At least 74 migrants drown in Mediterranean off Libyan coast, UN says

Rescue workers are still looking for survivors after a vessel carrying more than 120 migrants shipwrecked in the Mediterranean. The United Nations has recorded a recent uptick in departures from Libya since October.



At least 74 migrants have drowned after a boat shipwrecked off the coast of Libya in the Mediterranean Sea, the United Nations International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Thursday.

The IOM said reports indicated that the migrant vessel was carrying more than 120 people, including women and children. The coastguard and fishermen have brought 47 survivors to shore and 31 bodies have been retrieved.

This shipwreck is the latest in a series of recent tragedies involving migrants in the Mediterranean, the IOM said. The organization said there have been at least eight shipwrecks in the Central Mediterranean since the beginning of October.

At least 900 people have drowned in the Mediterranean this year, according to the IOM. More than 11,000 others have been returned to war-torn Libya, where the UN says they face human rights violations, detention, abuse, trafficking and exploitation.

"The mounting loss of life in the Mediterranean is a manifestation of the inability of States to take decisive action to redeploy much needed, dedicated Search and Rescue capacity in the deadliest sea-crossing in the world," said Federico Soda, the head of the IOM mission in Libya.

In the years since the 2011 uprising that ousted and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi, Libya has emerged as a launching off points for migrants from African and the Middle East hoping to get to Europe from Africa and the Middle East.

Smugglers often pack desperate families onto shoddy rubber boats that often stall as in the Central Mediterranean, leaving the fate of the migrants to coastguard, fishermen and NGOs dedicated to migrant rescues.

At least 20,000 migrants have died in the Mediterranean since 2014, according to IOM figures.

dv/msh (AFP, dpa)

#ENDFURFARMING

Amid Danish mink cull, fur remains in fashion

As fears rise that mutations could hamper efforts to create an effective coronavirus vaccine, Denmark prepared to cull millions of minks. But many won't be killed — until they're ready for a scarf or hat.


Denmark decided to cull millions of minks last week after a mutated form of the coronavirus was found in humans, leading to a fear that the animals could jeopardize the effectiveness of a vaccine.

What seemed most surprising and shocking when the culling announcement was made was that there were 17 million minks in Denmark, a country in which the human population is about 5.8 million.

Read more: UK bars travelers from Denmark over coronavirus mink outbreak

The legal validity of the order to cull minks on farms across the country was called into question, according to state broadcaster TV2, and the government admitted that it did not have the legal authority to make the order. However, the government did say it still recommends farms kill their animals to stop the spread of a mutated coronavirus.

Denmark stopped a complete cull of minks, but still recommended farms kill the animals

The Danish health authorities estimate that at least 200 people have contracted strains of a coronavirus mutation originally found in minks since June. The mutation has also been detected in the Netherlands and Spain, where minks on 40 farms were culled over the summer.

Images of dead minks piling up have provoked outrage on social media. Many people were apparently shocked that there were still people who bought fur.

Rabbit hoods and furry hat bobbles

Each year over 95 million mink, foxes, raccoons, rabbits and other animals are bred and slaughtered for their fur, which ends up as collars, hoods or bobbles, according to the Vienna-based animal welfare organization Four Paws International.

The International Fur Federation estimated the fur trade was worth over $15 billion (€12.7 billion) in 2012, with EU countries accounting for $4.5 billion.

Minks are often kept in cages the size of a shoebox

Europe is the biggest global exporter of fur, though the trade in the fur of seals, dogs and cats is banned. Scandinavian countries, particularly Finland and Denmark, still breed large numbers of animals for their fur, which makes up such a major component of their economies that it has not been possible to introduce a blanket ban across the EU.

"There has to be an end to breeding animals for their fur, in Europe and all over the world," said Henriette Mackensen from the German Animal Welfare Federation. "Minks are crammed into cages and cannot move. They vegetate and develop behavioral problems that lead to self-mutilation and cannibalism."

The animal rights organization PETA said there are also ecological reasons to ban fur farming.

"Farming animals is generally among the largest climate killers of our time," PETA said. "From the production of animal feed to the nitrate-laden excrement from animals on fur farms."

