Push for gender equality stalls as men dominate nominations for EU commission

Hopes that the next European Commission would be equally made up of women and men are floundering after member states put forward an overwhelmingly male list of candidates – defying EU chief Ursula von der Leyen's instructions to submit balanced picks.

Issued on: 30/08/2024 -

Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, attends a meeting in Stansstad near Lucerne, Switzerland, on 16 June 2024. 

© Alessandro Della Valle / Reuters

By: RFI

With Friday's deadline approaching for European Union members to offer nominees for von der Leyen's 26-person team, 16 of the 21 names known so far are men.

After her re-election in July, the European Commission president had asked states specifically to give her a choice of one male and one female candidate.

Not a single country has done so. As it stands, as few as six women may hold posts in the next EU executive, including von der Leyen herself and the nominee for foreign policy chief, Estonia's outgoing prime minister Kaja Kallas.

The European Women's Lobby, an umbrella group working toward gender equality in the bloc, said the situation was indicative of an "old boys' club" mindset, calling it "beyond embarrassing"

"If member states truly believe only men are fit for these roles or that there are no qualified women in their countries, they're not just out of touch – they're delusional," the group's spokesperson Mirta Baselovic told French news agency AFP.

Equality ambitions

Lina Galvez, chair of the European Parliament's committee on gender equality, said the numbers suggested a clear lack of "political will" from member states that sent a "very bad signal, especially to younger women and girls".

At the root of the situation is a power play between von der Leyen and European capitals that may well back goals like gender parity on paper, but in practice resist having their hands tied in any way.EU adopts laws to ensure more women are appointed to company boards

Von der Leyen made gender equality a priority of her first term, and between them she, Kallas and European Parliament president Roberta Metsola clinched an unprecedented three of four top EU jobs following the bloc's latest parliamentary elections.

But short of a radical shake-up, her ambition for a gender-balanced commission – which steers EU policy on issues of trade to climate and migration – already looks dead in the water.

Standoff looms

Von der Leyen now faces a choice, according to EU law professor Alberto Alemanno: accept the list and put the nominations to parliamentary hearings planned for September and October, or send states back to the drawing board.

Members of the European Parliament won't pull any punches, Alemanno told AFP: "There's a risk that instead of voting down four or five commissioners, they might vote against half of them."

If von der Leyen instead puts her foot down, "she avoids finding herself in a position of weakness," he said. "And it's a chance to assert her independence."

The commission president has the authority to make a stand, according to Alemanno. "The question is more a political one – whether she will choose to exercise that prerogative."

Alternatively, von der Leyen could turn down some of the male candidates presented to her one by one, using the promise of choice portfolios as leverage with individual member states.

'Bare minimum'

The European Women's Lobby said it was counting on the commission chief to "stand firm", calling it her "prerogative and responsibility to ensure that the EU leadership reflects the diversity of its population".

"This isn't a radical ask – it's the bare minimum," spokesperson Baselovic said. Gender gap at work far wider than expected, UN says

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the European Commission insisted that Von der Leyen "stands by her conviction that in the modern world, we need to have as many women as possible in positions of responsibility".

"She is doing everything in her power in order to ensure that we have a well-balanced college with people who are competent for the role of commissioner, and a college that will include as many women as possible," chief spokesman Eric Mamer told reporters earlier this week.

(with AFP)

In war-fatigued east Ukraine, Zelensky loses his shine

Kleban-Byk (Ukraine) (AFP) – Olena Semykina, the owner of a village shop in east Ukraine, voted for President Volodymyr Zelensky five and a half years ago, hoping the fresh-faced political newcomer would end the fighting unleashed by Russian proxy forces in 2014.

Issued on: 30/08/2024

Across the industrial Donetsk region some war-fatigued residents, have lost faith in the 46-year-old Zelensky

 © Roman PILIPEY / AFP

The screech of an artillery shell over her leafy village in the war-battered Donetsk region and the plumes of dark smoke billowing on the horizon suggested that her hopes for his first term had fallen short.

"We expected the war to end, like he promised. But the war hasn't ended. There's even more fighting. It seems to me that it's become even more intense," the 43-year-old told AFP in the village of Kleban-Byk, where invading Russian forces are fast approaching.

Across the industrial Donetsk region some war-fatigued residents, like Olena who voted for Zelensky in 2019, have lost faith in the 46-year-old leader as Russia's invasion grinds through its third year.
Olena Semykina voted for President Volodymyr Zelensky in 2019 but is disappointed he has been unable to end the war © Roman PILIPEY / AFP

The former comedian won respect internationally and drew comparisons with Winston Churchill when he stayed in Kyiv in February 2022 to lead his country in a David-versus-Goliath battle against Russian forces.

