ANTI-BDS DEFINITION
Georgia House votes to define antisemitism in state law

CAN'T CALL ISRAEL 'APARTHEID' STATE

By RUSS BYNUM

Rep. Esther Panitch, D-Sandy Springs, speaks in support of HB 30 in the House chambers during crossover day at the Georgia State Capitol on Monday, March 6, 2023, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Alex Slitz)

The Georgia House voted Monday to define antisemitism in state law, a move supporters say would help prosecutors and other officials identify hate crimes and illegal discrimination targeting Jewish people.

Lawmakers voted 136-22 to approve the measure just a few weeks after some residents in suburban Atlanta found anti-Jewish flyers left in their driveways inside plastic bags. Among them was Democratic Rep. Esther Panitch, one of the bill’s sponsors and Georgia’s only Jewish legislator.

“Children who went out to play on their driveway picked up baggies filled with hate and asked their parents, `What is this?’” Panitch said, adding, “A bill of this type should be uncontested. It gives our legal system a clear definition of antisemitism.”

In 2020, Georgia passed a hate crimes law that allows additional penalties for crimes motivated by race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender or disability.

Panitch and other supporters of House Bill 30 said its legal definition of antisemitism is necessary because officials don’t always recognize it. The bill advances to the Georgia Senate for further debate.

The measure would adopt into state law a definition by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, which defines antisemitism as a “perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews” and can have both “rhetorical and physical manifestations.”

This includes “targeting of the state of Israel,” although the alliance says on its website that “criticism of Israel similar to that leveled against any other country cannot be regarded as antisemitic.”

Some lawmakers who voted against the measure said they feared it would infringe on free speech rights, including the right to criticize the Israeli government.

“How far will you go to police our words?” said Rep. El-Mahdi Holly, D-Stockbridge, adding: “We must preserve our American values and vote no on this definition.”

Panitch said her bill wouldn’t create any new crimes, but rather would guide prosecutors in deciding whether there’s sufficient evidence in criminal cases to trigger enhanced hate crime penalties. Legally defining antisemitism would also help in cases of illegal discrimination, she said.

“You need a definition to be able to say that a swastika is antisemitic,” Panitch said. “It’s as simple as that. Things that you think would be obvious are not obvious.”

Rep. John Carson, R-Marietta, said similar proposals have become law in states including Arizona, Arkansas, Iowa and Tennessee. Other supporters of the Georgia measure said they’re concerned that antisemitism in the U.S. appears to be on the rise.

A survey conducted last fall by the American Jewish Committee found that four in five American Jews said antisemitism in the U.S. has grown in the past five years. A quarter of respondents said they were directly targeted by antisemitic expressions, either in person or on social media.

In Afghanistan, Women Humanitarians Continue Work Amid Environment of Fear

Banning women from working for NGOs halted the delivery of a significant part of critical humanitarian services in Afghanistan. 

Heart, 7 March 2023 – A winter sun shines down on Afghanistan’s westernmost province which borders the Islamic Republic of Iran. At the border in Islam Qala, the IOM reception centre is one of the busiest in the country. Weary from their long and arduous travels, dozens of undocumented women, men and children, who have returned to the country rest on benches. After the registration process, they are provided with a hot meal and medical care.

On average, between one and three thousand* individuals return to Afghanistan from Iran daily, many in need of emergency assistance and support following difficult journeys.


Undocumented women travelling alone receive fewer services at their point of entry into the country.

Every day, approximately 200 undocumented women arrive through Islam Qala. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and partners previously had 13 female staff supporting them. These staff’s work is critical, as gender norms prohibit Afghan women from interacting with any males outside their family.

Today, that number is reduced to zero following the de facto authorities’ (DfA) latest decree on 24 December 2022 banning women from working with national and international humanitarian organizations.

“Now, they banned women from working while our country is facing a massive wave of poverty like never before,” says Noor*, a 33-year-old mother of three who works for IOM.

UN agencies are currently exempt from the new decree, but humanitarian access for women aid workers is negotiated daily and varies throughout the country. The result has been catastrophic for women and girls who rely on female humanitarian staff to provide support.


Restrictions on women's freedom of movement in Afghanistan are among the harshest in the world. 

Photo: IOM/Léo Torréton

Before the ban, female staff working for IOM used the road between Herat and Islam Qala to reach vulnerable women at the border. This road is now dotted with numerous checkpoints run by the DfA, some of whom are unhappy to see women continuing to work.

“The main challenge I face when I’m not at home is a lack of security,” says Zahra*, who started working for IOM three years ago.

“We always feared these checkpoints, they were always there. Now there are more of them, and I still fear them even though I hold proper documentation and a permission letter, because [the DfA] are often verbally aggressive to me. Sometimes when I am in the car, they look at me very angrily and that makes me feel afraid.”

Women humanitarians in Afghanistan also face threats from civilians. “Earlier last year there was a shooting in our province, we were in the field and while community members were fighting with each other, one of them shouted, ‘Where are the women staff? Tell me! I will kill them! Where are they?’ We were petrified,” Noor adds.

Before resuming operations following the issuance of the decree, IOM put in place mitigating measures to reduce the risk faced by female staff. This includes continued negotiation efforts at the central and local level to obtain assurances on the safety of female staff, and exemptions for them to provide direct assistance to affected communities.

Freshta, a 46-year-old mother of seven and returnee from Iran, received mental health support from a female IOM counselor upon her return to Afghanistan.




An IOM mental health and psychosocial support counselor leads a session with a woman. Photo: IOM/Léo Torréton



But female staff who screened vulnerable women traveling alone returning to Afghanistan and referred them to the transit centre for mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) or any other type of assistance can no longer reach the border.

Restrictions on women’s freedom of movement in Afghanistan are among the harshest in the world. Risks of harassment, an enforced dress code, and the requirement to be accompanied by a male guardian (mahram) at checkpoints make moving and travelling a high-risk activity. This violation of women and girls’ right to freedom of movement has a cascading effect. DfA-imposed restrictions on movement coupled with socio-cultural barriers create an environment in which it is dangerous for women to go about daily life, and enjoy their rights to livelihoods, education, water, health care and more.

