Cal State Professors Targeted for Exposing School’s Ties to Israel’s Genocide in Gaza

by Joshua Frank

September 10, 2024
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Cal State Long Beach pro-Palestine protest, May 2, 2024. Photo by Ben Huff.

Last month, in a tangible victory for the BDS (Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions) movement, San Francisco State University (SFSU) agreed to pull its investment from four companies tied to weapons manufacturing and Israel’s genocide in Gaza. The four include Lockheed Martin, aerospace company Leonardo, military contractor Palantir, and construction equipment maker Caterpillar, whose bulldozers have been tearing up Gaza and the West Bank for decades. The success was four years in the making, as SFSU students successfully passed a divestment resolution in 2020.

“I want to thank all the work group participants who dedicated time this summer to the creation of this plan, including the representatives from Students for Gaza and members of our Investment Committee,” said SFSU Vice President Jeff Jackanicz.

While the sun may be setting on SFSU’s complicity in Israel’s genocidal mayhem, the situation isn’t as pleasant at Cal State Long Beach (CSULB), the second-largest school in California’s Cal State system, despite that students passed a similar divestment resolution in 2017. School administrators have done their best to stifle criticism of Israel and recently went as far as to send an email warning five faculty members for allegedly violating the school’s 2023-2024 “Time, Place, Manner” (TPM) rules by using a megaphone and a microphone at a Palestinian solidarity protest. While students have been cited in the past, this appears to be the first time professors have been accused of violating the policy.

As college protests erupted around the country, over 500 pro-Palestine activists and dozens of faculty at CSULB held a teach-in on May 2. While many other faculty spoke at the peaceful teach-in on a megaphone, only five were targeted for their participation. The professors, all members of CSULB FJP, are predominantly faculty of color and disproportionately Muslim. They include Araceli Esparza, Professor of English; Jake Alimahomed-Wilson, Professor of Sociology; Azza Basarudin, Associate Professor of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies; Sabrina Alimahomed-Wilson, Professor of Sociology, and Steven Osuna, Associate Professor of Sociology. 

“We were all hired because of our academic training in questions of race and racism both in the US and abroad and we are now being targeted for drawing on our expertise to take a stand against militarism and genocide in Gaza, suggesting that our viewpoints are only welcome if administrators agree with us,” explains Prof. Araceli Esparza. “As scholars focused on US empire and colonialism, we are taking the only ethical position available to us at this moment of US-supported genocidal violence in Gaza and we will continue to call for an end to the genocide against the people of Palestine all while facing attempts to repress our constitutionally protected rights to free speech and academic freedom.”

The professors, whose supporters are calling “the CSU-5,” appear to have been targeted, not because they amplified their voices at a campus protest but because, along with another faculty member, they co-wrote a critical piece for Mondoweiss and CounterPunch. The sixth professor did not speak at the May 2nd protest.

The widely read piece exposed CSULB’s ties to Boeing and other defense contractors’ complicity in Israel’s genocide against Palestinians. In their essay, “Boeing University: How the California State University Became Complicit in Palestinian Genocide,” the faculty writes:

Despite its complicity in occupation and genocide, Boeing has had a long and financially reciprocal relationship with CSULB, one going back decades with its latest iteration being touted as CSULB’s “Boeing Partnership.” CSULB is one of just 16 universities nationwide – and the sole university in California – to be selected by the Boeing Company for an exclusive university partnership. The Boeing Partnership is a university-corporate alliance that has further transformed CSULB into a public relations mouthpiece for the defense contractor. The CSULB-Boeing partnership illustrates not only how defense contractors such as Boeing, Raytheon, and Northrop Grumman profit from Israel’s violence against Palestinians, but also how these massive corporations simultaneously undermine the mission of public universities by harming students domestically and facilitating genocide, militarism, and mass death abroad.

CSULB President Jane Close Conoley has a lengthy track record of stifling criticism of Israel on campus. During the 2017 student senate vote on divestment, Conoley penned an op-ed for the school’s newspaper condemning the resolution to divest from corporations with direct ties to the Palestinian occupation and genocide. At the time, faculty members argued that Conoley had a “chilling effect” on free speech by inserting herself into the debate. Despite the resolution passing (15, 7, 1) in a roll call vote, Conoley effectively killed the legislation by refusing to enforce it. What did Conoley get for silencing the divestment vote? Recognition for her excellent work from the Orange County/Long Beach branch of the pro-Israel Anti-Defamation League (ADL) later that year.

