Friday, August 07, 2020

UPDATE
Lebanon president rejects global probe into port blast
WHAT'S HE HIDING?


Hashem Osseiran and Jean-Marc Mojon,
AFP•August 7, 2020




Lebanon president rejects global probe into port blast
Beirut's port has been reduced to an enormous scrapyard

Lebanon's president has rejected any international probe into the catastrophic Beirut port blast, saying a missile or negligence could have been responsible as rescuers desperately combed the rubble for survivors.

The entrenched ruling class has come under fire once again since Tuesday's explosion, which killed at least 154 people and devastated swathes of the capital.

The revelation that a huge shipment of hazardous ammonium nitrate had languished for years in a warehouse in the heart of the capital served as shocking proof to many Lebanese of the rot at the core of their political system.

Even Lebanese President Michel Aoun admitted Friday that the "paralysed" system needed to be "reconsidered".

He pledged "swift justice", but rejected widespread calls for an international probe, telling a reporter he saw it as an attempt to "dilute the truth".

"There are two possible scenarios for what happened: it was either negligence or foreign interference through a missile or bomb," he said, the first time a top Lebanese official raised the possibility that the port had been attacked.

What ignited the massive shipment of the chemical remains unclear -- officials have said work had recently begun on repairs to the warehouse, while others suspected fireworks stored either in the same place or nearby.

Near the site of the explosion, by the carcass of the port's giant grain silos, rescue teams from France, Russia, Germany, Italy and other countries coordinated their search efforts.

The World Food Programme has promised food for affected families and wheat imports to replace lost stocks from the silos, and US President Donald Trump said he would join other leaders in a conference call Sunday to discuss coordinating international aid.

Four bodies were uncovered near the port's control room Friday, where a significant number of people were expected to have been working at the time of the blast.

No one has been found alive.

"I am waiting to hear that you have been rescued alive, my dear," tweeted Emilie Hasrouty, whose brother is among the missing.

"I am paralysed with fear."


Medics treat a patient at a Russian field hospital set up in Beirut's largest sports stadium

- 100,000 children homeless -


At the port, reduced to an enormous scrapyard, excavators removed mangled shipping containers to clear a path for rescuers.

Civil defence teams anxiously watched a sniffer dog pace around a gap under a fallen crane.

Beirut has received a stream of international assistance since the blast.

On Friday, relief flights from Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates landed in Lebanon, following others from France, Kuwait, Qatar and Russia.

International police agency Interpol has said it will send a team of experts who are specialised in identifying victims.

The World Health Organization, meanwhile, called for $15 million to cover immediate health needs.

Lebanon's hospitals, already strained by rising coronavirus cases and a severe economic crisis, were heavily damaged by the blast and overwhelmed by casualties.

Two days after the explosion, Lebanese were flocking to a 20-tent Russian field hospital newly established in the capital's largest sports stadium.

The United Nations said up to 100,000 children are among the 300,000 people made homeless, including many who have been separated from their families.

The destruction from the blast engulfed half of the Lebanese capital and caused an estimated $3 billion of damage
- 'We have nothing' -


With destruction from the blast engulfing half of the capital and estimated to cost more than $3 billion, world leaders, advocacy groups and Lebanese have demanded an international probe to ensure impartiality.

But Lebanon's powerful Hezbollah movement said Friday the army should lead such a probe because it was "trusted" by all.

Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah denied accusations the Shiite party had been storing arms at the port, saying: "We have nothing in the port."

Lebanon's probe has so far led to 21 arrests, including the port's general manager Hassan Koraytem, other customs officials and port engineers, a judicial source told AFP.

Dozens more were being interrogated by Lebanon's military court, which is focusing on administrative and security officials at the port as well as government authorities who may have ignored warnings about explosive materials.

"The list of arrests will reach the top guys, who are now among the suspects," the source said.

Lebanon's central bank also ordered asset freezes for seven port and customs officials, an official and a banking source told AFP.


The deadly Beirut explosions

The measures did not dampen the anger in Beirut's streets, where dozens of demonstrators scuffled with security forces firing tear gas late Thursday.And volunteers clearing debris have chased out two government ministers who tried to visit devastated neighbourhoods with furious chants of "resign".An anti-government protest is planned for Saturday afternoon under the slogan, "Hang them by the gallows".
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As leaders in Lebanon deflect responsibility for explosion, skepticism grows


AbSewell,LA Times•August 7, 2020

French President Emmanuel Macron, left, and Lebanese President Michel Aoun meet Thursday. Macron visited Beirut to offer French support to Lebanon after the deadly port blast. (Thibault Camus / Pool Photo)

Following Tuesday’s deadly port explosion in Beirut, Lebanese officials face increasing ire from the public and a skeptical international community that has, nevertheless, promised to provide humanitarian aid to help the devastated city get back on its feet.

While both Lebanese citizens and foreign leaders have pushed for an overhaul in the governance of the small Mediterranean country that had already been in the throes of a major economic crisis before the explosion, Lebanese leaders appeared to be digging in their heels.

Beirut residents, who had already been protesting government corruption and inertia and failing public services since October, were enraged when it turned out that Tuesday’s blast had been caused by a stockpile of ammonium nitrate, a highly volatile chemical that had been sitting in a warehouse in the port since 2013 despite warnings of the potential dangers.

A protest in front of the Parliament building in downtown Beirut on Thursday night was met with tear gas. An announcement was posted online for another, likely larger, protest planned for Saturday afternoon, took a militant tone: “On August 4, 2020, the criminal authority dropped a bomb in central Beirut and declared that there are no limits to its criminality…On August 4, 2020, the authority declared war on us. As for us, we announce the beginning of the liberation battle.”


To date, while a number of port officials have been placed under house arrest over the explosion, no high-profile government figures have resigned or shown any inclination to do so.

In remarks Friday, President Michel Aoun rejected calls by some in Lebanon for an international investigation into the cause of the port explosion and also seemed to indicate that no immediate government shakeup would be forthcoming.

“What has been said about the resignation of the government and the formation of a national unity government requires preparing the appropriate atmosphere,” he said, “We cannot call for a unity government to reach later on to the division that we have witnessed in previous governments.”

Aoun also suggested that the explosion might have been triggered by an attack — contrary to the prevailing theory that had been previously put forth by officials — that an accidental fire at the port had spread to the warehouse holding the ammonium nitrate.

“There are two possibilities for what happened. Either it was a result of negligence or external interference by means of a missile or bomb,” he said, adding that he was seeking aerial photos of the site to see if there were planes or missiles in the air.

Also Friday, Hassan Nasrallah, leader of the militia and political party Hezbollah, appeared in a televised speech in which he denied accusations that Hezbollah had stored weapons at the port or had any oversight over port operations.