But in interviews with AFP, Donetsk residents blamed him for failing to prevent the full-scale invasion in the first place, for daily speeches that felt empty or for being out of touch with Ukrainians living near the front lines.
'I don't listen to him anymore'

Donetsk has been partially controlled by Russian proxy forces since they wrested control over swathes of the industrial territory in 2014.

Zelensky swept to victory five years later, promising to end the bitter fighting and stamp out systemic corruption among Soviet-style political elites.

Polling in September 2019 -- just months after his inauguration -- showed the former TV star was riding high with around 80 percent approval ratings.

Those figures plummeted before Russia invaded in 2022, but skyrocketed to around 90 percent as Russian missiles began raining down on Ukrainians.
Zelensky's popularity rating has fallen sharply, polling indicates © Roman PILIPEY / AFP

Now his ratings are falling precipitously again, standing at 55 percent, according to polling by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS).

"To be honest, I don't listen to him at all anymore. It's pointless. I don't believe in anything he says. He talks a lot but does little," said Vadim, a miner in Selydove, another Donetsk-region town in Russia's sights.

"You have to be here to understand what's going on here and how people live," added the 42-year-old, who earlier sent his family to Kyiv for safety from Russian bombardments.

Zelensky's first five-year term officially ended earlier this year. Under martial law, Kyiv cannot host elections, which would anyway face myriad obstacles with millions of Ukrainians abroad, living under Russian occupation or near active hostilities.
Zelensky 'deserves respect'

KIIS polling suggested that least 70 percent of Ukrainians oppose holding any ballot with the war raging -- but there is still a clear appetite for change, said the institute's Executive Director Anton Grushetsky.

"It is obvious that the request from ordinary Ukrainians is for more and more competent, decent people to hold the most important government positions," he wrote in an analytical note alongside the poll findings.

Some in Donetsk were more sympathetic to Zelensky and his bid to unite Ukrainians and Kyiv's allies abroad to end the largest war in Europe since World War II.

A Ukrainian wounded serviceman brought from frontline positions is treated by Ukrainian military medics © Roman PILIPEY / AFP

Zelensky has persuaded sceptical Western leaders to send advanced battle tanks and F-16 fighter jets for his military, put Ukraine on the path to European Union membership and rallied dozens of countries behind his vision for ending the war.

At a military field hospital near Pokrovsk, an army doctor who identified himself as Lyubystok praised Zelensky for having remained at the helm as Russian forces were gunning for the capital in February 2022.

"This is very strong, very right and deserves respect," the 26-year-old told AFP before rushing to aid bloodied servicemen brought from the nearby front.

In Novogrodivka, a mining town that is falling under Russian control, businesswoman Iryna Cherednychenko, said Zelensky was a "good man" and admired him for making several visits to her frontline region.
'Save the country'

The 62-year-old also voted for Zelensky but said she was disappointed that corruption remained a problem and that the cabinet and parliament should step up to strengthen the rule of law.

"We expected him to have a very professional team but our expectations were not met," Cherednychenko said, the sounds of distant shelling echoing out.

"Corruption, the irresponsibility of the authorities and weak laws are finishing us off. People lost faith," she told AFP, adding that officials in Kyiv were out of touch with soldiers and civilians impacted by fighting.

KIIS polling suggested that least 70 percent of Ukrainians oppose holding any ballot with the war raging © Roman PILIPEY / AFP

Political analyst Volodymyr Fesenko told AFP that Ukrainian presidents generally lose support in their first year and Ukrainians as a whole tend to distrust state and political institutions.

He said that while Zelensky's rating would likely never rebound, there was more the president could do on some domestic issues, particularly corruption.

"Zelensky now needs to think not about ratings, but about how to save the country and get it out of the war with the least losses," Fesenko added.

"In any case, he will remain in Ukrainian history as one of the most striking and unusual political figures."

© 2024 AFP

Australian sauna helps save frogs from flesh-eating fungus

Sydney (AFP) – Hundreds of endangered Australian Green and Golden Bell frogs huddle inside a sauna, shielded from Sydney's winter chill.

Issued on: 30/08/2024

An endangered Australian Green and Golden Bell frog hides between bricks inside a small sauna that protects it from the deadly chytrid fungus

 © Saeed KHAN / AFP


The sauna -– a small greenhouse containing black-painted bricks warmed by the sun -- may be pleasant, but it also protects the frogs from a deadly chytrid fungus that would otherwise drive them to extinction.