Since a blanket ban is not yet possible, various European states have passed domestic laws to protect animals. Austria, Britain, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Macedonia have banned fur farms, while France has announced that it will. Germany and Switzerland introduced regulations that make the breeding of mink, fox and raccoon unprofitable. Germany's last mink farm closed in 2019. In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, the Netherlands has also announced that it will shut all mink farms by March 2021.
Majority of Germans oppose sale of real fur

In October, Four Paws conducted a survey of the German population's attitudes toward the use of real fur in fashion. Of 1,000 respondents, 84% said they were against it and 76% said selling real fur was an outdated practice.

Animal rights groups regularly hold protests against the fur trade

In central Europe, fur coats are no longer a status symbol. Animal welfare organizations have succeeded in raising awareness about the conditions animals are subjected to.

But in many places fur is still in fashion. People continue to wear coats with collars or hats with bobbles made of real fur. Consumers don't always know that the fur is real. If a fur item is cheap, many will assume that it is not real. They do not realize that real fur is not as expensive as it used to be, especially if it is from raccoons.

Most raccoon fur is produced in China in particularly inhumane conditions. There are no nationwide laws in the Asian state prohibiting the maltreatment of animals and no binding regulations stipulating how animals should be farmed humanely.

Fur jackets are no longer as popular as fur accessories

According to the International Fur Federation, demand for fur is growing in China, South Korea, Ukraine and many parts of South America.

A changing market

Supporters of the fur industry praise fur's longevity.

"Fur is durable and naturally biodegradable, unlike the synthetic materials it is often compared to," Juozas Olekas, a Lithuanian member of European Parliament and chair of the Sustainable Fur Forum.

Animal rights groups, however, counter that fur's long life comes from the use of chemicals and that a growing trend for fur scarves, collars, hat bobbles and other accessories — rather than fur coats passed from generation to generation — mean the fur itself has little impact on how long the clothing can be worn.

This article was adapted from German.

Watch video 03:12
https://www.dw.com/en/amid-danish-mink-cull-fur-remains-in-fashion/a-55570667
Denmark to eliminate entire farmed mink population

Harvard use of race in admissions upheld
Opponents of the decision by the 1st US Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston promised to appeal to the Supreme Court

Harvard University
Shutterstock
Reuters | Boston | Published 13.11.20


A US appeals court on Thursday upheld Harvard University’s use of race in undergraduate admissions, rejecting a challenge by affirmative action opponents who said the Ivy League school’s policy discriminates against Asian-Americans.

Opponents of the decision by the 1st US Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston promised to appeal to the Supreme Court, where legal experts believe the 6-3 conservative majority could use the case to end more than 40 years of allowing race as a factor in higher education admissions.

The appeals court rejected claims by Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA), a nonprofit founded by anti-affirmative action activist Edward Blum, which drew support from Republican President Donald Trump’s administration.

SFFA said Harvard engaged in impermissible “racial balancing” to make it easier for Blacks and Hispanics to win admission, and did not narrowly tailor its use of race.

It said this violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which the school must comply with in order to receive federal funding.

US Circuit judge Sandra Lynch, however, said Harvard’s use of race was not “impermissibly extensive” and was instead “meaningful”, because it prevented diversity from plummeting.

“Harvard’s race-conscious admissions programme ensures that Harvard can retain the benefits of diversity it has already achieved,” she said.

Blum pledged to ask the Supreme Court “to end these unfair and unconstitutional race-based admissions policies at Harvard and all colleges and universities”. The Supreme Court has allowed race to be used in college admissions to promote diversity in the classroom.

Deutsche Bank: Workers Should Pay 5% 

'Privilege' (SIC)Tax To Work From Home After Covid

Jonathan Ponciano Forbes Staff Investing

As brightening vaccine prospects tease a return to pre-pandemic normalcy and employers map out when and how remote workers return to the office, analysts at Deutsche Bank are proposing a “privilege tax" on post-pandemic work from home to subsidize lost wages for low-income workers.  WORKERS FUNDING WORKERS

Deutsche estimates its proposed tax–which hasn't gained any traction in Washington–would raise ... [+] GETTY

KEY FACTS


Deutsche argues that remote workers contribute less to the economy's infrastructure while still receiving its benefits, and says that a 5% tax on individuals levied against their wages on days they decide to work remotely would "leave them no worse off than if they had chosen to go into the office.”


