Pioneering research shows sea life will struggle to survive future global warming

University of Bristol

 

image: 

Image shows a type of plankton called Foraminifer – microscopic organisms, the size of a grain of sand – which float with fellow microorganisms close to the surface of the ocean.

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Credit: Bernat Heszler, University of Bristol

A new study highlights how some marine life could face extinction over the next century, if human-induced global warming worsens. 

The research, led by the University of Bristol and published today in Nature, compares for the first time how tiny ocean organisms called plankton responded, when the world last warmed significantly in ancient history with what is likely to happen under similar conditions by the end of our century.  

Findings revealed the plankton were unable to keep pace with the current speed of temperature rises, putting huge swathes of marine life – including fish which depend on these organisms for food – in peril. 

Lead author Dr Rui Ying, who led the project as part of his PhD in marine ecology at the University of Bristol, said: “The results are alarming as even with the more conservative climate projections of a 2°C increase, it is clear plankton cannot adjust quickly enough to match the much faster rate of warming which we’re experiencing now and looks set to continue. 

“Plankton are the lifeblood of the oceans, supporting the marine food web and carbon storage. If their existence is endangered, it will present an unprecedented threat, disrupting the whole marine ecosystem with devastating wide-reaching consequences for marine life and also human food supplies.” 

To reach this conclusion, the researchers developed a new model which allowed analysis of how plankton behaved some 21,000 years ago during the last Ice Age to be analysed alongside how they might act under future climate projections. By focusing on a specific plankton group which has existed throughout the ages, the modelling work offers unprecedented insights and levels of accuracy. 

Dr Ying said: “The past is often considered key to understanding what the world could look like in future. Geological records showed that plankton previously relocated away from the warmer oceans to survive.  

“But using the same model of ecology and climate, projections showed the current and future rate of warming was too great for this to be possible again, potentially wiping out the precious organisms.”  

Under The Paris Agreement, 196 nations agreed to limit the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and strive to limit the increase to 1.5°C. But a United Nations report last month warned the world faces as much as 3.1°C warming if governments do not take more action to reduce carbon emissions.   

Co-author Daniela Schmidt, Professor of Earth Sciences at the University of Bristol, is a world-renowned marine ecologist who has led multiple Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports. 

Prof Schmidt said: “This work emphasises the great risks posed by the dramatically fast climate and environmental changes the world is now facing. With these worrying trends set to worsen, there will be very real consequences for our ecosystems and people’s livelihoods, including fishing communities. So the message is clear – all nations must collectively and individually step up efforts and measures to keep global warming to a minimum.” 

Paper 

‘Past foraminiferal acclimatization capacity is limited during future warming’ in Nature by Rui Ying, Fanny M. Monteiro, Jamie D. Wilson, Malin Ödalen and Daniela N. Schmidt 

 

ws an enlarged 3D model of a marine plankton specimen.

Credit

Daniela Schmidt, University of Bristol

Notes to editors 

Link to paper when embargo lifts: 

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-08029-0 

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Journal

Nature

Method of Research

Computational simulation/modeling

Subject of Research

Animals

Article Title

Past foraminiferal acclimatization capacity is limited during future warming

Article Publication Date

13-Nov-2024

 

Can we live on our planet without destroying it?

University of Groningen scientist Klaus Hubacek investigates planetary boundaries

University of Groningen

 

image: 

This chart shows the footprints of six environmental indicators and the shares of each global expenditure decile in the total footprints. Bar and doughnut pie chart refer to the per capita footprints and share of each global decile in the total footprints. The expenditure level of decile group increases as the color deepens. The red circle represents the level of per capita boundaries.

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Credit: Shao et al. (Nature)

With eight billion people, we use a lot of the Earth’s resources in ways that are likely unsustainable. Klaus Hubacek, Professor of Science, Technology and Society at the University of Groningen, the Netherlands, takes stock of the situation. How much land, water, and other resources does our lifestyle require? And how can we adapt this lifestyle to stay within the limits of what the Earth can give? It is possible, Hubacek shows, but it will require policies based on scientific evidence.

Our consumption patterns affect the environment, that much we know. A clear example is the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. It has been rising at an increasingly faster rate since the 1960s, resulting in global warming, along with all its dire consequences. There is a limit to the amount of consumption the Earth can support, and in 2009, scientists defined nine ‘planetary boundaries’ as indicators of when we have reached that limit. Crossing them may lead to irreversible damage to the Earth’s stability and resilience. These planetary boundaries include indicators such as ocean acidification and the global use of fresh water. In 2023, six of these planetary boundaries had already been crossed.