Macquarie University biologist Anthony Waddle holds one frog -- no bigger than a credit card -- in his hand as its green and gold colours become more vibrant in the heat.

"Chytrid is the worst pathogen ever", he told AFP.

It is a water-borne disease that burrows into the frogs' skin, attacking their bodies and eventually killing them.

Macquarie University biologist Anthony Waddle holds a tiny Green and Golden Bell frog, its colours becoming more vibrant in the heat 

© Saeed KHAN / AFP

Waddle said that globally, the disease has caused the decline of 500 amphibian species and driven 90 to extinction -– six in Australia.

"Nothing has ever caused this much devastation," he told AFP. "In Australia, we have frogs that only live in glass boxes now. This is a huge, ongoing problem."

But Waddle's dollhouse-sized saunas could change that.

In their warm interiors, the deadly chytrid fungus cannot grow on the frogs, allowing them to fight off the infection and survive.

-'No one solution' -

The dollhouse-sized saunas only cost about $50 to assemble 

© Saeed KHAN / AFP

Frogs play a vital role in the environment and are known as bioindicators, which are used to assess the health of ecosystems.

Without the amphibians, entire ecosystems can collapse.

Globally, 41 percent of frog species are threatened with extinction, making them one of the most vulnerable invertebrate groups, a recent study by the International Union for Conservation of Nature found.

Some of the biggest drivers include loss of habitat, climate change and the chytrid disease.

These drivers are difficult to tackle, but in the absence of a cure, Waddle hopes his frog saunas can help limit the losses.

"This might be the first evidence that we could cheaply and feasibly reduce that nasty yearly die-off of frogs," Waddle said.

More than 40 percent of global frog species are threatened with extinction 

© Saeed KHAN / AFP

"For Green and Golden Bell frogs, that could mean the difference between a population going or persisting."

He said the saunas show that creative solutions ranging from the complex -- such as identifying genes that could make individuals resistant to chytrid -- to more simple are needed if frog populations are to survive.

"Not one solution is going to work for everything. Frogs are so different," Waddle added.

But the beauty of Waddle's saunas is that they cost AUD$70 ($US50) to assemble, and he has helped dozens of citizen scientists build their own backyard versions.

This has not only provided valuable data about endangered frog species but also saved some from the deadly fungus.

Jodi Rowley, an amphibian biologist from the Australian Museum, said the saunas showed how creative solutions could have real-world benefits.

"It's easy to feel helpless in the face of biodiversity declines, but this study gives us a tangible way we may be able to help frogs battling a devastating fungal disease," she told AFP.

© 2024 AFP

Bluetongue anguish for Dutch farmers

Oosterwolde (Netherlands) (AFP) – One sheep dribbles, another limps, a third can barely stand: the bluetongue virus is causing havoc for Dutch farmer Erik van Norel, who thought he had seen the back of it.

Issued on: 30/08/2024 - 

Bluetongue is causing havoc to Dutch farmers 

© Nick Gammon / AFP

Still recovering from the impact of the virus last year, the 41-year-old thought the nightmare was finally over -- then bluetongue staged a comeback on his farm.

Bluetongue is a non-contagious, insect-borne viral disease that affects sheep and cows but not pigs or horses. It is difficult to control once it takes hold.

In September 2023, when the BTV-3 strain of the virus broke out in the Netherlands, Van Norel rounded up his ill animals and transported them on his quad bike to the stable.

Some died within 12 hours. He lost 80 animals in total, roughly three quarters of the sheep that fell sick.

"The situation was desperate. There was nothing I could do," he told AFP, surrounded by his flock in Oosterwolde, in the north of the Netherlands.

Symptoms include excessive salivation, the swelling of lips, tongue, and jaw, and the loss of offspring for pregnant animals, in proportions varying from farm to farm.

Unlike bird flu for example, an animal infected with the virus is not automatically slaughtered.

The virus has had a major impact on farms in the Netherlands 

© Nick Gammon / AFP

Bluetongue is rarely fatal for cows, but leads to a dramatic drop in milk production.

The virus poses no danger to human health.

Dutch authorities have registered outbreaks of the virus in 6,384 places, with the rate steadily rising.

However, farming union LTO says this is hugely underestimated, as farmers are no longer taking blood samples from all infected animals.

The virus has also been recorded in France, Belgium and Germany. Nearly 1,200 Belgian farms are affected, according to figures out Tuesday, a tripling in three weeks.