“I don’t have a mahram available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Apart from doing my work, I must go out and buy our family’s basic needs, such as food, clothing and so on. When I go outside, I'm afraid that the DfA will stop me and beat me,” says Noor.

Noor was a strong advocate for women’s rights in Afghanistan. Following 15 August 2021, she hid for over four months in her home due to threats. To date she has been involved in some of the toughest humanitarian responses organized by IOM. Returning from her latest assignment, she stands in the winter sunshine and reflects on what the future holds for the women of her beloved country.



The restrictions on movement not only compromise the agency of Afghan women but the important role that they play in the economy, education and overall development of the country. 

“People who read books will never be enslaved. We will continue together to build the bridge of knowledge firmly, so that tomorrow, Afghanistan is not a source of darkness, ignorance, and illiteracy. No matter how desperate we are. The women here are heroes, not just because of their work or their success, but because they are women in Afghanistan, and that will make them heroes for eternity.”

Every month, IOM reaches on average 162,000 women in Afghanistan with MHPSS, medical assistance, emergency shelter and non-food item (NFI) distributions, protection, cash assistance and livelihood support, which would not be possible without female humanitarian staff. Women play a critical role in the delivery of humanitarian assistance. Banning women from working for NGOs has effectively halted the delivery of a significant part of critical humanitarian services to millions of the most vulnerable Afghans. Full participation of women across the spectrum of aid delivery is not just a principled response but an imperative for operational effectiveness. More importantly, these restrictions not only compromise the agency of Afghan women but the important role that they play in the economy, education and overall development of the country. It’s the future of Afghanistan that is at stake.

Names and identifying details have been changed to protect the identity of returnees and staff working for IOM.

*Return data is according to IOM Afghanistan, February 2023

Photos: IOM/Léo Torréton

This story was written by Léo Torréton, Media and Communications Officer, IOM Afghanistan. For more information, please contact: ltorreton@iom.int

'Like a war zone': NZ extends state of emergency for cyclone-hit communities

By Richard Wood • Senior Journalist

Mar 7, 2023

An Australian woman who just returned from New Zealand has described the "apocalyptic" scenes in parts of the North Island hit by Cyclone Gabrielle.
Stella Mountain, from Sydney, was in the Hawke's Bay region of the North Island helping her Kiwi boyfriend and his relatives recover from the disaster after the cyclone hit nearly three weeks ago.

Cyclone Gabrielle left at least 11 people dead across New Zealand and destroyed or damaged homes, businesses, farms and infrastructure, including kilometres of roads.

READ MORE: State warned of worst weather conditions since 2019

Residents in Napier, New Zealand, continue to recover after the Cyclone Gabrielle disaster. (Kerry Marshall/Getty Images)

Apples are strewn over a road in Hawke's Bay, New Zealand after Cyclone Gabrielle struck. The disaster came on the eve of the apple and grape harvest. (Photo by Kerry Marshall/Getty Images) (Getty)

This week New Zealand extended the state of national emergency for a further seven days for the Tairāwhiti and Hawke's Bay areas.

Mountain filmed scenes of the damage as she drove in areas around the coastal city of Napier in Hawke's Bay.

Her footage showed upturned vehicles, wrecked homes and large trees uprooted

"It felt like I was driving through a war zone, they were apocalyptic scenes," she told 9News.com.au

Mountain said the region faces a long road to recovery and struck on the eve of the apple and grape harvest, a big blow for growers and wineries.

"The vineyards and orchards were covered in mud and had to be removed by hand," she said.

New Zealand authorities have launched a huge recovery operation over the past weeks aiming to rebuild vital infrastructure and restore essential services.

Recovery teams across Hawke's Bay in New Zealand continue to clear roads from debris caused by Cyclone Gabrielle. 

(Photo New Zealand Transport Agency) (Supplied/Facebook)

A New Zealand Defence Force Hercules lands at Hawke's Bay airport in Napier, bringing further supplies as personnel and volunteers continue work clearing debris from Cyclone Gabrielle across the region. (Christel Yardley/Stuff)

New Zealand's Minister for Emergency Management Kieran McAnulty said thousands of residents continue to be affected by the disaster.

"The impact of Cyclone Gabrielle continues to be deeply felt by many communities in the North Island," he said.

"In the the Tairāwhiti and Hawke's Bay regions, thousands of people are still unable to return to their homes due to flood damage."

The Cyclone Gabrielle disaster is the third national state of emergency after the 2011 Christchurch earthquake and COVID-19 pandemic in 2020

26 Feb 2023

Cyclone Gabrielle: Size of debris dam illustrates huge infrastructure challenges ahead

Flood damage, as seen from the sky over Tokomaru Bay around the Mangahauini River. Photo: RNZ / Ashleigh McCaull

 26 February 2023 Share on Linked In

Ashleigh McCaull

ashleigh.mccaull@rnz.co.nz

First person - Tokomaru Bay residents got temporary clearance to return home after being evacuated on Thursday due to fears a debris dam would burst.

But their return could be short as heavy rain is forecast for Monday so locals are being advised to be ready to evacuate again.

Ashleigh McCaull was in the air and took a look at the debris dam on the Mangahauini river.

While other media and I waited for our helicopter to fly us over the Mangahauini River between Tokomaru Bay and Te Puia Springs, we saw box after box of bottled water and other supplies being stacked on one helicopter, while others - including mayor Rehette Stoltz - were flown to the small hanger at the back of Gisborne Airport after visiting the area.

It has been almost two weeks since Cyclone Gabrielle struck the East Coast and the aftermath is still heavily impacting whānau.

Officials are monitoring the river 24/7 after worries Tokomaru Bay could have become like many other areas across the North Island and turned the town itself into a muddy river.

Residents of 64 homes were evacuated from Tokomaru Bay to one of the local marae on Thursday night because of fears the debris dam upstream of the town would fail from the heavy downpours.