“We do not manage the port or control the port or run the port or intervene in the port, nor do we know what is present in the port,” he said. “… Hezbollah might know the port of Haifa better than the port of Beirut.”

While political leaders in Lebanon deflected responsibility, the international community whose help they desperately need remained wary.

French President Emmanuel Macron, who visited the site of the blast on Thursday, while promising aid, also chastised the Lebanese political class, saying, "A new political order must be reestablished and radical change is needed” in the country.

France, which formerly ruled Lebanon as a colonial power, has in more recent years frequently bailed the country out, both politically and monetarily. In 2018, Paris hosted the Cedre conference, which raised $11 billion in pledges of financing for infrastructure projects in Lebanon, but the Lebanese government, which never implemented the economic and governance reforms required to have the funding released, never got the money.

During Lebanon’s deepening economic crisis and currency crisis in recent months, donor countries had remained reluctant to offer a bailout unless Lebanon could first reach a deal with the IMF, from which it has requested $10 billion. And the United States, which regards the current government of Lebanon as Hezbollah-dominated and considers Hezbollah a terrorist group, has also been reluctant to offer support.

But after the disaster, Macron announced that he would organize an international donor conference, which will be held Sunday under the auspices of the European Commission, to bring in contributions for medicine, food and housing to address the most urgent needs in the wake of the disaster that left more than 150 dead, 5,000 injured and many more homeless.

Apart from the immediate emergency response needs, Beirut’s governor has estimated that the city suffered $3 billion in infrastructure damage.

Already a number of countries have pledged funds, including the U.S., which has offered $17 million and the European Union, which pledged 33 million euros. Others, including regional rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia, have sent plane loads of emergency supplies, including medicine, food, and shelter kits, or have dispatched medical teams.

Imad Salamey, an associate professor of political science and international affairs at the Lebanese American University and who has written a book on Lebanese political history, said the suffering caused by the explosion had given the Lebanese government an opening to “break the informal sanctions imposed on it by the international community.”

“The political establishment will try to leverage the situation to its own political gain,” he said.

However, Salamey said that Lebanon has less leverage than it might have in the past, when rival international players jockeying for power in the region might have aimed to gain influence by providing aid. Iraq and Syria are now the more geopolitically important sites in the region, he said, while Lebanon “does not anymore have the strategic role that it had in the past, so it is not likely that there will be an international competition to gain political advantages or a political role in the country.”

On the other hand, the fact that Lebanon is now increasingly desperate means that the international players that are willing to help may have more influence now, said Maha Yahya, director of the Carnegie Middle East Center. That could include pushing for the resignation for the current government headed by Prime Minister Hassan Diab and putting in place a transitional government to steer through the crisis.

Diab had already been on politically thin ice over the economic situation before the explosion. But Lebanese politics often tilts toward inertia because of its sectarian-based power-sharing system, which was set up after the civil war to preserve the peace but leads to frequent stalemates between the patchwork of competing factions.

Yahya said that while “it’s clear that even the political parties that initially backed it no longer want this government” it remains in place because “they can’t agree on who to replace it or what to replace it with.”

But now the disaster might force their hand, she said.

“We’re no longer talking about Lebanon falling into the abyss — it’s already there,” she said. “So, the only way it can make its way out is through international support, both political and financial… The way I see things going, I think if there is enough international pressure, this government may actually be forced to go.”

Sewell is a Times special correspondent.

Lebanon president: Beirut explosion either due to negligence or missile, bomb
Staff and wires,USA TODAY•August 7, 2020

Massive explosion in Beirut, cause unknown

Lebanese President Michel Aoun said Friday there are two possible causes of Tuesday’s explosion that killed nearly 150 people – either negligence or “external intervention” by a missile or bomb.

He also rejected the United Nations human rights commission call for an international investigation.

It's believed that the blast occurred when a fire ignited 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate stored at the port. The cause of the initial fire is unknown.

Aoun said Friday that he asked France for satellite images to see if there were warplanes or missiles in the air at the time of the blast. This differs from the main narrative of recent days, which focused on investigating Lebanese port and customs officials for negligence.

Also Friday, Lebanon’s state news agency said investigative Judge Ghassan Khoury placed chief of the customs department Badri Daher under arrest. Daher said he warned officials about the ammonium nitrate numerous times over the years.

IN-DEPTH: Before and after images of the Beirut blast site

Aoun told journalists that he received information weeks ago about the dangerous material and “immediately ordered” military and security officials to take care of it. Aoun’s comments were the most senior confirmation that top politicians had been aware of the stockpile.

“The material had been there for seven years, since 2013. It has been there, and they said it is dangerous, and I am not responsible," said Aoun, who took office in 2016.

In this Thursday, June 25, 2009, file photo, Lebanese Christian leader lawmaker Michel Aoun gestures as he arrives at the Parliament for the election of the house speaker in Beirut, Lebanon

At least 10 times over the past six years, authorities from Lebanon’s customs, military, security agencies and judiciary raised alarm that a massive stockpile of explosive chemicals was being kept with almost no safeguard at the port in the heart of Beirut, newly surfaced documents show, according to the Associated Press.
'A titanic job'

Aoun said the Lebanese government's investigation into the cause of the explosion is concentrating on 20 people. Port officials have been put under house arrest.

Misinformation on social media blamed Israel, but Israeli officials have denied any involvement and have offered aid to Lebanon.
A man sits between debris inside his house damaged by Tuesday's explosion in the seaport of Beirut, Lebanon, on Aug. 7, 2020. The U.N. human rights office is calling for an independent investigation into the deadly explosion, insisting "victims' calls for accountability must be heard."More

France’s No. 2 forensic police official, Dominique Abbenanti, said Friday the explosion “appears to be an accident” but that it’s too early to know. France, which has close ties to its former colony, sent 22 investigators.

French police could question witnesses or suspects, said Eric Berot, chief of a unit involved in the investigation. For now, the French team is dividing up zones to cover with their Lebanese counterparts and will use drones to study the area.

“The zone is enormous. It’s a titanic job,” Berot said. The investigation is complicated by “the Lebanese situation,” he said, referring to the political and economic crisis.

Earlier this week, President Donald Trump called it a "terrible attack" based on the suspicions of U.S. generals he did not name. However, Defense Secretary Mark Esper later said it was likely an accident.
Ammonium nitrate

Tuesday's explosion had the force of at least 500 tons of TNT, according to a U.S. government source, who was not authorized to speak publicly. The estimate was based on the widespread destruction, said the source, who has experience with military explosives.