France is dealing with an "explosion" of cases that have quadrupled in eight days, according to authorities at the agriculture ministry.

And in Germany, officials have detected 3,212 cases by August 22, also a concerning rate of growth.

'She's dribbling a lot'

Van Norel says he is now battling through "season two" of the bluetongue disaster but thanks to vaccination, his animals are less sick than last year.

Nevertheless, the impact on his farm is clearly visible.

Vaccines mean the sheep are less sick but do not prevent them from getting the disease © Nick Gammon / AFP

He approaches one sheep that is staying away from the rest of the flock.

"The mouth is very sensitive, you can see she is hardly eating and she is getting very thin," he said.

"She's dribbling a lot, she's also had diarrhoea. All the symptoms show that she is sick," concluded Van Norel.

But he thinks this particular sheep will survive, but is not so sure for six others taken to the "sick bay" in a meadow behind the stable. They have recovered but are now suffering from complications.

Swollen legs prevent them from walking or even standing upright. Those who don't recover are put down "out of respect for the animals," Van Noren.

Vaccination does not stop the animals contracting the disease but eases the symptoms. Around 10 percent of his sheep are dying from bluetongue, compared to 75 percent last year.
'Bankrupt'

Dutch farmers have three vaccines available. The government sped up approvals before the insects that carry the disease became more active over the summer.

But LTO points out that all the costs, from buying the vaccine to vet fees, are borne by the farmers.

"The government has done its job with the vaccines but, given the current social impact on sheep farmers and milk producers, we want the ministry to do more," said Heleen Prinsen, animal welfare official at LTO.

Some of the sheep can barely stand © Nick Gammon / AFP

"In Germany, France and Denmark, farmers get a payment for the vaccines," Prinsen told AFP, urging the European Union to come up with a joint response to the virus.

It is too early to put a figure on the total damage to the industry, she said. But it is sure that it represents yet another "tough financial hit" for farmers.

A man as gentle as a lamb, Van Norel inherited the farm from his uncle and is passionate about his job.

But he says that bluetongue cost him "ten of thousands of euros" last year, which had a "huge impact" on his business.

He managed to absorb the cost but he is not sure he can take many more episodes of the virus. "That will mean going bankrupt," he said.

© 2024 AFP

MEGLOMANIAC POPULIST OPPORTUNIST

Far-left rebel seeking peace with Putin rocks German politics


By AFP
August 29, 2024

Far-left politician Sahra Wagenknecht has caused a stir in Germany by calling for peace negotiations with Russia's Vladimir Putin - Copyright AFP/File JENS SCHLUETER
Léa PERNELLE with Céline LE PRIOUX in Berlin

A radical far-left politician who wants to make peace with Russia’s Vladimir Putin looks set to play a key role in regional elections in the former East Germany on Sunday.

Sahra Wagenknecht, 55, born in communist East Germany to an Iranian father and a German mother, defected from the far-left Die Linke to form her own party, BSW, last year.

Wagenknecht has caused a stir in Germany by calling for negotiations with Putin, an end to the government’s support for Ukraine and a radical crackdown on immigration.

But BSW won an impressive 6.2 percent in June’s European Union elections and looks set to pick up between 15 and 20 percent of the vote on Sunday in Saxony and Thuringia.

At a rally in her hometown of Jena, Wagenknecht spoke passionately about her upbringing in East Germany and “the fear that nuclear bombs could fall here in Europe”.

“Now the fear is back,” she said.

BSW wants to stop weapons deliveries to Ukraine and rejects plans to allow the United States to periodically station long-range missiles in Germany.

Wagenknecht also called for tougher immigration laws, days after a Syrian man allegedly stabbed three people to death in the western city of Solingen.

BSW wants to “reverse” the current government’s immigration policy, she said.

“We cannot welcome the whole world in Germany.”



– Kingmaker? –



Opinion polls for Sunday’s elections have the far-right AfD as the biggest party in Thuringia on around 30 percent, while in Saxony it is running neck-and-neck for first place with the conservative CDU.

The AfD is also leading the polls in a third former East German state, Brandenburg, set to hold an election later in September.

However, the AfD is unlikely to come to power in any of these states, even if it wins, as other parties have ruled out collaborating with it to form a majority.

This could leave the mainstream parties scrambling to form ruling coalitions — and Wagenknecht’s party could end up being the kingmaker.

Speaking to AFP, Wagenknecht said the upcoming elections would be “very important” for her party.

