Pre-Inca graves discovered in Peru



Suzanne Cords

DW
15 hours ago

Not much is known about the Chancay people, who preceded the powerful Inca. The discovery of 30 graves could provide more insight into their culture.

"The graves we're finding in these excavations belong to the year A.D. 1000 up to 1440," Pieter Van Dalen, an archaeologist at the National University of San Marcos in Lima, told the press agency Reuters.

The burial sites date back to the heyday of the Chancay people, who once inhabited the fertile valleys near the coast. Their name stems from the Chancay Valley which is the main region which they once had inhabited.

Little is known about this pre-Inca culture, and researchers hope to learn more from the burial sites, specifically from the tombs belonging to the elite that were found at up to 5 meters (16.5 feet) below the ground. According to the team's initial findings, they are very lavishly designed. The deceased were wrapped in textiles alongside ornately decorated vessels of various sizes.

The graves unearthed belong to people from different social classes, Van Dalen said.

This skeleton was discovered during the construction of a gas pipeline

Image: Klebher Vasquez/AA/picture alliance

Skilled craftspeople

So far, the findings are consistent with what archaeologists already knew about the Chancay, who were noted as talented craftspeople. Thousands of their textiles have survived to this day, meaning that they must have produced them on a large scale.

HUMANS MANUFACTURE SINCE PREHISTORIC TIMES SUCH AS WITH USE OF OCHRE

The fabrics are exquisitely crafted and dyed in shades of yellow and brown, as well as scarlet, lavender blue and olive green. Popular motifs were birds and a deity with a crescent-shaped headdress.

Textiles like this one demonstrate the art of the Chancay people

Liszt Collection/picture alliance

The ceramics are also a testimony to the Chancay's artistic talent. Works are often black and white and feature geometric or highly simplified animal and human motifs. Large clay dolls, which often represented the female sex, were also commonly produced.

A terracotta double vase from the Chancay culture

World History Archive/picture alliance

For all their craftsmanship, however, the Chancay were apparently not great warriors. Historians assume that at the beginning of the 15th century, the Chimu conquered their territories to the south and that later the Inca finally subjugated them around 1450.
Hoping for new insights

About 2,000 graves have already been discovered in the region in recent years, so archaeologists are hopeful that the 30 graves found roughly 75 kilometers (45 miles) north of Peru's capital, Lima, will provide new insights into the social and political structures of the Chancay civilization.

But, first, the remains will be meticulously cleaned and carefully stored. Perhaps then they will be able to reveal some secrets from the vanished world of Chancay.

This article was originally written in German.

WE THOUGHT YOU'D NEVER NOTICE

Are Korean TV dramas shifting from tales of love to revenge?

Julian Ryall
DW


A previous generation of programs saw the heartthrob lead overcoming obstacles to win the heroine's heart, but that plotline is being replaced with tales of vengeance.

South Korea's drama series are attracting legions of viewing fans around the world, although one media critic has warned that the industry is shifting away from the popular romance tales of the past and instead embracing plotlines focused on revenge.

In a column published in The Korea Herald on February 8, long-time contributor Kim Seong-kon said "Hallyu," or the Korean Wave of popular culture, grew out of the popularity of television dramas such as the romance "Winter Sonata" or "Dae Jang Geum."

"In those series, young people love each other despite ordeals and obstacles, or strive to accomplish noble goals of becoming the best in their fields of expertise," Kim wrote. "Such dramas portrayed South Korea as a romantic and historic place foreigners wanted to visit."

In recent years, however, "things have radically changed," he said

.
In search of revenge

In today's television offerings — such as "The Glory," "Eve" or "Revenge of Others" — "the protagonist, who is obsessed with vengeance, devotes his or her life to get revenge on someone for misdeeds they inflicted in the past," he said

In some stories, revenge is meted out to school bullies or rich and powerful businessmen.

"One of the unacknowledged problems with such revenge dramas is that they unwittingly depict South Korea as a land of resentment and vendettas," Kim suggested.

"Without intending to, they also make Korea out to be a society run rampant with school bullying.

"Such publicity might make South Korea a less attractive place for foreigners."

Kim said the sudden emergence of revenge dramas could be the result of increased numbers of people believing they have been "the victims of social injustice," a sentiment that has been encouraged by "left-wing politicians" who have "exploited the situation by pouring fuel on popular enmity towards the rich and the privileged."

Others with their fingers on the pulse of South Korean youth culture are less convinced of any connection.

"I am unsure if there is a notable increase in the number of revenge plotlines," said Jungmin Kwon, an associate professor at Portland State University in Oregon who specializes in East Asian popular culture.

"It is true that Korean citizens are very sensitive to matters related to social injustice, the gap between the haves and have-nots, and economic inequality," she told DW.

"However, this is not a new occurrence, although sensitivity may have increased recently."

Korean television has always enjoyed revenge dramas, she said, and it would be difficult to link these shows to "political predisposition."

More importantly, she said, there are no reasons for television companies to make programs that, "may agitate less privileged viewers against the wealthy in consideration of the current political leadership."

Diverse narratives, characters

Yet, she agrees that K-dramas have seen a shift to more diverse narratives and characters.

"TV shows used to be concentrated on family melodramas, trendy romances, or historical dramas," Kwon said. "Now, with the advance of media technologies, we are living in an age in which multi-platforms and multi channels are competing to grab eyeballs.

"Traditional TV networks have been losing their foothold, and the younger generations are migrating to streaming services and mobile devices to consume media content."

Fierce competition has forced content providers to look for new materials, angles and a variety of characters, especially if they want to appeal to the all-important youth segment of the viewing public.

"Genres such as noir, mystery, crime, fantasy and action, which used to be less employed in the TV industry, are on the rise," she said. "And in terms of characters, we do see more and more TV shows with female leads, senior leads and queer characters, albeit mostly in supporting roles."