Hubacek has devoted his academic career to studying how humanity is performing in terms of these planetary boundaries, and what needs to change to prevent us from crossing them even further. According to him, ‘the basic calculation is: given a certain number of people on the planet and the planetary boundaries, how much can we consume to stay inside these limits?’.

The divide between rich and poor

At the moment, the richest one per cent of the world’s population produces 50 times more greenhouse gasses than the four billion people in the bottom 50 per cent. The divide between the rich and the poor on this planet is a common thread in Hubacek’s work. He is one of the authors of a paper, published in the journal Nature on 13 November, that describes this issue. Using an extensive dataset covering up to 201 consumption groups across 168 countries, the paper analyses the impact of spending patterns on six key environmental indicators.

The analysis reveals how different consumer behaviours contribute to planetary transgressions, and concludes that if the world’s top 20 per cent of consumers shifted their consumption habits toward more sustainable patterns found within their group, they could reduce their environmental impact by 25 to 53 per cent. The study also shows that changing consumption patterns in just the food and services sectors could help bring critical planetary boundaries back within safe limits.

Changing our lifestyle to stay within the boundaries

In previous papers, Hubacek researched specific solutions that could help us balance our lives to better deal with the planetary boundaries. In a study published last August, he showed that if a diet with less red meat and more legumes and nuts was adopted by the richest part of the world, food-driven emissions would fall by 17 per cent, even when the inhabitants of poorer nations increase their meat consumption.

And just last month, Hubacek co-authored a paper describing how the livestock sector is dangerously transgressing several of the planetary boundaries. The paper argues that any measures to counter this negative effect should be ’region-specific’: ‘Obviously, there will be differences. A plant-based diet is not suitable for traditional Mongolian nomads, who depend on yaks and their milk.’

Hubacek keeps pointing to solutions when he identifies transgressions of planetary boundaries. ‘However, we shouldn’t focus so much on creating new technical solutions, as there are already so many solutions which we don’t implement,’ he argues. ‘And most governments subsidize bad behaviour.’ For example, subsidies for fossil fuels globally are overcompensating for the mitigation effect that we achieve through carbon pricing such as carbon taxes and carbon trading schemes. ‘And there are also many inconsistent policies, such as stimulating the use of heat pumps and, at the same time, raising the price of the electricity they use.’

It is possible

What Hubacek shows is that not all hope is lost: humanity can stay within the planetary boundaries. But it seems that there is little political will to tackle issues such as climate change. Hubacek: ‘This worries me. And it causes real fear in the younger generation.’ Hubacek underlines that his science is not activism-driven. ‘I’m doing this work first and foremost because of my academic interest. But I also don’t want to waste my time on something that is meaningless. What we need are evidence-based policies.’

Peipei Tian, Honglin Zhong, Xiangjie Chen, Kuishuang Feng, Laixiang Sun, Ning Zhang, Xuan Shao, Yu Liu & Klaus Hubacek: Keeping the global consumption within the planetary boundaries. Nature, 13 November 2024.

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Journal

Nature

DOI

10.1038/s41586-024-08154-w 

Method of Research

Data/statistical analysis

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

Keeping the global consumption within the planetary boundaries

Article Publication Date

13-Nov-2024

First ever study finds sexual and gender minority physicians and residents have higher levels of burnout, lower professional fulfillment

“These disparities highlight opportunities for further exploration to retain a stable, effective healthcare workforce”

Boston University School of Medicine

 

(Boston)—Burnout is a public health crisis that affects the well-being of physicians and other healthcare workers, and the populations they serve. Burnout is characterized by emotional exhaustion, cynicism, lack of motivation, and feelings of ineffectiveness and inadequate achievement at work. Past studies have shown that compared to the general working U.S. population, physicians are at increased risk for burnout and less likely to be satisfied with their work-life balance.

 

Sexual and gender minority (SGM); lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) clinicians experience unique workplace stressors. However, few studies have explored the relationship between SGM status and occupational well-being in physicians and residents.

 

This first of its kind multicenter study from Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center (BMC) shows an association between SGM status and occupational well-being for academic physicians and residents across the U.S. LGBTQ+ physicians and residents reported increased burnout and decreased professional fulfillment, and  LGBTQ+ physicians were more likely to express an intent to leave their current practice than non-LGBTQ+ peers.

