Congress to NASA: What comes after the International Space Station?

By Meghan Bartels 
SPACE.COM

The International Space Station, as seen 2018. 

(Image credit: NASA)

The specter of NASA's 30-year space shuttle program loomed large as congressional representatives sought details about the agency's plans for orbital spaceflight after the International Space Station.

Questions of how long the station — already over 20 years old — can last and how international and industry partnerships might drive activity in low Earth orbit (LEO) filled a two-hour hearing held by the House Science, Space and Technology's subcommittee on space and aeronautics on Tuesday (Sept. 21). The International Space Station partners are currently committed to operating the orbiting laboratory until 2024. NASA has long argued that the facility is safe to occupy until at least 2028 and the U.S. space agency's AdministratorBill Nelson has endorsed keeping the station operational until 2030.

But some worry that pushing the lab so far beyond its design lifetime is courting disaster, particularly as a string of incidents have shown the facility's wizened age. (Construction of the station began in 1998.) Others fear that relying on commercially operated orbital stations will leave NASA stranded on Earth — a particularly grim prospect just a year after NASA regained direct access to the orbiting laboratory in 2020 via SpaceX's commercial Dragon ships after nearly a decade of hitching Soyuz rides from Russia.

Related: The International Space Station can't last forever. Here's how it will eventually die.

"We did experience a gap in our transportation system when we retired the shuttle that we do not wish to repeat with our U.S. human presence in low Earth orbit," Robyn Gatens, NASA's director for the International Space Station (ISS), said during the hearing.

"We cannot have a gap in American human spaceflight in low Earth orbit," she emphasized. "This is why NASA is committed to an orderly transition from ISS operations in LEO to U.S. commercially provided destinations in low Earth orbit."
An American presence in low Earth orbit

NASA has long held that reliable access to low Earth orbit is vital for agency operations, regardless of how long the International Space Station itself lasts. Orbit provides a lower-risk environment for the agency to test technologies and procedures for crewed missions to more distant destinations and to evaluate health risks astronauts on such missions might face.

But the space station carries a hefty price tag: $3 billion or $4 billion each year. If NASA can foster commercial outposts in orbit and then pay to conduct research there instead, the agency could save more than $1 billion each year, Gatens said preliminary estimates show.

Gatens teased continuing work on NASA's plan for transitioning from the International Space Station to smaller, privately operated orbital outposts that NASA astronauts can visit to conduct research in microgravity. The agency currently owes Congress an updated report on plans for the transition, as committee members noted; Gatens said that report should be ready for legislators "in the coming weeks."

As part of the plan, she said, NASA has outlined a series of so-called transition indicators to guide the agency's handover of U.S. presence in low Earth orbit.

"The first and foremost indicator is that we have commercial LEO destinations to transition to," Gatens said. "That may sound pretty obvious, but that's a prerequisite so that we don't have a gap in low Earth orbit." Other indicators include the structural health of the International Space Station and the development of commercial markets, she said.

Politics and spaceflight

In addition to Gatens, committee members heard testimony from current NASA astronaut Kate Rubins, former astronaut and commander of the first space station crew William Shepherd, the CEO of aerospace company and space station participant Nanoracks and a think-tank staffer who focuses on space.

The discussion of what happens next in low Earth orbit is complicated by international politics. NASA and its Russian counterpart co-lead the decades-old partnership behind the International Space Station, but the relationship between the two agencies has been strained in recent years. Lately, Russia has discussed building its own orbital station, and it has also been in talks with China about space partnerships.

That strain might be mirrored on the space station itself, parts of which have spent a full 20 years in orbit and are showing signs of their age. Even a new addition is proving difficult: Russia's new science module caused the entire space station to flip and spin more than 540 degrees when its thrusters inappropriately fired during docking in late July, potentially straining the unwieldy structure.

Shepherd said that the aftermath of the incident has shown how the international partnership has weakened, since NASA still doesn't have details about how the Russians first noticed an issue, attempts to counteract it, and other aspects of how the event unfolded.

"We have not had that discussion in intimate detail but that would have been very common 20 years ago," Shepherd said.

"The business of making the space station work was to get close together and sit around the table and work out the problems," he said. "We do not have that correlation with our Russian counterparts right now."