The road between Tokomaru Bay and Te Puia Springs is blocked by a huge slip, damming the river and creating a temporary lake.

Tairāwhiti Civil Defence estimates it holds about 400,000 cubic metres of water, silt and trees.

A massive chunk of road along the Mangahauini River is completely gone, the only vehicle that sits close to the edge is a token yellow digger.

Parts of what is left of State Highway 35, around the river catchment, appear as if they are ready to crumble at any moment.

A solitary yellow digger is stationed near the edge of a washed-out road along the Mangahauini River. Photo: RNZ / Ashleigh McCaull

The Mangahauini River itself still resembles a torrent of mud overflowing onto a single slab of road that wasn't washed away.

Tairāwhiti Civil Defence Controller Ben Green said the immediate danger was over for now.

"Our key concern for Tokomaru Bay was the debris damn and actually where we are now it hasn't presented any more risk than where it was [on Friday]," Green said.

"We've had engineers and the team on the ground and with that level of comfort we've allowed people back in their houses and, equally, further work to take place in the catchment."

Yesterday a group of engineers was set to blow up the dam with explosives but after an assessment it was decided that wasn't needed as the dam didn't budge despite the heavy rain on Friday night.

Roadblocks are set up to stop access to areas of concern around the Mangahauini River catchment and Tokomaru Bay.

It has been almost two weeks since Cyclone Gabrielle struck the East Coast, causing extensive damage. Photo: RNZ / Ashleigh McCaull

Although there are no weather warnings currently in place, MetService is predicting heavy rain for Te Tai Rāwhiti on Monday which is not set to ease until Tuesday evening.

On a personal note, although I have never lived around the East Coast, I have links back here through my Ngāti Porou side.

My great-grandmother is buried in Te Puia Springs and my first thought - and I'm sure the thoughts of many locals between Tokomaru Bay and Te Puia Springs - is 'how long is it going to take to connect both sides again?'.

Seeing the size of the debris dam, the massive slip and the size of the road that was taken out, you can tell this is definitely a massive job that's going to take a very long time to fix.

MUSKTWITTER (C)(TM)(R)

On Twitter, thousands of pro-Trump bots are attacking DeSantis, Haley

By —David Klepper, Associated Press

Politics Mar 6, 2023 

WASHINGTON (AP) — Over the past 11 months, someone created thousands of fake, automated Twitter accounts — perhaps hundreds of thousands of them — to offer a stream of praise for Donald Trump.

Besides posting adoring words about the former president, the fake accounts ridiculed Trump’s critics from both parties and attacked Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor and U.N. ambassador who is challenging her onetime boss for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

When it came to Ron DeSantis, the bots aggressively suggested that the Florida governor couldn’t beat Trump, but would be a great running mate.

As Republican voters size up their candidates for 2024, whoever created the bot network is seeking to put a thumb on the scale, using online manipulation techniques pioneered by the Kremlin to sway the digital platform conversation about candidates while exploiting Twitter’s algorithms to maximize their reach.

The sprawling bot network was uncovered by researchers at Cyabra, an Israeli tech firm that shared its findings with The Associated Press. While the identity of those behind the network of fake accounts is unknown, Cyabra’s analysts determined that it was likely created within the U.S.

To identify a bot, researchers will look for patterns in an account’s profile, its follower list and the content it posts. Human users typically post about a variety of subjects, with a mix of original and reposted material, but bots often post repetitive content about the same topics.

That was true of many of the bots identified by Cyabra.

“One account will say, ‘Biden is trying to take our guns; Trump was the best,’ and another will say, ‘Jan. 6 was a lie and Trump was innocent,'” said Jules Gross, the Cyabra engineer who first discovered the network. “Those voices are not people. For the sake of democracy I want people to know this is happening.”

Bots, as they are commonly called, are fake, automated accounts that became notoriously well-known after Russia employed them in an effort to meddle in the 2016 election. While big tech companies have improved their detection of fake accounts, the network identified by Cyabra shows they remain a potent force in shaping online political discussion.

The new pro-Trump network is actually three different networks of Twitter accounts, all created in huge batches in April, October and November 2022. In all, researchers believe hundreds of thousands of accounts could be involved.

The accounts all feature personal photos of the alleged account holder as well as a name. Some of the accounts posted their own content, often in reply to real users, while others reposted content from real users, helping to amplify it further.

“McConnell… Traitor!” wrote one of the accounts, in response to an article in a conservative publication about GOP Senate leader Mitch McConnell, one of several Republican critics of Trump targeted by the network.

One way of gauging the impact of bots is to measure the percentage of posts about any given topic generated by accounts that appear to be fake. The percentage for typical online debates is often in the low single digits. Twitter itself has said that less than 5 percent of its active daily users are fake or spam accounts.

When Cyabra researchers examined negative posts about specific Trump critics, however, they found far higher levels of inauthenticity. Nearly three-fourths of the negative posts about Haley, for example, were traced back to fake accounts.

The network also helped popularize a call for DeSantis to join Trump as his vice presidential running mate — an outcome that would serve Trump well and allow him to avoid a potentially bitter matchup if DeSantis enters the race.

The same network of accounts shared overwhelmingly positive content about Trump and contributed to an overall false picture of his support online, researchers found.

“Our understanding of what is mainstream Republican sentiment for 2024 is being manipulated by the prevalence of bots online,” the Cyabra researchers concluded.

The triple network was discovered after Gross analyzed Tweets about different national political figures and noticed that many of the accounts posting the content were created on the same day. Most of the accounts remain active, though they have relatively modest numbers of followers.

A message left with a spokesman for Trump’s campaign was not immediately returned.

Most bots aren’t designed to persuade people, but to amplify certain content so more people see it, according to Samuel Woolley, a professor and misinformation researcher at the University of Texas whose most recent book focuses on automated propaganda.

When a human user sees a hashtag or piece of content from a bot and reposts it, they’re doing the network’s job for it, and also sending a signal to Twitter’s algorithms to boost the spread of the content further.