REPORTER IN BEIRUT: Forced to bury a dog that made 'dystopia more bearable'

The blast caused carnage over a 6-mile radius and was felt more than 100 miles away.
A drone photograph on Aug. 5, 2020 shows the scene of an explosion that hit the seaport of Beirut, Lebanon. A massive explosion rocked Beirut on Tuesday, flattening much of the city's port, damaging buildings across the capital and sending a giant mushroom cloud into the sky.More

Ammonium nitrate has been linked to past industrial accidents, including explosions at a fertilizer plant in Texas in 2013, a Chinese port in 2015 and many others.

COULD IT HAPPEN HERE? US ports safer but not immune to disaster

It was also used in the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, when a truck bomb containing 2.4 tons of fertilizer and fuel oil killed 168 people in a federal building. It's a common fertilizer that's highly explosive.

Storage is critical. Left unchecked, ammonium nitrate can be contaminated by industrial elements such as fuel oil. The chemical can also decompose on its own, generating heat.

An explosion of ammonium nitrate releases gases, including nitrogen dioxide, which is orange or reddish in color.

Beirut disaster videos show a gray cloud rising from the port, in what appears to be a large industrial fire. A building explodes, creating an orange-reddish cloud, followed closely by a white mushroom cloud as a shock wave hits.
Rescue and recovery
Relatives of Lebanese army lieutenant Ayman Noureddine, who was killed by Tuesday's explosion that hit the seaport of Beirut, mourn over his coffin during his funeral procession, in Numeiriyeh village, south Lebanon, Friday, Aug. 7, 2020. Rescue teams were still searching the rubble of Beirut's port for bodies on Friday, nearly three days after a massive explosion sent a wave of destruction through Lebanon's capital.More

The government estimated 300,000 people – more than 12% of Beirut’s population – had to leave homes damaged by the blast. Many have since returned or are staying with loved ones. Officials estimate the explosion caused $10 billion to $15 billion in losses.

On Friday, rescuers continued pulling bodies from the wreckage.

“Our experience shows that we can find people alive until up to 72, 75 or 80 hours after an explosion or an earthquake, so for now we are still in time and we cling on to this hope,” said Col. Vincent Tissier, head of the French rescue team.

Non-governmental organizations in Lebanon before the explosion were already struggling to provide the aid needed to the country. HOPE worldwide is one of those organizations that has been providing assistance to the country since last October.

In addition to providing and distributing food, the HOPE worldwide's Lebanon branch is preparing to renovate and rebuild homes that suffered damaged from the explosion.

"This is as much as we can (do) as an NGO," Mofid Tohme, the president of HOPE Worldwide's Lebanese branch, said.

Thousands of Lebanese citizens filled the streets in the days after the blast, bringing their own brooms, shovels and other materials to help clean up the streets of Beirut, according to Lebanese activist Ralph Baydou.

"This is what also what is keeping the state alive," Baydou said. "Us, the Lebanese citizens stepping in instead of the State."

Contributing: Dennis Wagner, Sarah Elbeshbishi, Anne Godlasky, USA TODAY; The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Beirut explosion due to negligence or missile, says Lebanon president


UPDATE

Lebanon's battered economy dealt fresh blow after port blast hits 'Achilles heel'

Suleiman Al-Khalidi,
Reuters•August 7, 2020



FILE PHOTO: Aftermath of Tuesday's blast in Beirut's port area, LebanonMore

By Suleiman Al-Khalidi

AMMAN (Reuters) - Lebanon's economy, already sinking before the explosion that knocked out its main port, could now shrink by double the rate previously forecast for this year, making it even harder to secure the financing the country needs to get back on its feet.

Economists say Tuesday's blast, which also damaged large parts of commercial Beirut, could lead to a GDP contraction of around 20-25% this year - far beyond the IMF's recent forecast for a 12% decline due to a deepening economic and political crisis.

Lebanese officials have estimated losses due to the blast, which killed 150 people, left thousands injured and rendered tens of thousands homeless, could run into billions of dollars.

A financial crisis had already led Lebanon to enter negotiations with the International Monetary Fund in May this year after it defaulted on its foreign currency debt, but those talks were put on hold in the absence of reforms.

Analysts say the blast highlights negligence in Lebanon's governance and puts more pressure on the government to speed up reforms in order to access aid to rebuild the economy.

While there has been an outpouring of sympathy for the country this week, there has been a notable absence of aid commitments so far, beyond urgent humanitarian aid.

"If reforms are not carried out, Lebanon will continue to sink," French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday as he toured the devastation in Beirut port.

Gulf states, which once helped Lebanon, meanwhile have baulked at bailing out a country where Iran-backed Hezbollah is powerful.

"It’s highly unlikely that Lebanon will be able to unlock the financing that it needs to overcome its fundamental economic problems. Some partners may be reluctant to provide support given the influential role of Iran-backed Hezbollah in the Lebanese government," said Jason Tuvey, senior emerging markets economist Capital Economics.

Lebanon's financial crisis came to a head last October as capital inflows slowed down and protests erupted over corruption and bad governance, with a hard currency liquidity crunch leading banks to impose tight curbs on cash withdrawals and transfers abroad.

The blast has put renewed pressure on the Lebanese pound, which was trading at around 8,300 per dollar on the black market after the explosion, against a level of 8,000 beforehand, dealers say.

Economists predict more erosion in the purchasing power of the pound, which has lost nearly 80% of its value since October with skyrocketing inflation topping 56%, accentuating social tensions.

The most urgent reforms that need to be implemented to restart talks with the IMF include tackling a runaway budget, mounting debt and endemic corruption, economists say.

"We think the explosion could delay the reform process as the government tries to deflect blame, eating up the political capital necessary for difficult but urgently needed reforms," said Patrick Curran, senior economist at Tellimer, a UK based research firm.

Businessmen and economists say the port - one of the biggest in the eastern Mediterranean and where over 40% of transshipments went to Syria and the Middle East region - has already lost revenues and business since the blast to other rival ports as shipping lines divert transit cargo.

"The port turned out to be (Lebanon's) weakness," said Jawad Anani, a regional economic consultant and former Jordanian minister. "There was so much dependence on it, so when it was demolished it turned out to be their Achilles heel."

David Sabella, who opened an Italian restaurant and bar, ‘Spicy No7', 18 months ago in Gemmayze close to the port area, saw them both destroyed by the blast.

"The government should have some mercy on us. I have nothing now," he said.

Rising political tensions since the explosion will only make things worse and complicate efforts to speed reforms, pushing the country into uncharted territory.

"It's a bleak outlook with infighting among a political class that lacks consensus on a way out and is unwilling to swallow the bitter pill," said Kamal Hamdan, director of Beirut-based Consultation and Research Institute (CRI).