“If we make our entrance into each of these regional parliaments with a score in double figures, we will no longer be seen as just a media phenomenon but as a party destined to change our country’s politics,” she said.

Indeed, the “interesting question” about the regional elections will be “how strong the Sahra Wagenknecht alliance will be in the end”, said Marianne Kneuer, a professor of politics at the Dresden University of Technology (TU Dresden).

“It is possible that BSW could become an important factor in forming a coalition in Brandenburg, Thuringia and Saxony,” said Kneuer, predicting that the new party could also enter the national parliament for the first time next year.



– ‘Completely absurd’ –



Wagenknecht told AFP she accepted that “Putin started a war contrary to international law” but said the “West has its share of responsibility”.

“We could have avoided this conflict if we had taken Russia’s security concerns seriously,” she said.

She rejected allegations of pro-Russian false information being spread by some members of her party, saying it was “shameful to accuse us of that”.

“We are accused of being the voice of Moscow or of representing Russian positions because we are in favour of peace negotiations, which is completely absurd,” she said.

On immigration, Wagenknecht pointed to Denmark’s restrictive policy as an example Germany could follow.

“They have drastically reduced their numbers by signalling to the whole world that there is no hope of staying there if your asylum application is rejected,” she said.

Some have pointed out that BSW’s positions on Ukraine and immigration are broadly similar to those of the AfD, but Wagenknecht has ruled out any kind of collaboration with the far right.

“The AfD has a very radical right-wing faction, especially in the east,” she said.

Her party cannot “go into coalition with people who have an ethnic nationalist ideology.”

At the rally in Jena, 83-year-old retired nurse Margit Hoffmann said “the most important thing for me is peace”.

“German public funds should go on other things, not weap

POSTMODERN FUEDALISM

With Hasina gone in Bangladesh, a rival family tastes power

By AFP
August 30, 2024

Bangladesh Nationalist Party activists gather in front of a poster of Khaleda Zia

, during a rally in Dhaka two days after ex-premier Sheikh Hasina's ouster

 - Copyright AFP -

Arunabh SAIKIA

Two women dominated Bangladeshi politics for decades. One was chased into exile. The other is newly free from custody and too sick to rule, but her heir looks set to take power.

Autocratic ex-premier Sheikh Hasina, 76, fled the country by helicopter for neighbouring India this month as huge crowds demanding an end to her rule marched towards her palace.

Hours after the student-led uprising sparked the sudden collapse of her government, her lifelong rival and two-time prime minister Khaleda Zia, 79, was released from house arrest for the first time in years.

Members of Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) endured crackdowns and mass arrests under Hasina, who pointed to her opposition’s cosy relations with Islamists as justification.

A caretaker government has run the country since Hasina’s ouster — but it has to hold new elections eventually, and now that the BNP has emerged from the underground, its members are confident of their prospects.

“People who supported us from behind for a very long time, they are now coming to the front,” Mollik Wasi Tami, a leader of the party’s student wing, told AFP.

Interim leader and Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, 84, has said he has no plans to continue in politics after his current role is finished.

The students who led Hasina’s overthrow have no fondness for Zia either, and it remains unclear whether they would support a future BNP government or seek to form their own party.

But whatever they decide, analysts say that when polls are held, the BNP is the force with the cross-country network, the political experience and the drive to win.

“In the next election, whenever it takes place, the BNP has more appeal,” Bangladeshi politics expert and Illinois State University professor Ali Riaz told AFP.

Zia herself is too ill to assume the prime ministership a third time.

She has suffered from numerous chronic health complaints since she was jailed in 2018 after a graft conviction widely seen as politically motivated, whatever the charge’s true merits.

Zia has only appeared in public once since her release, in a pre-recorded video statement to a BNP rally in Dhaka from a hospital bed, during which she appeared sick and frail.

“We need love and peace to rebuild our country,” she told thousands of party faithful at the rally, held two days after Hasina left Bangladesh.

Her supporters are planning to take her abroad for urgent medical care, clearing the way for her eldest son and heir apparent Tarique Rahman to take the reins.

– ‘He will come back’ –

Tarique has led the BNP since his mother’s conviction while in exile in London, where he fled to avoid his own set of graft charges — which his party is now working to quash.

“When the legal problems are solved, he will come back,” Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, the BNP’s secretary-general, told AFP.

Tarique’s visage already appears alongside that of his mother on the party’s banners and campaign materials, including at the rally held two days after Hasina’s toppling.

The fact that rally happened at all was a remarkable departure from Hasina’s rule.