Bots can also succeed in convincing people that a candidate or idea is more or less popular than the reality, he said. More pro-Trump bots can lead to people overstating his popularity overall, for example.

“Bots absolutely do impact the flow of information,” Woolley said. “They’re built to manufacture the illusion of popularity. Repetition is the core weapon of propaganda and bots are really good at repetition. They’re really good at getting information in front of people’s eyeballs.”

Until recently, most bots were easily identified thanks to their clumsy writing or account names that included nonsensical words or long strings of random numbers. As social media platforms got better at detecting these accounts, the bots became more sophisticated.

So-called cyborg accounts are one example: a bot that is periodically taken over by a human user who can post original content and respond to users in human-like ways, making them much harder to sniff out.

Bots could soon get much sneakier thanks to advances in artificial intelligence. New AI programs can create lifelike profile photos and posts that sound much more authentic. Bots that sound like a real person and deploy deepfake video technology may challenge platforms and users alike in new ways, according to Katie Harbath, a fellow at the Bipartisan Policy Center and a former Facebook public policy director.

“The platforms have gotten so much better at combating bots since 2016,” Harbath said. “But the types that we’re starting to see now, with AI, they can create fake people. Fake videos.”

These technological advances likely ensure that bots have a long future in American politics — as digital foot soldiers in online campaigns, and as potential problems for both voters and candidates trying to defend themselves against anonymous online attacks.

“There’s never been more noise online,” said Tyler Brown, a political consultant and former digital director for the Republican National Committee. “How much of it is malicious or even unintentionally unfactual? It’s easy to imagine people being able to manipulate that.”

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A BIT LATE

Turkish watchdog says it's fining Elon Musk over Twitter takeover

 06 Mar 2023

Elon Musk (via REUTERS)

A Turkey’s competition watchdog has said that it was fining Elon Musk for taking over Twitter without first seeking the watchdog's permission

Turkey’s competition watchdog said Monday it was fining Twitter owner Elon Musk for taking over the social media platform without first seeking the watchdog's permission.

The Turkish Competition board said the billionaire would be required to pay 0.1% of Twitter’s gross revenues in Turkey in 2022, without providing a figure for the fine.

Musk would be able to challenge the decision at an administrative court in the Turkish capital of Ankara within 60 days of receipt of a formal notification, said the board which is tasked with ensuring fair competition in the country.

The decision, which was made public on Monday, was reached “unanimously" on March 2, according to a statement from the board.

In 2021, Turkey forced Twitter and other social media platforms to form legal entities inside the country.

Musk acquired Twitter for $44 billion in late October

Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A Republican talking head called for the ‘elimination of transgenderism’ – but the UK beat him to it

On 4 March, American commentator and media host Michael Knowles called for the elimination of “transgenderism” at a Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). Knowles hosts a podcast for the right-wing media outlet Daily Wire. His comments rightfully drew intense scrutiny and pushback from commentators and publications on the internet.

In particular, Knowles called Rolling Stone’s chosen headline “libelous” and demanded a retraction:
CPAC Speaker Calls for Transgender People to be ‘Eradicated’

Knowles said:
For the good of society … transgenderism must be eradicated from public life entirely — the whole preposterous ideology, at every level.

He called for the eradication of “transgenderism”, as if this is not synonymous with the eradication of trans people. However, the problem from a UK standpoint is that transphobic ‘gender critical’ activists have used similar rhetoric here for years. You might have heard it on our national broadcaster or in the halls of our government.

What’s more, it hasn’t received anywhere near enough pushback.

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The argument from Knowles and his ilk is that trans people do not exist. We are merely confused people afflicted by ‘gender ideology’ or ‘transgenderism’. Our detractors frame this ‘ideology’ as a set of beliefs and practices, rather than a state of being.

Knowles has made statements similar to his CPAC speech on his podcast. In 28 February’s installment of the Daily Wire‘s The Michael Knowles Show, he said:

I don’t know how you could have a genocide of transgender people because genocide refers to genes, it refers to genetics, it refers to biology. And the whole point of transgenderism is that it has nothing to do with biology.

He went on:
But furthermore, nobody’s calling to exterminate anybody because the other problem with that statement is that transgender people is not a real ontological category. It’s not a legitimate category of being.

It is easy to recognise this wording as fascist. Stating that being trans is not “a legitimate category of being” is dehumanisation. This is one of the hallmarks of fascism. A genocide cannot take place against trans people because there aren’t any trans people, he says. Exactly how Knowles intends to eliminate ‘transgenderism’ is left to the listener’s imagination.

What does elimination look like?

The most obvious course of action would be to make trans people cis. However, so-called ‘conversion therapy’ – the attempt to convince a trans person that they are not trans – doesn’t work. What’s more, it is actively dangerous to the people it is inflicted upon – it doubles the rate of suicide in recipients.

So if a trans person cannot be made cis, what does our eradication look like?

You might try to convert me anyway, and damn the fact that it might kill me. After numerous u-turns, the UK government only saw fit to outlaw this two months ago.

Alternatively, you could take away my healthcare. The British public, at least, believes that trans healthcare should be the purview of the rich, who can afford private access. Just 33% think that the NHS should provide hormone replacement therapy.

Failing this, you might simply try to make trans lives unlivable. Just removing equalities protections would be enough to enable bigots to freely abuse trans people. PM Rishi Sunak has already indicated that he wishes to remove trans protections from the equality act, which would enable this abuse.

Eliminationism in the UK

Of course, there is always the option of outlawing ‘being trans’ altogether. Even if you can’t stop a trans person being trans, you could stop them from saying that they are trans, from participating in public life as a trans person. The UK already treats the recognition of our gender as a reward for compliance; our genders are recognised until that becomes inconvenient, until we become inconvenient. But some transphobes want to go even further.