 

“Our study highlights that LGBTQ+ physicians experience more burnout, less professional fulfillment and greater intent to leave their practice than non-LGBTQ+ physicians. Given the scarcity of LGBTQ+ physicians and the increasing prevalence of patients who identify as LGBTQ+, a disproportionate loss of LGBTQ+ physicians will negatively impact our profession's capacity to meet patients' need for high-quality, accessible health care,” says corresponding author Carl G. Streed, MD, MPH, FACP, FAHA, associate professor of medicine at the school and a primary care physician at BMC.  

 

Between October 2019 and July 2021, the researchers surveyed a cross-section of attending physicians and residents in the U.S. at eight healthcare organizations to assess for professional fulfillment, burnout and intent to leave the profession.

 

They found the prevalence of self-reported anxiety or depression was higher among SGM physicians and residents than their non-SGM peers. After adjusting for age, race, and ethnicity, SGM physicians compared to non-SGM peers had increased odds of reporting anxiety; similar results were found for self-reported depression.

 

According to the researchers, a healthcare workforce where clinicians look like the communities they serve is essential to improving health and well-being. Thus, retention of a diverse, vital clinician workforce is critical to patient care. “Given the importance of LGBTQ+ physicians in providing essential skills and sharing lived experience with many of our patients, it is important to understand the factors that affect their recruitment and retention,” said co-author Susannah G. Rowe, MD, MPH, FACS, Associate Chief Medical Officer for Wellness and Professional Vitality at BMC and assistant professor of ophthalmology at the school.

 

The researchers believe further research is needed to explore individual, community, and institutional factors affecting the well-being and success of of LGBTQ+ physicians and residents. 
 

These findings appear online in JAMA Network Open.

 

Dr. Streed was partially supported through the American Heart Association career development grant (AHA 20CDA35320148), National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute career development grant (NHLBI 1K01HL151902-01A1), Doris Duke Charitable Foundation (Grant #2022061), the Boston University Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine Department of Medicine Career Investment Award, and the Boston University Learn More Research Grant.

 

Note to editors:

Dr. Streed received consultation fees from EverlyWell, L’Oreal, the Texas Health Institute, the Research Institute for Gender Therapeutics, and the US Department of Justice unrelated to this work.

 

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Journal

JAMA Network Open

DOI

10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.43937 

Method of Research

Data/statistical analysis

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Academic Physician and Trainee Occupational Well-Being by Sexual and Gender Minority Status

Article Publication Date

13-Nov-2024

COI Statement

Dr. Streed received consultation fees from EverlyWell, L’Oreal, the Texas Health Institute, the Research Institute for Gender Therapeutics, and the US Department of Justice unrelated to this work.

Harassment, incivility, disrespect in the workplace contributes to anesthesia workforce shortage, compromises patient safety

American Society of Anesthesiologists issues recommendations to foster better work environments

American Society of Anesthesiologists

CHICAGO — With the pervasiveness of harassment, incivility, and disrespect (HID) among health care professionals in the workplace impacting clinician well-being, patient health, and disproportionately affecting anesthesiology, the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) is providing new recommendations to help eradicate these behaviors in the operating room and hospitals.  

“There is no place for harassment, incivility or disrespect of any kind in the operating room,” said ASA President Donald E. Arnold, M.D., FACHE, FASA. “When these behaviors are demonstrated in the workplace, they negatively affect personal and team performance, adversely impacting patient safety, quality of care and outcomes. Furthermore, these behaviors strongly affect the growing imbalance in the supply of anesthesiologists and anesthesia care professionals that we are seeing. The work environment and culture of a health care facility has a direct correlation to its ability to recruit and retain staff.”  

Data shows the rate of HID in anesthesiology is equal to, if not higher, than other specialties. Additionally, according to a report by the Association of American Medical Colleges, there is a persistent presence of gender harassment across all medical specialties in academic medicine, with approximately 1 in 3 of all female faculty and 1 in 10 of all male faculty having reported sexual harassment. Within anesthesiology specifically, 1 in 2 women and 1 in 4 men reported experiencing a form of sexual harassment in the past 12 months. 

HID impacts both clinician and patient health. According to the new recommendations, the spectrum of these disruptive behaviors can negatively affect an anesthesiologist’s personal, as well as the anesthesia care team’s, performance through adverse safety consequences including poor information sharing, compromised decision-making, diagnostic error, and burnout. 