The BNP’s senior leaders and thousands of activists were jailed late last year ahead of January elections that — absent any genuine political opposition — returned Hasina to power.

– Dynasties forged in blood –

The decades-old contest between Zia and Hasina is a dynastic battle that predates the political career of both women.

Hasina’s father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Zia’s husband Ziaur Rahman both led the country in the early years after its 1971 liberation war against Pakistan. Both were assassinated.

Both women joined forces in protests that ousted a military dictator in 1990 and then contested elections against each other the following year.

They have alternated in power ever since, with their parties serving as vehicles for their fierce rivalry.

Zia’s first administration in 1991 was hailed for liberalising Bangladesh’s economy, sparking decades of growth.

But her second term from 2001 saw several graft scandals — some implicating Tarique — and Islamist attacks, including one that almost killed Hasina.

– ‘Politics based on religion’ –

Zia was also accused of steering Muslim-majority Bangladesh, and her nominally big tent BNP, away from their secular roots by allying with the Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami.

The partnership gave Hasina cover to persecute both parties by claiming she was fighting extremism — an excuse bolstered by several terror attacks during her time in office.

Retired Dhaka University professor Abul Kashem Fazlul Haq told AFP that any collaboration between both forces risked antagonising the avowedly secular students who toppled Hasina.

“They are aware that they will be hurt if they do politics based on religion,” he said.

But Alamgir, the BNP’s secretary-general, said the party was open to renewing the alliance if it boosted their chances of forming the next government.

“BNP will definitely look for victory,” he said. “If Jamaat helps, then definitely.”

Op-Ed: Durov case legal issues could change social media forever


ByPaul Wallis
DIGITAL JOURNAL
August 29, 2024

Telegram is hugely popular in former Soviet countries 

- Copyright AFP/File DENIS CHARLET

The extremely serious charges against Telegram founder Pavel Durov cover just about all issues on social media. these issues range from hate speech, to criminal online activity and pedophilia. It’s not a great look. Telegram has a reputation. Telegram is also reputedly used by terrorist groups and propagandists. It’s a long list of negatives.

Telegram, in fact, became the default social media platform as a messaging app for those banned by the original Twitter. It soon had a huge following. In a somewhat unlikely duet, Elon Musk and Russia have come out against Durov’s indictment.

Please note: This article is not about Durov’s guilt or innocence or whether Telegram has broken any laws. The much bigger issues are about how this case can be a massive future global legal precedent.

What’s truly critical about this case is that it can affect all social media platforms covering the many decades-long and ongoing areas of public complaint.

Let’s describe the mess:

Against the background of total public dissatisfaction with social media’s lazy policies in so many areas, this case will get a lot of traction in media and government. Social media in general is considered to have to be dragged screaming into any responses at all.

In fairness, social media reflects this godawful sick, senile, and stupid society in so many ways. “Social media is not a law enforcement agency,” etc. The trouble is that that’s where the whole subject has got stuck. The problems remain unsolved and festering away.

The response is equally inept and inadequate. It doesn’t matter that moderators get PTSD doing their work. Kids get regularly traumatized. It doesn’t matter that people get killed and hurt.

What’s good about it?

Who’s winning this sewer décor competition?

Another complication arises. Intelligence agencies and governments monitor Telegram routinely. The intelligence community may have to pick up its Christmas hamper and go elsewhere.

This is what’s left of the Wild West Internet idea; a place to rant and rave is required for those who never grew out of it. The Wild West didn’t really ever exist. You’re not and have never been immune to a law just because you commit a crime online. It was just that people didn’t enforce the laws.

Meanwhile, the free speech argument has raised its currently battered and highly selective head and it’s not thinking too clearly if at all. Free speech is a right; advocating crimes isn’t. That argument has also been in the blender for a while getting nowhere.

There are practical issues here. If Durov is found guilty, so is Telegram. It won’t stop with a guilty verdict. Telegram may be shut down, and the legal precedents will naturally carry through to other platforms.

If Telegram gets shut down, where do the users go? Another dark net cash cow? Will X have some sort of self-serving libertarian Renaissance and become the new Telegram? …And get charged for the same things?

You can see how open-ended this case is. It won’t and can’t stop with Durov. Social media tends to reshuffle itself.

Governments have another problem with social media. The public anger against the many transgressions of law is real enough. They can’t get away with not enforcing the related laws if they want to stay in power.

Legally, you can procrastinate, sure, but even SCOTUS can’t stop the clock. There are two furious generations who can simply remove the fossils in the way.