David Tizzard, an assistant professor of education at Seoul Women's University and a columnist for a Korean daily focusing on social affairs, says K-dramas were "a new cultural phenomenon" that emerged from the radio serials of the nation's difficult days in the 1950s and 1960s.

"These weekly episodes were generally focused on love triangles and featured urban people exploring modernization," he said. "They were fantasy depictions of life written by the country's elite to provide a sense of release from the reality of poverty the population experienced.

"As color television became a staple, Korean dramas became the same thing. They focused on love triangles and often showed a depiction of life more glamorous than society was actually living through," he added. "They were successful because of the star power of the actors and the nature of the story lines."

Popular across Asia

They resonated in Asia for the same reason. There was also appeal in "a romanticized version of a simpler, more conservative life," Tizzard said.

"If people watch dramas today, however, I'm pretty sure they might immediately think Korea is a place of horrific bullying, violence, suicide and death," he said. "Those concepts seem to resonate and be very popular in the West. It's a way of making them more accessible to a larger audience beyond the female viewers who primarily engage with the high-teen and romance concepts."

But he dismisses the suggestion in Kim's column that a character in a television program who successfully avenges him or herself on a rival might be mimicked by an individual in real life.

"That's a trope as old as time," he emphasized. "That rock and roll is the devil's music. That playing computer games will turn you violent. I don't believe these dramas will affect large numbers in society and turn them into vigilantes.

"There will always be isolated incidents and they should, of course, be treated seriously — but I don't believe these programs will create a rise in people seeking revenge against others."

Edited by: Srinivas Mazumdaru

Book Review: China and Latin America by Christopher Alden and Álvaro Méndez

In China and Latin America, Christopher Alden and Álvaro Méndez explore the evolving connections between China and Latin America. As the significance of China to Latin America becomes increasingly apparent, this book offers comprehensive reflection on the current political context and the historical dynamics of the relationship, writes Cheng Yeung Yang.

China and Latin America: Development, Agency and Geopolitics. Christopher Alden and Álvaro Méndez. Bloomsbury. 2023.


From China’s economic reliance on Latin American silver to ‘La Trata Amarilla’, cooperation between the two regions was primarily based on the exchange of commercial, agricultural and mining goods. Chinese immigrants sought employment in the construction of canals and railways, sugar plantations, guano and saltpetre mines and other industries in the latter half of the 19th century. Chinese immigrants of the 19th century settled in cities such as Lima, Tijuana, Panama City and Havana, where they established modest businesses that flourished as the community evolved over the subsequent decades, thus establishing the first close approaches between China and Latin America.

China and Latin America: Development, Agency and Geopolitics, authored by Christopher Alden and Álvaro Méndez, navigates a historical narrative of the relations between China and the Latin American region from their inception to the present. The book describes the great complexities that both regions have had to overcome, as well as how their relationship and social, economic and political dynamics have shaped what we can now observe as a rapidly expanding Chinese influence in the Western Hemisphere. Moreover, the authors demonstrate that when considering Sino-Latin American relations, it is crucial to situate the US. The relationships between Latin America, China and the US are characterised by very complex dynamics.



China’s geopolitical relationship with Latin America was negligible for decades. China and Latin America first engaged politically in the 1960s during the Cold War’s ideological conflict. As the Cold War divided the communist East from the capitalist West, this led to a succession of military regimes that supported US interests while China focused on its domestic and regional issues. As democracy spread across Latin America in the late 20th century, so did the US’s pragmatic approach to China. Resources and trading drove China’s entry into the Latin American market.

Upon the establishment of the People’s Republic of China, the Communist Party promoted relations with Latin America based on an anti-imperialist cultural and ideological rapprochement. In 1960, under Fidel Castro, Cuba was the first country in the region to recognise the People’s Republic of China. Therefore, China was able to envision a minor shift in its regional projection, shifting from cultural exchanges and partisan diplomacy to a strengthening of progressive political partnerships.

However, in the next few years, political relations were minimal during Mao Zedong’s government. Later, in 1978, under the leadership of Deng Xiaoping, China launched a reform programme based on the adoption of socialist market principles, which consisted primarily of two components: internal adjustment and foreign opening. As a result of this ‘new socialist market economy’, China’s society witnessed tremendous internal upheaval. China restored diplomatic links with several Latin American states through its open foreign policy. A new horizon of diplomatic ties was created and developed into what Alden and Méndez allow us to observe in the book as one of the most fast-growing dynamics in contemporary politics.

In the third chapter, the cases of Chile, Peru and Argentina are presented. Chile’s relationship with China has been influenced more than any other Pacific coast state in Latin America by the broader framework of Asia-Pacific trade agreements and associated activities. Regarding Peru, by reaching out to Beijing and enshrining an economic link through mechanisms such as the 2009 Peru-China Trade Agreement, this has brought a wave of Foreign Direct Investments to Peru’s shores, expanded market opportunities in both countries and sparked a new cycle of commodity-driven prosperity.

In the case of Argentina, the political theatre of changing leadership and political parties has obscured the continuity that has served to preserve the partnership. Opportunities abound, from middle-class consumers to strategic resources, and politicians such as former President Mauricio Macri and the Kirchner dynasty have recognised the benefits of Chinese investment and loans in resources, infrastructure and e-commerce. Chinese confidence in Argentina’s long-term prospects — echoed to varying degrees in other regions — indicates a willingness to ground bilateral ties in elite and commercial relationships.