The recommendations prioritize commitments and actions that should be made both organizationally and on an individual level for the benefit of patients, anesthesiologists, and all members of anesthesia and surgical care teams.     

Some of the organizational commitments and actions include: 

• Create and employ a strategic plan to eliminate HID, which includes a statement of commitment, clear and consistent standards of behavior, and policies such as supporting those harmed and preventing weaponization and retaliation. 

• Implement an expeditious and timely confidential reporting system. 

• The system should be transparent in aggregate reporting to the entire organization – with at least an annual review of metrics such as the number of reports, types of reports, and actions taken. 

• The organization should investigate the barriers to reporting and actively seek solutions. 

• Ensure a group of individuals in the organization with relevant expertise manage the comprehensive strategic plan. These individuals should have adequate authority and resources to implement the plan, along with commensurate support for their time. 

• Enforce leadership and organization accountability to address HID including, but not limited to, the process of investigation, due process, remediation, counseling, and escalation of consequences in proportion to context and patterns of behavior.  

Some of the individual commitments and actions include: 

• Individuals should prioritize professionalism by practicing healthy workplace etiquette, which includes being respectful of those around them, self-aware of habits and biases, proactive in mitigating harmful biases, and attentive and responsive to organizational harassment policies.  

• Build cordial professional relationships with colleagues by finding common ground. 

• Refuse to initiate, participate, or condone HID toward others. 

• When witnessing HID, be an “upstander,” by providing support and protection as needed, and reporting to the appropriate party when safe to do so. 

“In order to provide safe anesthesia care, it is imperative that every individual is treated with respect and dignity in our work environments,” said Della Lin, M.D., FASA, chair of ASA’s Ad Hoc Committee on Harassment, Incivility, and Disrespect. “Patient safety is compromised in health care when disrespectful behaviors hijack teamwork and performance resulting in clinicians being unable to function at their best in the perioperative setting. The work of our committee demonstrates how extensive and pervasive this problem is, no matter who you are in our specialty. Studies show that there is a ripple effect. If we want to perform at our clinical best, optimize the best of outcomes, including patient satisfaction, and recruit and retain a vibrant workforce, everyone needs to be part of the solution.” 

THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF ANESTHESIOLOGISTS 

Founded in 1905, the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) is an educational, research and scientific society with more than 58,000 members organized to advance the medical practice of anesthesiology and secure its future. ASA is committed to ensuring anesthesiologists evaluate and supervise the medical care of all patients before, during, and after surgery. ASA members also lead the care of critically ill patients in intensive care units, as well as treat pain in both acute and chronic settings. 

For more information on the field of anesthesiology, visit the American Society of Anesthesiologists online at asahq.org. To learn more about how anesthesiologists help ensure patient safety, visit asahq.org/madeforthismoment. Like ASA on Facebook and follow ASALifeline on X. 

 

Decolonial Marxism Today A reading group on Marx’s late writings on  indigenous people, colonialism and ecology The Chicago Chapter of the International Marxist-Humanist Organization invites you to a public series of meetings  This online reading group will explore Marx’s late writings (1868-83) on Indigenous peoples, communal formations in the non-Western world, and capital’s destructive impact on the environment in light of ongoing efforts to envision an alternative to capitalism-imperialism. All readings are available from the International Marxist-Humanist Organization.   Join us via ZOOM (Meeting ID: 875 8752 0083) at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87587520083?pwd=LgA5OtPTqBfN2POte3mmYLN70Bx40c.1   Saturday, November 23, at 12 Noon [Chicago time]: Marx After Capital: The Ethnological Notebooks on Native American Societies Reading: “The Last Writings of Karl Marx,” chapter 12 of Rosa Luxemburg, Women’s Liberation, and Marx’s Philosophy of Revolution, by Raya Dunayevskaya. Saturday, December 14, at 12 Noon [Chicago time]: Communal Forms, the Peasantry, and Paths to Revolution in the Non-Western World Readings: “Draft Letters to Vera Zasulich” (1880-81) and “Introduction to 1882 edition of the Russian Edition of The Communist Manifesto,” by Karl Marx. Saturday, January 4, at 12 Noon [Chicago time]: Palestine and the Commons: Re-Reading Marx with Eyes of Today’s Struggles Against Occupation and Genocide Reading: “Palestine and the Commons: Or, Marx & the Musha’a,” by Peter Linebaugh, Counterpunch, March 1, 2024. Saturday, January 25, at 12 Noon [Chicago time]: The “So-Called Primitive Accumulation of Capital”—Then and Now Readings: 1) “The Secret of Primitive Accumulation,” chapter 26 of Marx’s Capital 2) “Pathways to Development: Marx and Luxemburg on Colonialism,” by Peter Hudis.   Saturday, February 15, at 12 Noon [Chicago time]: Marx’s Notebooks on Capital’s Destructive Impact on the Environment Reading: “Marx as a De-Growth Communist,” ch. 6 of Marx in the Anthropocene, by Kohei Saito.   Saturday, March 8, at 12 Noon [Chicago time]: The Late Marx and “De-Growth Communism”: A Perspective for the Future? Readings: “Marx as a De-Growth Communist,” ch. 6 of Marx in the Anthropocene, by Kohei Saito; “Late Writings on Non-Western Societies,” ch. 6 of Marx at the Margins, by Kevin Anderson.   ***** Sponsored by the Chicago Chapter of: The International Marxist-Humanist Organization More information: arise@imhojournal.org  https://www.facebook.com/groups/imhorg/ Consider a donation to the IMHO to support our work: bit.ly/IMHO-DONATE