“Since coming to Long Beach as president, I have been blessed with many recognitions (e.g., from LAEDC, ADL, NAACP), which both humbled me and made me proud,” Conoley told the Long Beach Business Journal in 2018.

The fact that Conoley is cozy with the ADL should be cause for concern. The organization deems nearly all opposition to Israel, including divestment, as anti-semitism. Early this year, ADL President Jonathan Greenblatt dangerously claimed that Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) and Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) are “Iranian proxies” equivalent to Hezbollah. Unsurprisingly, like the ADL’s Greenblatt, President Conoley believes pro-Palestine protests on college campuses are in “support of the awful terror attacks on Israel by Hamas.”

Conoley makes good money squelching pro-Palestine voices from her campus perch while she oversees the crackdown on the free speech of students and faculty protesting genocide. In 2022, she made $479,505, a 7% jump from 2021. In addition to her salary, she enjoys luxury housing that is paid for by the university.

“[While] Conoley has used her platform for many years to freely express her pro-Israel perspective without any fear of retaliation or harassment, unfortunately, this has not been the case for pro-Palestine faculty and students,” claims Prof. Jake Alimahomed-Wilson. “In contrast, we face increasing hostility, harassment, and apparently now an unequal enforcement of the university’s restrictive Time, Place, and Manner policy when we exercise our constitutionally protected speech to oppose the ongoing genocide in Gaza.”

Conoley also recently spoke at an ADL co-sponsored event last April called “Shining a Light,” where she addressed the crackdown on alleged campus antisemitism.

The Southern California branch of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has condemned the targeting of the CSU-5. In a letter to Patricia A. Pérez, Associate Vice President of Faculty Affairs, ACLU free speech staff attorney Jonathan Markovitz argues, “[the university’s] policy very likely violates the First Amendment and Liberty of Speech Clause of the California Constitution … I am also concerned by the possibility that the University may have sent the warning … because of disapproval with their political positions, or with the fact that they have been outspoken in defense of Palestinian rights in the past.”

Sadly, CSULB isn’t the only school working to silence students speaking out against the genocide in Gaza. Last week, two Columbia University student protestors were arrested, and several other Columbia faculty members were targeted, including Jewish law Prof. Katherine Franke, who is now facing termination. Columbia banned JVP and SJP chapters from campus, and NYU (my alma mater) has opened over 180 disciplinary cases against pro-Palestine students and faculty. The list goes on…

It doesn’t seem to matter that the actions of these universities are antithetical to the very project of academia. “Academic freedom protects and nurtures the intellectual pursuit of knowledge and justice,” says CSULB Associate Prof. Azza Basarudi. “We are guided by the principle that knowledge production is inherently critical of colonial and imperial projects and repressive power structures.”

In addition to notifying faculty that they had allegedly violated the TPM policy, students must also abide by the rules of a new interim TPM. On August 19, Cal State’s Chancellor’s Office sent a system-wide email to all 23 California State Universities stating that no encampments would be allowed on campus. Students are now prohibited from blocking access to buildings or wearing face coverings to conceal their identities. While the TPM immediately applies to Cal State students, the updated TPM does not impact faculty until their union, the California Faculty Association (CFA), meets and confers with university management. Implementing this TPM before the union agrees to the policy changes, say CFA representatives, violates California’s Higher Education Employer-Employee Relations Act (HEERA).

However, the CSU-5 is being accused of violating the old 2023-2024 TPM in what they believe is apparent retaliation for their piece on Cal State Long Beach’s ties to Boeing.

“There cannot be a Palestine exception to academic freedom,” adds Prof. Azza Basarudim, who admits they won’t stop until the genocide stops. “The university’s role is to support faculty and students, not to give in to pressure and interference from external donors, corporations, alums, and political lobbyists.”

If there’s a silver lining to all of these attacks on free speech, it’s that efforts to stifle dissent are only likely to backfire and reinvigorate the pro-Palestine movement on college campuses. As long as children continue to be killed in Gaza and blood is shed in the West Bank, a new generation of students and professors of conscience like the CSU-5 will rise to pressure their employers to sever ties with industries that profit from genocide.

JOSHUA FRANK is the managing editor of CounterPunch and co-host of CounterPunch Radio. He is the author of the new book, Atomic Days: The Untold Story of the Most Toxic Place in America, published by Haymarket Books. He can be reached at joshua@counterpunch.org. You can troll him on Twitter @joshua__frank.

A remote tribe is reeling from widespread illness and cancer. What role did the US government play?


