Pope appears to give thumbs down to Trump's Mideast peace plan
BARI, Italy (Reuters) - Pope Francis on Sunday warned against “inequitable solutions” to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, saying they would only be a prelude to new crises, in an apparent reference to U.S. President Donald Trump’s Middle East peace proposal.
Francis made his comments in the southern Italian port city of Bari, where he traveled to conclude a meeting of bishops from all countries in the Mediterranean basin.
“The Mediterranean region is currently threatened by outbreaks of instability and conflict, both in the Middle East and different countries of North Africa, as well as between various ethnic, religious or confessional groups,” Francis said.
“Nor can we overlook the still unresolved conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, with the danger of inequitable solutions and, hence, a prelude to new crises,” he said.
The participants included Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the head of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, whose jurisdiction includes Israel, the Palestinian territories and Jordan.
It was believed to be the first time the pope, who has often defended both Palestinian rights and Israel’s need for security, has spoken in public about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since Trump announced the plan on Jan. 28.
The plan would recognize Israel’s authority over West Bank Jewish settlements and require Palestinians meet a series of conditions for a state, with its capital in a West Bank village east of Jerusalem.
Although Trump’s stated aim was to end decades of conflict, his plan favored Israel, underlined by the Palestinians’ absence from his White House announcement with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his side.
The Palestinians and Arab League foreign ministers have rejected the plan and the Palestinian Authority has cut all ties with the United States and Israel.
Palestinians, with broad international backing, want East Jerusalem as the capital of a future independent state, while Israel views the whole city its “united and eternal” capital.
The pope expressed concern in 2018 when the United States announced the moving of its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, saying the city’s “status quo” should be respected. Francis has called for all to honor U.N. resolutions on the city.
“There is no reasonable alternative to peace, because every attempt at exploitation or supremacy demeans both its author and its target. It shows a myopic grasp of reality, since it can offer no future to either of the two,” Francis said, speaking in general about the Middle East.
Francis again warned against populist politicians who he said used “demagogic terms” such as “invasion” when talking of migration.
“To be sure, acceptance and a dignified integration are stages in a process that is not easy. Yet it is unthinkable that we can address the problem by putting up walls,” he said.
Reporting By Philip Pullella. Editing by Jane Merriman
Sunday, February 23, 2020
Report finds Catholic charity founder sexually abused women
CELIBACY AT ALL COSTS HAS A COST
By SYLVIE CORBET, Associated Press
PARIS (AP) — A respected Catholic figure who helped improve conditions for the developmentally disabled in multiple countries over half a century sexually abused at least six women, a report produced for his French-based charity has found.
CELIBACY AT ALL COSTS HAS A COST
By SYLVIE CORBET, Associated Press
PARIS (AP) — A respected Catholic figure who helped improve conditions for the developmentally disabled in multiple countries over half a century sexually abused at least six women, a report produced for his French-based charity has found.
© Provided by Associated Press FILE - In this file photo dated Wednesday, March 11, 2015, showing Jean Vanier, the founder of L'ARCHE, an international network of communities where people with and without intellectual disabilities live and work together, in central London. Saturday Feb. 22, An internal report revealed2020, that L’Arche founder Jean Vanier, a respected Canadian religious figure, sexually abused at least six women. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis, FILE)
According to the report released by L'Arche International Saturday, the women's descriptions provide evidence enough to show that Jean Vanier engaged in "manipulative sexual relationships" over a period from 1970 to 2005, usually with a “psychological hold” over the alleged victims. Vanier, a Canadian, died last year at age 90.
“The alleged victims felt deprived of their free will and so the sexual activity was coerced or took place under coercive conditions,” the report said. It did not rule out potential other victims.
None of the women was disabled, a significant point given the Vatican has long sought to portray any sexual relationship between religious leaders and other adults as consensual unless there was clear evidence of disability. The #MeToo and #ChurchToo movements, however, have forced a recognition that power imbalances such as those in spiritual relationships can breed abuse.
During the inquiry, commissioned by L'Arche last year and carried out by the independent, U.K.-based GCPS Consulting group, six adult, non-disabled women said Vanier had engaged in sexual relations with them as they were seeking spiritual direction.
According to the report, the women, who have no links to each other, reported similar facts and Vanier's sexual misconduct was often associated with alleged “spiritual and mystical justifications."
A statement released by L'Arche France Saturday stressed that some women still have “deep wounds."
The report noted similarities with the pattern of abuse of the Rev. Thomas Philippe, a Catholic priest Vanier called his “spiritual father.” Philippe, who died in 1993, has been accused of sexual abuse by several women.
A statement from L'Arche International said analysis of archives shows that Vanier “adopted some of Father Thomas Philippe's deviant theories and practices.” Philippe was banned from exercising any public or private ministry in a trial led by the Catholic Church in 1956 for his theories and the sexual practices that stemmed from them.
In a letter to the charity members, the Leaders of L’Arche International, Stephan Posner and Stacy Cates Carney, told of their shock at the news, and condemned Vanier's actions.
“For many of us, Jean was one of the people we loved and respected the most. ... While the considerable good he did throughout his life is not in question, we will nevertheless have to mourn a certain image we may have had of Jean and of the origins of L’Arche,” they wrote.
Vanier worked as a Canadian navy officer and professor before turning to charity work. A visit to a psychiatric facility prompted him to found the charity L’Arche in 1964 as an alternative living environment where those with developmental disabilities could be full-fledged participants in the community instead of patients.