Trump victory was 'slim' and not the 'historic mandate' Republicans claim: analysis

David Badash, 

The New Civil Rights Movement
November 13, 2024 

Trump visits North Carolina Source: REUTERS

President-elect Donald Trump last week declared he had won a “historic mandate,” but as states continue to count votes, his margin continues to shrink, debunking his claim.

Most notably, according to the California Secretary of State’s Office, there are more than 2.6 million votes left to be counted in the Golden State, out of a total of more than 13 million.

The Republican Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, also wasted no time claiming a “mandate” for the GOP, just as Trump did.

“The American people have spoken and given us a mandate. We will be prepared to deliver on day one. With Republicans in control, we will secure the border, grow our economy, restore American energy dominance, and end the radical woke agenda. America’s best days are ahead of us,” he claimed.

As recently as Monday, New York Republican Party chair Ed Cox also called it a “historic mandate.”

The results are clear: Donald Trump won the White House and Republicans are projected to have a majority in the House and the Senate—but any claim to a “mandate,” or a “historic” election is false, say critics.

“Yes, Trump won, but it is not a mandate,” declared former Under Secretary of State Richard Stengel, a former managing editor of TIME magazine. “His very slim popular vote margin seems outsized only in comparison to the fact that Rs seldom win the popular vote. He got fewer votes than last time. He won because of the millions of folks who chose not to vote—hardly a mandate.”

“As blue Western states and cities finish counting votes, it looks like the popular vote ‘landslide’ projected for Donald Trump last week turned out to be a trickle,” writes The Nation‘s Joan Walsh. “When all the votes are counted, he will end up with a margin of roughly two points over Vice President Kamala Harris. Presidents Lyndon Johnson in 1964 and Richard Nixon in 1972 won more than 60 percent of the popular vote; Ronald Reagan in 1984 won 58 percent. Those were landslides.”

Walsh acknowledges that the results are not “good news” for Democrats.

“But it’s not the top-to-bottom repudiation of Democrats as it first looked like, and the way to respond is not to launch a civil war within the Democratic Party,: she notes. “Unfortunately, that has already begun. Centrists blame the doctrine of ‘woke,’ with particular ire for trans Americans (we see you, New York Rep. Tom Suozzi); leftists say Democrats abandoned the working class (we hear you, once again, Senator Bernie Sanders). Both positions are wrong. Others point fingers at the Harris campaign. Meanwhile, much of the media hypes Trump’s win as a landslide, which would seem to validate his racist, anti-worker agenda.”

Currently, according to the Cook Political Report’s vote tracker, Donald Trump is beating Kamala Harris by about 3.2 million votes, or 2.17%. Those number will change, of course, but the margin will likely stay about the same if not narrow.

“When the votes are all counted,” The Washington Post’s Philip Bump notes, “Trump will likely end up with the narrowest margin of victory since 2000. And it’s probably in large part because a lot of 2020 Biden voters stayed home.”

“It is likely that,” he continues, “when all of the votes are counted, Trump will have received about half of the votes cast, beating Vice President Kamala Harris by about a percentage point. As a function of the two-party vote, Trump’s popular vote victory — his first — will probably be the smallest since Al Gore received more votes than George W. Bush in 2000.”

