SPACE

Webb telescope takes stunning images of Horsehead Nebula's 'mane'

Agence France-Presse
April 30, 2024

The new observations show the top of the "horse's mane," revealing for the first time the small scale structures on the edge of the giant cloud of dust and gas (NASA)

NASA's James Webb telescope has captured the most detailed infrared images ever taken of the Horsehead Nebula, one of the most majestic and recognizable objects in the night sky, the space agency said Monday.

The new observations show the top of the "horse's mane," revealing for the first time the small scale structures on the edge of the giant cloud of dust and gas.

Located roughly 1,300 light years away in the constellation Orion ("The Hunter"), the iconic silhouette of a horse's head and neck rises from what look like churning waves of interstellar foam.

Webb, the most powerful space observatory ever built, is able to detect infrared light at unprecedented resolutions, revealing objects that cannot be seen using the visible spectrum in optical telescopes.

"An international team of astronomers has revealed for the first time the small-scale structures of the illuminated edge of the Horsehead," a NASA statement said.

As ultraviolet light evaporates the dust cloud, particles are swept away by the outflow of heated gas -- a process Webb has now shown in action.

The observations have also given astronomers new insights into how dust blocks and emits light, and a better idea of the nebula's multidimensional shape.

The work was the result of an study led by Karl Misselt of the University of Arizona, and published Monday in Astronomy & Astrophysics.

The Horsehead Nebula has fascinated space enthusiasts since its discovery in 1888 by the renowned Scottish astronomer Williamina Fleming.

While it appears shadowy in optical light, the nebula comes to life when viewed through infrared wavelengths, taking on transparent and ethereal hues.

This delicate pillar of hydrogen gas infused with dust is being steadily worn away by the radiation of a nearby star. Astronomers estimate the Horsehead will disappear in another five million years.

European satellite giant SES to buy US rival Intelsat

By AFP
April 30, 2024

SES and Intelsat are facing growing competition from firms providing services from low Earth orbits, like Elon Musk's Starlink - Copyright AFP/File PASCAL GUYOT
Kilian FICHOU

European satellite group SES will acquire US rival Intelsat for $3.1 billion, the companies said Tuesday, seeking to compete in a race for space-based internet service led by Elon Musk’s Starlink.

The merger, which follows year-long talks, comes as Musk already has a constellation of internet satellites while Amazon has launched its own tests.

“In a fast-moving and competitive satellite communication industry, this transaction expands our multi-orbit space network,” SES chief executive Adel Al-Saleh said in a statement.

SES and Intelsat said in a joint statement that 60 percent of the combined group’s revenue would come from “high growth segments” and generate an annual core profit of 1.8 billion euros ($1.9 billion).

“The combination will create a stronger multi-orbit operator with greater coverage,” the statement said.

The boards of both companies unanimously approved the transaction, which they expect to close in the second half of 2025 pending approval from regulators.

The move comes four years after Intelsat filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States and launched a broad restructuring programme to tame its debt.

Founded in 1964 as an intergovernmental consortium to own and manage a constellation of communications satellites, then privatised in the early 2000s, Intelsat now has more than 50 geostationary satellites.

SES for its part last year generated sales closing in on two billion euros ($2.15 billion), a nine percent increase.

But it ended the year in the red with net losses of 34 million euros as video transmission receipts slid amid competition from fiber-optic video streaming services.

The groups distributes transmission capacity to more than 8,000 TV broadcasters across the globe.

The sector faces growing competition for space-based internet service, which satellite operator Eutelsat says could be worth $16 billion by 2030.

Musk’s Starlink has taken the lead with a system promising broadband service even in the most remote locations.

Starlink says it has placed 5,000 satellites in low Earth orbit and has 2.3 million customers. It aims to deploy nearly 30,000 satellites.

Amazon, the company founded by Jeff Bezos, launched two test satellites last year as part of its Project Kuiper to deliver internet service from space. It aims to have more than 3,200 satellites in low orbit.

China plans to launch 13,000 satellites as part of its GuoWang constellation, while Canada’s Telesat will add 300 and German start-up Rivada is eyeing 600.

That will be in addition to the European Union’s Iris project — 170 satellites — and the 300-500 satellites planned to be launched by the US military’s Space Development Agency.

Eutelsat has merged with Britain’s OneWeb in efforts to compete in the market.

Chinese astronauts return to earth after six months in space


In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, the capsule of Shenzhou-17 manned spaceship carrying astronauts Tang Hongbo, Tang Shengjie and Jiang Xinlin touches down at the Dongfeng landing site in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. The return capsule of China’s Shenzhou-17 manned spaceship landed back on Earth Tuesday with three astronauts who have completed a six-month mission aboard the country’s orbiting space station. (Bei He/Xinhua via AP)

 April 30, 2024

BEIJING (AP) — China’s Shenzhou-17 spacecraft returned to Earth Tuesday, carrying three astronauts who have completed a six-month mission aboard the country’s orbiting space station.