Gatens noted during her own comments that part of NASA's transition plan involves developing ways to continue current international cooperation in low Earth orbit in addition to the agency's ongoing efforts to court partnerships for its moon-bound Artemis program.

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— Building the International Space Station (photos)

YOU KNOW WHO YOU HAVE TO CALL FOR FINAL CLEAN UP

CAPITALI$M IN $PACE

NASA splits human spaceflight unit in two, reflecting new orbital economy

Reuters  Washington Published: Sep 23, 2021, 
 

Painters refurbish the NASA logo on the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida in Florida on May 29, 2020 

NASA chief Bill Nelson announced the reorganisation on Tuesday. This is reflective of evolving relationship between NASA, a US government agency that had monopoly on spaceflight for decades, and private players like SpaceX that have increasingly commercialised rocket travel

NASA is splitting its human spaceflight department into two separate bodies - one centered on big, future-oriented missions to the moon and Mars, the other on the International Space Station and other operations closer to Earth.

The reorganization, announced by NASA chief Bill Nelson on Tuesday, reflects an evolving relationship between private companies, such as SpaceX, that have increasingly commercialised rocket travel and the federal agency that had exercised a US monopoly over spaceflight for decades.

Nelson said the shake-up was also spurred by a recent proliferation of flights and commercial investment in low-Earth orbit even as NASA steps up its development of deep-space aspirations.

Also Read | Cracks on ISS a 'serious issue', says former NASA astronaut

"Today is more than organizational change," Nelson said at a press briefing. "It's setting the stage for the next 20 years, it's defining NASA's future in a growing space economy."

The move breaks up NASA's Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate, currently headed by Kathy Leuders, into two separate branches.

Leuders will keep her associate administrator title as head of the new Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, focusing on NASA's most ambitious, long-term programs, such as plans to return astronauts to the moon under project Artemis, and eventual human exploration of Mars.

Also Read | NASA's Ingenuity helicopter is finding it tougher to fly on Mars

A retired deputy associate administrator, James Free, who played key roles in NASA's space station and commercial crew and cargo programs, will return to the agency as head of the new Space Operations Mission Directorate.

His branch will primarily oversee more routine launch and spaceflight activities, including missions involving the space station and privatization of low-Earth orbit, as well as sustaining lunar operations once those have been established.

Also Read | NASA's Hubble Telescope captures massive 'eye' of dying star

"This approach with two areas focused on human spaceflight allows one mission directorate to operate in space while the other builds future space systems," NASA said in a press release announcing the move.

The announcement came less than a week after SpaceX, which had already flown numerous astronaut missions and cargo payloads to the space station for NASA, launched the first all-civilian crew ever to reach orbit and returned them safely to Earth.

Elon Musk says Inspiration4 crew had 'challenges' with the toilet

The Crew Dragon loo with a view needs some upgrades.


Amanda Kooser
Sept. 22, 2021 

Inspiration4 mission commander Jared Isaacman poses inside the Crew Dragon cupola window. Inspiration4

SpaceX's Inspiration4 orbital mission with four non-professional astronauts was by all accounts quite a triumph for space history, space tourism and fundraising for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. However, there may have been some tense moments when it came to using the toilet on board the Crew Dragon spacecraft.

SpaceX founder Elon Musk tweeted Monday night that the Inspiration4 crew had some "challenges" with the loo. He promised upgrades for future missions.

For better or worse, Musk didn't elaborate on the exact challenges. The all-civilian crew of four consisted of billionaire Shift4 Payments founder Jared Isaacman, St. Jude physician assistant and childhood cancer survivor Hayley Arceneaux, geoscientist Sian Proctor and aerospace industry professional Chris Sembroski.

SpaceX hasn't revealed much about how the toilet works, but Isaacman told Insider in July that the facilities were located near the spacecraft's large cupola window with a curtain to allow for a wee bit of privacy. He described the toilet as having "one hell of a view."

Toilets in space can be tricky. The International Space Station got a new toilet last year. It uses a suction system to keep waste from floating about and incorporates upgrades to better accommodate female astronauts.

European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Pesquet took a flight to the ISS on a Crew Dragon earlier this year and tweeted a photo of the toilet on his ride, calling it "one of the most secret yet useful systems on the spacecraft."