LONG READ

BY GABE STERN
 September 9, 2024

OWYHEE, Nev. (AP) — The family placed flowers by a pair of weathered cowboy boots, as people quietly gathered for the memorial of the soft-spoken tribal chairman who mentored teens in the boxing ring and teased his grandkids on tractor rides.

Left unsaid, and what troubled Marvin Cota’s family deep down, was that his story ended like so many others on the remote Duck Valley Indian Reservation. He was healthy for decades. They found the cancer too late.

In the area, toxins are embedded in the soil and petroleum is in the groundwater — but no one can say for sure what has caused such widespread illness. Until recently, a now-razed U.S. maintenance building where fuel and herbicides were stored — and where Cota worked — was thought to be the main culprit. But the discovery of a decades-old document with a passing mention of Agent Orange chemicals suggests the government may have been more involved in contaminating the land.

“I don’t know if I’m more mad than I am hurt,” Terri Ann Cota said after her father’s service. “Because if this is the case, it took a lot of good men away from us.”

Owyhee is the sole town on the reservation, where snow-capped mountains loom over a valley of scattered homes and ranches, nearly 100 miles (161 kms) from any stoplights. The area is bookended by deep Nevada canyons and flat Idaho plains. For generations, the legacy and livelihoods of the Shoshone-Paiute tribes have centered around raising cattle year-round. And many still use the same medicinal plants and practice the same ceremonies as their relatives buried there.


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First spills, then potential sprays

The U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs was an integral part of everyday life in Owyhee. The agency, which oversaw the maintenance building and irrigation shop, told the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in February that it found a revelatory document from 1997.

In it, a BIA employee recalled clearing foliage in the irrigation canals at least 20 years earlier, when he sprayed at least one of the herbicides — but possibly both — that make up Agent Orange. The EPA banned one of those chemicals in 1979 because of its cancer risks.

A BIA official told the EPA and tribal leaders that it was long believed the herbicides were used for weed control along certain roads — not the canals — before rediscovering the document.

The tribes’ current leaders said they were unaware of either scenario. What alarms them, they say, is that the canal system has greater reach than the two-lane highway that runs through town.

Word cascaded down to tribal members, most of whom live along the canals, swam in them, used the water to farm on the edges, and gathered branches from surrounding willow trees to fashion cradleboards and roast marshmallows.

But they know little else.



An irrigation canal is shown in Owyhee, Nev., March 13, 2024, on the Duck Valley Indian Reservation that straddles the Nevada-Idaho border. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Shoshone-Paiute tribal member Michael Hanchor visits his mother’s grave, March 15, 2024, in Owyhee, Nev., on the Duck Valley Indian Reservation that straddles the Nevada-Idaho border. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
A cemetery in the town of Owyhee, Nev., on the Duck Valley Indian Reservation is pictured on March 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Hundreds of pages of emails, memos and other documents obtained by The Associated Press show federal agencies have promised the tribes that an investigation is coming. Still, the details are scarce because the BIA redacted or withheld most of the contents of the records.

The BIA declined interview requests from the AP but said it’s evaluating the extent that Agent Orange components might have been used on the reservation.

Officials from the BIA and the EPA visited Duck Valley as recently as Aug. 7 to talk about the process of hiring a contractor to clean up contamination from the federal buildings, tribal leaders said. The presentation noted gaps in data analysis, including for the storage and use of herbicides.

A remote tribe is reeling from widespread illness and cancer. What role did the US government play? AP correspondent Julie Walker reports.

Action can’t come soon enough for tribal members who say the federal government’s prior cleanup attempts have lacked urgency and direction. They fear inaction could lead to further sickness and death.

While tribal Chairman Brian Mason presses federal officials for answers, tribal members are being urged to get annual medical exams and an environmental team is tasked with digging up historical documents.

“People are dying. And I don’t know what they’re waiting for,” Mason said.
Back then, tribes were unaware of the dangers

There’s a long legacy of contamination across Indian Country, ranging from uranium tailings in the Southwest to solvents dumped at a military installation in Alaska and pesticides used on the North Dakota plains. Health risks and other critical information are often concealed from Native American communities until years, sometimes decades, after the damage is done.

At Owyhee, most of the environmental dangers have been traced to the two BIA buildings no longer in use or demolished.

Back in 1985, at the now-abandoned irrigation shop, some 8,000 gallons of heating oil leaked from a pipeline next to the highway. Samples taken from sump, soil and floor drains around the building revealed a mix of the hazardous chemicals that were stored inside, including waste oil, arsenic, copper, lead and cadmium, along with the two herbicides that make up Agent Orange.