The three, Tang Hongbo, Tang Shengjie and Jiang Xinlin, landed at the Dongfeng site in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in the Gobi desert shortly before 6:00 p.m. (1000 GMT). It comes roughly four days after the Shenzhou-18 mission docked with the station with their three-member replacement crew onboard.

China built its own space station after being excluded from the International Space Station, largely because of U.S. concerns over the Chinese military’s total control of the space program amid a sharpening competition in technology between the two geopolitical rivals. This year, the Chinese station is slated for two cargo spacecraft missions and two manned spaceflight missions.

China’s ambitious space program aims to put astronauts on the moon by 2030, as well as bring back samples from Mars around the same year and launch three lunar probe missions over the next four years.

The new crew is made up of Commander Ye Guangfu, 43, a veteran astronaut who took part in the Shenzhou-13 mission in 2021, and fighter pilots Li Cong, 34, and Li Guangsu, 36, who are spaceflight rookies.


READ MORE


A horse-shaped nebula gets its close-up in new photos by NASA’s Webb telescope


NASA astronauts arrive for Boeing’s first human spaceflight


China launches 3-member crew to its space station as it seeks to put astronauts on the moon by 2030

They will spend about six months on the three modules of the space station, the Tiangong, which can accommodate up to six astronauts at a time. During their stay, they will conduct scientific tests, install space debris protection equipment, carry out payload experiments, and beam science classes to students on Earth.

China has also said that it eventually plans to offer access to its space station to foreign astronauts and space tourists. With the ISS nearing the end of its useful life, China could in future remain the only country or corporation to maintain a crewed station in orbit.

China conducted its first crewed space mission in 2003, becoming the third country after the former Soviet Union and the U.S. to put a person into space using its own resources. Tiangong was launched in 2021 and completed 18 months later.

The U.S. space program is believed to still hold a significant edge over China’s due to its spending, supply chains and capabilities. However, China has broken out in some areas, bringing samples back from the lunar surface for the first time in decades and landing a rover on the less explored far side of the moon.

The U.S. aims to put a crew back on the lunar surface by the end of 2025 as part of a renewed commitment to crewed missions, aided by private sector players such as SpaceX and Blue Origin.

Why America’s happiness ranking is irrelevant

John A. Tures
April 30, 2024 

Americans can learn a lot from a dance marathon, writes professor John A. Tures.

 Roman Samborskyi / Shutterstock

LaGRANGE, Ga. — Earlier this month, the news media was flooded with articles showing that America’s happiness ranking had declined, pushing the United States down to 23rd in the world. Reports showed that younger people are behind their elders when it comes to measures of happiness.

While reading these articles, I was invited by my college students to a “Dance Marathon.” These students spent their morning and afternoon having the time of their lives, fundraising thousands of dollars for the Children’s Miracle Network while perfecting a dance routine. There were athletic teams, Greek organizations, student government and theater students. They even worked with those who weren’t part of a student organization, making them feel welcome.

Don’t think I was invited for my moves on the floor. I was there to sit atop the dunk tank. And yes, these students had a blast pitching balls to soak me thoroughly, all in good fun.

Oh, did I mention that it was the first Saturday of Spring Break for the college? They all postponed their travels home and vacations for this event, an annual tradition of fun for Children’s Healthcare Of Atlanta.

Had these college students tapped into something that pundits scrutinizing the survey results might have missed? What made these kids so … lively?


Author Emily Esfahani Smith knows their secret.

In a pre-pandemic TED Talk, she began by saying, “I used to think the whole purpose of life was pursuing happiness. Everyone said the path to happiness was success, so I searched for that ideal job, that perfect boyfriend, that beautiful apartment. But instead of ever feeling fulfilled, I felt anxious and adrift. And I wasn’t alone; my friends — they struggled with this, too. Eventually, I decided to go to graduate school for positive psychology to learn what truly makes people happy. But what I discovered there changed my life. The data showed that chasing happiness can make people unhappy.”

What should we focus on? Esfahani Smith goes on to add, “Psychologist Martin Seligman says meaning comes from belonging to and serving something beyond yourself and from developing the best within you. Our culture is obsessed with happiness, but I came to see that seeking meaning is the more fulfilling path. And the studies show that people who have meaning in life, they’re more resilient, they do better in school and at work, and they even live longer.”

And it’s not just one day of the year of volunteering for these service-oriented students. I’ve been with several on natural disaster cleanups, donated to their lunchtime fundraisers and read about their activities in helping the community. Many have a family member or friend affected, and they simply want to help. And for those worried about the role of religion in America, you’ll find these college kids at events organized by our chaplain and church, too.

So instead of pumping up some “happiness” ranking, we should be boosting our country’s record on volunteering. The good news from the U.S. Census Bureau is that America is doing all right at volunteering. Women volunteer more than men. Veterans are the best at volunteering, helping neighbors. Those with higher education, and parents of kids, are among the best at volunteering. Generation X is the best at formal volunteering, while baby boomers lead in informal volunteering. And Americans do OK on rankings of donations to charity.