Inspiration4 spent three days in orbit before returning to Earth with a splashdown on Saturday. That's three days of using the bathroom in microgravity while in very close quarters with others. Upon hearing of the mission's potty problems, bidet company Tushy said its product engineers were standing at the ready to develop the first ever space bidet, the Tushy Ass Blast 9000.

Anything that improves the toilet situation will no doubt be welcomed by the next crew to board the Dragon.

THEY REALLY NEED TO CALL

 

Report: America's 400 wealthiest families paid 8.2% in income taxes

Sept. 23 (UPI) -- The 400 wealthiest families in America paid an average federal income tax rate of 8.2% on $1.8 trillion of income between 2010 and 2018, according to a recent analysis by the White House.

Senior White House Economist Greg Leiserson and Chief White House Economist Danny Yagan authored the report based on Internal Revenue Services statistics, the Federal Reserve's Survey of Consumer Finances and Forbes magazine estimates.

It comes as President Joe Biden proposes tax increases on the wealthy and corporations to pay for spending in areas like healthcare and childcare.

America's wealthiest 400 families have been taxed at preferred rates and have been able to avoid taxes on investment gains, placing their tax burden fall below the maximum 37%.

Investment gains are a primary source of income for wealthy families. A "stepped-up basis" tax preference allows wealthy families to pass investment gains to their heirs without having capital gains income appear on their tax returns.

Biden's budget proposes to end the "stepped-up basis" for the highest-income Americans to ensure that all investment gains are subject to income tax.

"Two factors that contribute to this low estimated tax rate include low tax rates on the capital gains and dividends that are taxed, and wealthy families' ability to permanently avoid paying tax on investment gains that are excluded from taxable income," the report said.

The White House estimate of how much the wealthiest American's pay in taxes is far below that of other analyses due to the inclusion of the value of stock portfolio's as income, The New York Times noted.

An estimate by the Tax Policy Center put the average effective tax rate of the top 1,400 American households at 24% in 2015, compared with 14% for all taxpayers.

Who are the Saputos?: Meet the Quebec billionaire family thriving on North America's love affair with pizza and mozzarella

Lino Saputo persuaded his father to start a cheese-making business in the 1950s — now the company is an international dairy behemoth

Author of the article: Quentin Casey
Publishing date:Sep 22, 2021 • 

Lino Saputo Sr., front, of the Montreal dairy giant Saputo Inc., and Lino A. Saputo Jr., president of and chief executive officer of the company, are seen at the annual Saputo meeting in Laval, in 2009. PHOTO BY DARIO AYALA/THE GAZETTE FILES

Considering its global reach, billions of dollars in sales, and the wealth of its founding family, Saputo Inc. is not an overly well-known Canadian company.

And yet over 70 years Saputo Inc., started by a family of Italian immigrants, has grown swiftly into an international dairy behemoth.

The Montreal-headquartered company is one of the biggest dairy processors in the world, selling cheese, milk, and other dairy products in more than 60 countries. It has in excess of 17,000 employees, 65 plants (18 in Canada; 27 in the U.S.; the rest in Argentina, Australia and the U.K.), and dozens of brands, such as Dairyland, Neilson, Milk2Go, Armstrong, Frigo, Baxter, Scotsburn, and Stella. Combined, Saputo Inc.’s brands generate north of $14 billion in annual revenue.

The company’s immense growth has propelled the founding Saputo family into the ranks of billionaires. As of September, founder Emanuele (Lino) Saputo and his family had a net worth of US$5.5 billion, according to Forbes, placing the family in the No. 486 spot on the Forbes list of global billionaires.

A sign at a Montreal Saputo plant, pictured in 2014. 

PHOTO BY RYAN REMIORZ/THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES

Despite its size and status as a publicly traded company, Saputo Inc. still treads heavily on its humble origin story.

In the early 1950s, members of the Saputo family, led by Giuseppe, a cheesemaker, immigrated to Canada from the Italian village of Montelepre. One of Giuseppe’s sons, Lino, persuaded him to start a cheese-making business. According to the company’s corporate history, the family used $500 to buy equipment — and a bicycle for deliveries — in September 1954. The company built its first significant production facility three years later, and quickly benefited from the boom in the North American appetite for pizza and, specifically, mozzarella.