Racheal Thacker, a pesticides and solid waste technician with the tribes, said residents at the time were likely unaware of the dangers related to handling the chemicals stored there. Back then, the workers employed by the BIA didn’t have the expertise or resources to identify pollutants in the ground, Thacker said.

Sherry Crutcher was always skeptical.

Her late husband worked in the BIA maintenance building across from the irrigation shop and wore a uniform that reeked of chemicals after spraying willow trees and cleaning oil wells. The building was home base for dozens of tribal members who plowed snow, fought fires and maintained the vehicle fleet.

School teacher Sherry Crutcher, right, hugs Terri Ann Cota at a memorial service for Cota’s father, Marvin, on March 14, 2024, in Owyhee, Nev., on the Duck Valley Indian Reservation that straddles the Nevada-Idaho border. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Crutcher, a teacher and former natural resources director for the tribes, remembers employees in the maintenance building asking for cancer screenings. She said the BIA did the tests, told the workers the results were negative but didn’t share the records.

She remembered asking her husband, Robert, if he or the other workers had any protection. The answer was always that he had none. He died in 2022 from an aggressive form of brain cancer at age 58, she said.

“I never overstepped my husband, I just asked him the questions,” Sherry Crutcher said. “I’d be like ‘why?’ He was just a quiet soul, easygoing, and say ‘well, you know, because it’s our job.’”

In 1995, the EPA ordered the BIA to stop discharging gasoline, batteries and other fluids onto the dirt floor of the maintenance building, saying the practice was improper, threatened the groundwater supply and could endanger tribal members’ health. The disposal practice had long-lasting effects and the building has since been demolished with its surroundings fenced off.

In its statement to the AP, the BIA said it has extensively studied the soil and groundwater on the reservation since 1999 and cleaned up wells used for drinking water. The agency also said any petroleum in the soil is safe and it’s working with the tribes on other remedial actions.

Thacker said there’s no ostensible danger now from drinking water from the tap, since it’s drawn from other wells. Still, there’s an enduring sense of distrust and uneasiness.

Some patches of land can no longer sustain crops. Fences surround contaminated areas. And after tribal officials raised concerns about hydrocarbon plumes under the one school in town, the state committed to building a new school on a different plot of land.
Chairman’s message reverberates throughout the community

Mason stood at a podium in March and declared — without any caveats — that the tribes’ land was further poisoned. Agent Orange chemicals were sprayed extensively by the canals, he said, and demanded the federal government do something — and quick.

His broadcast on social media reverberated across the reservation.

The editor of the community newspaper, Alexis Smith-Estevan, listened from her couch and cried, saying she was even more certain now the federal government’s contamination of the land led to the deaths of her grandfather and uncle. A grant assistant at the health clinic, Michael Hanchor, heard about it while getting signatures for paperwork and sighed.

Hanchor wasn’t surprised. He said he saw it as yet another government failure in line with forcing his ancestors onto a reservation and sending Shoshone-Paiute children to boarding schools meant to assimilate them into white society.

“When you get that sense of defeat your whole life, you just kind of shrug your shoulders and move on,” said Hanchor, who lost his mother and a grandfather figure to cancer.

Tanya Smith Beaudoin later walked along a canal where two dirt roads converge off the highway. The canal served as a de-facto swimming pool on hot summer days known to locals as “Floramae’s,” named for a sweet elder with a tough exterior who once lived next door.

Smith Beaudoin thought of her own father, Dennis Smith Sr., an influential tribal leader who befriended strangers at the market and organized big family dinners. He was diagnosed with late-stage liver cancer that spread to most of his upper body years after working alongside Cota and Robert Crutcher in the BIA maintenance building, she said.

Tribal members gather in a gymnasium to pay their respects to Marvin Cota, who died from cancer, during a memorial service in Owyhee, Nev., on March 14, 2024, on the Duck Valley Indian Reservation that straddles the Nevada-Idaho border. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Shoshone-Paiute tribal member Tanya Smith Beaudoin holds photos of her father, who died from cancer, at her home in Owyhee, Nev., on the Duck Valley Indian Reservation on March 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
Shoshone-Paiute tribal member Michael Hanchor visits his mother’s grave, March 15, 2024, in Owyhee, Nev., on the Duck Valley Indian Reservation that straddles the Nevada-Idaho border. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

“What can you do? If you were to get infected like he was, it was a death sentence. There’s nothing — there’s no treating it,” she said.

