands region.

Such skepticism did not deter volunteers like Craig Gallifrey.

“I believe there is something in the loch,” he said, though he is open-minded about what it is. “I do think that there’s got to be something that’s fueling the speculation.”

He said that whatever the outcome of the weekend search, “the legend will continue.”

“I think it’s just the imagination of something being in the largest body of water in the U.K. … There’s a lot more stories,” he said. “There’s still other things, although they’ve not been proven. There’s still something quite special about the loch.”

200 monster hunters armed with drones join the biggest search in 50 years for Scotland's fabled Loch Ness creature


Rebecca Rommen
Sat, August 26, 2023 

The 1934 "surgeon's photo" of the monster, now deemed a hoax

Getty Images

200 volunteers are searching for the Loch Ness monster this weekend.


The operation in the Scottish Highlands is the biggest of its kind in 50 years.


The search for "Nessie" has been underway for 1300 years.

The fabled Loch Ness monster is attracting the biggest search operation in 50 years. The elusive monster, affectionately nicknamed "Nessie," is a fixture of Scottish folklore and is believed to inhabit the deep lake in the Scottish Highlands.

The legendary beast has eluded capture and definitive proof it was reportedly first spotted in the 6th century. The modern myth of Nessie began more recently when, in 1933, a hotel manager claimed to have seen a whale-like creature in the loch.

The famous "surgeon's photograph" of 1934 allegedly shows the marine creature's head and neck. It was published in the Daily Mail and continues to make waves despite most now agreeing that the photo was an elaborate hoax.

This weekend, 200 monster hunters are trying to do what those before them failed to accomplish, the Washington Post reports.

They are descending on the Highlands better equipped than their predecessors, using flying and underwater drones to survey the lake, which is 788 feet deep and 23 miles long.

They are also employing infrared cameras to determine heat spots and a hydrophone that can pick up acoustic signals 60 feet below the loch's surface.

These are not just people "with binoculars and a tub of sandwiches," insists Paul Nixon, head of Loch Ness Center. The expedition is the most elaborate in the 1300-year search for Nessie, the New York Times reports.

Many have speculated that Nessie is a dinosaur lost in time

View of Loch Ness, Scottish HighlandsGetty Images

Alongside the 200 volunteers on-site, almost 300 people have signed up to follow a livestream from the search, the BBC reports.

Paul Nixon added: "The interest in our weekend of activities has been fantastic, and to see how people worldwide are still fascinated by the story of the loch and Nessie."

The effort is the biggest since 1972, when the Loch Ness Investigation Bureau carried out a study. In the meantime, other efforts to find Nessie have persisted. In 1987, 24 boats outfitted with echo sounders swept the loch's length in Operation Deepscan.

Many speculated that the creature was a plesiosaur dinosaur, a marine reptile that went extinct 65.5 million years ago. They somehow became trapped in Loch Ness when a geological rupture cut it off from the sea.

In 2019, scientists reported Nessie could be a big eel.

This weekend's operation, "The Quest," will span the 23-mile-long loch. Participants are asked to document everything they see from organized surface-watched locations.

"We are looking for breaks in the surface and asking volunteers to record all manner of natural behavior on the loch," said Alan McKenna of Loch Ness Exploration to BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland program.

Alan Rawlinson, business development manager at Visit Inverness Loch Ness, told The Washington Post that the intrigue surrounding Nessie and Inverness draws more than one million visitors annually.