The company, long helmed by Lino Saputo, grew in large part through acquisition, including the 1988 purchase of two American cheese plants. The company went public on the Toronto Stock Exchange in October 1997 and shortly after tripled its size by acquiring Stella Foods in the U.S. Jolina Capital Inc., a holding company controlled by Lino Saputo, holds 32 per cent of Saputo Inc., making Jolina the principal shareholder.

Saputo, the son of an immigrant cheesemaker, had become a billionaire, philanthropist, and head of Quebec’s richest family.

“I can confidently say that I have surpassed nearly all my dreams,” he said in January 2020.

Saputo, now 84, stepped aside as Saputo Inc. chief executive in 2003, replaced by his son Lino Saputo Jr., marking a transition to third-generation family management. Lino Saputo Sr. remained as chair of the board until 2017, when he was again followed by his son. The company did not make either father or son available for an interview, saying Lino Sr. “is enjoying his well-earned retirement,” while Lino Jr. was too busy.

Lino Saputo Jr., now described as the richest man in Quebec, has continued Saputo Inc.’s regular diet of acquisitions, even buying companies focused on dairy alternatives, in an attempt to profit from the move by many consumers to non-dairy products.

The company says it has spent $9.1 billion to expand its operations since its 1997 initial public offering, including through 35 acquisitions, earning it a strong reputation for integrating and improving the many companies it has gobbled up. The company has made four acquisitions in 2021 alone, the most recent being its September purchase of the Carolina Aseptic and Carolina Dairy businesses in North Carolina for US$118 million (approximately $149 million)

.

Saputo Inc. chief executive Lino Saputo Jr., speaks during the company’s annual general meeting in Laval, Que., in 2019. 

PHOTO BY GRAHAM HUGHES/THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES

“We’re very fortunate that we’ve gotten very good at acquisitions,” Saputo Jr. told the Financial Post in 2019 when he was named Canada’s Outstanding CEO of the Year. “First and foremost, it’s through the due diligence process that we recognize how important it is to integrate effectively. I would say that we’ve looked at over 300 files and we’ve only made 31 acquisitions since we went public in 1997, so we have looked at a lot of files and we’ve walked away from a lot more files than we’ve materialized.”

Overall, Saputo Inc. posted revenue of $14.2 billion for the fiscal year ended March 2021 (down slightly from $14.9 billion in 2020), with $6.1 billion of 2021 revenue coming from the U.S., its largest geographic source of sales. Adjusted net earnings in 2021 were $715 million, down from $724 million in 2020.

Saputo Jr., now in his mid-50s, has been with the family-controlled company for 33 years, including nearly two decades as chief executive. According to a 2019 profile in the Globe and Mail, he has a constantly revolving collection of luxury cars, with a particular affinity for 1980s-era Porsches. A hockey fanatic, he built a private three-on-three rink that’s also used for a yearly company hockey tournament.

Saputo Jr., who plays goalie, says he enjoys the hot seat because “the puck stops with you.”

“No matter how many mistakes the people in front of you make, if the puck’s in the net, it’s on you. I love that pressure and I love that responsibility,” he told the Post. “Yes, it’s also a lonely position, just like sometimes when you’re a CEO it is a lonely position. Although you’re well supported with people around you, at the end of the day, you’re responsible for the success and the failure of the organization.”

The extent of his goaltending prowess is unclear, though it’s apparent he’s so far helped stop Saputo Inc. from following the tradition of third-generation family business decay.

“In the United States, a familiar aphorism — ‘Shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations’ — describes the propensity of family-owned enterprises to fail by the time the founder’s grandchildren have taken charge,” wrote George Stalk Jr. and Henry Foley in the Harvard Business Review in 2012. “Some 70 per cent of family-owned businesses fail or are sold before the second generation gets a chance to take over… In many ways, leading a family-owned business has never been harder.”

I don’t take anything for granted at all. It forces me to work a little harder

LINO SAPUTO JR.

Saputo Jr. told the Post he is familiar with the third-generation curse or, as he put it, “rags to riches to rags.”

“I don’t want to be the third generation that brings in that factor. I’m mindful of that every single day so I don’t take anything for granted at all. It forces me to work a little harder.”

Holness promises environmental justice for Montreal's poor neighbourhoods

"Access to community green spaces shouldn’t be affected by geography or socioeconomic status," mayoral candidate Balarama Holness says.