As a basis for the argument, the bank says working from home is financially rewarding thanks to "direct financial savings" on expenses such as commuting, clothes and lunches, as well as indirect savings from things like reduced work-related socializing and laundry.



These gains "generally outweigh" the costs of working from home (such as the stress of juggling work and children at home or an imperfect home-office setup), Deutsche states, pointing to a majority of people who say they'd continue working from home at least part-time after the pandemic as evidence.


Similarly, the bank proposes levying the 5% tax on employers for each employee who decides to work from home permanently, saying that companies could even be better off despite the tax given potential savings on office downsizing and general maintenance.


Deutsche estimates the tax could raise $48 billion annually in the United States–money the bank suggests could fund a $1,500 grant for the 29 million workers in the nation who can't work from home and earn under $30,000.


The estimated tax proceeds are based on the roughly 50 million Americans who worked from home during the pandemic, an estimated 75% of those workers Deutsche believes would elect to work from home in some capacity post-Covid and an average salary among them of $55,000.

CRUCIAL QUOTE

"A work-from-home tax [makes] sense to support the mass of people who have been suddenly displaced by forces outside their control," Deutsche's Luke Templeman concludes in the report. "From a personal and economic point of view, it makes sense that these people should be given a helping hand... Those who are lucky enough to be in a position to ‘disconnect’ themselves from the face-to-face economy owe it to them."

TANGENT

A work-from-home tax hasn't gained traction among lawmakers in Washington. The Internal Revenue Service, meanwhile, does have guidance on how taxpayers, including newly remote workers during the pandemic, can take advantage of a home-office deduction. 

KEY BACKGROUND

The coronavirus pandemic forced hundreds of millions of people around the world into an unprecedented wave of remote work that's transformed the way corporations assess the workplace, especially with regards to office space. Dozens of large U.S. corporations have already indicated they're looking to downsize their real estate footprint after the pandemic, Reuters reports, noting that leasing and rent costs make up employers' second-largest expense, after labor. Some companies based out of more expensive regions across the country, and particularly Silicon Valley tech firms, are even eyeing salary cuts for employees opting to work remotely out of cheaper cities. Software giant VMware, for example, has offered employees tiered salary reductions if they wish to forgo working in the firm's Palo Alto, Calif. office (moving to Denver comes with an 18% cut).
SURPRISING FACT

Templeman notes that governments "have always backsolved taxes to suit the social environment," pointing to the United Kingdom's "window tax," which as the name suggests taxed residents based on the number of windows in their house between 1696 and 1851. The tax was intended to place a heavier burden on the wealthy (who presumably had houses with more windows) and preceded the United Kingdom's first income tax, which "As society changed, the window tax was abolished and… in the same way, as our current society moves towards a state of ‘human disconnection’, our tax system must move with it."

UK 

Workers earning above £19,500 ($33,651.15 Canadian Dollar) 

 'face higher taxes' to help cover coronavirus bill

MAKE THE RICH PAY! NOT THE WORKERS!

It comes as latest figures show the Treasury borrowed £208billion in the first six months of the current financial year - up £175billion on the same period in 2019

By Emma Munbodh Deputy Money Editor
12:37, 12 NOV 2020
UPDATED13:10, 12 NOV 2020
MONEY

The Resolution Foundation said a £40billion tax hike in the coming years could help tackle the UK's rising debt mountain (Image: Getty Images)

Workers earning more than £19,500 ($33,651.15 Canadian Dollar) a year face huge tax rises to help rebuild the Covid-19 hit economy, a think tank has warned.

The Resolution Foundation said a £40billion tax hike could be enforced in the coming years to help tackle the Treasury's growing debt mountain.

It comes as latest figures show the government borrowed £208billion in the first six months of the current financial year - up £175billion on the same period in 2019.