Subsequently, we are introduced to the Bolivarian republics of Venezuela, Ecuador and Bolivia. The Bolivarian nations, determined to overcome their historical reliance on the US, discovered in China a willing, if wary, partner. China’s development of financial and technological resources in petroleum, building and other sectors was used specifically to recoup losses and develop long-term growth potential in these industries. The continuous increase in commodity prices allowed these governments to seek rents from export tax income and transfer them to economic and social programmes aimed at traditionally underserved communities. Beijing’s avowed commitment to non-interference in internal matters ensured that strengthening economic cooperation would not result in the interventionism that accompanies US dependency.

In the fifth chapter, the authors examine the case of Brazil. The country with the largest economy and population in Latin America has natural resources, a thriving agro-industry, technical prowess in key industries and a large market that has attracted Chinese companies and financial resources. The Brazilian-Chinese partnership is the most economically robust, technologically focused and internationally significant in Latin America. Beijing established a partnership that reflects many of the economic complementarities that have contributed to the growth of both nations. There has been an international push to institutionalise cooperation via the China-Brazil High-Level Coordination and Cooperation Committee (COSBAN) and other mechanisms, such as the China-Brazil Fund for Expansion of Production Capacity and the BRICS alliance of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. This has demonstrated how these opportunities could be translated into concrete initiatives at both state-to-state and private investment levels, expanding cooperation into new industries beyond natural resources.

Different from the above cases, Mexico’s relationship with China shows Beijing’s struggles to translate economic power into tangible results. Mexico’s attitude toward the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is the main reason Chinese companies have had trouble entering sectors of the Mexican economy like railway infrastructure and energy. Chinese competition is seen as a major threat to Mexico’s economic standing in the US, which explains its lukewarm response to China’s overtures. Since 2017, Mexico’s policy toward China changed due to President Donald Trump prompting deteriorating diplomatic relations with the US, the US-China trade war and the late realisation that the country needs to reach out to new markets, sources of investment and technological innovation to prosper.

From the perspective of most governments in Latin America and the Caribbean, prospective Chinese development finance, access to its market and the arrival of its tourists were seen to be a net gain for their economies. The subsequent dismantling of diplomatic recognition of Taiwan in Latin America, which had served as a de facto bulwark of US interests, coupled with the escalating surge in Chinese finance in other countries in the area, was enough to warrant a hard look at its impact on US strategic interests.

As portrayed by Alden and Méndez, the importance of China in Latin America and the Caribbean is becoming increasingly tangible and obvious to politicians, academics, businesses and Latin American civil society. In less than seven decades after its founding in 1949, the People’s Republic of China has become one of the continent’s major economic and political actors.

This book offers a comprehensive reflection not only on the current political context but also leads us through the background history that has shaped the present-day dynamics. Undoubtedly, China and Latin America will be an enjoyable read for students, professionals and the general public with an interest in the complex contemporary political issues presented in Alden and Méndez’s study.

This review first appeared at LSE Review of Books.

Note: This article gives the views of the author, and not the position of USAPP – American Politics and Policy, nor of the London School of Economics.

 
About the author

Cheng Yeung Yang is a graduate student in the School of Politics and International Relations at East China Normal University and assistant researcher at the Project of Recovery of the Historical Memory of Chinese Immigrants in Costa Rica for the Latin (and Hispanic) Americanist Academic Network on Sinological Studies at the University of Costa Rica.

MULTIPOLARITY VS UNIVERALITY

BY William Shoki

02.27.2023

AFRICA IS A COUNTRY

On the one year anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, neither the West or Russia can clearly explain how exactly the rest of humanity, especially Africans, wins from their respective preferred outcomes.

Oleksandr Ratushniak for UNDP Ukraine via Flickr CC BY-ND 2.0 (2022).

On the eve of the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, South Africa participated in trilateral naval exercises with Russia and China off its Indian ocean coastline. The event is widely scorned as being in poor taste, and another example of the South African government’s shameful refusal to condemn Putin’s aggression. Pretoria’s official line is that a diplomatic resolution to the conflict is the only viable one, so communication channels must be kept open. This is in lockstep with China’s official position, now fully elaborated in a formal peace proposal. Upon its publication, the foreign ministry released a statement containing probably the most truistic, polarizing and fact of the matter thing anyone can say about the [word]: “Conflict and war benefit no one.”

Our take last year was that “The anti-imperialist stance is not on the side of the West, nor with Russia (and by extension, China). It is refusing to pick a side in an elite-serving great power conflict using Ukraine as its proxy. The anti-imperialist position is non-alignment from below that encourages our states to follow such a foreign policy.” It is hard to see this organically emerging now as the baseline position hardens to either binary. Still, Ukrainians are widely absent from the picture, as Volodymyr Ischenko explains in a brilliant essay for the New Left Review, “Ukrainian Voices.” To be sure, most Ukrainians despair at their homes and livelihoods being upended by violence. But it’s unclear how many support the program of NATO inclusion and European integration that Zelensky is stubbornly marching the country towards. Per Ischenko, “Are we really to believe that the English-speaking, West-connected intellectuals, typically working in Kiev or Lviv, and who often even personally know each other, represent the diversity of the 40-million-strong nation?”

The civilizational terms on which this war is framed, will only continue to alienate countries in the Global South. The simple reason for that remains that the West cannot simultaneously mobilize concepts like justice and freedom in the defense of Ukrainians, while it presides over an unjust and unequal international order. We need alternative ways to respond to such international crises. Once upon a time, struggles for sovereignty went beyond particularist, identity-based claims and spoke in the language of broad, universal emancipation. The Havana Congress, coordinated by the Progressive International, is a step in this direction. So too, are proposals from Brazil’s new president, Lula da Silva, for a group of countries to mediate talks (Lula is the de-facto leader of the new non-aligned movement). Without firm grounding in a different vision of the world order, avoiding Western encirclement inevitably becomes a pivot East. Multipolarity for its own sake serves no one. In Ischenko’s sobering words, “The Western elites are trying to save the fraying international order; the Russian elite is trying to revise it to get a better place in a new one. However, neither can clearly explain how exactly the rest of humanity wins from either outcome. This is what ‘multipolarity’ may look like—the multiplication of national and civilizational identities, defined against each other but lacking any universal potential.”