Back in 2021, the Women’s Human Rights Campaign (WHRC) submitted a response to a government inquiry into the Gender Recognition Act. Referring to a UN convention on discrimination against women, the WHRC declaration said:

The convention calls for the ‘elimination of prejudices and customary and all other practices which are based on the idea of the inferiority or the superiority of either of the sexes or on stereotyped roles for men and women’ (Article 5).

We can all get behind that, right? The elimination of prejudice and stereotypes based on sex – sign me up. However, the document continued:

We consider that the practice of transgenderism clearly falls under this article because it is based on stereotyped roles for men and women.

If this sounds familiar, it should. The reference to “transgenderism”, its framing as a “practice”, the call for its “elimination” – all of it beat Knowles to the post two years ago. UK transphobia recycled in the US: who’d have thought it?

…And the condemnation?

As reported by Pink News, the signatories to the declaration include the LGB Alliance, Transgender Trend, Labour Women’s Declaration, WoLF (Women’s Liberation Front), Standing For Women, Safe Schools Alliance UK, and For Women Scotland.

However, rather than being widely recognised as calling for trans elimination, supporters of the WHRC have been granted media attention and government influence. The Tory Party conference has hosted the LGB Alliance two years in a row. Stephanie Davies-Arai, founder of Transgender Trend, was awarded the British Empire Medal in the Queen’s birthday honours. For Women Scotland appeared before Scottish parliament to argue that new hate crime laws might do too much to stop it from being transphobic.

The eliminationism supported by these groups is the same as that spat out by Knowles to Republican applause. Both work towards the destruction of my way of life, and that of my trans siblings.

I am trans. We are trans. We cannot be stopped from being trans. However, without something fundamental changing in the UK’s attitude to trans people, we can and will be stopped from being.

WAIT, WHAT?!

South Korea companies to pay to resolve forced labor dispute with Japan

2023-03-06 |


South Korea said on Monday that its companies would compensate people forced to work under Japan's 1910-1945 occupation, seeking to end a dispute that has undercut US-led efforts to present a unified front against China and North Korea.

The proposal was welcomed in Tokyo but faced an immediate backlash from some victims and from South Korea's main opposition party, who accused the government of capitulating to Japan.

US President Joe Biden, whose administration has pressed its two allies to reconcile, hailed the announcement as "groundbreaking".

A Japanese government source close to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters the United States had been pressing for reconciliation but that a main factor that triggered a push by South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol for reconciliation was the geopolitical threat from North Korea.

The disagreements over labour and women forced into Japanese military brothels have bedevilled ties between the neighbours for decades.

Under the plan, South Korea would compensate former forced labourers through an existing public foundation funded by private-sector companies, South Korea's Foreign Minister Park Jin told a briefing.

"The soured South Korea-Japan relations should no longer be neglected, and we need to end the vicious cycle for the national interest, for the people," Park said. He said he hoped Japan would respond sincerely, including by "implementing its previous public statements expressing remorse and apology".

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said he welcomed the proposal and would work closely with Yoon.

Japanese companies will not be expected to make any payments under the plan but would not be blocked from donating if they wanted to, said Japan's foreign minister, Yoshimasa Hayashi.

"We welcome this as a step that returns Japan-South Korea relations to a healthy one," he said.

A Japanese government source told Reuters that Japan and South Korea were preparing for a visit by Yoon to Tokyo by the end of March. The two governments were considering arranging the visit on March 16-17, the Kyodo news agency reported.

A spokesperson for Yoon's office declined to comment.

Poor relations between the two have been a worry for the United States as it seeks to present a unified front against the rising power of China and threats from North Korea's expanding missile and nuclear arsenal.

Biden, in a statement, hailed "a groundbreaking new chapter of cooperation and partnership between two of the United States’ closest allies ... (a) critical step to forge a future for the Korean and Japanese people that is safer, more secure, and more prosperous".

SOUTH KOREAN FUNDS

Relations plunged to their lowest point in decades after South Korea's Supreme Court in 2018 ordered Japanese firms to pay reparations to former forced laborers. Fifteen South Koreans have won such cases, but none has been compensated.

Only three of those plaintiffs are still alive. Overall there are fewer than 1,300 living victims of forced labour in South Korea, according to media estimates.

Japan has said compensation was settled under a 1965 treaty, and Hayashi said his government's stance had not changed.

When Seoul first raised its proposal in January, it sparked a backlash from victims and their families because it did not include contributions from Japanese companies, including those ordered by South Korean courts to make reparations.

About a dozen protesters demonstrated outside as Park made the announcement.

"Today's humiliating resolution is a result of (the South Korean government's) consistently low posture towards the Japanese government," representatives of some of the victims said at a separate event.

Some of the 15 plaintiffs say they will reject the government plan, setting the stage for more legal battles.

"It's not a proper apology," Yang Geum-deok, one of the victims, told reporters.

The main opposition Democratic Party denounced the plan as "submissive diplomacy".

"It's a day of shame," a spokesperson for the party said.

The South Korean companies include KT&G (033780.KS), Korea Electric Power Corp (KEPCO) (015760.KS) and other companies that benefited from a 1965 treaty between South Korea and Japan.

KT&G said it was monitoring the discussion on compensation and planned to faithfully cooperate in implementing the agreements. KEPCO said it would review the issue.

POSCO holdings said it would consider how to support the intent of the government's announcement.

Asked whether Japanese companies would pitch in to compensate, Park said both Japanese and South Korean businesses were considering a plan to contribute.

South Korea's Yonhap news agency, citing government sources, had said that as part of the deal Seoul and Tokyo had tentatively agreed to create a separate "future youth fund" to sponsor scholarships with funds from companies from both sides.

Two of the companies ordered by South Korean courts to make restitution, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd (7011.T) and Nippon Steel Corp (5401.T), declined to comment on the agreement, referring to their long-held stance that the issue had been resolved under the 1965 treaty.

The row spilled over into trade in 2019, with Tokyo tightening curbs on exports to South Korea of high-tech materials used in smartphone displays and chips and Seoul filing a World Trade Organization (WTO) complaint in response.