The charity now has facilities in 38 countries that are home to thousands of people both with and without disabilities.
Vanier, who was unmarried, also traveled the world to encourage dialogue across religions, and was awarded the 2015 Templeton Prize for spiritual work, as well as France's Legion of Honor. He was the subject of a documentary shown at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival called “Jean Vanier, the Sacrament of Tenderness.”
The allegations against Vanier reveal a major gap in the Catholic Church’s handling of sex abuse allegations to date: Because he was a layman, he was exempt from the Vatican’s in-house sanctioning procedures for abuse, which only cover priests, bishops and cardinals. For these offenders, the worst penalty the Vatican can impose is defrocking — essentially, making the priests laymen again.
A similar case concerned the lay leader of a Peru-based organization, Sodalicio, who escaped Vatican justice for years even though there were credible allegations of sexual, physical and psychological abuse against him. The Vatican finally ordered him to live in isolation from his followers, a penalty that drew scorn from his victims given that it amounted to an all-expense-paid retirement in Rome.
L'Arche: Investigation reveals abuses committed by founder Vanier
FILE PHOTO: Jean Vanier, poses outside his home in Trosly-Breuil, in this picture taken March 7, 2015. REUTERS/Tom Heneghan
PARIS (Reuters) - Jean Vanier, the now deceased founder of L’Arche, a not-for-profit organization which helps people with learning difficulties, sexually abused six women in France, the body said on Saturday, citing the conclusions of an investigation.
In a letter sent on Saturday to the L’Arche Federation, the leaders of the organization made public the conclusions of the investigation which they had commissioned from an external and independent UK-based body GCPS.
Vanier, who founded l’Arche in 1964, died last year aged 90.
The GCPS investigation included testimonies implicating Vanier and highlighted his historic links to Father Thomas Philippe, a priest whom he considered to be his spiritual father, the letter said.
From 2014, L’Arche officials received several testimonies from women alleging that they had been sexually abused by Philippe, prompting the latest investigation.
The probe also uncovered acts of abuse committed by Vanier. “Sincere and consistent testimonies spanning from 1970-2005 were received from six adult women without disabilities indicating that Jean Vanier initiated sexual relations with them, generally as part of spiritual accompaniment. Some of these women have suffered deep wounds,” L’Arche said, without specifying the nature of the harm suffered.
The current leaders of L’Arche International, Stephan Posner and Stacy Cates Carney, wrote in a letter to the L’Arche Federation published on Saturday, that they were shocked by the discoveries and unreservedly condemned the actions of Vanier and Philippe.
According to the report released by L'Arche International Saturday, the women's descriptions provide evidence enough to show that Jean Vanier engaged in "manipulative sexual relationships" over a period from 1970 to 2005, usually with a “psychological hold” over the alleged victims. Vanier, a Canadian, died last year at age 90.
“The alleged victims felt deprived of their free will and so the sexual activity was coerced or took place under coercive conditions,” the report said. It did not rule out potential other victims.
None of the women was disabled, a significant point given the Vatican has long sought to portray any sexual relationship between religious leaders and other adults as consensual unless there was clear evidence of disability. The #MeToo and #ChurchToo movements, however, have forced a recognition that power imbalances such as those in spiritual relationships can breed abuse.
During the inquiry, commissioned by L'Arche last year and carried out by the independent, U.K.-based GCPS Consulting group, six adult, non-disabled women said Vanier had engaged in sexual relations with them as they were seeking spiritual direction.
According to the report, the women, who have no links to each other, reported similar facts and Vanier's sexual misconduct was often associated with alleged “spiritual and mystical justifications."
A statement released by L'Arche France Saturday stressed that some women still have “deep wounds."
The report noted similarities with the pattern of abuse of the Rev. Thomas Philippe, a Catholic priest Vanier called his “spiritual father.” Philippe, who died in 1993, has been accused of sexual abuse by several women.
A statement from L'Arche International said analysis of archives shows that Vanier “adopted some of Father Thomas Philippe's deviant theories and practices.” Philippe was banned from exercising any public or private ministry in a trial led by the Catholic Church in 1956 for his theories and the sexual practices that stemmed from them.
In a letter to the charity members, the Leaders of L’Arche International, Stephan Posner and Stacy Cates Carney, told of their shock at the news, and condemned Vanier's actions.
“For many of us, Jean was one of the people we loved and respected the most. ... While the considerable good he did throughout his life is not in question, we will nevertheless have to mourn a certain image we may have had of Jean and of the origins of L’Arche,” they wrote.
Vanier worked as a Canadian navy officer and professor before turning to charity work. A visit to a psychiatric facility prompted him to found the charity L’Arche in 1964 as an alternative living environment where those with developmental disabilities could be full-fledged participants in the community instead of patients.
The charity now has facilities in 38 countries that are home to thousands of people both with and without disabilities.
Vanier, who was unmarried, also traveled the world to encourage dialogue across religions, and was awarded the 2015 Templeton Prize for spiritual work, as well as France's Legion of Honor. He was the subject of a documentary shown at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival called “Jean Vanier, the Sacrament of Tenderness.”
The allegations against Vanier reveal a major gap in the Catholic Church’s handling of sex abuse allegations to date: Because he was a layman, he was exempt from the Vatican’s in-house sanctioning procedures for abuse, which only cover priests, bishops and cardinals. For these offenders, the worst penalty the Vatican can impose is defrocking — essentially, making the priests laymen again.