We could be doing better. More than 10 percent of charities closed during the pandemic, never to reopen.

But if you want joyful Americans, don’t look for artificial ways to make people happier. Give them some real service opportunities, a chance to make a tangible difference. You just might find this country will become a lot more cheerful, while tackling some real needs in our communities.

John A. Tures is a professor of political science at LaGrange College in LaGrange, Georgia. His views are his own. He can be reached at jtures@lagrange.edu. His X account is @JohnTures2.

Russia’s book police: anti-gay law opens ugly new chapter

Agence France-Presse
April 30, 2024 





Books under lock and key

A new “council of experts” set up in Russia is leveraging a decade-old law against gay “propaganda” to censure books. The move marks a new stage in the Kremlin’s control of information by targeting a broad array of literature, a cultural domain that has long enjoyed a special latitude in the country.

What do the novels, “A Home at the End of the World” by US writer Michael Cunningham, “Giovanni’s Room” by the late James Baldwin and “Heritage” by Russian writer Vladimir Sorokin have in common? These three works have not been sold in Russia since April 22 following a recommendation from a new institution that is emerging as a censorship body, according to Russian business daily Vedomosti.

The books were the first targets of a new council set up by the Russian Book Union, a nominally independent body representing publishing professionals. The council decided the works contravened article 6.21 of Russia’s code of administrative offences, which prohibits “propaganda” advocating “non-traditional sexual relationships” but is often used to target anyone “sharing positive and even neutral information” about LGBT people, according to Human Rights Watch.

A list of endangered books

The new council is “part of a broader information-warfare crackdown related to the anti-gay-propaganda law", said Jeff Hawn, a Russia specialist at the London School of Economics.

Russia first passed a law against “gay propaganda” in 2013, expanding it in 2022 to outlaw depictions of same-sex relationships from advertisements, films, video games and books. Going even further, Russia's Supreme Court banned international LGBT activism as an “extremist movement” last November.

Under the expanded law, Russia’s media regulator was given the right to ban any website engaged in “the promotion of homosexuality and other non-traditional sexual preferences”. The Duma was careful not to define the contours of what was meant by “promotion”, leaving the door open to wide interpretation.

The Russian publishing world has long been concerned about the risk of censorship arising from these laws. In early 2022, an independent Russian journalist published a list of 250 books at risk of being withdrawn from sale. At the time, authorities described the list as unnecessarily alarmist; however, the three novels withdrawn by major Russian publishers were on it.

Despite the expansion of the anti-gay legislation, works on the list continued to be sold and, on the whole, literature did not seem to suffer the same censorship as other media such as television or the internet.



“Literature has always enjoyed a special status (in Russia) because censorship of books was a very important part of the Soviet regime,” said Hawn. “And freedom for writers after the fall of the Soviet Union was enshrined.”

But the authors critical of President Vladimir Putin and his full-scale invasion of Ukraine – such as Boris Akunin, a writer of historical thrillers branded a “terrorist” by the Kremlin – seem to have disappeared from bookshops since 2022, according to Meduza, an independent Russian news outlet. Meduza itself has been based in Riga since the start of the Ukraine war and subsequent media crackdown.

The Kremlin's relative leniency towards literature stems first from the fact that mass media is more influential on public opinion, according to Stephen Hutchings, a specialist in Russian and Soviet cultural history at the University of Manchester.


“What people see in the news [and the] press is much more significant, in that regard, than what is portrayed in fictional writing,” said Hutchings. “So it’s more pressing to control these platforms.”

Allowing the world of literature relative freedom enabled the authorities to distance themselves from the known excesses of the Soviet era, Hawn said.

‘The role of resistance’


The attachment Russians have to the independence of their writers dates from Tsarist times, when there was also censorship, noted Hutchings. “Writers have always played the role of resistance” and been seen as the “political conscience” of Russia, he said.

Alexander Pushkin – a “poet obsessed with the idea of revolution”, according to the late Russian linguist Efim Etkind –was forced into exile by Emperor Alexander I in 1820.

The esteem Russians have for writers also explains why Putin’s government has long hesitated to attack literature too openly; the Kremlin did not even set up the new council. Even so, “the people on board should tell you a lot about the independence of it”, said Hutchings. Indeed, members of the Orthodox Church and the army – two institutions subservient to the government – sit on its panel.

But the new “book police” may have been established a bit too long after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. “Since the start of the war you have two types of authors,” explains Hutchings. “Those who choose to stay and have to exert some self-censorship and those, like Boris Akunin or Mikhail Shishkin, who criticise from foreign countries.”

The new council may instead serve to codify “what is deemed acceptable or not within the book publishing world in Russia”, Hutchings says.