To many in the community, there is a clear link between past contaminants and the pronounced number of cancer cases and other illnesses.

“I’m going to run out of days sooner than I should’ve,” said Julie Manning, a tribal member who was diagnosed with advanced stage ovarian cancer last year. “And my child can pick up the pieces, and she’s been holding them together. And BIA can say ‘whoops, sorry.’”

The chairman’s announcement validated those beliefs. Still, health experts say it’s nearly impossible to say with certainty that the environment factored into cancer diagnoses and deaths — especially without robust data.

The tribal health clinic has logged more than 500 illnesses since 1992 that could be cancer, and is trying to break down the reservation’s data to determine the most common types. A switch in recent years from paper to electronic filing means the records are likely incomplete.

Genetics, lifestyle and other factors often combine to cause cancer. Even if the BIA is able to account for the time, frequency, concentration and volume of herbicides sprayed on the reservation, that wouldn’t be enough to prove a cause, experts say.

“Bottom line is it’s really, really complicated even to establish among things we already sort of know about,” said Lauren Teras, the senior scientific director of epidemiology research at the American Cancer Society.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, which compensates some Vietnam War veterans for exposure to Agent Orange, presumes that certain cancers and other illnesses are caused by the chemical herbicide but doesn’t make the link definitive.

Mason has called for a study that would give tribal members a better idea of the extent chemicals could have been sprayed and the effect on the tribes’ land and its residents. He said that might provide tribal members a pathway to seek payment from the federal government.

Rooted in the land

Shoshone and Paiute tribes once separately occupied an expanse of Nevada, Idaho and Oregon before the federal government forced them onto a reservation just under the size of New York City.

They’ve lived together for generations as “Sho-Pais,” connected by a farming and ranching heritage while cheering on youth sports games and gathering for the annual Fourth of July rodeo and powwow.

High school graduates who leave often find their way home after going to college or working in trades, in a sort of coming-of-age cycle, said Lynn Manning-John, the school’s principal. Of the more than 2,000 tribal members, 1,800 or so live on the reservation — “the only place in the world where being Shoshone-Paiute is normal,” she said.

At the school, lessons are tied to being Sho-Pai. Elementary students learn the “Hokey Pokey” in the Paiute language. Other students talk to an elder in their family and bring a picture of them to hang on the classroom walls.

“If the whole world shut down, we have everything we need to survive here,” said Manning-John, whose childhood home is now fenced off due to underground contaminants. “We have animals in the mountains, we have trees that we subsist upon for our plant medicines, we have berries, we have roots.”

The Duck Valley Indian Reservation that straddles the Nevada-Idaho border is shown on March 15, 2024, in Owyhee, Nev. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

“We have our beautiful water” from the mountains, she said. “But not, apparently, our water from the canal.”

Mason acknowledged an investigation into Agent Orange components will take time, even as he pushes for expediency. He was elected as chairman two years ago, marking a shift from a long line of ranchers who led the tribes to a Marine Corps veteran who most recently worked as an environmental specialist in mines across Nevada.

He likened taking the leadership post to peeling back the layers of an onion, confronting questions deeper and more personal to the tribes than before.

He grimaced when asked if the community would move off the land if it’s eventually deemed unsafe.

“I wouldn’t say never,” he said. “But people have five, six, seven generations buried here. And they’re not going to leave their people. I can guarantee that.”


A horse grazes in a field on the Duck Valley Indian Reservation that straddles the Nevada-Idaho border on Thursday, March 14, 2024, in Owyhee, Nev. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Serbian PM Vows Safety First Amid Protests Over Lithium Mine

Tens of thousands of people protested in Belgrade on August 10 against the government's campaign to revive and support the Anglo-Australian Rio Tinto's plan to open a lithium mine in the Jadar Valley.

September 10, 2024
By RFE/RL's Balkan Service

Serbian Prime Minister Milos Vucevic said on September 10 that no one will simply take Anglo-American multinational Rio Tinto "at its word" and the state will instead seek documented guarantees ahead of work on a recently revived -- and fiercely contentious -- plan to create Europe's biggest lithium mine in that Balkan country.

Vucevic's comments followed a weekend meeting with citizens by Rio Tinto representatives and President Aleksandar Vucic, who has been one of the multibillion-dollar Jadar project's most vocal supporters since a memorandum of understanding was inked between Rio Tinto and the Serbian government in 2017.

Vucevic, who became prime minister in early May, said the Serbian state won't allow lithium mining without guarantees that water and public health will be protected.