(Reporting by Suleiman Al-Khalidi Additional reporting by Tom Arnold; Editing by Susan Fenton)
The Beirut explosion was six years in the making and hit a country on its knees

Alexander Smith and Matthew Bodner and Charlene Gubash and Mustafa Kassem,
NBC News•August 6, 2020

The explosion that gouged a crater in Beirut's portside and sent a devastating shockwave through the city would have been a catastrophe for any country.

But it was especially cruel timing for Lebanon — where it killed at least 135 people, injuring more than 4,000 and making another 250,000 homeless. It came right when the country is already buckling under a stack of economic, political and healthcare crises.

The city is no stranger to conflict. On social media people shared photos of the red mushroom cloud hanging over the city following Tuesday's blast, alongside eerily similar images from the country's civil war 1975-1990 and the 2006 conflict between Hezbollah and Israel.

But all the early evidence suggests it was not an attack — despite the unsubstantiated comments by President Donald Trump and numerous conspiracy theorists online. Rather it appears to be a disaster caused or at least enabled by the very forces of negligence and perhaps even corruption that have been responsible for bringing the country to its knees.

Image: Smoke rises after an explosion in Beirut (Social media via Reuters)


The explosion was triggered when a warehouse fire ignited 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate, a chemical used in fertilizer and bombs, according to Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab.

He said the stockpile had been stored at the port for six years without any "preventive measures" to protect it. Other officials said they have tried to sound the alarm about this deadly chemical being quietly stored in the heart of a city of more than 2 million people.

The head of Beirut port and the head of customs both said Wednesday that several letters were sent to the judiciary asking for the dangerous material be removed, but no action was taken.

"We requested that it be re-exported but that did not happen," Badri Daher, director general of Lebanese Customs, told broadcaster LBCI. "We leave it to the experts and those concerned to determine why.

NBC News attempted to contact Albert Serhan, Lebanon's former justice minister until, to ask him about the allegatins but did not get a response.
‘The ship couldn’t take it’

The ammonium nitrate arrived in fall 2013 on a Russian-owned cargo ship, the Rhosus, the ship's then-captain, Boris Prokoshev, told NBC News. It was en route from the Georgian Black Sea port of Batumi to Mozambique where it was to be used as fertilizer, he said.

It stopped off in Beirut but was impounded for safety reasons because it was overloaded and listing, Prokoshev said.

"The ship couldn't take it," he said.

The ship's Russian owner, Igor Grechushkin, abandoned the ship, refusing to pay docking fees, fines, and even salaries and food for the crew, according to the captain and Natalia Sokolova, a representative for the Seafarers Union of Russia, which represented the crew during its dispute with the owner at the time.

NBC News tried but was not able to reach Grechushkin for comment.

Image: The cargo ship Rhosus (Hasenpusch/dpa via AP)

Authorities in Beirut kept the crew aboard for 11 months to tend to the cargo, according to the captain, who said they felt "trapped" on board, and the labor union representative Sokolova.

"The Beirut port authority would not give them permission to abandon a ship carrying this type of cargo," Sokolova said. "In the end, a court seized the vessel to sell it as a means to pay off the ship owner's debts, and a port agent found locals to unload the cargo and the crew went home."

Beirut Governor Marwan Abboud backed up this account, telling the country's LBCI television station that the chemical was kept in the port under "judicial order" and that "there was nobody who took the responsibility to make a decision to remove it."
'Incomprehensible'

Various Lebanese leaders have promised to bring those responsible to justice.

The presidency tweeted that anyone who "managed the affairs" of the chemical, guarded it or "examined its file" since June 2014 would be put under house arrest. Diab, the prime minister, said that he "will not rest until we find the person responsible for what happened."

But many residents and commentators see the disaster as symptomatic if not directly caused by the general state of upheaval into which the country has slid.

It is currently suffering its worst economic crisis in its modern history, with prices, unemployment and hunger skyrocketing and its currency, the lira, plummeting.

Anti-government protests in recent months have called for a change to what they see as decades of corrupt leadership, with sectarian politics and patronage networks enriching the elite and creating grave inequality. Hezbollah, an Iranian proxy officially designated a terrorist organization by the U.S., is a political group with unrivaled influence in the government.
Image: Police scuffle with protesters in Beirut (Hassan Ammar / AP)

The country was already struggling to cope with the 1.5 million refugees who have fled there from the war in neighboring Syria. These displaced people now make up 30 percent of its population — the highest proportion in the world.

Add to this the coronavirus pandemic, which has shuttered businesses, left thousands unemployed and threatens to overwhelm the country's beleaguered health system.

Tuesday's explosion ripped through a city on its knees. Not only has it wrought widespread damage, it has cripped the country's main port and immolated a month of grain reserves.

Human rights groups were among those to call for an international team to lead the inquiry into how this could have happened.

"The level of devastation in Beirut is incomprehensible, and the responsible authorities should be held accountable," Aya Majzoub, Lebanon researcher at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement.

"Given the Lebanese authorities’ repeated failure to investigate serious government failings and the public’s distrust of government institutions," Majzoub added, "an independent investigation with international experts is the best guarantee that victims of the explosion will get the justice they deserve."





Alexander Smith reported from London, Matthew Bodner reported from Moscow, Charlene Gubash reported from Cairo and Mustafa Kassem reported from Beirut. Reuters contributed to this report.
UPDATED
Mauritius facing catastrophe as oil starts leaking from a shipwreck near pristine coral reefs

Will Brown,The Telegraph•August 7, 2020
People look at MV Wakashio bulk carrier that had run aground and from which oil is leaking near Blue bay Marine Park in southeast Mauritius on August 6, 2020. - L'Express Maurice/AFP via Getty Images

The island nation of Mauritius is facing an environmental crisis after a huge container ship ran aground and started to leak oil into an area home to some of the finest coral reefs in the world.

Efforts to pump oil out of the ship have failed, and now there are fears that the carrier could start to break up, leading to an even greater leak and causing catastrophic damage on the island’s pristine coastline.

“We are in an environmental crisis situation,” said the environment minister, Kavy Ramano,

The carrier MV Wakashio, which belongs to a Japanese company and flew a Panamanian-flagged, was en route from China to Brazil when it ran aground near Pointe d’Esny on the island’s southeastern coast on 25 July.


The vessel’s crew have been evacuated safely and the container was not carrying a cargo load when wrecked. However, the 1,000ft vessel was carrying 90 tonnes of lubricant oil, 200 tonnes of diesel and 3,800 tonnes of bunker fuel, according to local media outlets.

Now the oil is spreading out of the ship rapidly, according to Sunil Dowarkasing, Greengate Consulting, a Mauritian environmental consultancy, who was on the beach in sight of wreck.

“It’s really very bad because now despite all the measures, the oil has already reached the shores of Mauritius and polluted the shorelines. You can see fish dying. The situation is out of control,” Mr Dowarkasing told The Telegraph.