Tech company develops AI-powered anti-poaching system

By Rédaction Africanews 

A Dutch technology company has developed a smart camera that is helping wildlife conservationists in Africa tackle widespread poaching.

Hack the Planet says its artificial-intelligence-powered system can help detect both poachers and animals in real time.

This is a boon for national parks which cover vast areas, making it physically impossible for the small number of rangers to be everywhere all the time.

Engineer Thijs Suijten explained that the system consists of a camera trap that has been slightly modified so that it can wirelessly talk to a mini-computer.

“This mini-computer downloads the images from the camera and then uses artificial intelligence to automatically classify whether there's an animal, an elephant, or human on the photo,” he said.

It then uses a satellite modem to send the information through space directly to the phones of rangers within minutes.

Currently, rangers mostly use camera traps that need to be physically checked to see what's recorded on them, making it difficult to know what is happening in real-time.

"We deployed the system in Gabon in 2021,” said Suijten, “And this project was mainly focused around a human-wildlife conflict or more specifically, human-elephant conflict.”

He explained that this is where elephants are increasingly breaking into the plantations of local farmers and destroying them, taking away the livelihood of local people.

“This is where we deployed the system, eight of these cameras, to create an early warning system so that rangers and locals know that elephants are approaching a village."

It’s hoped that the smart camera system will provide anti-poaching units with an early warning system to help protect the wildlife in Africa’s national parks.

Another device being tested is a cell phone sensor to detect nearby SIM cards, often a sign that poachers are present in remote areas.

The tech start-up has tested the boxes in the Netherlands, Gabon, and Slovenia and is now deploying them in real-life anti-poaching efforts.

VIDEO

https://www.africanews.com/2023/02/27/tech-company-develops-ai-powered-anti-poaching-system/?jwsource=cl

How Jimmy Carter became a post-White House progressive hero

Karine Delafosse

February 26, 2023


Jimmy Carter’s life after the presidency eclipsed his time in the White House and earned him the praise of the progressive left – a more dominant segment of the Democratic Party 42 years after his presidency ended.

Carter, 98, is a figure loved by many Democrats in 2023 despite his administration’s troubles. He is respected for leaving his footprint as a global humanist and peacemaker in a bitterly divided world.

For liberals, his influence on their movement is particularly profound.

“President Carter promoted progressive issues long before they became mainstream,” said Joseph Geevarghese, executive director of Our Revolution, a grassroots group formed with Senator Bernie Sanders’ (I-Vt.) first presidential campaign. “His continued interest in public service laid the groundwork for modern day activists to address concerns ranging from environmental justice to workers’ rights to universal health coverage.”

While Carter’s reputation as a single-term president is tarnished by ongoing national and international turmoil and what critics denounce as uncertain leadership, his community service is widely viewed as altruistic and urgent.

Also read: Jimmy Carter receives hospice care, Carter Center says

It has enabled a quiet renaming of the 39th President’s legacy that is unique in American history.

Progressives feel particularly connected to his efforts.

“I love the guy,” said Cenk Uygur, host of leftist TV show The Young Turks, who has had numerous conversations with Carter. “I think he’s the most misunderstood president.”

Some of the liberal Democrats, who are Carter’s more palatable priorities, particularly raising awareness of climate justice and the risks of foreign fuel dependency, agree with many of what they are pushing for today.

“While we do not agree with all of his political positions, he was way ahead of his time on what is now an urgent need to protect the environment and expand the social safety net,” said Maurice Mitchell, national director of the Working Families Party.

Carter’s humble beginnings as a raw, unpretentious Georgia peanut farmer make him an unlikely holder of the nation’s highest office and a likable figure on the left.

Parts of Carter’s personal identity and unorthodox approach are reflected symbolically in some of today’s leading progressive figures. He also laid the groundwork for dozens of insurgent working-class candidates to enter government.

Before-Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) defeated the entire Democratic field at the Iowa caucuses, and before Sanders gave Hillary Clinton a real fight for her money in the 2016 Democratic primary, Carter finished better than expected in the same rural area early nomination contest.

“In his post-presidency tenure, he pushed the founding of the Democratic Party to think outside of the DC bubble,” said Rahna Epting, executive director of MoveOn. “His legacy of progressive people-first politics is enduring.”

Some argue that this redesigned campaign model and vision for what is possible has fueled the aspirations of many under the modern progressive tent, where underrepresented candidates can rise through unconventional means and test new ideas.

When the country was still reeling from Watergate and the end of the Nixon era, Carter had an alternative approach to tackling the country’s problems, including an affinity for Southern-style retail politics. He convinced enough voters to give a relatively unknown governor a chance in the White House and eventually won the Democratic primary against the odds, fueled in part by the momentum of his local start.

“Jimmy Carter really was one of the first grassroots presidents,” Epting said. “His 1976 election marked the end of the top-down primaries. It was a turning point in raising the voice of the people.”

Carter’s ability later in life to garner praise from both liberals and moderates, including President Biden, after a shaky presidency makes him an anomaly.

“Jimmy Carter’s legacy is complex and doesn’t fit well into contemporary ideological frameworks,” Mitchell said. “Carter led by instinct, regardless of the political consequences.”

Carter is a progressive from a different era and time, and his policies when he served in the White House don’t all qualify as liberal in today’s climate — at least for some.

“After he left office he was wonderfully progressive, but during his tenure he was economically too conservative,” Uygur said.