Focusing on swing states, as Vice President Harris did during her 107-day campaign, Bump adds, “while most non-swing states probably saw drops in turnout, it is likely to be the case that most of the seven swing states — Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — will have seen increases in vote totals. It’s another indication that the Harris campaign’s intense focus on those states provided a boost to her candidacy, albeit a fruitless one. (Last week, we noted that the shift in the presidential vote margin in the swing states was smaller than other states, which suggests the same thing.)”

Trump 'border czar' vows to deploy U.S. military for sprawling mass deportation plan

David Edwards

RAW STORY
November 12, 2024 

Fox Business/screen grab

President-elect Donald Trump's incoming "border czar," Tom Homan, revealed that the U.S. military would be involved in a plan to conduct mass deportations in the new administration.

During a Tuesday interview on Fox Business, host Maria Bartiromo asked Homan how he would deal with sanctuary cities that refuse to cooperate with Trump's deportation scheme.

"Sanctuary cities are sanctuaries for criminals," Homan declared. "So, look, if they don't want to make their community safer, then my advice to them is get the hell out of the way, because we're going to do it."





Bartiromo wondered if the U.S. military would be involved in operations against immigrants and cartels.

"You're going to absolutely need military and special ops," Homan confirmed. "I mean, President Trump has said that he's going to declare these criminal cartels terrorist organizations, which he should."

"So it's going to take the United States Special Operations and Intelligence to chase the money and take these people down," he added. "It's going to take United States leadership to take these people out, and they need to, because they're the biggest national security threat to this nation right now."

Watch the video below or at this link.

Ex-Trump aide jabs new DHS head: She's 'killed more animals than any Haitian immigrants'

Sarah K. Burris
November 12, 2024 

RAW STORY

Kristi Noem / Gage Skidmore

A former deputy press secretary for Donald Trump jabbed Gov. Kristi Noem (R-SD) over her lack of experience in Homeland Security, the department she will take over for the Trump administration.

Noem — who has been plagued by scandals in South Dakota for years — is headed to Washington as she takes over a key piece of the federal government. Her selection has faced scrutiny, with the government watchdog group Accountable.us blasting her as "extreme and untrustworthy with zero national security credentials."

Among the scandals she's faced in South Dakota, which has a population slightly larger than Washington, D.C.: Her tale of shooting a puppy she couldn't train.

"I hated that dog," Noem wrote in her book, describing the family puppy as "worthless."

Speaking to MSNBC on Tuesday, host and reporter Jacob Soboroff flagged the small population of her home state, which has just over 900,000 people, as one item of concern.

There are "260,000 employees in the Department [of Homeland Security], and is she ready for that? A question she has to answer," he asked.

Former Trump aide Sarah Matthews said she doubts Noem's appointment stemmed from her experience or policy ideas.

"Think that it all comes down to loyalty, like you noted," Matthews told MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace. "Her record — she doesn't have any background in national security or law enforcement that you would typically see to choose someone to head up this agency. The mission of the Department of Homeland Security is a vital one. It's vast."

It doesn't merely cover the border, it also oversees the Secret Service, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Transportation Security Administration and more.

"And to imagine that she is going to be in charge of all those things is a little bit alarming, and I think it's been telling, too, that even in MAGA world there has been some pushback on this selection," continued Matthews. "I think not everyone is necessarily thrilled with her selection. She turned off a lot of people, even those within the MAGA world, when she was pushing her memoir and telling the story about killing her puppy because she couldn't train it."

Matthews then pivoted to recall, "I think it's worth noting that Kristi Noem has killed more animals than any Haitian migrant in Springfield, Ohio."

See the comments below or at the link here

Bayer shares hit 20-yr low as problems pile up


By AFP
November 12, 2024


Bayer's profits plunged after the group reported a big loss

- Copyright AFP/File Pedro PARDO

Sam Reeves

Bayer’s shares plunged to a 20-year low Tuesday after the German chemicals giant cut its earnings outlook and posted a worse-than-expected loss on woes related to its troubled agrochemicals division.

The group vowed to press ahead with its cost-cutting efforts after reporting a loss of 4.18 billion euros ($4.45 billion) in the three months to the end of September, much worse than analysts’ forecasts.

It was weighed down by bad news from its agrochemicals division, including a heavy drop in sales of its glyphosate-based weedkillers, at the centre of long-running legal fights in the United States over claims they cause cancer.