Author of the article:Linda Gyulai • Montreal Gazette
Publishing date:Sep 23, 2021 • 

Mayoral candidate Balarama Holness, left.

 PHOTO BY PIERRE OBENDRAUF /Montreal Gazette files

Armed with scientific studies showing that low-income Montreal neighbourhoods have higher levels of air pollution, less access to green space and higher rates of certain cancers than wealthier neighbourhoods, mayoral candidate Balarama Holness is set to unveil an environmental justice plank to his election platform on Thursday.

“Access to community green spaces shouldn’t be affected by geography or socioeconomic status,” Holness, who leads the Movement Montreal party, said in an interview on Wednesday. He added that he wants to “position Montreal as a leader in environmental justice by developing inclusive policies that will meaningfully address the climate crisis.”

Citing academic studies from the last 15 years, Holness said the research has demonstrated that access to green space has a significant impact on health, and access to outdoor sports and leisure equipment and indoor recreational facilities contributes to higher life expectancy. Despite that, Montreal has “failed to develop green spaces, community gardens and sports infrastructure in lower-income boroughs across the island,” Holness said.

Among its promises, Movement Montreal says it would use zoning bylaws to combat heat islands by developing more green spaces, particularly in low-income neighbourhoods.

Green spaces help counter the urban heat island effect, so residents of poor neighbourhoods also suffer in extreme heat, he said.

More green space and recreational facilities in poor neighbourhoods would also help in integrating new immigrants, Holness said.

Movement Montreal also promises to establish an emergency response plan for climate crises, like the extreme heat that was blamed for the deaths of 66 Montrealers in 2018. To that end, the party would set up an advisory committee on climate justice to advise city hall.

An emergency plan would ensure that seniors have access to air conditioning and water through door-to-door visits by intervenors assisted by firefighters, Holness said. He said he also wants the city to subsidize the purchase of air conditioners in low-income areas.

Movement Montreal also pledges to operate bus routes during summer months to shuttle residents living on the peripheries of the island to Mount Royal.

“If Mount Royal is the gem of Montreal, we need to have boroughs on the periphery of the island get access to Mount Royal,” Holness said.

The party’s ideas, he said, were inspired by one of the recommendations of the Office de consultation publique de Montréal in its June 2020 report on racism and systemic discrimination in city departments.

Recommendation 31, which was supposed to have been acted on within a year, calls for the city to create a committee with civil servants and researchers to develop a strategy, timeline and performance indicators to overcome food deserts (no or few grocery stores) in boroughs, territorial disparities in public transit, green space inequity and gaps in park and infrastructure maintenance.

One of the studies Holness cited, published by McGill University researchers in 2009, found that poor Montreal neighbourhoods had higher levels of ambient air pollution. The study’s authors referred to a “triple burden of social, material and environmental deprivation,” although excess exposure to air pollution also crossed social and economic boundaries in Montreal.

Another study, published in 2012, showed that low-income people and visible minorities in Montreal have more limited access to vegetation.

Report: Britain paid compensation for nearly 300 Afghan civilian deaths

The British government paid $944,348 in compensation for the deaths of 86 children and 203 adult civilians at the hands of British forces in Afghanistan, according to a report released Thursday. File Photo by Hedayatullah Amid/EPA-EFE

Sept. 23 (UPI) -- Britain paid out nearly $1 million in compensation for almost 300 civilian deaths during the conflict in Afghanistan, according to an analysis of government documents released Thursday.

Throughout Britain's presence in Afghanistan from 2006 to 2013, forces paid $944,348.80 in compensation for the deaths of at least 86 children and 203 adult civilians, according to Ministry of Defense compensation logs obtained by London-based charity Action on Armed Violence, or AOAV.

The British government paid out an average of $3,266 per life lost, although AOAV noted some of the payments were combined with injuries and property damage so the average is "somewhat inflated."

In one of the most substantial payments the government paid $5,811.23 to a family after their four children were mistakenly shot and killed in December 2009

During the same month, a 3-year-old child was killed by shock from a controlled explosion, marking the youngest recorded casualty.

AOAV noted that compensation payments were "highly inconsistent" as one family received $804.79 for the death of their 10-year-old son in December 2009 and another family was given $142.96 for a confirmed fatality and property damage in Helmand province.

In some instances, the government paid out more to Afghans for damage to property and animals than the loss of human life.