Until now, publishers and writers have been left to their own devices, which leads to a kind of partial censorship, with books or writers disappearing from certain online platforms while still being available elsewhere.


“The signaling purpose of this new body is important because it indicates what the red lines are,” said Hutchings. “The Kremlin knows very well that in this hyperconnected world, you cannot fully suppress access to these writings.”

(This article is a translation of the original in French.)

MSNBC'S Nicolle Wallace spurs uproar over dire warning: Trump could force me off air if reelected

Matthew Chapman
April 29, 2024 

MSNBC anchor Nicolle Wallace (screengrab)

MSNBC's Nicolle Wallace made a startling prediction on Monday: should former President Donald Trump be voted back into the Oval Office, she and other journalists could find themselves forced out of their jobs.

Wallace's name quickly became a trend on the social media platform X as Americans on both sides of the aisle digested this disturbing take.

The MSNBC host made this remark while discussing the recent White House Correspondents' Dinner and a comment from President Joe Biden.

"[Trump] said he wants to be a dictator on day one," Biden told the nation. "He tells supporters he is their revenge and retribution. When in God's name have you ever heard another president say something like that? And he promised a 'bloodbath' when he loses again. We have to take this seriously."

Biden urged his viewers not to discount Trump's comments as mere campaign trail rhetoric.

"Eight years ago we could have written it off as just Trump talk," Biden said. "But no longer. Not after January 6th."

Biden then toasted the free press, and days later, Wallace shared her views.

"I've seen that toast a bunch of times, but it landed very differently this year," said Wallace. "Because depending on what happens in November, seven months from right now, this time next year, I might not be sitting here. There might not be a White House Correspondents' Dinner or free press. Will our democracy fall apart immediately without it? The real threat looms larger. A candidate with outward disdain, not just for a free press, but for all of our freedoms, and for the rule of law itself."

Wallace's remarks prompted a strong reaction on social media.

Many of the reactions came from MAGA supporters who were enraged that Wallace would suggest Trump is a threat to American freedom.

"Nicolle Wallace has lost her mind," posted Brigitte Gabriel, the head of the anti-Muslim hate group ACT For America. "Don’t get me too excited," said pro-Trump influencer Collin Rugg.

Other commenters, though, said they believe the threat Trump poses to the media is real.

"MSNBC host @NicolleDWallace makes the point I wish every journalist could understand: if Trump wins, she might not even be on the air," wrote political strategist Rachel Bitecofer. "It took the Nazis just 10 months to enact The Editor’s Law, which required Nazi permission to publish anything."

Watch the video below or at the link here.

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Trump does not rule out building detention camps for mass deportations

By Tim Reid and Ted Hesson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump does not rule out building detention camps on U.S. soil for migrants in the country illegally if he wins a second White House term, he told Time magazine in an interview published on Tuesday.

Trump was asked whether he would build new detention camps as part of his campaign pledge to carry out the biggest deportation of migrants in the country illegally.

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"I would not rule out anything," Trump said. "But there wouldn't be that much of a need for them" because, he said, the plan is to deport migrants in the U.S. illegally back to their home countries as quickly as possible.

"We're not leaving them in the country," Trump said. "We're bringing them out."

Trump has made illegal crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border a centerpiece of his campaign against President Joe Biden, a Democrat who is running for a second four-year term. Immigration is a top issue for voters, according to national opinion polls.

Trump said he would use National Guard troops to assist in his planned deportation efforts, but also did not rule out deploying active military forces to help.

"I don't think I'd have to do that. I think the National Guard would be able to do that. If they weren't able to, then I’d use the military," he said.

Trump was asked about the 1878 Posse Comitatus Act, a post- Civil War law that prohibits the deployment of the military against civilians.

"Well, these aren’t civilians. These are people that aren't legally in our country. This is an invasion of our country," Trump said.

Trump has used dehumanizing terminology to describe immigrants in the U.S. illegally, calling them "animals" when talking about alleged criminal acts, and saying they are "poisoning the blood of our country," a phrase that has drawn criticism as xenophobic and echoing Nazi rhetoric.

In his campaign speeches, Trump rails against the prosecutors who have brought the four criminal cases he currently faces, including Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and Georgia's Fulton County district attorney, Fani Willis.

Asked if he would instruct his attorney general in a future Trump administration to prosecute Bragg and Willis, he said, "What they've done is a terrible thing," but "no, I don't want to do that."

Trump was also asked about an interview he gave last year when he said he would want to be a dictator for a day to close the southern border and expand domestic energy production.

Trump told Time: "That was said sarcastically. That was meant as a joke."

On Ukraine, Trump said if elected in November "I’m going to try and help Ukraine, but Europe has to get there also and do their job."

Trump has been unclear whether he would continue sending military aid to Ukraine in its war against Russia if he becomes president.

Trump said a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians - a bedrock of U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East - was probably no longer feasible.

"I'm not sure a two-state solution anymore is gonna work," Trump said. The animosity between Israelis and the Palestinians, was now so intense it makes a two-state solution "very, very tough."