Earnings at the agricultural unit were also hit by a hefty writedown on assets.

Bayer, which also makes pharmaceuticals and consumer health products, saw its shares plunge more than 11 percent on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange after reporting its second quarterly loss in a row.

It is a fresh headache for CEO Bill Anderson, who was hired last year to steer the troubled group in a new direction, and has launched a major restructuring drive while resisting calls from activist investors for a break-up of the group.

They also reflect a bleak picture for Germany’s traditional manufacturers generally, who are struggling with challenges ranging from high costs to weak demand, as Europe’s top economy heads for a second straight year of contraction.

The problems for Bayer, the maker of Aspirin, looked set to continue in 2025 with chief financial officer Wolfgang Nickl warning of a “muted outlook” next year, “with likely declining earnings”.

“We plan to accelerate our cost and efficiency measures,” he said.



– ‘No quick fix’ –



After Tuesday’s results, the Leverkusen-based group lowered its 2024 outlook for EBITDA — or operating earnings, a key measure of profitability — to between 10.4 billion and 10.7 billion euros from a previous forecast of between 10.7 billion and 11.3 billion euros.

It also cut the outlook for profit margins in the agrochemicals division.

Anderson is aiming to make savings of two billion euros a year from 2026, in particular by reducing management positions.

The group has already cut some 5,500 jobs since the start of the year, including 3,200 in the first half, according to the CEO.

It is also hoping for progress in resolving the massive litigation issues linked to the Roundup weedkiller, a problem it inherited in the 2018 takeover of US firm Monsanto.

The group has faced a wave of lawsuits in the United States over claims Roundup, which contains the active ingredient glyphosate, causes cancer. Bayer denies the claim but has spent billions of euros on legal costs.

It hopes the US Supreme Court will take up the cases related to Roundup in order to clarify the legal situation.

Bayer is considering which case to bring to the court and, if it does, would expect a decision in the 2025-26 term, said Anderson.

But he cautioned: “This is a long road, with no quick fix.”

Sales overall edged up slightly in the quarter to 9.97 billion euros.

Away from the agrochemicals unit, the picture was brighter, with higher sales in the pharmaceuticals division due to strong sales of some blockbuster drugs.

The consumer health unit also reported higher earnings and sales.

C.Africa urges lifting of embargo on diamond exports


By AFP
November 12, 2024

The Central African Republic wants the total lifting of an embargo imposed on the export of its diamonds for more than a decade - Copyright AFP/File Pedro PARDO

Cécile BRAJEUL

The Central African Republic (CAR) sought Tuesday to convince the regulatory body for global diamond trading to lift all restrictions against it, ending an export embargo in place for more than a decade.

The Kimberley Process (KP) regulatory body opened its plenary assembly in Dubai on Tuesday under the presidency of the United Arab Emirates.

The CAR wants a total lifting of the embargo imposed since a political and military crisis sparked civil war in 2013, after decades of violence, instability and coups.

Mines and Geology Minister Rufin Benam Beltoungou highlighted at the opening session his government’s efforts towards the return of peace and meeting the criteria for the lifting of the embargo, according to a statement by his ministry posted on Facebook.

He has previously said — after KP experts visited in September — that “the conditions (for lifting the embargo) are now met since, on our side, the security problem no longer arises”.

In addition, “the minimum traceability requirement has been resolved,” he argued at the time.

For the first time since 2015, the expert team was able to see the situation on the ground.

Although the civil conflict lost intensity in 2018, the country still suffers bouts of violence and remains deeply poor.

The team went to several mining sites to verify compliance of extraction and marketing practices with international standards, designed to prevent the export of “blood diamonds” mined in conflict zones.

“I dare to believe the (KP) report will make recommendations in favour of the Central African Republic,” Paul-Crescent Beninga, a member of the KP’s Civil Society Working Group, told AFP in an interview in the capital Bangui, while expressing caution.

“The dynamic of the delegation of experts was very positive, although that does not mean the outcome will necessarily be a happy one,” he warned.

– Slump in gem revenue –

Gem quality diamond deposits make up — together with gold — one of the CAR’s most precious resources.

Mining and research permits have been issued to Chinese, American, Rwandan and also Russian groups linked to the Wagner mercenary group backing the ruling regime.

The effect of sanctions on the CAR has been deep-seated.