The think-tank recommended a 'health and social care levy' - a 4% tax on all incomes over £12,500 ($21,573.75 Canadian Dollar) - which would be offset by a 3% cut to employee national insurance and the abolition of Class 2 National Insurance contributions for the self-employed.

It said the shift - which would raise £17billion a year - would not penalise those worst-hit by the virus, such as the lowest paid households and self-employed.

"These offsets would leave employees earning £19,500 ($33,651.15 Canadian Dollar) and below better off, as well as self-employed workers earning less than 

£17,000 ($29,343.70 Canadian Dollar) " the study said.

People working from home 'should pay 5% more tax' to give jobless £2,000 grants

Other measures include a "pandemic profit levy" on firms that have benefited from the crisis.

This could include online retailers whose profits have rocketed this year as well as supermarkets who have seen sales surge in the wake of panic-buying.

Meanwhile, an increase in corporation tax from 19% to 22% would raise £10billion, the foundation said.

It also put forward wealth rises of £9billion, including restrictions on capital gains and inheritance tax reliefs, and another increase in council tax on homes worth more than £2million.

The tax rises will be in force by the 'middle of the decade' it said

(Image: Getty Images)

READ MORE
John Lewis to axe 1,500 more jobs as Covid-19 pandemic wipes £635million off sales

It comes after a report commissioned by Rishi Sunak suggested that capital gains tax should be doubled to help fix the economy.

The Office for Tax Simplification (OTS) said the tax, levied at 10% for basic-rate taxpayers and 20% for higher-rate taxpayers, could be doubled if it were brought in line with income tax.

Capital gains tax is the levy you pay on the profits - or gain - that you make when you sell, give away or dispose of something you own, such as property.

At the moment, the first £12,300 of capital gains is exempt.

However, the report added that these exemptions should be scrapped.

It said the measures could raise up to £14billion annually.

Resolution Foundation research director James Smith said: The chancellor should combine tried and tested revenue raisers with major reform of wealth taxation and a new health and social care levy.

"This would ensure that post-Covid tax rises reflect the very uneven nature of this crisis, but also play a part in building a better country after it."

‘Americans spooked by a Black man in the White House’ elevated Trump, Obama book says

BY CHACOUR KOOP
NOVEMBER 12, 2020

Former President Barack Obama speaks at a rally as he campaigns for Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden, Monday, Nov. 2, 2020, in Miami. Obama will release a memoir on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky) LYNNE SLADKY AP

Barack Obama’s highly anticipated memoir says President Donald Trump seized on fears of a Black man in the White House to succeed politically, reports say.

The former president’s latest memoir “A Promised Land” will be released next week, a 768-page book spanning Obama’s “political education and the landmark moments of the first term of his historic presidency — a time of dramatic transformation and turmoil,” according to publisher Penguin Random House. It will be the first in a volume of presidential memoirs to be published by Obama.

Though Obama’s book ends after his first term, it includes references to his successor and the false “birtherism” conspiracy theory Trump seized upon, according to an excerpt obtained by CNN.

“It was as if my very presence in the White House had triggered a deep-seated panic, a sense that the natural order had been disrupted,” Obama wrote, according to CNN. “Which is exactly what Donald Trump understood when he started peddling assertions that I had not been born in the United States and was thus an illegitimate president. For millions of Americans spooked by a Black man in the White House, he promised an elixir for their racial anxiety.”

The memoir ends as Obama watches the raid to kill Osama bin Laden, NPR reported. It was in the hours before this operation that Obama served up jokes at Trump’s expense at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, mocking the ”birther” conspiracy to the laughter of many in the room except the would-be president.

As NPR editor and correspondent Ron Elving points out, the book is more than “Obama’s answer to four years of Trump’s rhetorical assaults and policy reversals.”

A review in The New York Timesdescribes the memoir as ”nearly always pleasurable to read, sentence by sentence, the prose gorgeous in places” as Obama describes his career — from early campaigns to the SEAL team raid. Though focused on politics, the book also includes personal stories about his daughters and wife, Michelle Obama, according to The New York Times.

“The story will continue in the second volume, but Barack Obama has already illuminated a pivotal moment in American history, and how America changed while also remaining unchanged,” author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie writes in the New York Times review.