Trump also said he "wouldn't feel good" about hiring anybody in a new administration who believed Biden won the 2020 election. Trump has never stopped making the baseless claim that the 2020 election was stolen from him because of fraud.

He said if he wins in November, he would serve one more term, "and then I'm gonna leave."

(Reporting by Tim Reid; additional reporting by Doina Chiacu; editing by Ross Colvin and Jonathan Oatis)

Trump sets out stark vision for second term in Time interview


AFP
April 30, 2024

Former US president Donald Trump: — © POOL/AFP Spencer Platt
Danny KEMP

Donald Trump set out a stark vision for an authoritarian second term in an interview with Time magazine published Tuesday, ranging from possible mass deportations of migrants by the US military and detention camps to pregnancy monitoring to enforce abortion bans.

The Republican former president, who will face Democrat incumbent Joe Biden in November’s election, also warned of a crackdown on the “enemy from within” if he secures a White House comeback and failed to rule out political violence if he does not.

Trump, 77, was in court in New York Tuesday for his porn star hush money trial. The interview took place at his Florida home in early April and then by telephone, giving an unusually detailed view of the policies that he normally only paints in broad strokes during campaign rallies.

“I think the enemy from within, in many cases, is much more dangerous for our country than the outside enemies of China, Russia, and various others,” Trump said in the interview when asked if he would be willing to suspend parts of the US Constitution to deal with opponents.


Former US President Donald Trump looks on in the courtroom, during his trial for allegedly covering up hush money payments linked to extramarital affairs, in New York City, on April 29, 2024. Trump, 77, is accused of falsifying business records to reimburse his lawyer, Michael Cohen, for a $130,000 hush money payment made to porn star Stormy Daniels just days ahead of the 2016 election against Hillary Clinton. – Copyright POOL/AFP Seth Wenig

On immigration, a potentially decisive issue in the 2024 election amid record numbers of people illegally crossing the southern US border with Mexico, Trump said he would have “no choice” but to launch mass deportations.

This would primarily involve the US National Guard “but if I thought things were getting out of control, I would have no problem using the military,” Trump said.

“These aren’t civilians. These are people that aren’t legally in our country. This is an invasion,” Trump told Time magazine when the interviewer pointed out that US laws prevent the military from being used against civilians on US soil.

Trump said he “would not rule out anything” on setting up migrant detention camps but believed they would not be necessary because his deportation program would be successful.

– Abortion bans –

On abortion, another hot-button election topic, Trump repeated his stance that he would leave the issue for the individual US states to decide whether to prosecute those who violate bans on the procedure.

Trump has claimed credit after the conservative-leaning US Supreme Court featuring three Trump-appointed judges overturned the federal right to abortion in 2022, prompting several Republican-led states to introduce full or partial bans.

Asked if states should monitor women’s pregnancies to see if they have had abortions in defiance of a ban, Trump replied: “I think they might do that.”

He would not commit to vetoing any attempt to introduce a nationwide US abortion ban.

Trump meanwhile refused to rule out the possibility of unrest if he loses in November. His supporters attacked the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, in a bid to overturn his election loss to Biden.

Trump said that “I think we’re going have a big victory and I think there will be no violence” — but when pushed, added that “if we don’t win, you know, it depends.”

The Republican, who was impeached over the January 6 unrest, also failed to rule out prosecuting Biden if he wins the election.

“Biden, I am sure, will be prosecuted for all of his crimes, because he’s committed many crimes,” he added, without specifying them.

Trump says 'Biden, I am sure, will be prosecuted' in explosive Time Magazine interview

Matthew Chapman
April 30, 2024 

Former U.S. President Donald Trump (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Former President Donald Trump came as close as he ever has to outright saying he would try to get President Joe Biden thrown in prison if he wins another term in office, in an interview released on Tuesday by TIME Magazine.

During the interview, Trump gave seemingly contradictory answers when asked about jailing Biden, although he did say he would appoint a special prosecutor to investigate him.

"I wouldn’t want to hurt Biden," Trump said initially. "I have too much respect for the office."

The former president then shifted gears and vowed Biden would face charges if the Supreme Court didn't grant his demands for total immunity to break the law as president.

"If they said that a President doesn’t get immunity, then Biden, I am sure, will be prosecuted for all of his crimes," Trump explained.

The Supreme Court ruling in question is set to come down after oral arguments in which the justices broadly appeared skeptical of the idea presidents enjoy universal immunity for anything done in office, but at least some appeared open to excluding some "official acts" from prosecution.

Biden has not been charged with any criminal offense. For months now, House Republicans have been running an impeachment investigation, looking for evidence that Biden took international bribes when he was serving as vice president, but have failed to unearth any compelling evidence of this and are quietly acknowledging the investigation is going nowhere.