In 2011, two years before a military coup which degenerated into a long-drawn-out civil war, the country officially earned 29.7 billion CFA francs (around $50 million) from 323,575.30 carats of diamond exports.

Last year, the total figure stood at just 324.3 million CFA francs, according to official figures.

The sanctions “should have been lifted as soon as constitutional order was restored in March 2016”, Luc Florentin Simplice Brosseni Yali, director general of the KP’s permanent secretariat in Bangui, said to AFP.

However, they were only partially lifted in 2015, contrary to what happened in Angola, Ivory Coast and Sierra Leone, he added.

Today, a third of the 24 diamond mining zones listed in the CAR have been declared “green” zones allowing them to export, whereas the remaining “red zones” still face sanctions.

“The situation of residents in these production regions is deplorable,” Brosseni Yali said.

He said that a return to normal levels of economic activity would aid “the restoration of peace by offering young people a path different from that of weapons”.

– ‘Contraband’ –

During the KP assessment mission, “I saw young people and women kneeling down to ask the experts to lift the sanctions,” he said.

Brosseni Yali added that “the restrictions have only penalised the government, not the rebel groups (as) they do not prohibit exploitation of mining fields, only the export of extracted diamonds.

“The artisanal miners operate the sites, sell their production to whoever wishes to buy and the diamonds end up in a contraband system,” he said.

During the last UN General Assembly in New York, President Faustin Archange Touadera called for a total lifting of the embargo, emphasising his country was now “relatively stable”.

But, despite efforts to expand state authority across the whole country, “the security situation remained volatile… owing to recurrent armed clashes over access to mining sites and influence over main road axes”, the latest report from the UN force, MINUSCA, said.

An International Monetary Fund team, for its part, noted progress on the security front after a visit to Bangui in late September.

But it also highlighted “the still unfavourable” business environment, regulatory uncertainty and “persistent insecurity in certain mining areas”.

The KP’s meeting in Dubai, which runs until Friday, is the second full gathering of the year exclusively held for KP participants and observers.

Spain PM accused of ‘blackmail’ by tying budget to flood aid

By AFP
November 12, 2024

A woman rests in a street covered in mud in Paiporta, in the aftermath of deadly flooding in the region of Valencia - Copyright AFP JOSE JORDAN

Valentin BONTEMPS

Spain’s minority left-wing government wants to galvanise its deadlocked 2025 draft budget by linking it to urgent reconstruction funds following devastating floods, sparking “blackmail” accusations from the conservative opposition.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s government unveiled its spending plans for next year in September, forecasting a public deficit reaching 2.5 percent of annual economic output.

But the text has been on the backburner as the fragile coalition grapples with fiendishly difficult parliamentary arithmetic.

Several Spanish governments have failed to pass their budgets since the European country returned to democracy after the 1975 death of right-wing dictator Francisco Franco, including last year.

They can avoid paralysis thanks to a constitutional mechanism that extends spending limits from the previous budget but constrains action to small adjustments.

“No one would understand” why Spain would settle for tinkering after its worst floods in decades, Budget Minister Maria Jesus Montero said in Sunday’s El Pais daily.

The torrents of muddy water have killed 222 people, wrecked infrastructure, destroyed businesses and submerged fields, with the final bill expected to soar to tens of billions of euros.

The government has already announced economic recovery measures collectively worth more than 14 billion euros, but they will affect Spain’s budgetary outlook and require major adjustments.

The government insists fresh public accounts for 2025 can accelerate the desperately needed aid. “To rebuild, a budget is necessary… the emergency requires it,” Montero said.


– Aid ‘cannot wait’ –


Montero urged “unity” from Spain’s polarised political class, but the main opposition conservative party swiftly dashed any hopes the catastrophe would lay the ground for a new budget.

The flood victims “must not be used as bargaining chips in the budget negotiations”, the Popular Party said in a statement, condemning Sanchez’s “blackmail”.

Consultancy firm Teneo suggested the government could use the “extraordinary circumstances” to convince potential allies to “moderate their stances” but warned it would be difficult after the floods became politicised.

Junts per Catalunya, a Catalan separatist party whose support is essential for government proposals to pass, expressed doubts about the budget if it is linked to flood recovery spending.

Releasing the aid “cannot wait for the long scrutiny of a theoretical budget” and amendments to the current one can instead be adopted, Junts said.

The government’s “political use” of the tragedy is “unacceptable” because it can already request EU funds and approve emergency loans and grants without a budget, business daily El Economista said.