Mr Dowarkasing said that the wreck was near four major wildlife and maritime sanctuaries, which contained flora and fauna unique to the island. He added that there was a 100-year-old ‘brain’ coral nearby in the Blue Bay Marine Park.

“Thousands of species around the pristine lagoons of Blue Bay, Pointe d’Esny and Mahebourg are at risk of drowning in a sea of pollution, with dire consequences for Mauritius’ economy, food security and health,” Happy Khambule from Greenpeace Africa told The Telegraph in a statement.

Mauritius, which lies some 600 miles east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean, is a major tourist hotspot and tax haven for international corporations and African oligarchs.

The country of 1.2m depends on its seas for food and for tourism, boasting some of the finest coral reefs in the world.

The Mauritian government has asked the French Indian Ocean island of La Reunion for assistance.

“This is the first time that we are faced with a catastrophe of this kind and we are insufficiently equipped to handle this problem,” said fishing minister, Sudheer Maudhoo.

MV Wakashio: Ship aground off Mauritius begins leaking oil
BBC•August 7, 2020


Satellite images show the vessel leaking fuel off Mauritius

The island nation of Mauritius has declared a state of emergency after a vessel offshore began leaking oil into the ocean.

MV Wakashio ran aground on a coral reef off the Indian Ocean island on 25 July and its crew was evacuated.

But the large bulk carrier has since begun leaking tons of fuel into the surrounding waters.

Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth announced a "state of environmental emergency" on Friday.


He also appealed to France and its President, Emmanuel Macron, saying that Mauritius "does not have the skills and expertise to refloat stranded ships".

The French island of Reunion lies near Mauritius in the Indian Ocean.
Map

Mauritius is home to world-renowned coral reefs, and tourism is a crucial part of the nation's economy.

Happy Khambule of Greenpeace Africa said that "thousands" of animal species "are at risk of drowning in a sea of pollution, with dire consequences for Mauritius' economy, food security and health."

The ship - owned by a Japanese company but registered in Panama - was empty when it ran aground, but had some 4,000 tonnes of fuel aboard.
The ship was en route from China to Brazil when it ran aground
The vessel has some 4,000 tonnes of fuel on board

MV Wakashio is currently lying at Pointe d'Esny, in an area of wetlands near a marine park.

The environment ministry reportedly said attempts to stabilise the vessel and to pump out the oil failed due to rough seas.

Mauritius country profile

"This is the first time that we are faced with a catastrophe of this kind, and we are insufficiently equipped to handle this problem," Fishing Minister Sudheer Maudhoo said.

Police have opened an inquiry into the spill.



Tourist hotspot Mauritius hit by oil spill as ship grounds

Government says bulk carrier ran aground in the southeast of the island, sparking fears of an environmental disaster.


Ecologists fear the ship could break up, which would cause an even greater leak and inflict potentially catastrophic damage on the island's coastline [File- Getty]

Mauritius announced oil is leaking from a bulk carrier that ran aground in the southeast of the island, igniting fears of an environmental catastrophe.

"The ministry has been informed ... that there is a breach in the vessel MV Wakashio and there is a leakage of oil," the environment ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

"The public in general, including boat operators and fishers, are requested not to venture on the beach and in the lagoons of Blue Bay, Pointe d'Esny and Mahebourg."

The carrier, belonging to a Japanese company but Panamanian-flagged, ran aground on July 25 and its crew was evacuated safely.

The ship was carrying 200 tonnes of diesel and 3,800 tonnes of bunker fuel, according to the local press.

The grounding happened at Pointe d'Esny, which is listed under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, and near the marine park of Blue Bay.

Anti-pollution systems have been sent to the two sites, the ministry said, adding the government was asking the French Indian Ocean island of La Reunion for assistance.

"We are in an environmental crisis situation," Environment Minister Kavy Ramano told a news conference.

Shipping websites say the Wakashio was built in 2007 with a gross tonnage of 101,000 and deadweight tonnage of 203,000, and a length of 300 metres (984 feet).

"This is the first time that we are faced with a catastrophe of this kind, and we are insufficiently equipped to handle this problem," said Fishing Minister Sudheer Maudhoo.

The ministers said all attempts to stabilise the ship had failed because of rough seas, and efforts to pump out the oil also failed.

Ecologists fear the ship could break up, which would cause an even greater leak and inflict potentially catastrophic damage on the island's coastline.

The country depends crucially on its seas for food and for tourism, boasting some of the finest coral reefs in the world.

SOURCE: AFP NEWS AGENCY



SEE
https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2020/08/locals-in-mauritius-are-going-to-great.html

https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2020/08/mauritian-prime-minister-seeks.html

https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2020/08/the-oil-spill-at-mauritius-is-disaster.html

https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2020/08/update-mauritius-battles-devastating.html

https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2020/08/oil-spill-off-mauritius-is-visible-from.html

https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2020/08/france-offers-aid-as-mauritius-declares.html



RUSSIA SUPPORTS TRUMP
NORTH KOREA SUPPORTS TRUMP
BRAZIL SUPPORTS TRUMP
SAUDI ARABIA SUPPORTS TRUMP
TURKEY SUPPORTS TRUMP


CHINA, CANADA DESPITE THEIR DIFFERENCESSUPPORT BIDEN, 
SO DOES IRAN AND THE REST
OF THE WORLD!
Fox News Host Sandra Smith Grills Kellyanne Conway on Trump’s COVID ‘Misinformation’
UH OH NOT JUST CNN 
Matt Wilstein,
The Daily Beast•August 6, 2020


On Wednesday, Facebook finally took the long overdue step of removing a piece of Trump campaign content from its platform that pushed misinformation about COVID-19. That didn’t stop Kellyanne Conway from trying to defend it Thursday morning on Fox News.

The claim in question came during the president’s appearance on Fox & Friends that morning, where he falsely stated, “If you look at children, children are almost—and I would almost say definitely—but almost immune from this disease.”

“Of course there is a debate happening about whether Facebook and Twitter should be arbiters of truth and decide what is fact and fiction,” Fox host Sandra Smith began, before sharing the actual facts about confirmed coronavirus cases in children.

According to the CDC, she told Conway, children under the age of 18 now make up 7.4% of total cases in the United States. “So kids are getting this disease, Kellyanne,” she said.

“Yes, they are and thankfully most never make it to a hospital and very few have died,” Conway replied, hastening to add, “and every death is a tragedy.” As she tried to pivot to glimmers of good news about the spread of the virus overall, Smith brought her back to the issue at hand.

“I want to stick to children though,” the host said. “Because the debate right now is over the spread of misinformation by the president about children being ‘nearly immune.’”