Trump, however, is no stranger to casually demanding his opponents' imprisonment, going all the way back to when he whipped his supporters into chants of "Lock Her Up" against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during the 2016 campaign, over her use of a personal server for government business which may have inadvertently retained some classified information. She was never found to have broken any law, although ironically, Trump himself is now being prosecuted for the unlawful retention of boxes of highly classified national defense information concealed at Mar-a-Lago.

More recently, in 2019, Trump found himself impeached over a scheme in which he tried to extort the president of Ukraine into announcing a criminal investigation into the Biden family, although he was not convicted in the Senate.

Trump on prospect of election-related violence: 'If we don’t win, you know, it depends'

Brad Reed
April 30, 2024 

Trump supporters rioting at the US Capitol. (Shutterstock.com)

In an interview with Time Magazine, former President Donald Trump wouldn't dismiss the prospect of violence by his supporters in the 2024 presidential election.

“If we don’t win, you know, it depends,” Trump said when asked about the prospect of political violence. “It always depends on the fairness of the election.”

Related to this, Trump also gave the magazine a menacing statement about the purported "fascists" that he blames for his criminal prosecutions.

"I think the enemy from within, in many cases, is much more dangerous for our country than the outside enemies of China, Russia, and various others," he stated.

After losing the 2020 election, Trump infamously refused to concede even after losing dozens of court cases challenging the results.

He then called on his supporters to come to Washington D.C. for what he promised would be a "wild" protest of the certification of the election, and then asked them to march to the United States Capitol building, where they violently clashed with police officers, broke into the Capitol, and sent lawmakers fleeing for their lives.

Trump remained silent on the riot for three hours despite pleas from his own family members before eventually calling on the rioters to go home.

The Capitol riot was far from the only instance of Trump-inspired violence during his political career.

In 2018, a Trump supporter named Cesar Sayoc send multiple pipe bombs to many of Trump's critics including former President Barack Obama and former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

In 2022, Trump supporter Ricky Shiffer fired a nail gun at an FBI field office and tried to infiltrate the building before he was fatally shot by law-enforcement officials.

Instead of condemning violent actions by his supporters during the January 6th riots, Trump in recent months has lauded them as "patriots" who are being held as "hostages" by the federal government despite the fact that many of them were convicted of assaulting police officers.

Trump: 'There is a definite antiwhite feeling in the country' that 'can't be allowed'

Brad Reed
April 30, 2024 

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images


Former President Donald Trump thinks that white Americans are facing discrimination that he says "can't be allowed."

In an interview with Time Magazine, the former president was asked about polls showing that his supporters believe that "antiwhite racism" is now a greater problem than prejudice leveled against other minorities.

"There is a definite antiwhite feeling in the country,” Trump replied in response. “And that can’t be allowed either.”

It's not clear what actions Trump would take to block this "antiwhite feeling in the country" although Time notes that Trump advisers say he will rescind all Biden administration executive orders related to boosting diversity and inclusion.

Trump has a long history of deploying racist dog whistles, starting with his failed quest to prove that former President Barack Obama was born in Kenya and was thus not eligible to be president.

In reality, Obama was born in Hawaii, as Trump himself finally acknowledged in 2016.

This continued throughout his first presidential campaign, when he argued that a judge could not fairly oversee the Trump University fraud case because of his "Mexican" heritage, and during his presidency, when he told four Democratic congresswomen of color to "go back" to their home countries even though all of them are American citizens.

Trump reveals plans to surveil pregnant women and deport millions if re-elected


In sweeping interview with Time, ex-president says he would prosecute Bidens and fire any US attorney who disobeyed him


Ed Pilkington

Tue 30 Apr 2024 


Donald Trump has warned that Joe Biden and his family could face multiple criminal prosecutions once he leaves office unless the US supreme court awards Trump immunity in his own legal battles with the criminal justice system.

In a sweeping interview with Time magazine, Trump painted a startling picture of his second term, from how he would wield the justice department to how he would surveil pregnant women to enforce abortion laws.


Trump made the threat against the Biden family in an interview with Eric Cortellessa of Time, in which he shared the outlines of what the magazine called “an imperial presidency that would reshape America and its role in the world”.

Trump made a direct connection between his threat to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the Bidens should he win re-election in November with the case currently before the supreme court over his own presidential immunity.

Asked whether he intends to “go after” the Bidens should he gain a second term in the White House, Trump replied: “It depends what happens with the supreme court.”

If the nine justices on the top court – three of whom were appointed by Trump – fail to award him immunity from prosecution, Trump said, “then Biden I am sure will be prosecuted for all of his crimes, because he’s committed many crimes”.

Trump and his Republican backers have long attempted to link Biden to criminal wrongdoing relating to the business affairs of his son Hunter Biden, without unearthing any substantial evidence. Last June, in remarks made at his golf course in Bedminster, New Jersey, Trump threatened to appoint a special prosecutor were he re-elected “to go after the most corrupt president in the history of the United States of America, Joe Biden, and the entire Biden crime family”.