The book will be released Nov. 17.


CHACOUR KOOP is a Real-Time reporter based in Kansas City. Previously, he reported for the Associated Press, Galveston County Daily News and Daily Herald in Chicago.

Contentious Stonehenge tunnel gets UK government approval

A road tunnel near the prehistoric monument Stonehenge has been given the go-ahead despite widespread backlash. The $2.2 billion scheme will not get underway until the second half of 2022 at the earliest.



The British government approved a $2.2 billion (€1.86 billion) tunnel under Stonehenge on Thursday, overruling the recommendations of planning officials.

The transport secretary, Grant Shapps, administered a development consent order which will allow the conversion of the part of the nearby segment of the A303 road into a two-lane underground tunnel. Currently, the short stretch around Stonehenge is a rare single-lane segment on the A303, which starts suddenly in a hilly area with poor visibility — it's often the site of tailbacks and accidents.

"The Secretary of State agrees the benefits of the development would include enabling visitors to Stonehenge to see the stone circle without the visual and aural distraction of road traffic," Shapps said in a letter giving the green light for the operation.

As well as easing congestion at a site serving double the traffic it was designed for, Highways England argue that the project will restore tranquility to the mysterious circle of stones in southern England by removing the sights and sounds of traffic nearby.

One of the world's most famous prehistoric monuments, Stonehenge includes a 5,000-year-old ditch and a Neolithic stone circle with early Bronze Age burial mounds nearby. It was inscribed on the World Heritage Site list in 1986.



A window into the past
Sometimes the earth reveals them voluntarily, sometimes they are found by chance and often they are searched for - archaeological riches. Excavation sites around the world offer fascinating insights into the origins of our cultures. 12345678910111213

Backlash

But the decision by the UK government goes against the recommendation of the Planning Inspectorate, which warned of "permanent" and "irreversible" harm.

VIDEO https://www.dw.com/en/contentious-stonehenge-tunnel-gets-uk-government-approval/a-55580399
The Stonehenge Alliance's Kate Fielden reacts to the decision

Some archaeologists and local residents also oppose the project. They say the tunnel is too short and will damage the archaeological surroundings. They have called for a deep-bored tunnel of at least 4.5 km (3 miles) in length.

Meanwhile, Stonehenge Alliance, a group of non-governmental organizations set up to protect the site, said it deeply regretted the government's decision and would discuss its options.

"This is a World Heritage Site. It is five and half kilometers across. The tunnel is only 3 kilometers long," Kate Fielden from Stonehenge Alliance told DW. "So although the central part of the World Heritage Site will be more attractive to visitors once the scheme is in place, it will absolutely devastate the land to each side. And there will be a huge loss of archaeological remains."

There is now a six-week period in which the proposals may be challenged in the High Court, Highways England said.


FROM STONEHENGE TO CARNAC: 10 MEGALITHIC SITES
The mystery of Stonehenge
This place radiates a magical energy to many. It is still unclear why people erected the structure some 4,500 years ago: Was it a temple, a coronation site or an observatory for the sun? Stonehenge continues to cast its spell, with tens of thousands of visitors making the pilgrimage to the site every year, especially for the winter solstice. 12345678910

jsi/msh (AP, Reuters)

Jason Momoa claiming he was broke and 'starving' after Game of Thrones sparks debate about fame
Posted 1 day ago by Louis Staples 

Getty

The creative industries are going through a very tough time right now.

Projects are stalled, theatres are shut and many people – including freelancers –⁠ are out of work.
But Game of Thrones actor Jason Momoa has revealed that, even before coronavirus changed the world, things were far from easy as an emerging actor.

Momoa said he struggled to find work after starring on one season of the HBO show. Things got so bad that his family was “starving” and “in debt”.

The actor, who now portrays Aquaman, told InStyle:

I mean, we were starving after Game of Thrones.

I couldn’t get work. It’s very challenging when you have babies and you’re completely in debt.

Momoa played Khal Drogo during the first season of Game of Thrones, but he was killed off before season 2. Back then, the HBO show wasn’t nearly the hit it ended up to be (with the huge reported per episode rates for its stars).