A similar case concerned the lay leader of a Peru-based organization, Sodalicio, who escaped Vatican justice for years even though there were credible allegations of sexual, physical and psychological abuse against him. The Vatican finally ordered him to live in isolation from his followers, a penalty that drew scorn from his victims given that it amounted to an all-expense-paid retirement in Rome.
L'Arche: Investigation reveals abuses committed by founder Vanier
FILE PHOTO: Jean Vanier, poses outside his home in Trosly-Breuil, in this picture taken March 7, 2015. REUTERS/Tom Heneghan
PARIS (Reuters) - Jean Vanier, the now deceased founder of L’Arche, a not-for-profit organization which helps people with learning difficulties, sexually abused six women in France, the body said on Saturday, citing the conclusions of an investigation.
In a letter sent on Saturday to the L’Arche Federation, the leaders of the organization made public the conclusions of the investigation which they had commissioned from an external and independent UK-based body GCPS.
Vanier, who founded l’Arche in 1964, died last year aged 90.
The GCPS investigation included testimonies implicating Vanier and highlighted his historic links to Father Thomas Philippe, a priest whom he considered to be his spiritual father, the letter said.
From 2014, L’Arche officials received several testimonies from women alleging that they had been sexually abused by Philippe, prompting the latest investigation.
The probe also uncovered acts of abuse committed by Vanier. “Sincere and consistent testimonies spanning from 1970-2005 were received from six adult women without disabilities indicating that Jean Vanier initiated sexual relations with them, generally as part of spiritual accompaniment. Some of these women have suffered deep wounds,” L’Arche said, without specifying the nature of the harm suffered.
The current leaders of L’Arche International, Stephan Posner and Stacy Cates Carney, wrote in a letter to the L’Arche Federation published on Saturday, that they were shocked by the discoveries and unreservedly condemned the actions of Vanier and Philippe.
Dominicans take to the streets in protest after election suspension
ON THE OTHER SIDE OF HAITI
Ezequiel Abiu Lopez
SANTO DOMINGO (Reuters) - Hundreds of Dominicans took to the streets on Saturday night in fresh protests after the abrupt suspension of municipal elections that unleashed a political crisis months before the Caribbean island votes for a new president.
The protests started after the electoral institute on Feb. 16 suspended a nationwide election four hours after voting began. The authority said about half of the machines used in the most populated municipalities to cast votes electronically had failed.
“We came to take out the garbage,” read one banner, carried by a group of masked students in front of the electoral institute in Santo Domingo. Across the country, protesters have demanded the resignation of the institute’s officials and an investigation.
“I’m tired of them always treating us like we’re stupid,” said Melina Adames, who, like many who took to the streets, was dressed in black to mourn the death of democracy. Others were hitting cauldrons in a traditional form of protest.
Dominicans will vote for a new president on May 17. In an attempt to stem the protests, the government asked the Organization of American States (OAS) earlier this week to help investigate the ruling that led to the suspension.
Flavio Dario Espinal, a government representative, told reporters a local investigation without independent political actors would only generate more suspicion.
The OAS said on Friday that while there was no evidence to suggest the machines had been manipulated, it was committed to finding a solution for the problems.
Even before the municipal election, opposition politicians had challenged the use of automated voting machines, which the government acquired last year for $19 million, arguing that its software could be manipulated.
ON THE OTHER SIDE OF HAITI
Ezequiel Abiu Lopez
SANTO DOMINGO (Reuters) - Hundreds of Dominicans took to the streets on Saturday night in fresh protests after the abrupt suspension of municipal elections that unleashed a political crisis months before the Caribbean island votes for a new president.
The protests started after the electoral institute on Feb. 16 suspended a nationwide election four hours after voting began. The authority said about half of the machines used in the most populated municipalities to cast votes electronically had failed.
“We came to take out the garbage,” read one banner, carried by a group of masked students in front of the electoral institute in Santo Domingo. Across the country, protesters have demanded the resignation of the institute’s officials and an investigation.
“I’m tired of them always treating us like we’re stupid,” said Melina Adames, who, like many who took to the streets, was dressed in black to mourn the death of democracy. Others were hitting cauldrons in a traditional form of protest.
Dominicans will vote for a new president on May 17. In an attempt to stem the protests, the government asked the Organization of American States (OAS) earlier this week to help investigate the ruling that led to the suspension.
Flavio Dario Espinal, a government representative, told reporters a local investigation without independent political actors would only generate more suspicion.
The OAS said on Friday that while there was no evidence to suggest the machines had been manipulated, it was committed to finding a solution for the problems.
Even before the municipal election, opposition politicians had challenged the use of automated voting machines, which the government acquired last year for $19 million, arguing that its software could be manipulated.
IN 1964 THERE WAS A MASS UPRISING IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC THAT WAS PUT DOWN BY US MARINES, FROM FORT BRAGG, BOTH WHITE AND BLACK
IT WAS THE FIRST TIME BLACK TROOPS WERE SENT INTO A COMBAT ZONE AGAINST BLACK PEOPLE, FRATERNIZING ENSUED
U.S. Troops land in the Dominican Republic in attempt to ...
https://www.history.com › this-day-in-history › u-s-troops-land-in-the-do...
By 1965, forces demanding the reinstatement of Bosch began attacks against the military-controlled government. In the United States government, fear spread ...