"For the first three or four hours, people asked questions," Vucevic said of the weekend forum. "For the first time, we heard Rio Tinto's answers. We faced arguments. The situation is much clearer and better when there is communication."

Vucevic said the Serbian public still hadn't gotten answers to many questions. "If we preserve nature and people, only then can we think about the economic benefit," he said.

The project's permits were revoked by a previous government in 2022 under intense public pressure over land sales and environmental concerns from the mine, before a Constitutional Court decision reversed the stoppage in July and the government quickly revived its preparations.

SEE ALSO:
Protests Flare Up In Serbian Towns Over Reversal On Huge Lithium Mine

Public anger in the heavily polluted former Yugoslav republic re-erupted and significant protests have continued despite what demonstrators complain is a refusal by Serbian state television to adequately cover the outcry.

Rio Tinto, which has faced backlash over alleged failures at other projects around the world, says Jadar could provide nearly 60,000 tons of lithium a year and thus meet about one-fifth of the needs for Europe's electric-vehicle production.

The company has previously told RFE/RL's Balkan Service that "domestic and international experts have confirmed that the 'Jadar' project can be implemented safely and in accordance with the highest standards of environmental protection."

Serbian Prime Minister Milos Vucevic (file photo)

In a notable indication of support for a project seen as furthering the bloc's climate and energy-independence goals, German and EU officials traveled to Belgrade in conjunction with a memorandum of understanding on "a strategic partnership on sustainable raw materials, battery value chains, and electric vehicles."

Lithium is used in batteries for electric cars, smartphones, and laptops.

The European Union mostly depends on China for its lithium, which it classifies as a critical raw material.

Energy Minister Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic last week lamented that "we have already lost two years -- we could have been first in this race," but said it could take another two years for Rio Tinto to secure the proper permits for construction of the mine.

She said an environmental impact study was essential to any further progress.

Nigeria: 

Oluwatayo Ajayi-Moses Unveils Plans to Tackle Plant Disease That Threatens Food SecurityFacebookTwitterWhatsApp

FlipboardLinkedInRedditEmailShare10 September 2024

Vanguard (Lagos)

By Ayo Onikoyi

Oluwatayo Ajayi-Moses, a dedicated researcher in genomics, phenomics, and bioinformatics, is on a mission to tackle one of the most pressing challenges in agriculture today: plant diseases that threaten food security.

With over ten years of experience in microbiological techniques and currently pursuing a Ph.D. at North Dakota State University, Ajayi-Moses is leveraging cutting-edge scientific methods to safeguard crops and enhance food production.

Ajayi-Moses's passion lies in decoding the genetic mysteries of small grains to develop more resilient crops. Through his work, he aims to mitigate the effects of plant pathogens, ensuring a stable and secure food supply for the United States and beyond. His research focuses on identifying genetic markers that can help in breeding disease-resistant plants, ultimately reducing the need for chemical pesticides and fostering sustainable farming practices.

As a researcher specializing in plant molecular genetics and bioinformatics, my goal is to develop innovative solutions to combat plant diseases and enhance food security.

His impactful research involves utilizing advanced techniques such as genomic library preparation, molecular cloning, and CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing. These methods allow him to investigate and manipulate the genetic material of plants, aiming to enhance their resistance to diseases and environmental stressors. Ajayi-Moses has a proven track record of scientific excellence, with thirteen published scientific articles and presentations at international conferences, highlighting his contributions to the fields of plant genetics and agricultural biotechnology.

With extensive experience as a Graduate Research Assistant at the Small Grains Genotyping Laboratory, under the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Ajayi-Moses collaborates with multidisciplinary teams to conduct genomic analyses on small grains. His work is crucial in identifying genetic diversity and agronomic traits that can be harnessed to improve crop resilience and yield.

My specialties include genomic data analysis, high-throughput data analysis, and bioinformatics. I also have extensive experience in computational biology, Python programming, R Studio, and molecular diagnostics.

During his academic tenure, Ajayi-Moses has also demonstrated strong leadership skills, serving as President of the Genomics Phenomics and Bioinformatics Student Association at North Dakota State University. His commitment to advancing plant science research is evident in his proactive approach to mentoring students and his active participation in various academic societies.

Ajayi-Moses's ability to translate complex genomic data into practical agricultural solutions has positioned him as a leading figure in plant disease research. His dedication to enhancing food security through innovative genetic research aligns with the national interest, as it contributes to the sustainability of the agricultural sector and the well-being of the U.S. population.