Trump is currently in the thick of four active prosecutions himself, one of which is currently at trial in New York. He is accused of election interference in 2016 tied to hush-money payments to the adult film actor Stormy Daniels.

Last week, the supreme court heard oral arguments in Trump v US in which the former president made a case for broad immunity from prosecution for former presidents including himself. The justices appeared unlikely to grant his request in full, though they sounded willing to consider some degree of immunity for acts carried out as part of official presidential duties.


Several of Trump’s comments in the Time interview will ring alarm bells among those concerned with the former president’s increasingly totalitarian bent.

Trump’s remarks raise the specter that, were he granted a second presidential term, he would weaponize the justice department to seek revenge against the Democratic rival who defeated him in 2020.

Despite the violence that erupted on 6 January 2021 at the US Capitol after he refused to accept defeat in the 2020 election, which is the subject of one of two federal prosecutions he is fighting, Trump also declined to promise a peaceful transfer of power should he lose again in November.

Asked by Cortellessa whether there would be political violence should Trump fail to win, he replied: “If we don’t win, you know, it depends. It always depends on the fairness of an election.”

Pouring yet more gasoline onto the fire, Trump not only repeated his falsehood that the 2020 election had been stolen from him, but said he would be unlikely to appoint anyone to a second Trump administration who believed Biden had legitimately prevailed four years ago. “I wouldn’t feel good about it, because I think anybody that doesn’t see that that election was stolen – you look at the proof,” he said.

Overall, the interview conveys a picture of a second Trump presidency in which the occupant of the Oval Office would be determined to wield executive power unconstrained by any historical norms or respect for long-accepted boundaries.

His plans to dominate the Department of Justice would see him pardon most of the more than 800 people who have been convicted of rioting on January 6 and summarily fire any US attorney who disobeyed his instructions.

On abortion, he said that all decision-making power over reproductive rights had been handed to the states following the supreme court’s overturning of the right to a termination in Roe v Wade. He said he might contemplate Republican states putting pregnant women under surveillance to monitor whether they had abortions beyond the state’s designated ban.

“I think they might do that,” Trump said.

Some of his most fearsome policies for a possible Trump 47 presidency concern immigration. He told Time that one of his first priorities would be to initiative a mass deportation of millions of undocumented people.

To achieve that historically unprecedented goal, he would be prepared to deploy the US military and national guard to secure the border and to carry out massive sweeps of potential deportees. He said he would not rule out building new migrant detention camps to house those earmarked for removal, though most of the deportations would happen instantly.

French media scion resigns after embezzlement charge

AFP
April 30, 2024

Arnaud Lagardere plans to appeal a ban on holding management positions - 

Copyright AFP BAY ISMOYO

Paul RICARD

French media baron Arnaud Lagardere resigned Tuesday as chief executive of the sprawling group of the same name after being charged with misuse of corporate funds.

Lagardere, who sold the firm built by his father to media giant Vivendi in November, plans to appeal a temporary ban on holding management positions resulting from the charges, his company said.

The firm operates the profitable Relay chain of airport and train station stores, airport duty-free shops, major performance venues, as well as media including radio station Europe 1 and Sunday paper the Journal du dimanche and France’s top book publisher Hachette.

Now 63, Arnaud Lagardere inherited his father Jean-Luc’s former business empire on his death in 2003.

He was charged on Monday after a day of questioning by specialist financial investigators.

A source familiar with the case said the charges originated in part from a complaint by activist investor Amber Capital, as well as market watchdogs.

Lagardere is suspected of “financing his lifestyle and his personal spending from the funds” of two of his companies, the source added.

The firm said the charges “largely relate to companies belonging personally” to Arnaud Lagardere, rather than those that are part of the publicly-traded Lagardere SA group.

He was however charged with “vote-buying, abuse of power and spreading false or misleading information” in 2018-19, the group acknowledged, saying the former CEO “strongly contests” the accusations.

The business built by the elder Lagardere by merging aerospace firm Matra and publisher Hachette has gradually eroded under his son’s stewardship.

He sold off the EADS aerospace arm as well as several media houses within a decade as debts grew.

And in 2021 Arnaud Lagardere had to give up a corporate structure that had allowed him and his father to control the company with a stake of less than 10 percent, opening the empire up to further dismemberment.

The November sale to Vivendi — controlled by the family of billionaire Vincent Bollore — sealed the end of Lagardere as an independent firm.

“We are now part of the Vivendi family. On a personal note, we’re entering the Bollore family, which I find even more flattering,” Arnaud Lagardere told the group’s annual general meeting last week.

The younger Lagardere has long had a close personal connection to Vincent Bollore and lives in the same gated community in the western Paris neighbourhood of Auteuil.