40 years later, U.S. invasion still haunts Dominican Republic ...
https://progressive.org › 40-years-later-u.s.-invasion-still-haunts-dominican...
Apr 21, 2005 - On April 28, 1965, 42,000 American troops invaded the Dominican Republic. ... Washington was not thrilled with Bosch-which the rebellion favored. ... The Dominicans especially in Santo Domingo are trying to imitate the US ...
The Dominican Intervention - The National Security Archive
https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu › NSAEBB › NSAEBB513
Apr 28, 2015 - Johnson ordered U.S. Marines into Santo Domingo 50 years ago today. ... had been behind the recent uprising, Johnson confided to his national security advisor, ... Lyndon Johnson and the Dominican Intervention of 1965.
The United States Invasion of the Dominican Republic, 1961 ...
https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com › view › obo-9780199766581-0071
Oct 28, 2011 - On 24 April 1965, young military officers rose in revolt in the ... rebels holding out in downtown Santo Domingo while the United States and the ...
Newly-banned Thai opposition party says junta helped 1MDB cover-up
BANGKOK (Reuters) - A banned Thai opposition party on Sunday accused the former military junta of helping cover up Malaysia’s multi-billion-dollar 1MDB scandal, urging Thais to demand the truth ahead of a censure debate against Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha.
View of the slogans written by Thai students and supporters during a protest against a court's decision that dissolved the country's second largest opposition Future Forward party, less than a year after an election to end direct military rule, at Thammasat University in Bangkok, Thailand February 22, 2020. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun
The Future Forward Party, the third-largest party in parliament, was dissolved on Friday by Thailand’s Constitutional Court over a loan it took from its billionaire founder.
The dissolution was decried by democracy advocates as a way to weaken opposition to the government of Prayuth, who first came to power in a 2014 military coup and led a military junta until after elections last year that his pro-army party won.
Future Forward’s spokeswoman, Pannika Wanich, told reporters at a news conference on Sunday that the junta had worked with Malaysia’s former government to arrest a whistleblower in the 1MDB case in 2015 and had allowed financial criminals to operate in Thailand, risking the country’s international ties.
“The junta government yearned for international acceptance after the coup...and formed a dark alliance with Malaysia,” Pannika said.
“The only person who can issue these orders is Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha,” Pannika said.
Pannika cited irregularities surrounding Thailand’s arrest and the subsequent confession of Xavier Justo, the Swiss national who was arrested in Thailand in 2015 the first whistleblower in the 1MDB affair.
The government also harbored Malaysian financier Low Taek Jho, known as Jho Low, allowing him to enter the country at least five times between October 2016 and May 2018, despite Low having an Interpol red notice from Singapore, she said.
Low has been charged in Malaysia and the United States over the alleged theft of $4.5 billion from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), set up by former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak with the help of Low, to promote economic development.
At least six countries, including the United States, have launched money laundering, financial mismanagement and criminal probes into 1MDB dealings.
Low has denied any wrongdoing. His whereabouts are unknown.
Future Forward Party said it would have opened an investigation on corruption and money laundering related to the 1MDB case if it were in power.
“If we were in government, we would investigate. We want a government that is a responsible neighbor and acts with dignity,” Pannika said.
“Since we have been dissolved, we can’t, but the Thai public can demand the truth.”
A spokesman for the Malaysian prime minister’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Reporting by Chayut Setboonsarng; Editing by Jacqueline Wong
BANGKOK (Reuters) - A banned Thai opposition party on Sunday accused the former military junta of helping cover up Malaysia’s multi-billion-dollar 1MDB scandal, urging Thais to demand the truth ahead of a censure debate against Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha.
View of the slogans written by Thai students and supporters during a protest against a court's decision that dissolved the country's second largest opposition Future Forward party, less than a year after an election to end direct military rule, at Thammasat University in Bangkok, Thailand February 22, 2020. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun
The Future Forward Party, the third-largest party in parliament, was dissolved on Friday by Thailand’s Constitutional Court over a loan it took from its billionaire founder.
The dissolution was decried by democracy advocates as a way to weaken opposition to the government of Prayuth, who first came to power in a 2014 military coup and led a military junta until after elections last year that his pro-army party won.
Future Forward’s spokeswoman, Pannika Wanich, told reporters at a news conference on Sunday that the junta had worked with Malaysia’s former government to arrest a whistleblower in the 1MDB case in 2015 and had allowed financial criminals to operate in Thailand, risking the country’s international ties.
“The junta government yearned for international acceptance after the coup...and formed a dark alliance with Malaysia,” Pannika said.
“The only person who can issue these orders is Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha,” Pannika said.
Pannika cited irregularities surrounding Thailand’s arrest and the subsequent confession of Xavier Justo, the Swiss national who was arrested in Thailand in 2015 the first whistleblower in the 1MDB affair.
The government also harbored Malaysian financier Low Taek Jho, known as Jho Low, allowing him to enter the country at least five times between October 2016 and May 2018, despite Low having an Interpol red notice from Singapore, she said.
Low has been charged in Malaysia and the United States over the alleged theft of $4.5 billion from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), set up by former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak with the help of Low, to promote economic development.
At least six countries, including the United States, have launched money laundering, financial mismanagement and criminal probes into 1MDB dealings.
Low has denied any wrongdoing. His whereabouts are unknown.
Future Forward Party said it would have opened an investigation on corruption and money laundering related to the 1MDB case if it were in power.