RELATEDTaliban's windfall from U.S. withdrawal: $83B in weapons

AOAV noted that there were 106 instances involving property in the 2009-10 fiscal year that exceeded the amount paid to the 10-year-old or the unnamed 2008 casualty including $908 paid as compensation for the death of six donkeys "when they wandered on to the rifle range."

Most of the deaths that led to compensation occurred in the Helmand province and payments stating that Afghan or U.S. military were responsible for the deaths were not included in the figures provided by the charity.

At least 20,930 civilians were killed or injured by international and Afghan forces, including roughly one-third caused by the Taliban and other anti-government forces, from 2007 to 2020, according to AOAV analysis of reports by the United Nations. Additionally, AOAV reported that 457 British soldiers were killed from 2001 to 2020.

RELATEDIslamic State-Khorasan a threat to Afghan civilians, Taliban

The release of the report also comes after the United States last week announced that an Aug. 29 drone strike killed 10 Afghan civilians, including several children and not an Islamic State-Khorasan Province militant as originally reported.A

 

Gallup: Supreme Court job approval hits new low

Members of the Supreme Court pose for a group photo at the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on April 23. Forty percent of U.S. residents said they approve of the job the court is doing, according to Gallup. File Photo by Erin Schaff/UPI | License Photo

Sept. 23 (UPI) -- Approval of the U.S. Supreme Court fell to 40%, a new low for the nation's highest court, according to a Gallup report released Thursday.

The fall, which shattered the old record of 42% in 2005, was off from the approval rating of 49% in July, Gallup said.

The court has ruled on several politically divisive issues. Among them, the court declined to step in and block a controversial Texas abortion law, allowed colleges to issue vaccine mandates and denied the Biden administration a chance to extend a federal moratorium on evictions because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The survey was conducted by telephone interviews from Sept. 1-17 with 1,005 adults with a margin of error of 4%.

"Americans' opinions of the Supreme Court are now the worst Gallup has measured in its polling on the institution over the past two-plus decades," Gallup said. "At this point, less than a majority of Republicans, Democrats and independents approve of the job the court is doing. Barely half of Democrats and independents are confident in it, while confidence is slightly higher among Republicans."

In an unusual, twist, despite former President Donald Trump appointing three members to the current court, confidence in the court for Republicans dropped significantly from September 2020 (82%) to September 2021 (61%).

Fifty percent of Democrats and 51% of independents said they have confidence in the court.

Colorado's Lake Powell may not generate hydropower in 2023 due to drought

Colorado River water is released at the Glen Canyon Dam in 2004. 

File Photo by Will Powers/UPI | License Photo

Sept. 23 (UPI) -- Drought conditions have led to falling water levels at the second-largest man-made reservoir in the nation and could result in a loss of hydropower as soon as next year.

New projections released by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation show that there is a 3% chance that Lake Powell could drop below a minimum level needed to generate hydroelectricity next year.

In June, the probability for Lake Powell -- which powers the Glen Canyon Dam -- to fall less than 3,490 feet was 0% in 2022 and 5% in 2023. That increased in August to 3% in 2022 and 34% in 2023.

From 2024 to 2026, chances of low levels range from 25% to 34%.

The projections also show that Lake Mead has a 12% chance of falling less than 1,000 feet in 2024. The probability increases to 22% in 2025 and 2026.

Falling water levels could affect 5.8 million homes and businesses that rely on Lake Powell for hydropower and 25 million people in the west who rely on Lake Mead's Hoover Dam.

A study in 2020 found that 2000-2018 was the driest 19-year stretch since the 1500s.

Colorado River water is released at the Glen Canyon Dam in 2004. File Photo by Will Powers/UPI | License Photo

#ENDCUBASANCTIONS           #ENDCUBAEMBARGO

Cuban president calls on United Nations to help end U.S. sanctions


Cuban President Miguel Mario Díaz-Canal Bermúdez speaks via video link at the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly at United Nations headquarters on Thursday. 

Photo by Spencer Platt/UPI | License Photo

Sept. 23 (UPI) -- Cuban President Miguel Mario Díaz-Canel called on the United Nations to help it end long-running sanctions applied against it by the United States, saying the actions have a "marked racist influence."