Hayashi said the export curbs are separate from the forced labor dispute, but on Monday both countries' trade ministries said South Korea would put its WTO complaint on hold while the two sides negotiate to return trade to its pre-2019 status.

Reuters

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B-52H bomber capable of nuclear armament deployed to S. Korea

Posted March. 07, 2023 07:52,   

Updated March. 07, 2023 07:52

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The U.S.’ B-52H bomber flew to the Korean Peninsula on Monday and conducted joint air drills with South Korean Air Force’s fighter planes. It has been three months since the last mobilization of B-52H capable of nuclear armament to the peninsula.

On Friday, the unmanned aerial vehicle MQ-9 Reaper, known as the ‘assassin in the sky,’ and the B-1B strategic bomber, also called the ‘swan of death,’ were simultaneously deployed. Showing off such extended deterrence against North Korea, which is equivalent to the ongoing deployment of the U.S. strategic assets, is deemed as an increased level of warning against the North Korean leadership that threatened provocations in response to the Freedom Shield joint drills beginning on Monday.

According to the South Korean military, B-52H deployed to the Korean Peninsula on Monday joined South Korean fighter planes F-15K and KF-16 in joint air drills over the Yellow Sea. B-52H also flew with F-22 Raptor, the U.S. Air Force’s most powerful stealth bomber, to South Korea to conduct joint drills with the South Korean Air Force in December when the North threatened to launch an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) at a normal angle. “The U.S. is keeping a promise that more strategic assets of the country will be mobilized to the Korean Peninsula in terms of frequency and strength,” said a military source.

South Korea and the U.S. are planning on the more frequent deployment of the U.S. strategic assets to the Korean Peninsula, not only during the Freedom Shield drills but also before and after it, to show off deterrence against North Korea. It was reported that the Nimitz, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier of the U.S., will be mobilized around March 28. “The upcoming drills will prove that the U.S.’ defense promise of providing extended deterrence (nuclear umbrella) was not an empty word,” a government source said.


Sang-Ho Yun ysh1005@donga.com · Hyo-Ju Son hjson@donga.com

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M

FTC: BetterHelp pushed users to share mental health info then gave it to Facebook

Feds propose $7.8M payment and ban on revealing 'sensitive' data to settle complaint

Jude Karabus
Fri 3 Mar 2023 

Even if you don't know anyone who has used BetterHelp's services, podcast fans will recognize it from its annoying adverts for its online therapists. American regulators, however, allege the company's relationship with the advertising industry is more perverse than a mere irritating jingle, claiming it betrayed loyalties that should lie with customers by passing on their mental health info to Facebook, Snapchat and others.

The Federal Trade Commission has asked the company to pay $7.8 million and slapped a ban on it sharing consumers' health data with advertisers, in a proposed settlement made public today. The settlement will resolve a 2022 complaint that claimed BetterHelp pushed users to complete an unskippable questionnaire in order to obtain services and then passed on that info to Meta and more to promote its services.

BetterHelp – whose business boomed during COVID lockdown – has denied wrongdoing, and claimed in a statement that it merely used "industry-standard practice... routinely used by some of the largest health providers, health systems, and healthcare brands."

According to the complaint [PDF], users were told by BetterHelp: "Rest assured – any information provided in this questionnaire will stay private between you and your counselor."

The commission alleged the company then went on to tweak that statement over time. The complaint claimed that in December 2020, the company changed the statement to read: "Rest assured – this information will stay private between you and your counselor" (emphasis on alteration). And in January 2021, the complaint claimed, it changed it again to state: "Rest assured – your health information will stay private between you and your counselor" (emphasis on alteration). The FTC added that in October 2021, it "removed this representation altogether."

The company is then alleged to have compiled lists of visitors' and users' email addresses, which it uploaded to Facebook to match the individuals to their Facebook user accounts in order to target them and others like them with advertisements, and is alleged to have later "re-targeted" them with advertisements to refer their Facebook friends to the service.

The filing alleged: "Between 2017 and 2018, Respondent uploaded lists of over 7 million Visitors' and Users' email addresses to Facebook. Facebook matched over 4 million of these Visitors and Users with their Facebook user IDs, linking their use of the Service for mental health treatment with their Facebook accounts."

The complaint added:

These harms were not reasonably avoidable by consumers. It was effectively impossible for Visitors and Users to know that Respondent was using and disclosing their health information for advertising purposes because Respondent actively concealed the practices through repeated misrepresentations and a lack of notice. Indeed... numerous Users expressed outrage about the disclosures upon learning of them.

The FTC also noted that BetterHelp "prominently" displayed a seal that attested to purported compliance with America's Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), a law that outlines privacy and information security protection that residents can expect for their health information.

In addition, the complaint said, BetterHelp told consumers that it was "HIPAA certified," with its customer service representatives informing consumers of this. However, "no government agency or other third party" had reviewed BetterHelp's information practices for compliance with HIPAA, let alone determined that its practices met the requirements of HIPAA.

The $7.8 million payment from BetterHelp will be used to provide partial refunds to people who signed up for and paid for BetterHelp's services between August 1, 2017, and December 31, 2020, the FTC said

"When a person struggling with mental health issues reaches out for help, they do so in a moment of vulnerability and with an expectation that professional counseling services will protect their privacy," Samuel Levine, director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, noted. "Instead, BetterHelp betrayed consumers' most personal health information for profit. Let this proposed order be a stout reminder that the FTC will prioritize defending Americans' sensitive data from illegal exploitation."

The counselling company told The Register in a statement: "BetterHelp and the FTC have reached a settlement in regard to BetterHelp's advertising practices that were in effect between 2017 to 2020 ... We understand the FTC's desire to set new precedents around consumer marketing, and we are happy to settle this matter with the agency. This settlement, which is no admission of wrongdoing, allows us to continue to focus on our mission to help millions of people around the world get access to quality therapy."