“If we were in government, we would investigate. We want a government that is a responsible neighbor and acts with dignity,” Pannika said.
“Since we have been dissolved, we can’t, but the Thai public can demand the truth.”
A spokesman for the Malaysian prime minister’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Reporting by Chayut Setboonsarng; Editing by Jacqueline Wong
Brazil's Carnival kicks off with political divisions front and center
EL CARNAVAL ES LA REVOLUCIÓN!
LA REVOLUCIÓN! ES EL CARNAVAL
Drum queen Viviane Araujo from Mancha Verde samba school performs during the first night of the Carnival parade at the Sambadrome in Sao Paulo, Brazil, February 22, 2020
Brazil's famed Carnival kicked off in earnest on Saturday, as millions of scantily-clad revelers poured into the streets, many of whom took the opportunity to parody or otherwise comment on the nation's deeply polarized politics.zil's Carnival kicks off with political divisions front and cente
Along with a clutch of conservative allies, including Rio de Janeiro’s evangelical mayor Marcelo Crivella, Bolsonaro has shown little interest in Carnival and at times denounced what he sees as debauched behavior during the festivities.
To be sure, most partiers on Saturday were dressed in distinctly apolitical garb, ranging from mermaid to cowboy costumes, indicating Brazilians were focused on revelry first, and politics a distant second.
But in the biggest cities, there was no love lost, as many costumes poked fun at Brazil’s leaders.
In the northeastern city of Recife, home to one of the country’s most famous Carnival celebrations, musician Antonio Nobrega dedicated an opening performance to Brazil’s artists and journalists. Both those groups have repeatedly drawn ire from Brazil’s political leaders, with politicians often singling out individual journalists and newspapers for criticism.
The famed Mangueira samba school, a type of performing troupe that spend months preparing elaborate parades for Carnival, has already ruffled feathers with plans to march through Rio de Janeiro’s legendary Sambodromo on Sunday night with a performance expected to take jabs at police violence.
Under Bolsonaro, homicide rates in the city have plummeted, but killings by police have sky-rocketed, sparking a major debate about policing tactics, particularly in poor and minority communities.
Early on Saturday, the Tom Maior samba school paid homage during their performance to Marielle Franco, a black, lesbian Rio de Janeiro city councilwoman whose 2018 assassination triggered protests throughout the country.
“I thought it was beautiful, it really moved me,” said Renato Santos Aguessy, a 37-year-old schoolteacher, who attended. “She left a legacy for us of struggle, of confronting adversities in this country, which is being dominated by fascism.”
Reporting by Gram Slattery and Amanda Perobelli; Editing by Franklin Paul and Daniel Wallis
George Washington sought honest British workers over 'slovenly' Americans
SLOVENLY; TO BE UNSHAVEN, ILL KEMPT, POOR OF DRESS
FILE PHOTO: A statue of George Washington on a horse is pictured outside the Virginia State Capitol building in Richmond, Virginia, U.S, February 8, 2019. REUTERS/Jay Paul/File Photo
LONDON (Reuters) - George Washington, the first president of the United States, praised the honesty of British farmers and sought to entice some to his estates because local tenants were so “slovenly”, according to a handwritten letter he wrote in 1796.
In a three-page letter to the Earl of Buchan, Washington asks the Scottish nobleman if he knew of any “honest and orderly” farmers who would like to emigrate to the United States to work on his land.
“My sole object is, if there are persons on the move, who may incline to associate and become tenants on such a plan as I offer, that being apprised of the measure, they may decide how far their views would be accommodated by it,” Washington wrote.
“Nor would I wish to do it with the slovenly farmers of this country, if I had a well founded hope of obtaining this class of Men from any other (particularly from Great Britain) where husbandry is well understood, and the language similar.”
The letter was unveiled by the University of Edinburgh. It was donated to the university by Scottish polymath and antiquarian David Lang in the 1870s.
Washington, a founding father of the United States who still graces the dollar bill, was a Revolutionary War hero who played a major role in throwing off British imperial rule and then helped unite the newly independent nation as its first leader.
The letter of 1796 shows Washington was planning for life after his presidency which would end the following year. After abandoning tobacco crops in the 1760s, he focused on wheat and gives possible terms for tenants.
“I set it at a bushel and half for every acre contained in the lease,” he wrote.
Washington towered above his generation: he was over six feet tall, a great rider, an elegant dancer and has become an American icon. His death in 1799 prompted mourning for a man who had come to symbolize the strength, morality and legitimacy of the United States.
Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Ros Russell
Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
SLOVENLY; TO BE UNSHAVEN, ILL KEMPT, POOR OF DRESS
FILE PHOTO: A statue of George Washington on a horse is pictured outside the Virginia State Capitol building in Richmond, Virginia, U.S, February 8, 2019. REUTERS/Jay Paul/File Photo
LONDON (Reuters) - George Washington, the first president of the United States, praised the honesty of British farmers and sought to entice some to his estates because local tenants were so “slovenly”, according to a handwritten letter he wrote in 1796.
In a three-page letter to the Earl of Buchan, Washington asks the Scottish nobleman if he knew of any “honest and orderly” farmers who would like to emigrate to the United States to work on his land.
“My sole object is, if there are persons on the move, who may incline to associate and become tenants on such a plan as I offer, that being apprised of the measure, they may decide how far their views would be accommodated by it,” Washington wrote.