Canal, who delivered a prerecorded message to the 76th United Nations General Assembly Thursday morning, said the United States has bullied other countries in joining them in sanctions and other economic penalties against his country and others like Venezuela.

"Under the leadership and ongoing [policies] of the United States, we see a serious international riff being promoted with the harmful use and abuse of economic measures, which has become a central instrument of U.S. foreign policy," Canal said in his speech.

"The government of that country is threatening, extorting and pressuring sovereign states to take a stand and act against those who they identify as their adversaries. They demand that their allies build coalitions to overthrow legitimate governments. They default on trade commitments. They ban certain technologies and they apply unjustified judicial measures against citizens of countries who don't bend to their will."

The communist country leader said Cuba "does not fit" into the United States' definition of "international community."

"It is a behavior that is associated with cultural and ideological intolerance with a marked racist influence and with hegemonic aims," Canal said.

The United States' comprehensive, long history of sanctions against Cuba dating back to the 1960s after Fidel Castro was swept into power.

Iraqi President Barham Salih, speaking at the close of the morning session, looked ahead to his country's upcoming elections, saying they'll impact the entire region. He said peace in the region won't be achieved without a secure and stable Iraq.

Salih said Iraq was facing a "national battle" against corruption.

He also called attention to the effects of climate change on Iraq.

"Iraq is going through difficult climatic conditions of desertification and a scarcity of water resources that made the country the fifth most vulnerable to climate changes," he said.

Panamanian President Laurentino Cortizo, meanwhile, called on the international community's help dealing with an increase in migrants. He said 30,000 people entered the country in August, up from 800 in January. Some 80,000 have passed through the country this year.

Panama does its part. Now, we appeal to the international community to, as soon as possible, make a joint effort, with coordinated strategies and resources," Cortizo said.

The first two days featured addresses from U.S. President Joe Biden, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Iran President Ebrahim Raisi, Chinese President Xi Jinping and South Korean President Moon Jae-in.

World leaders assemble at United Nations

Cuba's President Miguel Mario Díaz-Canel Bermúdez speaks via video link at the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly at the United Nations headquarters on Thursday. 

Pool photo by Spencer Platt/UPI | License Photo

WAS ABOUT TO BE DEPORTED TO GERMANY

Ex-Nazi interpreter Helmut Oberlander has died in Waterloo, Ont., family says

Maintaining he was 17 when forced to join Nazi death squad, he'd been in long battle to stay in Canada

CBC News · Posted: Sep 23, 2021

The federal government has been in a legal battle with Helmut Oberlander since 1995 to strip the former Nazi interpreter of his citizenship. Oberlander died on Wednesday at his home in Waterloo, Ont., his family said in a statement. (CIJA)


Helmut Oberlander, the former interpreter for a Nazi death squad during the Second World War, has died in Waterloo, Ont., according to his family.

Oberlander, 97, died in his home on Wednesday. A statement from his family said he was "surrounded by loved ones."

"Notwithstanding the challenges in his life, he remained strong in his faith," read the statement sent to CBC News by Oberlander's lawyer, Ronald Poulton. "He took comfort in his family and the support of many in his community. He gave generously to charity, supported his church and was a loving family man. He will be dearly missed."

Oberlander had been in a legal battle with the federal government to maintain his citizenship since 1995.

Earlier this month, Oberlander faced an admissibility hearing by the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada about whether he could remain in Canada.

The federal government argued Oberlander lied to Canadian authorities about his wartime activities despite no evidence he took part in any atrocities.

Oberlander was born in Halbstadt, Ukraine, in 1924. He has steadfastly maintained he was just 17 when he was forced on pain of execution to join the Nazi death squad Einsatzkommando 10a, known as Ek 10a.

The squad was responsible for killing close to 100,000 people who were mostly Jewish. Oberlander was not accused of taking part in any executions.

He came to Canada in 1954 and became a citizen six years later.

WATCH | Jewish residents of Rostov-on-Don in Russia express outrage about Oberlander



Former Nazi interpreter living in Canada tries to stop deportation proceedings

6 months ago News
Jewish residents of Rostov-on-Don in southern Russia are outraged that the former Nazi interpreter whose unit almost wiped out their community is 'living a quiet life' in Canada. WARNING: Some of the images in this story may be disturbing to some viewers. 6:17

Calls for accountability

In the summer of 1942, the Nazi death squads Oberlander worked for went to the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, about 1,000 kilometres south of Moscow, and over a year and a half reportedly killed 27,000 people.