With a robust background in microbiology, genomics, and bioinformatics, Ajayi-Moses is driving forward the frontier of plant science, making significant strides in the fight against plant diseases. His work not only has the potential to revolutionize crop protection but also to ensure a more resilient and secure food future for generations to come.

Read the original article on Vanguard.

EU court rules Google, Apple must pay billions of euros in antitrust, tax cases

A top European Union court on Tuesday told Google it would have to pay a €2.4 billion fine brought forth by the bloc's antitrust regulators seven years ago, just as the court rejected Apple's final legal challenge against an order from the European Commission to repay €13 billion in back taxes to Ireland.


Issued on: 10/09/2024 -

A man walks past Google's offices in London's Kings Cross area on August 10, 2024. © Brian Melley, AP

By: NEWS WIRES

A top EU court on Tuesday delivered two major victories for Brussels by ruling against Apple and Google in separate legal sagas with billions of euros at play.

The decisions give a boost to the bloc's outgoing competition chief, Margrethe Vestager, who had suffered a series of setbacks in EU courts against her decisions.

Concluding a long-running legal battle, the European Court of Justice, the bloc's highest court, ruled that the iPhone maker must pay 13 billion euros ($14.3 billion) in back-taxes to Ireland.

"The Court of Justice gives final judgment in the matter and confirms the European Commission's 2016 decision: Ireland granted Apple unlawful aid which Ireland is required to recover," the court said in a statement.

Minutes later, the court also upheld a 2.4-billion-euro fine against Google, one of a string of high-profile EU competition cases targeting the tech giant.

The court dismissed an appeal by Google and its parent company Alphabet against the fine, slapped on the search engine in 2017 for abusing its dominant position by favouring its own comparison shopping service.
Sweetheart tax arrangements

One of the most bitter legal battles between the European Commission and big tech, the Apple case dates back to 2016 when the EU's executive arm claimed Ireland allowed the iPhone maker to avoid billions of euros in taxes.

By the commission's calculations, Dublin allowed Apple to pay a tax rate of one percent of its European profits in 2003 which then dropped to 0.005 percent by 2014.

French competition watchdog fines Google €250 million for EU copyright breaches

It was one of several investigations over the previous decade into sweetheart tax arrangements between major companies and several EU countries.

The iPhone maker gained the upper hand in the Ireland case in 2020, when the EU's General Court annulled the order for it to pay the taxes owed – a decision Brussels appealed.

The legal adviser of the higher European Court of Justice in November last year recommended scrapping that decision, saying it was peppered with legal errors.

But the top court, which could have sent the case back to the lower court, decided to rule that Apple should pay the back-taxes.
Google's vice tightening

The decisions will offer relief for Brussels which has faced difficulty defending its tax enforcement moves in recent years, with previous cases lost against Amazon and Starbucks.

The EU fine against Google was one of several record penalties imposed for violating EU competition rules, totalling around eight billion euros between 2017 and 2019.

Google faces yet another test next week when the top EU court will decide on the smallest of those fines, worth around 1.49 billion euros.

Legal headaches for Google are mounting across the Atlantic as well.

A trial began on Monday in the United States where the government accuses Google of dominating online advertising and stifling competition.


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It comes after a US judge ruled last month that Google maintained a monopoly with its search engine.

Google's so-called ad tech – the system that decides which online adverts people see and how much they cost – is an area of particular concern for regulators worldwide.

Brussels in a preliminary finding last year accused Google of abusing its dominance of the online ad market and recommended the US company sell part of its ad services to ensure fair competition. Google had the right to respond and the probe remains open.

Separately, Britain's competition watchdog on Friday concluded Google employs "anti-competitive practices" with regards to online advertising after a two-year investigation.

(AFP)

Advancing AI in the Aviation Sector by Implementing Sustainable Fuel Solutions

In today's era, artificial intelligence (AI) has revolutionized the aviation industry considerably, improving efficiency, security, and general performance.


By Capt. Sushanth
September 10, 2024
MODERN DIPLOMACY

Photo by Randy Fath on Unsplash

Authors: Capt. Sushanth and Dr. Preethi Amaresh

In today’s era, artificial intelligence (AI) has revolutionized the aviation industry considerably, improving efficiency, security, and general performance.  Essential concepts comprise predictive analytics, computer vision, machine learning and natural language processing.