His presidency was marked by inflation and many criticized his approach to the economy and unemployment.

His tenure was particularly marked by the Iran hostage crisis, a traumatic event for Americans living through that time.

But he also had great foreign policy successes, including the Camp David peace accords with Egypt and Israel.

“He was great at foreign policy in an underestimated way,” argued Uygur. “He literally made peace in the Middle East and brought Israel and Egypt a peace deal that lasted for decades.”

Youngkin says Biden should go to Ohio instead of Virginia to talk healthcare.

In later years, the former President and Nobel Peace Prize laureate rallied global support for democratic reform through the Carter Center and significant contributions to the housing movement through Habitat for Humanity. Progressives say he also had a lasting impact on public health.

“His life after the presidency was an exercise in service and selflessness. He has spoken openly about injustices in the United States and abroad, and was among a small group of officials who were willing to speak out when naming those injustices was uncomfortable,” Mitchell said.

“All lives and presidencies are complex and Carter’s was no different. However, his commitment to living in a fairer, greener world will live on,” he added.

Source

Everything Everywhere All At Once: The Bafta-nominated visual effects created at home - BBC News

Everything Everywhere All At Once was lauded as one of 2022's most exciting films – with Oscar-nominated lead actress Michelle Yeoh taking viewers on a frenzied, heartfelt exploration of love, family and tax misery in the multiverse.

 

IT'S A QUANTUM UNIVERSE

Meet the women fighting for paid family leave in the US

A new bipartisan push for paid family and medical leave

By Dana Bash and Abbie Sharpe, CNN
 Sun February 26, 2023

A cocktail party on Capitol Hill is often hardly notable.

But at one recent soiree, the clinking of glasses had a different ring. Members of both parties joined together to kick off a renewed effort to solve a uniquely American problem: no universal paid family and medical leave.

It’s been 30 years since the Family and Medical Leave Act became law. It guaranteed workers the right to unpaid, job-protected time off.

But the United States is one of only seven countries in the world without some form of universal paid family and medical leave.

A bipartisan congressional duo is trying to change that.

“We live in the greatest nation in the world, and we do so many things well, but when you’re talking about families, this is one area that we have struggled,” Republican Rep. Stephanie Bice of Oklahoma told CNN during an interview in her Capitol Hill office last month.

Sitting beside her, nodding, was Democratic Rep. Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania.

“It’s frankly an embarrassment that we are one of the seven nations or so that doesn’t have this kind of focus on the family,” Houlahan said. “It’s really, really important that we lead by our example.”

At the end of January, determined to find a solution to the lack of universal paid family and medical leave in America, the congresswomen officially launched their House Bipartisan Paid Family Leave Working Group.

“We are action-oriented, and we are committed to having open eyes and ears,” Houlahan said, addressing policy advocates and politicians alongside Bice at the group’s launch party.

Their task force is composed of six House members: three from each party, including Democrats Colin Allred of Texas and Haley Stevens of Michigan and Republicans Julia Letlow of Louisiana and Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Iowa. Such a partnership across the aisle, Bice insisted, is not that uncommon.

“More of that happens than people realize back home,” the Oklahoma Republican told CNN. “There’s a lot of bipartisanship that goes on behind the scenes, trying to bring everyone together and move the country forward. And this is one way we’re doing that.”
A shared bond

Houlahan represents a blue-leaning district in eastern Pennsylvania that includes parts of the Philadelphia suburbs. Bice represents a reliably red seat that includes parts of Oklahoma City. They’re both relatively new to Congress – elected in 2018 and 2020, respectively. They shared committee assignments – and previously a hallway in a House office building – and “just kind of connected,” said Bice.

But the two have something else in common: They’re both mothers with daughters.

Bice said she worked in the private sector when her daughters were born and had the ability to take paid family leave through her company. That was 20 years ago. “[It] was almost unheard of,” she shared. She said she doesn’t know what she would have done without that opportunity for paid time off.

The Oklahoma native acknowledges that her circumstance was the exception, not the rule, when it came to paid family leave. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, only 1 in 4 workers had access to paid family leave in 2022.

Families in the lowest 25% of wage earners had even less access. Only 13% of those low-income workers were eligible for paid family leave last year.

“I was incredibly fortunate,” Bice said.

Houlahan was an active-duty officer in the Air Force when her daughter was born 30 years ago. She recalled that the policy at the time was effectively six weeks of convalescence.

“And I know, I remember acutely that the child care on the base was a six-month waiting list,” Houlahan said. “I couldn’t figure out how to make ends meet.”

Democratic Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, seen in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania in 2020, says the lack of paid family leave hurts families and the economy.

Michael Brochstein/SOPA Images/Shutterstock

The veteran said she struggled to find a solution: Child care on the base was affordable but not accessible, and child care off base was the opposite.

“To be really honest, it was one of the reasons that drove me to separate from the military,” she admitted. “These are choices that are being made by husbands and wives and families across the country.”

A lack of paid family and medical leave doesn’t just create burdens for families, Houlahan said – it hurts the economy by taking women out of the workforce, causing what she called a “vicious cycle.”

“The domino effect of all of this kind of thing is real,” the Pennsylvania Democrat said. “When we’re talking about these issues, it’s not just about the mom. It’s not just about the family. It’s about the infrastructure and the economy as well.”
House dynamics may help the cause

Bice and Houlahan face what many from the outside would call insurmountable odds: a deeply partisan and divided Congress, with narrow majorities in both chambers. But Houlahan said the razor-thin majorities present an opening.

“We have an opportunity-rich environment right now, to use a military term, to make sure that we take advantage of this really special time, honestly, where the majorities and minorities are so small and so slim that it really requires that we work together,” she said.

“We can pretty much assure that our far edges of both parties will not necessarily be interested in working collaboratively,” Houlahan added. “So we need to find that moderate middle.”