“Nor would I wish to do it with the slovenly farmers of this country, if I had a well founded hope of obtaining this class of Men from any other (particularly from Great Britain) where husbandry is well understood, and the language similar.”
The letter was unveiled by the University of Edinburgh. It was donated to the university by Scottish polymath and antiquarian David Lang in the 1870s.
Washington, a founding father of the United States who still graces the dollar bill, was a Revolutionary War hero who played a major role in throwing off British imperial rule and then helped unite the newly independent nation as its first leader.
The letter of 1796 shows Washington was planning for life after his presidency which would end the following year. After abandoning tobacco crops in the 1760s, he focused on wheat and gives possible terms for tenants.
“I set it at a bushel and half for every acre contained in the lease,” he wrote.
Washington towered above his generation: he was over six feet tall, a great rider, an elegant dancer and has become an American icon. His death in 1799 prompted mourning for a man who had come to symbolize the strength, morality and legitimacy of the United States.
Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Ros Russell
Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
In Mexico's cradle of corn, climate change leaves its mark
Diego Oré
TEHUACAN, Mexico (Reuters) - At least 9,000 years ago, humans began domesticating corn for the first time near Tehuacan, in the central Mexican state of Puebla, laying the foundation for permanent settlements in the Americas.
But in the past few years, more frequent and longer droughts have forced many farmers in the area to give up corn and other cereals in favor of alternatives requiring less water such as pistachio nuts or cactus.
Agricultural experts predict parts of Mexico will feel the effects of climate change more than many countries, not least because its location between two oceans and straddling the Tropic of Cancer expose it to weather volatility.
Sol Ortiz, director of the agriculture ministry’s climate change group noted that 75% of Mexico’s soil is already considered too dry to cultivate crops. In regions such as Tehuacan, temperatures may rise more than the global average.
“We know there are areas where the increase is going to be greater. That will obviously affect rain patterns, and in turn, agriculture and food security,” Ortiz said.
The area under corn cultivation in Tehuacan decreased 18% to about 40,000 hectares between 2015 and last year, a Reuters calculation using statistics by the agriculture ministry shows, outstripping a nationwide decline.
In the five years before that, the area planted with corn had been slowly increasing in Tehuacan.
Nationally, the area under corn cultivation declined 4% from 2015 to 7.4 million hectares last year. While factors leading farmers to switch crops are complex, in Tehuacan farmers and local officials describe fast-changing climate as a leading cause.
Mexico’s rainy season last year was the driest since 2011, which in turn was one of the driest on record, numbers from the country’s national water agency showed.
Climate change is expected to cause substantial declines in yields of corn globally, especially in the tropics, a 2018 study published in the U.S. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science concluded.
There may be exceptions. The corn belt in the U.S. Midwest is so vast that one recent study concluded the expanses of lush fields were actually helping increase rainfall locally and also cut temperatures, thus allowing even more corn to be grown.
Under this model, intensive farming meant more moisture being released into the atmosphere from plants on a scale great enough to create more rainfall. The greater humidity also contributed to summers up to 1 degree Celsius cooler, the study by Massachusetts Institute of Technology concluded.
STUNTED COBS
In Tehuacan, however, conditions are fast changing for the worse. In a field where dried out plants have been lingering in the dust since the last drought, farmer Porfirio Garcia, holding a stunted cob, was struggling to make sense of it all.
Porfirio Garcia looks at his dry corn field in Tepeteopan, state of Puebla, Mexico January 16, 2020. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso
Corn has for thousands of years been a symbol of Mexican pride, a staple of local and national cuisine from tortillas to tamales and the backbone of civilizations that gave rise to modern Mexico. But climate change has jeopardized that.
Garcia, who has 12 children, half of them working with him on the farm, recalls how one hectare in some years yielded as many as four tonnes (8,800 lbs) of corn In the past five years, he said, with luck it yielded 700 kg (1,543 lbs).
“The corn harvest has shrunk because in the months of June, July, August and September there was no rain,” said Garcia, 59, who uses ancestral farming techniques to grow corn, beans and pumpkin, an ancient system called a “milpa”.
“Our lives center on corn so what do we do without it?”
Eusebio Olmedo, director of rural development, agriculture and livestock in Tehuacan, recalls that it began to get hotter at the turn of the millennium.
Having worked in the department for five years, Olmedo said the area used to be characterized by a “very pleasant, very benevolent” climate.
Last year was the warmest on record in the state of Puebla - where Tehuacan is located - with thermometers reaching an average maximum temperature of 26.8 Celsius (80 F). In 1985, the first year the available state records show, Puebla registered an average maximum temperature of 24.7 Celsius (76 F).
A 2016 study commissioned by the environment ministry and backed by the U.N. Development Program concluded climate change in Mexico will mean less rain, lower yields for basic grains such as corn, beans and wheat, as well as “unexpected effects on food security.”
“When rain patterns change, agriculture becomes risky,” Olmedo said.
Mexican corn farmers have suffered major shocks in the past - most notably the arrival of cheap imports from the United States under the NAFTA free trade agreement in the 1990s.
In the north of Mexico, where large corn fields are irrigated, climate change may initially have little impact, studies show.
But in the south, where the oldest corn strains on earth are grown using traditional methods without irrigation, the changing rain patterns and temperatures are already being felt.
Agricultural consulting group GCMA estimates Mexican corn production will continue to decline in 2020, and that corn imports mainly from the United States will reach a record 18 million tons.