The Telegram case can redefine social media with a sledgehammer. About time.

_________________________________________________________

Disclaimer
The opinions expressed in this Op-Ed are those of the author. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the Digital Journal or its members.

Written ByPaul Wallis
Editor-at-Large based in Sydney, Australia

Supreme Court rejects Biden administration's plea to restart student loan debt relief

REFORM SCOTUS ADD 4 MORE WOMEN JUSTICE'S

The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected the Biden administration’s request to continue canceling student debt for millions of borrowers during an appeals process, as more than a dozen Republican-led states challenge its legality. 

File Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo

Aug. 28 (UPI) -- The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected the Biden administration's request to cancel student debt for millions of borrowers during an appeals process, as more than a dozen Republican-led states challenge its legality.

In the brief unsigned order, the court said it "expected that the Court of Appeals will render its decision with appropriate dispatch." The order had no public dissents.
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"The Supreme Court unanimously upheld our court order blocking Kamala Harris and Joe Biden's illegal student loan cancellation scheme," Missouri attorney general Andrew Bailey wrote Wednesday in a post on X.

"This is a huge victory for the working Americans who won't have to foot the bill for the Biden-Harris Ivy League bailout," he added.  MOST LOANS ARE FOR PUBLIC COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES, IVY LEAGUE HAVE RICH PARENTS

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The Supreme Court order was in response to the Justice Department's emergency appeal after a federal appeals court blocked the program, known as the Saving on a Valuable Education, or SAVE, Plan last month. The Biden administration vowed Wednesday to fight on.

"Our administration will continue to aggressively defend the SAVE Plan -- which has helped over 8 million borrowers access lower monthly payments, including 4.5 million borrowers who have had a zero dollar payment each month. And, we won't stop fighting against Republican-elected officials' efforts to raise costs on millions of their own constituents' student loan payments," a White House spokesperson said in response to the order.

In July, the St. Louis-based 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted the request by seven GOP-led states to block further loan forgiveness, stating that the Department of Education had exceeded its authority in setting repayment terms.

The Biden administration then turned to the Supreme Court with an emergency intervention to temporarily lift the order.

"The states fail to justify allowing that extraordinary injunction to continue to harm millions of borrowers while this appeal is litigated," U.S. Solicitor Elizabeth Prelogar wrote in court filings before the justices rejected the request Wednesday that would have allowed the program to continue during appeal.

Under the SAVE Plan, monthly payments and debt would be reduced for certain borrowers at a cost of hundreds of billions of dollars over the next 10 years. The Education Department already had granted $5.5 billion in relief to 414,000 borrowers before the program was put on hold.

The Education Department estimates it has forgiven $168 billion in debt for more than 4.7 million Americans. It estimates the SAVE plan would cost nearly $156 billion over a decade.

As litigation continues, SAVE Plan borrowers are not required to pay principal or interest as Biden administration lawyers argue that the "extraordinary injunction has scrambled the department's administration of loans for millions of borrowers," creating "widespread confusion and uncertainty."

The White House has repeatedly pushed its program to cancel student debt despite hitting legal roadblocks.

Last summer, the Supreme Court rejected Biden's plan that would have offered up to $20,000 in student loan relief to millions of borrowers. In February, the White House announced a new plan that would have gone into effect July 1. Two federal judges blocked parts of that plan one week earlier.

In Missouri, a judge ruled the administration "lacks the authority" to forgive loans as part of the Income-Contingent Repayment plan and that doing so would "likely harm Missouri" by cutting into administrative fees.

A judge in Kansas blocked parts of the plan in June as both states also filed separate lawsuits. Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach accused the Biden administration of illegally bypassing Congress and forcing taxpayers to pay off the student loans of other Americans.
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"Blue-collar Kansas workers who didn't go to college shouldn't have to pay off the student loans of New Yorkers with gender studies degrees," he said.

UH OH, 3E

Massachusetts confirms 2nd human case of eastern equine encephalitis


Health officials in Massachusetts on Thursday confirmed the state's second human case of eastern equine encephalitis. File Photo courtesy of the CDC


Aug. 30 (UPI) -- A second human case of eastern equine encephalitis has been confirmed in Massachusetts, state health officials said days after they announced the state's first patient with the rare disease this year had died.

Massachusetts' second EEE patient was identified Thursday by the state's Department of Public Health as a woman in her 30s.

The department said a horse has also been confirmed to be infected with the disease, making it the state's second EEE sickened equine this year.