Bice hopes the growing number of women in the House GOP Conference will make a difference, too. There are now 33 Republican women serving in the chamber – the highest number ever. It’s still small in comparison with the 91 female House Democrats (soon to be 92) across the aisle, but it’s momentum nonetheless.

“Having that female conservative perspective, I think, is important to bring to the conversation,” Bice said. “Many of the women in the Republican Conference are young mothers. And so I think this conversation is ripe on our side of the aisle right now.”

GOP Rep. Stephanie Bice, seen in Oklahoma City in 2020 before her election to Congress, says the issue of paid family leave is ripe among Republicans at the moment.

Sue Ogrocki/AP

Part of the frustration in Washington – and around the country – is that universal paid family and medical leave is quite popular across the political spectrum. A Morning Consult poll this past summer found that 85% of Democrats and 66% of Republicans supported congressional action on ensuring paid family leave.

But the two parties have deep philosophical differences about how to pay for it. It’s part of the reason successful legislation has eluded Congress – and a big obstacle for Bice and Houlahan as they start their work.

“We want to start with a clean slate,” Bice said. “Coming at this from maybe a new fresh perspective, looking at what’s been done in the past. What legislation currently in place isn’t working? And figuring out either do we expand on that or do we pull back and look at a new policy that would actually be much more effective?”

They’re also realistic about what’s possible. Houlahan is prepared for incremental change.

“If we’re able to give some family leave for benefits to our federal employees and then our uniform personnel and then this population and then that population, at least we’re making progress,” she said.
The path forward

Bice and Houlahan are certainly not the first lawmakers to try to tackle the issue in recent years.

In 2021, House Democrats pushed to get 12 weeks of universal paid leave in the sweeping Build Back Better package. They eventually pared it down to just four weeks to get the necessary votes to pass in the House along party lines. But the $1.75 trillion social spending bill stalled in the Senate. Paid family leave was then left out of Democrats’ $750 billion climate, tax and health care package, known as the Inflation Reduction Act, that was enacted last summer.

Houlahan told CNN that she and Bice “stand on the shoulders of great people, mostly women,” who have worked on the issue for decades and across the Capitol. Currently, New York Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand and Louisiana Republican Bill Cassidy are among the senators working on solutions of their own in the upper chamber.

The House working group co-chairs also acknowledge the importance of bringing men into the conversation. Their six-member task force includes Allred, who made headlines in 2019 when he became the first member of Congress to take paternity leave.

“If we’re going to be pro-family, it’s going to be pro-family, Mom and Dad,” Bice said.

This February marked three decades since the Family and Medical Leave Act became law.

“We’ve been at this since I was pregnant,” Houlahan quipped at the launch party for their group, noting that her oldest daughter is 30 years old.

“It’s time for there to be additional progress on this issue. It’s wonderful that you now can’t lose your job for taking time off, but that’s not enough for us to be a competitive nation. I don’t think that embodies the American values of the strengths of families as well,” she told CNN in the joint interview.

Her Republican colleague agreed.

“It’s time for us to find a solution and take action,” Bice said. “Thirty years is too long. You can’t sit back and watch. You got to move forward.”

'Virtual power plant' model could convince more Albertans to switch to solar

Amanda Stephenson, The Canadian Press

An electricity retailer in Alberta is betting it can entice more homeowners to make the switch to solar panels by launching what it calls Canada's first retail, 100 per cent green energy-based "virtual power plant."

As of last week, residential customers who sign up with Calgary-based Solartility Inc. will receive a zero-down leasing option for a rooftop solar system, complete with battery storage and an EV charger system.

Most importantly, though, customers will also receive a bi-directional interval meter, which records power flow in two directions on an hourly basis.

That's what makes Solartility's business model unique, and it's what some observers say could be a game-changer when it comes to incentivizing residential renewable energy in Alberta. These two-way meters, along with Solartility's cloud-based software that manages the entire system, will allow customers to use their own stored power during periods of peak energy usage — the times when prices are highest. 

“In a nutshell, we’re maximizing export pricing and minimizing import consumption prices, in aggregate as a pool," said Solartility co-founder Shayne Butcher.

"It means that for the first time, residential solar customers in Alberta will have access to the wholesale electricity market."

Currently, owners of rooftop solar systems in Alberta can earn credits for the excess power they produce at home. But without a two-way interval meter, the price they receive for that power is simply the regulated monthly rate approved by the utilities commission.

Having a two-way meter, along with a "smart" software system to manage everything, means micro-generators can for the first time be credited for hourly wholesale power prices. In other words, Solartility's software can determine the optimal time to export solar electricity directly from the panels or from the homeowner's battery, as well as the optimal time to import power from the grid.

Butcher said the virtual power plant concept will result in electricity cost savings for Solartility customers of up to 30 per cent.

"Before, the biggest barrier was return on investment," Butcher said. 

"You’re going to go out there and lay out $35,000, $40,000 for solar panels, and the ROI’s been coming down, for sure, but it’s still upwards of 15 years nowadays to get your money back out of that system."

"A bidirectional interval meter allows the residential consumer to benefit from the excess electricity price," said Joel MacDonald, founder of online electricity rate comparison service EnergyRates.ca, adding that wholesale electricity prices can fluctuate wildly from one 15-minute block of time to the next.

"Historically, there’s been no mechanism in place for consumers to benefit from electricity pricing."

With electricity grids expected to come under increased pressure in the coming years as society embraces electric vehicles, MacDonald said, grid management is going to become increasingly important. In order to handle that increased load, as well as to account for the intermittent natures of wind and solar power, grids will have to make smart use of battery storage in periods of lower demand and then inject that power back into the grid when demand spikes, he said.