ADAPT
Mexico is now the world’s second-largest corn importer thanks to a reliance on U.S. grain for animal feed. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador calls that “a contradiction” and has implemented programs to boost national production.
Garcia, however, chose to diversify into other crops, planting 300 trees of pistachio, a desert plant that can withstand temperatures between minus 10 and 40 degrees Celsius (14 F and 104 F).
Slideshow (9 Images)
Nearby farmer Natalio De Santiago also abandoned the corn that he, his father and his grandfather used to plant for other crops that require less water. Those include maguey, a raw ingredient for mezcal, a Mexican liquor.
“I stopped sowing (corn) because the weather is changing,” said De Santiago, 56. “Now I plant maguey because it needs less water.”
Wearing a cowboy hat to shield his face from the sun, he said he irrigates 400 maguey plants every month with a liter of water each. When he planted corn, he said, his crops needed four months of rain.
Others in the area gave up agriculture altogether and sold land to real estate developers.
In an attempt to stop this trend, local authorities developed a bank of native corn seeds more resistant to pests and that need less water.
“We have to adapt to climate change, and these are the best varieties to recover food self-sufficiency,” Olmedo said of the seeds.
Other government measures meant to help farmers adapt to and mitigate the effects of climate change include agricultural insurance, alternative crops and campaigns to reduce agricultural burning.
“It’s very difficult to reverse the tendency to increase CO2 (carbon dioxide) in the atmosphere,” said the agricultural ministry’s Ortiz. “That’s why we’re prioritizing adaptation.”
“Climate change is here to stay.” he added.
(Story refiles to fix spelling of mezcal)
Reporting by Diego Ore; Editing by Frank Jack Daniel and Alistair Bell
Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Diego Oré
TEHUACAN, Mexico (Reuters) - At least 9,000 years ago, humans began domesticating corn for the first time near Tehuacan, in the central Mexican state of Puebla, laying the foundation for permanent settlements in the Americas.
But in the past few years, more frequent and longer droughts have forced many farmers in the area to give up corn and other cereals in favor of alternatives requiring less water such as pistachio nuts or cactus.
Agricultural experts predict parts of Mexico will feel the effects of climate change more than many countries, not least because its location between two oceans and straddling the Tropic of Cancer expose it to weather volatility.
Sol Ortiz, director of the agriculture ministry’s climate change group noted that 75% of Mexico’s soil is already considered too dry to cultivate crops. In regions such as Tehuacan, temperatures may rise more than the global average.
“We know there are areas where the increase is going to be greater. That will obviously affect rain patterns, and in turn, agriculture and food security,” Ortiz said.
The area under corn cultivation in Tehuacan decreased 18% to about 40,000 hectares between 2015 and last year, a Reuters calculation using statistics by the agriculture ministry shows, outstripping a nationwide decline.
In the five years before that, the area planted with corn had been slowly increasing in Tehuacan.
Nationally, the area under corn cultivation declined 4% from 2015 to 7.4 million hectares last year. While factors leading farmers to switch crops are complex, in Tehuacan farmers and local officials describe fast-changing climate as a leading cause.
Mexico’s rainy season last year was the driest since 2011, which in turn was one of the driest on record, numbers from the country’s national water agency showed.
Climate change is expected to cause substantial declines in yields of corn globally, especially in the tropics, a 2018 study published in the U.S. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science concluded.
There may be exceptions. The corn belt in the U.S. Midwest is so vast that one recent study concluded the expanses of lush fields were actually helping increase rainfall locally and also cut temperatures, thus allowing even more corn to be grown.
Under this model, intensive farming meant more moisture being released into the atmosphere from plants on a scale great enough to create more rainfall. The greater humidity also contributed to summers up to 1 degree Celsius cooler, the study by Massachusetts Institute of Technology concluded.
STUNTED COBS
In Tehuacan, however, conditions are fast changing for the worse. In a field where dried out plants have been lingering in the dust since the last drought, farmer Porfirio Garcia, holding a stunted cob, was struggling to make sense of it all.
Porfirio Garcia looks at his dry corn field in Tepeteopan, state of Puebla, Mexico January 16, 2020. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso
Corn has for thousands of years been a symbol of Mexican pride, a staple of local and national cuisine from tortillas to tamales and the backbone of civilizations that gave rise to modern Mexico. But climate change has jeopardized that.
Garcia, who has 12 children, half of them working with him on the farm, recalls how one hectare in some years yielded as many as four tonnes (8,800 lbs) of corn In the past five years, he said, with luck it yielded 700 kg (1,543 lbs).
“The corn harvest has shrunk because in the months of June, July, August and September there was no rain,” said Garcia, 59, who uses ancestral farming techniques to grow corn, beans and pumpkin, an ancient system called a “milpa”.
“Our lives center on corn so what do we do without it?”
Eusebio Olmedo, director of rural development, agriculture and livestock in Tehuacan, recalls that it began to get hotter at the turn of the millennium.
Having worked in the department for five years, Olmedo said the area used to be characterized by a “very pleasant, very benevolent” climate.
Last year was the warmest on record in the state of Puebla - where Tehuacan is located - with thermometers reaching an average maximum temperature of 26.8 Celsius (80 F). In 1985, the first year the available state records show, Puebla registered an average maximum temperature of 24.7 Celsius (76 F).