Smith cited remarks from the Republican governor of Mississippi, who has just instituted a state-wide mask mandate, as further evidence that kids are transmitting the virus in large numbers before asking, “Is it helpful for the president to tell parents that children are ‘nearly immune’ from this and then have it factually spreading from child to child in places like Mississippi where they’ve opened the doors to their schools?”

Seth Meyers Brutally Mocks Trump’s Kindergarten Coronavirus Death Chart

Instead of defending Trump’s claim, all Conway could do in response was try to highlight other instances when the president didn’t spread misinformation about children’s susceptibility. “So I think the president is making clear that overall the average age of those who pass away from coronavirus is still about 78,” she said, a separate fact that does not mean children are “nearly immune.”

After Conway attempted yet another pivot to attack Joe Biden, Smith again brought her back to Trump and his lies about the virus.

“I get that Kellyanne and that’s another conversation,” the host said. “But the point is that the president said in that interview on Fox & Friends yesterday morning said it’s going to ‘go away, like things go away’ and that is something many people are taking issue with.” She quoted the White House’s own health expert Dr. Anthony Fauci, who said, “I do not believe that it will disappear because it’s such a highly transmissible virus.”

“So is the president listening to the advice of the health experts that he has at his side?” Smith asked.

“Yes he is, and they should be listening to him as well,” Conway replied ominously before accusing those experts of saying things on TV that they didn’t express in classified task force meetings.

Conway had plenty to say after that about Twitter and Facebook, but she could not defend Trump’s claim that COVID-19 will magically disappear.
New Zealand's Ardern kicks off election campaign after taming virus

MICHAEL BRADLEY,
AFP•August 7, 2020


New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is riding high in opinion polls after her leadership through the Christchurch mosque attacks, the White Island volcanic eruption and the coronavirus pandemic

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern kicked off her Labour Party's election campaign Saturday riding high in the opinion polls after a successful response to the coronavirus outbreak.

Ardern's popularity as preferred prime minister -- often referred to as "Jacindamania" -- topped 60 percent in the latest surveys following her leadership through the Christchurch mosque attacks, the White Island volcanic eruption and the pandemic.

Before the virus forced New Zealand to seal its borders, the polls had pointed to a cliffhanger election on September 19, but support swung sharply towards the centre-left Labour Party as the country eliminated community transmission in a matter on months.

In a country of five million people, New Zealand has had only 22 COVID-19 deaths and it has been 99 days since the last recorded case of infection from an unknown source.


"When people ask, is this a COVID election, my answer is yes, it is," the charismatic 40-year-old said as she launched the campaign with a NZ$311 million (US$205 million) pledge to boost jobs.

"Businesses large and small are crucial to our economic recovery."

Labour is the senior partner in a three-party coalition government but if it can maintain the support shown in recent opinion polls, where it has consistently been above 50 percent, it could govern alone after the election.

Ardern was an unheralded MP when thrust into the Labour leadership shortly before the 2017 election when the party was struggling and "there were plenty who thought it couldn't (win)," she said.

"If you had told me then that our launch in 2020 would be in the midst of a global pandemic with our borders closed –- I would have found that very hard to fathom."

The centrepiece of Labour's campaign is to support businesses in hiring at least 40,000 people whose employment has been affected by the coronavirus.

It pledged to expand existing job schemes to help employers hire staff at risk of long-term unemployment.

It will also help out-of-work New Zealanders start a business through an expanded self-employment programme which will provide the equivalent of the minimum wage for up to 30-hours a week.

"The new flexi-wage scheme is a key plank of our economic plan to support businesses to recover and to provide jobs to those who have lost work due to COVID," Ardern said.

"Our team-of-five-million approach to fighting COVID means there is huge willingness in our business community to avoid unemployment rising by retaining staff and taking on new employees where they can, but many just need a little bit of extra support to do that, which this package provides."

cf/amj


New Zealand PM Ardern launches 'COVID election' campaign promising jobs


Reuters•August 7, 2020

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern during a news conference in Christchurch

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Saturday launched her re-election campaign promising a "laser-like" focus on boosting jobs and economic growth hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The charismatic 40-year-old leader is on track for a comfortable victory in the Sept. 19 election, according to opinion polls, having won global praise for her leadership during the coronavirus pandemic.

It has been 99 days since New Zealand had any domestic transmission of COVID-19, a rare achievement as the pandemic rages globally, and it has re-opened the economy after undergoing a complete shutdown to eradicate the coronavirus.

"When people ask, is this a COVID election, my answer is yes, it is," Ardern told her supporters gathered in Auckland for the launch of her Labour Party's re-election campaign.

In her first campaign speech, Ardern pledged a NZ$311 million ($205.32 million) scheme aimed at getting 40,000 Kiwis back in work, if her party wins the Sept 19 polls.

The funding will allow businesses a subsidy of on average NZ$7500, and up to NZ$22,000, to hire unemployed New Zealanders.

"The new Flexi-wage scheme is a key plank of our economic plan to support businesses to recover and to provide jobs to those who have lost work due to Covid," Ardern said.

New Zealand has been an envy of the world, having eliminated COVID-19 from its shores and successfully re-opening its economy when most of the world is still shuttered.

Recent data suggests unemployment due to COVID-19 was not as dire as expected, and business confidence had improved due to the government's hard and early response to the pandemic.

Introduced to the stage by her partner and fiancé Clark Gayford, Ardern spoke of her unexpected rise to power in 2017, and her handling of a series of tragedies -- a mass shooting at Christchurch mosques, the deadly White Island volcanic eruption and the coronavirus this year.

"If you had told me then that our launch in 2020 would be in the midst of a global pandemic with our borders closed – I would have found that very hard to fathom," she said.

Ardern’s stratospheric rise in 2017 to become New Zealand’s youngest prime minister and third woman to hold the office has been dubbed “Jacinda-mania” by some.

($1 = 1.5147 New Zealand dollars), AUSTRALIAN AND CANADIAN DOLLARS ON PAR

(Reporting by Swati Pandey in Sydney and Praveen Menon in Wellington;; Editing by Michael Perry)
Thai protesters demand the release of anti-government activists

Reuters•August 7, 2020

WITH THE PASSING OF THE OLD KING, AND THE TRADITIONAL FEUDALISTIC RESTRICTIONS ATTENDENDANT WITH HIM WERE LIFTED BY THE PEOPLE THEMSELVES, IN REACTION TO THE NEW KING'S SELF ABSORBED HUBRIS

Pro-democracy protesters stand outside the criminal court building demanding a representative be allowed inside were two leader still detained at the criminal court in Bangkok

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Dozens of protesters gathered in front of a Bangkok court on Saturday to demand the release of activist leaders, vowing to escalate anti-government demonstrations with a call for a protest in the Thai capital.