Momoa said after the show he went through a professional dry spell where it was difficult to get work.

He has since starred in the 2017 film Justice League and 2018's Aquaman

But it’s still prompted a debate about how, away from the glamour of red carpets and photo shoots, making it as a struggling actor is tough.

Just because someone is on TV, it doesn’t mean they’re rich.

But other fans thought it seemed insensitive to compare Momoa’s struggles to people working in normal jobs

One fan wrote on Twitter: “Try being a normal person,” and another said it was “insulting” of him to say he was starving when so many unemployed people across the US are starving right now.

But who is to judge what Momoa's circumstances were?

As one fan wrote:

Actors are like the rest of us. They don’t get work they can’t eat.

And isn't that the truth. Momoa won't be the first creative person to struggle financially, and he certainly won't be the last.

The furious debate around the controversial 'feminist' Mary Wollstonecraft statue, explained
Posted 1 day ago by Isobel van Hagen 

Getty
A memorial honouring the groundbreaking English philosopher and women’s rights advocate Mary Wollstonecraft was 200 years in the making – although very few were actually pleased with how it turned out.

Known as the ‘mother of feminism’, the 18th century writer is perhaps most well-known for her 1790 work A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. And so a sculpture marking her historical significance was finally unveiled on Tuesday in London, and its creators faced almost immediate criticism on social media.

The new silvery naked sculpture – a product of the 'Mary on The Green' campaign – prompted critics to call it 'sexist', 'insulting' and 'demeaning', asking why it did not directly depict Wollstonecraft and, specifically, why she had been 'reduced to a sex object'.

The uproar comes from a lack of awareness about objectifying representations of women as only 'sexy' bodies, something Wollstonecraft spent her life trying to draw attention to.

Feminist activist and author Caroline Criado-Perez, who played a key role in the campaign to erect a statue of women's suffragist Millicent Fawcett, called the artwork “a colossal waste” and “disrespectful to Wollstonecraft herself”.

Writer Tracy King, who was also involved in the Millicent Fawcett campaign, agreed: “It’s a shocking waste of an opportunity that can’t be undone. But hey, tits!”

Others were quick to note that famous male authors are never represented without clothes: “I’ve seen many statues of male writers, rights activists and philosophers and I can’t remember any of them being bare-assed.” One person said.

The artist Maggi Hambling defended her decision to depict Wollstonecraft without clothing, saying that people had "missed the point".

She explained the statue was meant to represent “everywoman” and clothes would have restricted her to a time and place, according to the Evening Standard.

But she added: “As far as I know, she’s more or less the shape we’d all like to be.” It hasn't gone down well

Bee Rowlatt, chairwoman of the 'Mary on the Green' campaign, also came to the statue’s defence saying: "This work is an attempt to celebrate her contribution to society with something that goes beyond the Victorian traditions of putting people on pedestals."

Prominent social commentator Mona Eltahawy refused this notion completely, saying: “Nudity is not the issue. What is being conveyed and for whose gaze is. Why, after years of so few statues of women, is the naked female form of statues being erected for & about women?”

Even so, some were in fact happy about the memorial, calling it 'epic' and 'radical'.

Historian Dr Fern Riddell explained her positive perspective on Twitter:

"I love it because to me it’s a massive combination of themes, I love the water like a raging wave, I like the mechanical aspect of the figure, it reminds me of how women are created in images that never match their thoughts," she wrote

But mostly, people were just confused to the point of hilarity.

As writer Hannah Jane Parkinson said, "I am genuinely crying with laughter at the new Hambling statue of Mary Wollstonecraft. The disrespect...I don't even know where to start."

SEE THE ARTICLE  FOR TWEETS 

https://www.indy100.com/article/mary-wollstonecraft-maggi-hambling-statue-twitter-debate-9724857

And still, the debate rages on...

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See ne 

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Caitlin Moran

@caitlinmoran

·

Nov 10

If you want to make a naked statue that represents "every woman", in tribute to Wollstonecraft, make it eg: a naked statue of Wollstonecraft dying, at 38, in childbirth, as so many women did back then - ending her revolutionary work. THAT would make me think, and cry.

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