The health officials said both the woman and the horse were exposed in Plymouth County and infected prior to the area being aerial sprayed Tuesday night.

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"This evidence of the spread of EEE to a person and a horse in Plymouth County before aerial spraying confirms risk in the area," Public Health Commissioner Robbie Goldstein said in a statement.

"We expect that the aerial spraying will help prevent risk for EEE from continuing to escalate in the area, but it does not eliminate it completely."

The infection was made public after the health officials on Tuesday said a New Hampshire man in his 80s had died shortly after testing positive for EEE.

It was the state's first EEE infection since 2014.

According to the health officials, there have been 76 EEE-positive mosquito samples collected so far this year throughout the state, with the first having been announced on July 3.

The quantity of positive samples has led officials to believe that there is an elevated risk of infection this year in New England.

"We are asking people to be consistent about taking steps to prevent mosquito bites," Goldstein said.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, EEE is a rare but serious disease that is spread to humans via infected mosquitos.

Most people infected with the disease do not develop symptoms, but for those who do, onset of illness ranges from four to 10 days, the federal health officials said. Infection can result in fever or neurologic disease with the type of illness dependent on the age of the person, among other factors.

The officials said about a third of all who develop severe EEE die, with death usually occurring from two to 10 days after the onset of symptoms.

Antibiotics are not effective against viruses and there is no specific medicine to treat EEE, they said, adding rest, fluids and pain medicines might relieve symptoms with severe disease requiring hospitalization.
The CDC is currently showing four EEE cases confirmed this year as of Tuesday but does not include the second patient from Massachusetts. The other three patients were in New Jersey, Vermont and Wisconsin.

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M

Feds say Mississippi seafood distributor sold inexpensive fish as more-expensive, locally caught species


Mississippi seafood supplier Quality Poultry & Seafood must pay $1.15 million in fines and forfeiture after pleading guilty to importing frozen fish and selling it as higher priced and locally source fish, such as grouper and snapper.

File Photo by Jim Bryant/UPI|License Photo

Aug. 28 (UPI) -- A Mississippi seafood distributor and two managers pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday to mislabeling seafood and committing wire fraud in a bait-and-switch scheme.

Federal prosecutors accused Biloxi-based Quality Poultry & Seafood of importing inexpensive frozen seafood and selling it as more expensive seafood of different species that were purported to have been caught locally.

Quality Poultry & Seafood is the largest seafood wholesaler on the Mississippi Gulf Coast and agreed to pay $1 million in forfeitures and a $150,000 fine to settle the federal case against it.

Company sales manager Todd Rosetti and business manager James Gunkel also pleaded guilty to misbranding the imported seafood and enabling the fraud.

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"When imported substitutes are marketed as local domestic seafood, it depresses the value of authentic Gulf Coast seafood, which means honest local fishermen and wholesalers have a harder time making a profit," said Todd Gee, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi.

"This kind of mislabeling fraud hurts the overall local seafood market and rips off restaurant customers who were paying extra to eat premium local product," Gee said.

Federal prosecutors said the scheme started as early as 2002 and continued nearly until the end of 2019.

Prosecutors said the company and its managers conspired to sell foreign-sourced fish from Africa, South America and India as premium local fish to restaurant customers and to individuals through its retail shop and cafe.

"When sellers purposefully substitute one fish species for another, they deceive consumers and cause potential food safety hazards to be overlooked or misidentified by processors or end users," said Justin Fielder, a special agent in charge with the Food and Drug Administration's criminal investigations unit in Miami.

The seafood wholesaler from December 2013 through November2019 supplied Biloxi-based Mary Mahoney's Old French House restaurant with more than 29 tons of frozen imported fish that the restaurant sold to its customers as higher priced and locally sourced seafood.

The restaurant knowingly sold imported fish, such as perch from Africa, triple tail from Suriname and unicorn filefish from India, as locally caught snapper and grouper, which sell for much higher prices.

Mary Mahoney's co-owner and manager Charles Cvitanovich, 55, in May pleaded guilty to felony information and misbranding seafood bought from Quality Poultry & Seafood in 2018 and 2019.

"QPS and company officials went to great lengths in conspiring with others to perpetuate fraud for more than a decade even after they knew they were under federal investigation," Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim said

Kim said the scheme continued for a year while the officials at QPS and Mary Mahoney's knew the federal government was investigating them.

The related cases seemingly corroborates the need for governmental inspections to confirm the sources of all boat-to-plate seafood, especially after a study recently concluded sellers mislabel about 20% of seafood sold in the United States.