Human rights lawyer Anon Nampa, 35, and student activist Panupong Jasnok, 23, were arrested on Friday and held overnight in connection with recent protests demanding greater democracy.

"Whom does the court serve in this country?," Parit Cheewarak, a student leader widely known by the nickname Penguin, told 60 to 100 protesters in front of Bangkok's Criminal Court.

"No matter how senior you are, you are not above the taxes that pay your salaries," he said as police watched.


Protesters have returned to Thailand's streets to call for the ouster of the government of 2014 coup leader Prayuth Chan-ocha after a disputed general election last year that activists say was engineered to ensure his hold on power.

Charges against Anon and Panupong include sedition and violating an emergency decree imposed to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

The court declined to process a police request to jail the two men on Friday because it was filed too late. They were instead held overnight at a police station.

At a protest on Monday, Anon had called for reforms to the monarchy in an extremely rare public challenge to the powerful institution. He was not charged over that protest.


(Reporting by Chayut Setboonsarng and Panarat Thepgumpanat; Editing by William Mallard)


         IT'S PRONOUNCED TIE-LAND

https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2020/08/testing-royal-taboos-inside-thailands.html

What to know about the NY AG's attempt to take down the NRA

Jon Campbell, New York State Team,
USA TODAY•August 7, 2020

ALBANY – The National Rifle Association, the nation's most powerful gun rights organization, is in a battle for its very existence.

A lawsuit filed this week by New York Attorney General Letitia James seeks to formally dissolve the longstanding gun rights organization, alleging a wide array of corruption and fraud that helped the NRA diminish its assets by $64 million from 2015 through 2018.

The legal filing singled out longtime CEO Wayne LaPierre for allegedly using the organization to fund his lavish lifestyle, spending millions on private travel for him and his family, including eight trips to the Bahamas that sometimes included the use of a yacht with four staterooms, a jet boat and two jet skis.

If it's successful, the NRA would be forced to close and distribute its assets to other charitable outlets, including a valuable member list the organization says includes more than 5 million people. LaPierre and other leaders would be removed and barred from serving other New York-based charities.

The NRA, however, is not giving up without a fight.

The organization launched a counter suit Thursday alleging a political conspiracy, noting James, a Democrat, had labeled the organization a "criminal enterprise" before she ever took office and launched an investigation.

How will it all play out?

Here's the answer to some frequently asked questions about the battle over the NRA's future.

More: NRA, accused of wasting millions, faces shutdown attempt by NY attorney general
What is the NRA accused of?

A wide array of fraud, corruption and shoddy financial management that saw its leaders live lavish lifestyles at the expense of the organization.

James' 169-page lawsuit lays out a litany of law-breaking, much of it centered on LaPierre using the NRA's assets to benefit himself and his family. (Three other former and current NRA leaders — Joshua Powell, John Frazer and Wilson "Woody" Phillips — are also named in the suit.)

Among the highlights:


LaPierre is accused of spending millions of NRA dollars on private travel for him and his family, including numerous private flights that sometimes shepherded a niece and other extended family members without him on board.


He is also accused of making repeated trips to the Bahamas on the NRA or an NRA vendor's dime. Sometimes it was for a "celebrity retreat" in December; Other times, the NRA vendor granted him use of a 108-foot yacht named "Illusions" with a full crew, four staterooms and a 16-foot jet boat, which he never disclosed to the NRA.


LaPierre also secured a post-employment contract worth at least $17 million without NRA board approval, guaranteeing him lifetime compensation from the organization even if he's fired.

LaPierre and the NRA are also accused of hiding spending in a number of ways, including by having Ackerman McQueen — the NRA's longtime advertising firm — cover travel and entertainment expenses and billing the organization.

That allegedly fraudulent relationship allowed LaPierre to file false personal tax returns, according to the lawsuit.

More: ICE blocked from civil arrests at New York state courthouses, judge rules
What did the NRA do in response to the lawsuit?
Looking down the barrel of a firearm at the 2019 NRA convention exhibits at the Indiana Convention Center, Friday, April 26, 2019.

The NRA filed a lawsuit of its own seeking to use James' own words against her.

In the NRA's legal filings, the organization pointed to a number of statements James made during her 2018 run for attorney general.

During her campaign, James was repeatedly critical of the organization, at one point referring to it as a "criminal enterprise" before she ever took office and launched an investigation.

"We need to again take on the NRA, which holds itself out as a charitable organization," James told Our Time Press in September 2018. "But, in fact, they are not. They are nothing more than a criminal enterprise."

The lawsuit claims James and Gov. Andrew Cuomo, both vocal supporters of gun-control measures and critics of the NRA, are attacking the organization for its political views, violating its First Amendment rights.

"The NYAG’s actions are an affront to democracy and freedom,” LaPierre said in a statement. “This is an unconstitutional, premeditated attack aiming to dismantle and destroy the NRA"

James said her lawsuit is not affected by her position on gun control and will continue on.

"The facts speak for themselves and our lawsuit will continue undeterred," she said.
Why is this playing out in New York?
New York Attorney General Letitia James has filed a suit seeking to dissolve the NRA following a fraud investigation.

For that answer, we have to go all the way back to the 19th century.

The NRA's beginnings date back to 1871, when a pair of Union soldiers founded the association to promote marksmanship training. A year later, they opened the Creedmor Rifle Range in what is now Queens, according to the organization.

The NRA was granted a charter in New York in November 1871. It's been chartered in New York ever since.

That's what gave James her opening.

In New York, the Attorney General's Office oversees charities in New York. The NRA is a 501c4 charity headquartered in the state, so James is able to investigate and, if necessary, seek sanctions.

"The attorney general has significant power over New York's not-for-profit corporations," said Ted De Barbieri, an associate professor at Albany Law School. "It is entirely within her discretion and power to bring regulatory enforcement action."
Is there a precedent for this?

In 2018, then-Attorney General Barbara Underwood filed a lawsuit accusing the Donald J. Trump Foundation of mismanagement, accusing the president and his children of using the charity to illegally promote his presidential campaign.

The Trump Foundation ultimately agreed to a settlement that saw it dissolve and its assets redistributed to other charities.

It's not exactly an apples-to-apples comparison, however.

The NRA is a far larger and more powerful organization than the Trump Foundation. And the NRA's actions thus far do not suggest it is amenable to dissolving, as the Trump Foundation was.
Why isn't this in the criminal courts?

James lawsuit lays out conduct that could be interpreted as criminal — most notably the issues surrounding LaPierre's allegedly false tax returns.

But James would have to refer her findings to a district attorney or another prosecutor in order for a criminal prosecution.