The direct-to-consumer mental health platform, which is owned by Teladoc Health Inc, boomed during COVID as people struggled to secure in-person appointments, with Teladoc reporting that BetterHelp was responsible for $1 billion of its revenues in FY2022. Financial analysts at SeekingAlpha noted at the time this represented an impressive year-on-year growth of 42.8 percent from FY2021 levels of over $700 million. ®

No ‘human-to-human infection’ of bird flu in Cambodia

Cambodian health authorities have confirmed that there is no human-to-human transmission of bird flu following news of a man and his daughter getting infected. Copyright: Lorrie Graham/AusAID. (CC BY 2.0). This image has been cropped.

Cambodian father, daughter infected with avian flu by birds

No human-to-human transmission authorities confirm

Virus evolving and threat of a future pandemic remains

By: Neena Bhandari

02/03/23

[SYDNEY] Cambodian health authorities have confirmed that the two avian flu cases last week in Prey Veng province were “infected from birds in their village” and that “no transmission between father and daughter has been found”.

“As of today [1 March], there is no evidence of human-to-human transmission in Cambodia and the response is still ongoing,” Ailan Li, WHO Representative to Cambodia, told SciDev.Net following the death of an 11-year-old girl from the virus.

“While there have been a few infections in humans globally, so far, the virus is not known to spread from person to person easily,” she* added.

“The threat is still very low for human-to-human transmission. In terms of mutating into a transmissible virus, that’s quite a distant issue”
Erik Karlsson, director of the National Influenza Centre of Cambodia and acting head of virology at the Institut Pasteur du Cambodge

The infection, which largely affects birds and animals, has a 50 per cent mortality rate in humans. Globally, 873 human cases of H5N1 and 458 deaths have been reported in 21 countries since 2003, according to the UN health agency.

“Most cases have been linked to close contact with infected birds and contaminated environments,” said Li. “However, the virus is evolving; its risk to humans must be assessed and monitored closely. The threat is real. Irrespective of the current outbreaks in birds and other animals, avian flu poses an ongoing threat to human health due to its potential to cause a future pandemic.”

Cambodian authorities had informed WHO last week of the two confirmed cases of avian influenza H5N1. The girl who died had H5 clade 2.3.2.1c virus, an endemic strain circulating in domestic poultry and wild bird populations in the country since 2013. Her father was also found to be infected with the virus.

Cambodia has reported 58 cases of human infection with the H5N1 virus, including 38 deaths since 2003 to 25 February 2023.

Human transmission risk ‘very low’

“The threat is still very low for human-to-human transmission. In terms of mutating into a transmissible virus, that’s quite a distant issue,” Erik Karlsson, director of the National Influenza Centre of Cambodia and acting head of virology at the Institut Pasteur du Cambodge in Phnom Penh, which sequenced the virus, told SciDev.Net.

He said: “We’re most worried about the highly pathogenic H5 clade 2.3.4.4 viruses that are currently circulating in the UK and North America and South America. But there are pockets of other viruses, like clade 2.3.2.1, here in South Asia and South-East Asia, that have been endemic in these birds for a long period of time. These could cause problems in poultry, and they are still a threat for spillover in humans.”

Clades consist of a common ancestor and all the descendants of an organism.

“Interestingly, the H5 clade 2.3.4.4 viruses basically came from Asia in 2013-2014, spread into Europe then into North America and now in South America and they have come back into Asia. So, we’ll see if those take over as the dominant clade circulating here as well,” Karlsson added.

Since October 2021, in one of the worst global outbreaks, more than 46 million cases of avian influenza were recorded in poultry and non-poultry, including wild birds, in 86 countries; and as many as 17.7 million poultry birds have died from the disease and almost 246 million were culled. The strain has also infected mammals, such as red fox, minks, otters and seals, according to the World Organisation for Animal Health.

“It’s a reminder that we have not dealt with avian influenza appropriately. The level of circulating virus in several developing countries remains high because we didn’t take a poultry systems’ approach to control it,” said Robyn Alders, a senior consulting fellow with the Chatham House Global Health programme and an honorary professor with the Australian National University’s Development Policy Centre.

Besides avian influenza, other preventable diseases, such as Newcastle disease and fowl cholera, also cause illness and deaths in birds, Alders told SciDev.Net. She said: “It’s difficult for farmers to recognise if a bird has died from avian influenza or another disease because clinically you can’t pick the difference.”

When avian influenza H5N1 was a global concern, flocks diagnosed with the disease were culled by authorities.

“In majority of developing and other countries, no compensation was paid to farmers for the loss of their culled birds. As a result, they remain unwilling to report deaths in their flocks up to today,” Alders added.

Vaccination for avian flu

Vaccination of poultry may be needed as a broader strategy to control the spread, experts say.

“Vaccines or other interventions is a critical way that we might need to get ahead of these widespread infections,” said Karlsson. “The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly increased capacity and capability, especially in developing nations, to detect and respond to those viruses faster. A lot of countries have now developed their own vaccination production systems, which can be utilised to make vaccines for other diseases, such as potentially avian flu.”

The young girl’s viral sample was sequenced in Cambodia within 24 hours, exemplifying the way that the COVID-19 pandemic has increased the capacity of countries to sequence and share data very quickly.

“The recent human case highlights the need for rapid identification of flu cases in animals and humans along with open and rapid sharing of virus sequences for regional and global risk assessments,” Frank Wong, bird flu expert at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, told SciDev.Net.

*This article was edited on 3 March 2023 to correct the pronoun used in reference to Ailan Li.

This piece was produced by SciDev.Net’s Asia & Pacific desk.

Bird flu cases in father and daughter in Cambodia came from poultry, not person-to-person spread, officials say

The girl, age 11, died shortly after tests confirmed she had Type A H5N1 bird flu.

March 2, 2023
The Associated Press

Recent cases of bird flu discovered in two Cambodian villagers, one of them fatal, show no sign of human-to-human transmission, health officials in the Southeast Asian nation say, allaying fears of a public health crisis.