"The grid will function so much better if we can service those peaks," MacDonald said, adding that a more efficient grid should also mean more affordable electricity.

"As consumers, we think (Solartility's business model) is great, because the more people who are injecting into the grid at times of high demand will actually bring the average price down," he said.

"So it’s a win-win for the average Alberta consumer.”

If Solartility's Alberta launch is successful, the company hopes to expand its service into Ontario as well as into certain deregulated electricity markets in the U.S.

The company also plans to license its grid management software to other utilities and energy aggregators around the world.

NOT 65, OR 70

Canadians want to retire by 61, amid financial concerns: CIBC poll

Daniel Johnson , BNN Bloomberg 

A new poll has found that Canadians aim to retire by the age of 61 on average, while more than half of individuals not yet retired are uncertain about how they will wind their career down at that age. 

The poll conducted by the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC), released Thursday, said that 57 per cent are concerned about how they will achieve their retirement goals by their desired age. Additionally, 66 per cent of non-retired respondents are concerned they might run out of money during their retirement.

Forty-one per cent indicated they are confident they are saving enough to fulfill their retirement ambitions. 

Amid widespread retirement concerns, the survey found that 85 per cent of non-retired Canadians have no official plan to achieve their retirement goals. 

“Canadians are clear on when they want to retire, but most aren't clear about how it will happen and don't have a formalized plan in place,” Carissa Lucreziano, a vice-president of financial and investment advice at CIBC, said in the news release. 

Among those surveyed, 37 per cent said they delayed their retirement due to the economic environment. Amid current economic conditions, 57 per cent of Canadians surveyed said they are focusing on meeting their more immediate financial needs over planning for the future. 

Canadians also appeared to favour their Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) over their Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP). The survey found 42 per cent of those with both savings vehicles contributed more to their TFSA in 2022. 

METHODOLOGY

The survey was conducted by Maru Public Opinion between Jan. 31, 2022, and Feb. 3, 2023. The results were derived from a random sample of 1,544 Canadians who are online panellists at Maru Voice Canada, a market research community. 

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M

TD Bank to pay US$1.2B to resolve suit tied to 

Ponzi scheme

Laurel Calkins, Bloomberg News

Toronto-Dominion Bank said Monday it agreed to pay more than US$1.2 billion to settle a lawsuit by investors claiming it aided R. Allen Stanford’s $7 billion Ponzi scheme more than a decade ago.

Settlements also were reached with HSBC Holdings Plc, which will pay another $40 million, and Independent Bank Group Inc., formerly known as Bank of Houston, which will pay $100 million, according to Ralph Janvey, the court-appointed receiver for Stanford International Bank.

The deals were disclosed the same day the suit against the three banks was set for trial in Houston, 14 years after the collapse of Stanford’s scheme to divert billions to support his lavish lifestyle. He was convicted of fraud and money laundering in 2012 and is serving a 110-year sentence. 

The banks, which denied wrongdoing, were accused of ignoring red flags for years. 

According to the lawsuit by investors, Stanford promised above-market returns on certificates of deposit the banks should have known were bogus, especially given the unusually massive wire transfers and daily shipments of bags crammed with investors’ checks that flowed from the Texas financier’s bank on the Caribbean tax haven of Antigua to his US accounts. 

Including the three settlements, Stanford investors will recoup $1.6 billion from financial institutions accused of aiding the fraud. Societe Generale Private Banking (Suisse) said Feb. 21 it will pay $157 million, and Trustmark National Bank said in December it will pay $100 million. Neither admitted wrongdoing.

The settlements are “nothing short of a monumental recovery,” Kevin Sadler, the lead attorney for the receiver and the investors in the case, said in an emailed statement. 

If the trial had gone ahead this week, investors were going to ask jurors to award damages of as much as $10 billion each against TD and HSBC, and up to $6.5 billion against Independent Bank, Sadler said.

'ROUTINE BANKING SERVICES'

In a statement Monday, TD Bank said it “denies any liability or wrongdoing with respect to the multi-year Ponzi scheme operated by Stanford.” The Canadian bank said it “elected to settle the matter to avoid the distraction and uncertainty of continuing a long legal proceeding.” 

TD Bank said it “provided primarily correspondent banking services to Stanford International Bank Limited and maintains that it acted properly at all times.” It cited an earlier trial in Canada where the court “ruled entirely in TD’s favor and found no liability.” 

Independent Bank settled “to avoid the cost, risks and distraction of continued litigation,” it said in a regulatory filing Monday. “The company believes the settlement is in the best interests of the company and its shareholders,” will be tax-deductible and won’t impact the bank’s capitalization, it said.

Toronto-Dominion shares were little changed at C$91.14 at 9:41 a.m. in Toronto trading, while Independent Bank Group rose 0.5 per cent to $60.79 in New York.

A representative of HSBC couldn’t be reached immediately for comment. In earlier court filings, all the banks claimed they simply “provided routine banking services” to Stanford “and did not know – and could not have known – about the Ponzi scheme.” 

Investors alleged the banks “had actual knowledge of the wrongdoing” by Stanford, his aides and entities and “nevertheless, aided and stood by and watched” while Stanford engaged in a systematic pattern of account activities that conflicted with the company’s stated business model, according to a summary of the claims by US District Judge Kenneth Hoyt in November.

In their lawsuit, the investors claim the banks should have seen the signs that Stanford’s operation was a sham. For one, Stanford International Bank’s CDs paid 11.5 per cent interest in 2005, allowing the financier to claim they outperformed the S&P 500 by 13 per cent from 2000 through 2005.

CD holders were also in the dark about where their money was distributed, according to the suit. Between January 2008 and February 2009, court records show Stanford deposited about $1.7 billion in CD sale proceeds into a TD bank account instead of keeping the funds in the Caribbean bank investors thought held their money. 