Chaim Danzinger, the rabbi in Rostov-on-Don who continues work to rebuild the community, told CBC News earlier this year that he has struggled to explain to the community how Canada handled Oberlander's case.

Oberlander himself has not been accused of carrying out the executions in Rostov-on-Don, but Danzinger said he should have been held accountable for his part in the massacre as a member of the unit responsible.

"[Oberlander] will certainly not be missed by the individuals and families who remember him for his role in the massacre in Rostov during the war," he said in an email to CBC.

"It is outrageous for them to hear that he died 'peacefully' when their relatives died horrifically in that mass killing, which he was never held accountable for. I do believe in divine justice and know that the ultimate judge will now mete out the consequences he deserves, but it's unfortunate society did not seek justice in this world."

Shimon Koffler Fogel, president and CEO of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, said in a statement that Oberlander "should have been deported decades ago to face justice in Germany."

"To honour Canadians' collective commitment to 'never again,' we call for a thorough review of the immigration and refugee system as it pertains to suspected war criminals, so that those alleged to have committed the most atrocious of crimes cannot evade judgment. This travesty of justice should never be allowed to occur again in Canada."
B'nai Brith issues statement

B'nai Brith Canada, an independent Jewish human rights organization, issued a statement Thursday saying the group was frustrated by Canada's failure to deport Oberlander.

"The peaceful demise of Helmut Oberlander on Canadian soil is a stain on our national conscience," said the group's chief executive officer, Michael Mostyn.

"The fact is that this country slammed its doors on Jewish refugees fleeing the Nazis, then allowed some of their tormentors into Canada and failed to deport them," Mostyn continued.

"We at B'nai Brith are proud of our decades-long fight on the Oberlander file and will continue the struggle to ensure that those who have attacked Jews and lied about it in order to enter Canada cannot remain in this country."

Nazi war crimes suspect in Canada dies before extradition to Germany

Helmut Oberlander, an ex-Nazi interpreter, had been fighting to stay in Canada for nearly 26 years. Before his death, he had argued that he was forcibly conscripted by the Nazis.



Officials tried to expel Helmut Oberlander, saying that he had hidden his role as a Nazi interpreter

An ex-Nazi interpreter, the last in Canada to face allegations connected to Nazi war crimes, has died at the age of 97, local media reported on Wednesday.

Helmut Oberlander, who was facing extradition, had been fighting to stay in Canada for nearly 26 years since police launched an investigation into his links to atrocities committed during World War II.

Oberlander died on Monday, just as the Canadian government was concluding the process for his extradition, The Globe and Mail newspaper reported.

Canadian officials tried to expel him on the basis that he had hidden his role as an interpreter for a Nazi death squad during Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union.

The Ukrainian-born immigrant died in his home on Monday. His family described him as a man of both faith and community. However, his critics and investigators saw him as a war criminal.

"Notwithstanding the challenges in his life, he remained strong in his faith. He took comfort in his family and the support of many in his community," the Oberlander family said in a statement.

Several expulsion attempts dodged

In December 2019, Canada's top court declined to review a decision to strip him of his citizenship for alleged ties to the Nazis in World War II. A federal court found that he had "significantly misrepresented his wartime activities to Canadian immigration and citizenship officials when he applied to enter Canada" in 1952, according to a legal summary of the case.

He was admitted in 1954 as a permanent resident, and obtained Canadian citizenship in 1960.

Immigration officials had tried to revoke his citizenship on several occasions. In 2001, 2007 and 2012, Canadian courts fought to take away his citizenship, but the decisions were set aside on appeal.

Each time, Oberlander argued that he was forcibly conscripted by the Nazis and that he had acted as an interpreter for the Einsatzkommando 10a death squad.

Critics call out flaws in justice system

Critics of the case have said the failure to revoke Oberlander's citizenship revealed flaws in the Canadian justice system.

"We need to revisit the whole process of bringing war criminals to justice," former justice minister and ex-Liberal MP Irwin Cotler told The Globe and Mail.

"We have war criminals residing in Canada from different killing fields," he added. "We have neither the investigative capacity nor the legal remedial approach to do what has to be done as effectively as possible."

DW