An 11-year-old Cambodian girl from a village in the southeastern province of Prey Veng died Feb. 22 at a hospital in the capital, Phnom Penh, shortly after tests confirmed she had Type A H5N1 bird flu. Her father tested positive for the virus the day after her death, but showed no strong symptoms and was released Tuesday from a Prey Veng hospital where he had been kept isolated, the Health Ministry said. He was sent home after three negative tests.

The two were the only villagers among more than two dozen tested who were found to carry the virus, the ministry said in a statement.

Bird flu, also known as avian influenza, normally spreads among poultry but can sometimes spread from poultry to humans. The recent detection of infections in a variety of mammals has raised concern among experts that the virus could evolve to spread more easily between people, and potentially trigger a pandemic. The Health Ministry said an investigation determined that the father and daughter had both “been infected from poultry at their village, and there is no indication or evidence that there was infection from father to daughter.”

Cambodia health experts spray disinfectant at a village in Prey Veng on Feb. 24.

Cambodia Ministry of Health via AP

The conclusion that they were infected directly from birds was reached by experts from the World Health Organization and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as their Cambodian counterparts, Health Ministry spokesperson Ly Sovann told The Associated Press.

In an interview published Tuesday on the website of the scientific journal Nature, a Cambodia-based virologist said the girl who died had been infected with a different strain of the bird flu virus than the one that has been spreading worldwide for the past year and a half among wild and domestic birds.

Erik Karlsson of the Pasteur Institute of Cambodia in Phnom Penh was part of the team that tested the virus sample from the girl, and was cited as saying that it belongs to a virus group that has been found in chickens and ducks in the region for at least a decade. She was the first person in Cambodia since 2014 known to be detected with H5N1.

He said it wasn’t clear why the girl would have caught the virus after such a long time with no cases, but suggested it might be related to “a lot of global changes in agricultural practices owing to the COVID-19 pandemic that could have created the conditions for a spillover.”

“We know that, in Cambodia, the pandemic increased the amount of backyard poultry farming. Many people, for example tour guides, couldn’t work and had to supplement their incomes and sources of food for their families,” he was quoted saying. “All over the world, people are still struggling, which has resulted in changes in agricultural practices that can increase spillover risk. And changes to people’s health, for example malnutrition or being overweight, can make people more susceptible to getting infected.”

New pandemic could be caused by avian flu and mysterious 'Disease X', experts warn

Health experts who guided to country through the coronavirus pandemic have waded in on what could potentially cause the next horrific wave of disease and illness across the country

Adam Cailler

6 MAR 2023

Millions of birds have been culled because of the avian flu pandemic spreading through chickens and ducks (Image: AFP via Getty Images)

The UK's medical experts who advised the Government during the coronavirus pandemic have warned that a new one could be on the way.

The worst fears of scientists and experts came to fruition last month when an 11-year-old girl in Cambodia died from avian flu.

The girl first became ill just six days before her death, and suffered from a fever, cough and sore throat.

Her death was confirmed by the country's Communicable Disease Control Department, who said that the girl from the Prey Veng province “tested positive for H5N1”.

Since then, rumours and speculation has been running rampant about future pandemics.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, member of the members of the SAGE independent advisory group have warned about what the next pandemic could be.

Dr Robin Thompson, an expert in mathematical epidemiology at the University of Warwick said, when asked what he thinks is “most likely to cause the next pandemic”, said: “A range of different pathogens could cause the next pandemic. Influenza viruses and coronaviruses are possible candidates.
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"Another possibility is that the next pandemic is caused by Disease X - in other words, a pathogen that we have not yet discovered.”

Several experts have waded in on the next pandemic debate (stock) (Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

READ MOREMatt Hancock asked when to 'deploy' next Covid variant to 'frighten pants off' public

And Professor Mark Woolhouse, an expert in infectious disease epidemiology at the University of Edinburgh added: “If our planning is too narrowly focused on a small number of potential threats then we risk preparing for the wrong pandemic.

“Bird flu is on the list but I would rate it lower than, for example, another coronavirus.

“Nevertheless, we should prepare for both, and others besides.”

Dr Robin Thompson claimed a 'Disease X' could cause the next pandemic 

READ MOREGangs are flooding UK with liquid cocaine hidden in shampoo bottles

Professor Graham Medley, who is the chairman of the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling – a SAGE sub-group – claims that there are a “number of diseases” that are been monitored as having pandemic potential.

He explained: “Avian influenza is top of the list, but there are many others.

“A major concern is the spread of antimicrobial resistance - a gonorrhoea that was untreatable with antibiotics would be a major problem.

INDIA

Does H3N2 influenza have relationship with Covid-19? 

Know what experts say

BySnehashish Roy

Mar 07, 2023 

Top scientist recommends increased Covid testing as the number of H3N2 influenza increases.

Health officials are concerned over raising trend of H3N2 influenza cases associated with co-infections of Covid-19. They suggested increased testing as the number of ICU admissions is increasing.

According to a scientist, as quoted by MINT, both Covid-19 and influenza have similar symptoms and they may last two to three months and they are ‘circulating simultaneously in the community’. The top official said samples of patients suspected for influenza are being tested for Covid-19 as well.

Chairman of the Institute of Internal Medicine Education Randeep Guleria said H3N2 virus, a mutation of H1N1 virus, spreads every year around this time. The number of cases is increasing because of their mutation.

“We also see that during this time of the year when the weather changes, there is a higher chance of getting influenza and also because of the fact that we have now come back to a non-Covid state where we are not wearing masks, we're having a lot of crowding. This is also allowing the virus to spread more easily,” Guleria was quoted as saying by news agency ANI

However, the top scientist recommended a proportional increase in the number of Covid testing as the number of cases increase. "The government should immediately direct Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme to increase surveillance and testing," the official told MINT.

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has started a pan-India respiratory surveillance across 30 viral research and diagnostic laboratories.

According to the a senior doctor at Delhi's Fortis Hospital, as quoted by MINT, patients with adenovirus, para influenza and covid-19 infections were seen along with those with H3N2 cases admitted to ICU, despite they were being inoculated against influenza. However, experts believe the cases are not severe.

(With ANI inputs)