MOVING MONEY

In 2008, about $474 million was shifted from the TD account to SIB’s Bank of Houston account, and then mostly distributed to various Stanford entities. One was Stanford Financial Group, a broker dealer, which got at least $47.5 million to cover operating expenses and as capital for its own Trustmark account.

According to investors, email records from 2006 indicate Trustmark had expressed “concerns” with Stanford entities about its unusual pattern of “wire activity.”

At its peak in December 2008, SIB claimed to have 30,000 clients from 131 countries and $8.5 billion in assets, mostly from sales of CDs. But instead of putting the money in conservative, liquid assets as promised, Stanford and his lieutenants threw money into risky ventures, vanity projects and island resort developments, most of which never earned a dime. 

According to evidence at his criminal trial, Stanford lived large, spending as much as $2 billion of investor money on a jet-set lifestyle that included five overlapping families, yachts, private islands, and sponsorships for charity golf tourneys, professional cricket teams, celebrity golfers and tennis players. 

BRIBING REGULATORS

Stanford also plowed investors’ funds into hospitals and infrastructure on Antigua, where he bribed auditors and regulators to hide his scheme. Antigua knighted him, and he leveraged that “Sir Allen” aura to misdirect U.S. investigators and enthrall busloads of unsophisticated retirees with catered lunches and dog-and-pony shows at his Houston headquarters.

His scheme collapsed during the financial crisis in late 2008, when investors began cashing CDs at an unsustainable rate and Stanford was forced to halt redemptions. In a bid to staunch the bleeding, Stanford told nervous employees at an all-hands meeting that SIB had $5 billion in “excess liquidity,” while his controller was sending frantic texts telling him it had just $173 million on hand. In February 2009, US regulators seized Stanford’s financial empire, ending his two-decade run.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission appointed a receiver to recover assets for investors. If the five bank deals win court approval, the receiver will have collected more than $2.7 billion through settlements, claw-back litigation and the sale of Stanford assets, including more than 100 mostly money-losing companies and properties scattered across the Caribbean and Latin America. 

At least $340 million has gone to pay attorneys and the receiver, leaving just pennies on the dollar for losses by SIB’s 18,000 remaining investors.

Stanford has argued in court filings that he could’ve paid everyone back in full if the SEC hadn’t shut him down and liquidated his businesses.

The case is Rotstain et al v Trustmark National Bank et al, 4:22-800, US District Court, Southern District of Texas (Houston).

--With assistance from Madlin Mekelburg and Kevin Orland.

Young Canadians less confident in financial future than a year ago: RBC poll

The Canadian Press

A new poll by RBC has found that Canadians aged 18 to 34 are much less confident today about their financial futures than they were a year ago.

Eighteen per cent of Canadians in that age group said they are confident in their financial future, down from 31 per cent a year earlier.

More than half said they weren't prepared for the impact of inflation, according to the poll conducted in October.

More than three-quarters said they have concerns about their cash flow.

Inflation in January was 5.9 per cent, down from its mid-2022 highs, but elevated food prices and rising interest rates, among other costs, have weighed on Canadians' wallets. 

The poll found that young Canadian adults are now paying closer attention to their finances, whether that's their daily expenses, their debt or their investments. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 23, 2023.

U.S. auto parts supplier signs deal to buy Quebec's Uni-Select in $2.8-billion deal

Christopher Reynolds, The Canadian Press

UNI-SELECT INC (UNS:CT)

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LKQ Corp. has signed a deal to buy Quebec-based Uni-Select Inc. in a roughly $2.8-billion deal that aims to boost the U.S. automotive equipment supplier's aftermarket business amid a thriving market.

Under the agreement, LKQ will pay $48 per Uni-Select share in cash for the aftermarket auto parts distributor. The purchase marks a 19.2 per cent premium over the $40.28 closing price of Uni-Select shares on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Friday.

The transaction, which needs shareholder approval, also requires antitrust clearances in Canada, the U.S. and the U.K. and approval under the Investment Canada Act.

LKQ chief executive Dominick Zarcone said the deal will bolster the company's vehicle parts distribution and broaden its presence in Quebec.

“Uni-Select’s North American automotive refinish paint and mechanical parts distribution operations complement LKQ’s existing footprint and will allow us to distribute a broader array of products to our customers," he said in a news release.

In connection with the deal, Chicago-based LKQ said it will look to sell GSF Car Parts U.K., Uni-Select's U.K. based mechanical parts distribution business.

Uni-Select is known for the distribution of automotive paints, industrial coatings, accessories and other vehicle products for the aftermarket, which refers to parts and services purchased after the initial sale to the consumer.

Founded in Boucherville in 1968, the company has more than 5,200 employees, 15 distribution centres and more than 400 branches. It supports over 16,000 auto repair shops and another 4,000 shops through its repair-installer and vehicle refinishing banners.

Some of its 95 company-operated stores operate under the names Bumper to Bumper, Auto Parts Plus and Finishmaster.

The aftermarket — everything from tire changes to brake repair — saw sales jump over the past two years as supply chain snarls sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic pushed up prices, while some cash not spent on vacations went toward home and car improvements.

"The automotive aftermarket remained buoyant in 2022 with a majority of retailers seeing growing sales and expecting further growth throughout 2023," Andrew King, managing partner at DesRosiers Automotive Consultants, wrote in a note this month.

"However, persistent issues surrounding parts supply and prices remain problematic across the industry."

Uni-Select CEO Brian McManus said the deal will fuel efficiencies and offer liquidity to shareholders.

"We see great opportunities to benefit our customers, employees, suppliers and brands by combining our complementary strengths within the larger, multi-disciplinary and growing LKQ team.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 27, 2023.