The aviation industry accounts for 2% of global energy-related carbon dioxide emissions. The industry has lately started to concentrate on sustainability as the need for air travel continues to grow. One essential scope of interest is the adoption and development of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) to decrease carbon emissions. AI has emerged as a decisive mechanism to optimize and accelerate the adoption of SAF in aviation. AI algorithms have further been employed in autopilot systems to help pilots in aircraft control and navigation as a consequence decreasing the chance of human error. One of the fundamental edges of AI in aviation is its capability to interpret enormous magnitudes of data quickly with accuracy. AI algorithms can process intricate aviation data, temperature patterns, and air traffic data to optimize flying pathways, lower fuel consumption, and enhance overall flight efficiency. This capacity has allowed airlines to function more efficiently and decrease their carbon footprint by minimizing emissions and fuel consumption.

The overall integration of AI in aviation is altering the industry, paving the path for a secure and more efficient air travel experience. In the future, AI could enable autonomous flights, reduce delays, and enhance air traffic management. It has become binding for the aviation sector to explore alternative fuel sources due to the larger emphasis on reducing carbon emissions and sustainability. Therefore, AI plays a crucial part in optimizing the production, distribution, and utilization of sustainable fuels.  It is likewise used in flight systems to optimize routes, predict maintenance needs, and improve fuel efficiency. Furthermore, AI-powered chatbots help travellers with many services including check-ins, bookings and in-flight assistance. Similarly, AI contributes to the growth of more efficient and environment-friendly biofuels. Importantly, researchers can specify the most appropriate components and strategies for producing sustainable aviation fuels by using machine learning algorithms to explore diverse varieties of biomass and chemical processes. This not only decreases greenhouse gas emissions but also assists in reducing the industry’s dependence on fossil fuels.

The fundamental concepts in AI to ensure the sustainability of fuel in aviation include:

1. Predictive Maintenance- To enhance the efficiency and reliability of aircraft engines often designed to accommodate SAF. AI can assist in decreasing fuel consumption and prevent costly breakdowns by examining extensive segments of data to foresee when aircraft parts require supervision or replacement, saving airlines time and finances.

2. Fuel Productivity and Aircraft Planning- AI algorithms can optimize flying speed, routes and altitudes to reduce fuel emissions and consumption.

3. Emission reporting and monitoring- Through AI, one can gather and interpret data on fuel emissions and use. AI systems can additionally help airlines in tracking their environmental performance and comply with regulatory prerequisites.

4. Sustainable Fuel Growth- AI can explore extensive datasets to find sustainable feedstock for biofuels such as agricultural waste or algae, decreasing dependency on fossil fuels and optimizing production.

5. Enhance Air Traffic Management- AI can optimize air traffic management by enhancing the flow of aircraft and easing congestion around airports resulting in lower fuel consumption, reduced emissions and more rapid flight duration. For instance, Project Bluebird by the UK is examining how AI can work with humans to make air traffic management more sustainable by planning better routes and decreasing on fuel consumption.

6. Designing a more fuel-efficient aircraft: Examining the past data on aircraft design and performance through machine learning models for the innovation of more eco-friendly and sustainable aircrafts.

7. Programs for verifying carbon emissions:  The use of AI in tracking and demonstrating a decrease in emissions is achieved through sustainable approaches in aviation. In this context, the European Union Safety Agency (EASA) in its AI roadmap is dedicated to assuring that the aviation industry benefits from the possibility of incorporating AI in its functions while preserving the most heightened benchmarks of security and environmental preservation. 

8. Training of Crew through Simulation: To ensure well preparedness to operate aircraft in the most sustainable and fuel-efficient manner.

9.  Minimizing Noise Pollution: To schedule flight routes that reduce noise pollution, address environmental problems and enhance the all-around sustainability of airplanes.

10.  Prediction and Prevention of Contrails: The 2022 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report states that clouds formed by contrails are around 35% of aviation’s global warming impact. Thus, AI can help in speeding the contrail avoidance.

Airlines for the most part can consequently improve their functional efficiency while decreasing the environmental influence by leveraging AI-driven solutions for predictive maintenance, fuel optimization, greener supply chains, emission monitoring and flight planning. The aviation industry is looking at net-zero emissions by 2050 and is examining AI as a tremendous means to enable them to succeed in their journey to more sustainable air transport moves through the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. To conclude, the aviation sector can make significant strides towards attaining a more sustainable future by harnessing the power of AI to optimize fuel consumption, generate biofuels, and improve production processes. The integration of AI in aviation sustainable fuels thus harbors tremendous possibilities for decreasing the environmental influence of the aviation industry.

Capt. Sushanth

Is an aviation expert and an Australian trained pilot from Tristar Aviation, Melbourne, presently serving as an International Pilot-in-Command.