Asked Thursday about the tax issues uncovered in the investigation, James said she would refer her findings to the IRS. She also said the investigation is "ongoing" and findings could be referred to the Manhattan district attorney in the future.

"If we uncover any criminal activity, we will refer it to the Manhattan district attorney," James said.
How long will the NRA's legal battle take?
Smith & Wesson guns are seen at the 2019 NRA convention exhibits at the Indiana Convention Center, Friday, April 26, 2019.

The NRA's counter lawsuit suggests the organization intends to fight James' claims every step of the way, which could drag on the legal battle for quite some time.

It has the potential to stretch out for many months, if not years, within state Supreme Court in Manhattan.

"Absolutely," De Barbieri said of whether it will take a long time to settle.

"The complaint has serious allegations based on facts and investigations, and it seeks a remedy that is within the power of the Attorney General's Office ... because of the allegations of waste and abuse that are in the complaint."
President Trump said the NRA should move to Texas. Is that possible?
National Rifle Associations Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer Wayne LaPierre listens at right as President Donald Trump speaks in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington in 2017.

No, according to James.

New York not-for-profit corporations need certain state approvals before they can switch their state of incorporation.

With the NRA under an ongoing investigation and legal battle, it wouldn't be possible for it to just pick up and move.

"To be clear, no charity registered in New York state, including the NRA, can dissolve and relocate to another state without approval of my office or of the Supreme Court of New York," James said in a statement Friday.

"As long as our lawsuit continues, the NRA must stay right where it is and answer for their deep-rooted fraud."

Trump on Thursday said the NRA should move to Texas or some other state and live a "very good and beautiful life."

Jon Campbell is a New York state government reporter for the USA TODAY Network. He can be reached at JCAMPBELL1@Gannett.com or on Twitter at @JonCampbellGAN.

This article originally appeared on New York State Team: NRA lawsuit: What to know about the NY AG's attempt to take down the NRA
The National Rifle Association faces its worst nightmare: accountability

Shannon Watts, Opinion contributor,
USA TODAY Opinion•August 7, 2020

On Thursday, New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a lawsuit against the National Rifle Association for breaking New York charities law — the result of an investigation into the NRA’s finances that began in April 2019. The complaint seeks dissolution, meaning that if the NRA is found guilty, it could be disbanded by the state of New York.

You don’t have to be a lawyer to see how the NRA got into this mess. Even casual observers have watched it morph from a safety-focused, non-profit into a front group for gun manufacturers and a personal piggy bank for its leadership.

Since 2018, NRA executive pay has skyrocketed, money has flowed to supposedly ‘unpaid’ board members, and CEO Wayne LaPierre has reportedly used member dues to pay for millions of dollars’ worth of Italian suits and private jet trips. Meanwhile, in 2018 less than 10% of NRA funds were spent on the NRA’s supposed “core functions” of gun safety, education, and training — leaving little wonder why AG James decided the NRA ran afoul of the law.
NRA misusing funds

As it turns out, you can only buy so many Italian suits from Zegna in Beverly Hills with organizational money before the organization stops being a nonprofit and starts being a slush fund.

But AG James is far from the NRA’s only concern — the NRA is losing money and power so quickly that by the end of this case, there might not be anything left to dissolve. Legally, the organization is mired in litigation with former partners and sued by the attorney general of D.C. Financially, the NRA is laying off employees by the hundreds, and Wayne LaPierre was recently caught on tape saying the organization needed to be taken “down to the studs” to “survive.” And politically, the NRA had to strip its once-coveted candidate-grading-system from the internet because politicians were ashamed to be affiliated with them.

Protest outside the NRA headquarters in 2017 in Fairfax, Virginia.

In fact, the NRA is just as out of touch with voters as it seems to be with New York law. NRA-backed candidates lost big in the 2018 midterms, and the NRA lost its home state of Virginia in 2019, leading to several gun safety laws being passed in their own backyard. Even more notably, the Trump administration has begun “hedg[ing] its bets” on the NRA by “reaching out to other gun groups,” despite the NRA being the single largest outside spender on Donald Trump’s 2016 election. That should tell you all you need to know about the NRA’s political future.

The NRA has had this reckoning coming for a long time –– not only because of its rampant corruption, but because it is perhaps more responsible than any other group or individual for America’s deadly gun violence epidemic.

Dayton mayor on one-year anniversary of mass shooting: Why haven't we done something?

That is particularly evident this week, which marks one year since the country mourned the tragic shootings in Dayton and El Paso that killed 32 Americans and wounded 40 more in less than 24 hours. In the aftermath of those shootings, even Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell pledged that they were finally ready to act. But then Wayne LaPierre reportedly stopped by the White House, and ordered Trump to “stop the games” on gun safety. That’s all it took for Republicans to cave, one by one.
Gun violence in America

In the year since that fateful meeting, nearly 40,000 Americans have been killed by gun violence, and twice that many have been wounded. Worse still, in the past four years, with NRA allies controlling the Senate and the White House, the death toll is over 140,000 — nearly the same number of Americans that have died from COVID-19, and many more than were killed in the Iraq, Afghanistan and Vietnam wars combined. And yet, Trump, McConnell and the NRA have still failed to act.

At times, the NRA has become such a side-show in the last year, so entangled in financial and legal turmoil, that it can be hard to remember the organization's true, destructive nature. But this is the same organization whose officials have spent recent months spreading conspiracy theories about COVID-19, defending Confederate monuments, and comparing the Black Lives Matter movement to the Nazi Party and ISIS. And make no mistake: it’s because of the NRA that gun safety bills are dying in the U.S. Senate while people continue to die in the streets.

As the founder of Moms Demand Action, I’ve been fighting the NRA for years — they have even encouraged threats of violence and death against me among their supporters. And while I’ve been flatteringly referred to as the NRA’s worst nightmare, the truth is that the NRA’s worst nightmare is exactly what seems to be coming for them after this November: complete irrelevance.

When politics hits home: Pandemic moms are descendants of soccer and votes-for-women moms

Between AG James’ lawsuit, the NRA’s own incompetence, politicians rightly distancing themselves from the NRA, and the coming election, the NRA as we know it may be headed for extinction and federal gun safety laws finally appear to be on the horizon.

So today, as we mark what might be the beginning of the end of the NRA, I offer it the same support that it has offered so many, so often: “thoughts and prayers.” May those hollow words be as futile for the NRA as they’ve been for the rest of us.

Shannon Watts is the founder of Moms Demand Action, which is the nation’s largest grassroots group fighting for stronger gun laws. Watts is a mom of five.


You can read diverse opinions from our Board of Contributors and other writers on the Opinion front page, on Twitter @USATOpinion and in our daily Opinion newsletter. To respond to a column, submit a comment to letters@usatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NRA: having financial troubles and facing lawsuits and investigations