UK to deport 5,700 migrants to Rwanda this year


AFP
April 30, 2024

The UK's plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda is designed to cut numbers trying to cross the Channel from France - Copyright AFP WILLIAM WEST
Joe JACKSON

The UK expects to deport 5,700 migrants to Rwanda this year, a senior minister said Tuesday, after the government published new details on the controversial plan.

The figures come days after the scheme aimed at deterring migrant arrivals on small boats from northern Europe became law following months of parliamentary wrangling.

Rwanda has “in principle” agreed to accept 5,700 migrants already in the UK, the interior ministry revealed late Monday.

Of those, 2,143 “can be located for detention” before being flown there, it added.

Law enforcement agencies will find the remainder, Health Secretary Victoria Atkins said Tuesday when asked about the 5,700 earmarked for deportation.

“The expectation is that we remove that group of people… by the end of the year,” she told Sky News television.

“If somebody doesn’t report as they should do… They will be found.”

Migrants who arrived in the UK between January 2022 and June last year are liable to have their asylum claims deemed inadmissible and be removed to Rwanda, the interior ministry said.

More than 57,000 people arrived on small boats after trying to cross the Channel during this 18-month period, according to official statistics.

The figure underlines the scale of the challenge trying to stem irregular arrivals, and the limits of the government’s contentious plan to send some of them to Rwanda.

Under the scheme — set to cost UK taxpayers hundreds of millions of pounds — their asylum claims will be examined by Kigali.

If approved, they will be allowed to stay in Rwanda and not return to the UK.





– ‘More to come’ –



Rwanda, home to 13 million people in Africa’s Great Lakes region, lays claim to being one of the most stable countries on the continent and has drawn praise for its modern infrastructure.

But rights groups accuse veteran President Paul Kagame of ruling in a climate of fear, stifling dissent and free speech.

UK lawmakers last week passed the Safety of Rwanda Bill, which compels British judges to regard the nation as a safe third country.

It followed a UK Supreme Court ruling last year that said sending migrants on a one-way ticket there was illegal.

The new law also gives decision-makers on asylum applications the power to disregard sections of international and domestic human rights law.

UK opposition parties, UN agencies and various rights groups have criticised the flagship policy of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservative government.

He said last week that deportation flights are expected to begin within 10-12 weeks.

Sunak is also trying to reduce what he says are “unsustainable and unfair levels” of regular immigration to the UK, after annual net migration — the difference between the number of people arriving and those leaving — topped 745,000.

His government has introduced various measures, including a 47-percent hike in the minimum salary for skilled work visas and increasing the income required for some family visas, while tightening regulations for students.

Home Secretary James Cleverly said Tuesday that the policies were working, hailing a near-80 percent drop in student visa applications in the first three months of the year compared to the same 2023 period.

“This does not mark the end of the road in our plan to cut migration, there is more still to come,” he said.

“Ever-spiralling numbers were eroding the British people’s confidence in our immigration system, burdening public services and suppressing wages.”

Cleverly has said he wants to cut the annual net tally by 300,000.

French charity boycotts Olympic torch relay over Coca-Cola

By AFP
April 30, 2024

The Olympic flame was handed to Paris organisers last Friday during a ceremony in Greece - Copyright AFP Aris MESSINIS

A French environmental charity said it had turned down the chance to take part in the torch relay ahead of the Paris Olympics over the role of Coca-Cola as a major sponsor.

“Clean My Calanques”, an NGO in Marseille which specialises in beach-cleaning, received funding from the 2024 Paris Olympics organising committee for its work educating school children.

But it announced on Monday that it would not take part in the torch relay which will begin in Marseille on May 8, thanks in part to financing from premium Olympics sponsor Coca-Cola.

“We are not going to carry a flame which is paid for by the same people who make us bend over,” the founder of Clean My Calanques, Eric Akopian, told AFP.

Set up in 2017, the organisation’s volunteers clean beaches around Marseille and in the nearby national Calanques park, whose narrow coves and azure waters make it a popular spot for tourists and locals.

Akopian said Coca-Cola was one of the “most polluting (companies) in the world”, with its bottles and cans some of the products found most frequently during the charity’s beach-combing operations.

In a video message posted on Instagram, he said the organisation had decided it was “not at ease” with the commercial aspects of the Olympics, although he stressed they had “nothing against sports, or the athletes”.

Akopian noted the mass production of so-called “goodies” linked to the Games such as stickers, key rings, pens or mascots.

“They can seem cute, but we know that we’re going to find them on the coastline,” he told AFP.

French authorities say up to 150,000 people are set to gather in Marseille for the start of the torch relay, which will see the Olympic flame carried through mainland France and the country’s overseas territories in the Caribbean and Indian Ocean.

The Olympics are set to start on July 26 and run until August 11, followed by the Paralympics from August 28-September 8.

Paris 2024 organisers have worked with Coca-Cola to reduce plastic waste from its drinks packaging.

The group has agreed to install 700 newly designed drink fountains at Olympic venues, meaning that around 50 percent of soft drinks will be served without a plastic bottle, according to the organising committee.