A 2016 study commissioned by the environment ministry and backed by the U.N. Development Program concluded climate change in Mexico will mean less rain, lower yields for basic grains such as corn, beans and wheat, as well as “unexpected effects on food security.”
“When rain patterns change, agriculture becomes risky,” Olmedo said.
Mexican corn farmers have suffered major shocks in the past - most notably the arrival of cheap imports from the United States under the NAFTA free trade agreement in the 1990s.
In the north of Mexico, where large corn fields are irrigated, climate change may initially have little impact, studies show.
But in the south, where the oldest corn strains on earth are grown using traditional methods without irrigation, the changing rain patterns and temperatures are already being felt.
Agricultural consulting group GCMA estimates Mexican corn production will continue to decline in 2020, and that corn imports mainly from the United States will reach a record 18 million tons.
ADAPT
Mexico is now the world’s second-largest corn importer thanks to a reliance on U.S. grain for animal feed. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador calls that “a contradiction” and has implemented programs to boost national production.
Garcia, however, chose to diversify into other crops, planting 300 trees of pistachio, a desert plant that can withstand temperatures between minus 10 and 40 degrees Celsius (14 F and 104 F).
Slideshow (9 Images)
Nearby farmer Natalio De Santiago also abandoned the corn that he, his father and his grandfather used to plant for other crops that require less water. Those include maguey, a raw ingredient for mezcal, a Mexican liquor.
“I stopped sowing (corn) because the weather is changing,” said De Santiago, 56. “Now I plant maguey because it needs less water.”
Wearing a cowboy hat to shield his face from the sun, he said he irrigates 400 maguey plants every month with a liter of water each. When he planted corn, he said, his crops needed four months of rain.
Others in the area gave up agriculture altogether and sold land to real estate developers.
In an attempt to stop this trend, local authorities developed a bank of native corn seeds more resistant to pests and that need less water.
“We have to adapt to climate change, and these are the best varieties to recover food self-sufficiency,” Olmedo said of the seeds.
Other government measures meant to help farmers adapt to and mitigate the effects of climate change include agricultural insurance, alternative crops and campaigns to reduce agricultural burning.
“It’s very difficult to reverse the tendency to increase CO2 (carbon dioxide) in the atmosphere,” said the agricultural ministry’s Ortiz. “That’s why we’re prioritizing adaptation.”
“Climate change is here to stay.” he added.
(Story refiles to fix spelling of mezcal)
Reporting by Diego Ore; Editing by Frank Jack Daniel and Alistair Bell
Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
G20 agrees final communique with reference to climate changeEN PASSANT
FILE PHOTO: Journalists sit in the media center during the meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, February 22, 2020. REUTERS/Ahmed Yosri
RIYADH (Reuters) - Finance officials from the world’s 20 biggest economies (G20) meeting in Riyadh on Sunday reached agreement on the wording of a final communique that includes a reference to climate change, a G20 diplomatic source said.
The agreement came after compromise language was found to overcome U.S. objections to an earlier draft that had referred to “macroeconomic risk related to environmental sustainability” and listed work by the Financial Stability Board to examine the financial stability implications of climate change.
G20 finance ministers and central bankers are meeting in the Saudi capital to discuss top global economic challenges, focusing on the growth outlook and new rules to tax global digital companies.
Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Stephen Kalin
FILE PHOTO: Journalists sit in the media center during the meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, February 22, 2020. REUTERS/Ahmed Yosri
RIYADH (Reuters) - Finance officials from the world’s 20 biggest economies (G20) meeting in Riyadh on Sunday reached agreement on the wording of a final communique that includes a reference to climate change, a G20 diplomatic source said.
The agreement came after compromise language was found to overcome U.S. objections to an earlier draft that had referred to “macroeconomic risk related to environmental sustainability” and listed work by the Financial Stability Board to examine the financial stability implications of climate change.
G20 finance ministers and central bankers are meeting in the Saudi capital to discuss top global economic challenges, focusing on the growth outlook and new rules to tax global digital companies.
Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Stephen Kalin
Let's come together to tax tech giants, say G20 officials eyeing $100 billion boost
RIYADH (Reuters) - Leading world economies must show unity in dealing with aggressive “tax optimization” by global digital giants like Google (GOOGL.O), Amazon (AMZN.O) and Facebook (FB.O), G20 officials said on Saturday.
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is developing global rules by to make digital companies pay tax where they do business, rather than where they register subsidiaries. The OECD says this could boost national tax revenues by a total of $100 billion a year.
The call for unity appeared directed mainly at the United States, home to the biggest tech companies, in an attempt to head off any stalling on the rules until after the U.S. presidential election in November.
“There is no time to wait for elections,” German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz told a tax seminar on the sidelines of a meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bankers.
“This needs leadership in certain countries,” Scholz said, looking directly at U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, sitting next to him at the seminar.
The taxing of digital firms and the effect of the coronavirus outbreak on the global economy are among the hot topics being debated by G20 financial leaders, from the world’s 20 largest economies, during their talks in Riyadh this weekend.
The OECD wants to set a minimum effective level at which such companies would be taxed and seeks agreement by the start of July, with an endorsement by the G20 by the end of the year.
“A coordinated answer is not the better way forward, but, given the alternatives, the only way forward,” OECD head Angel Gurria told the seminar.
A draft G20 communique, seen by Reuters, showed financial leaders will endorse the OECD approach to the issue in their final statement on Sunday, backing the need pay tax where business is conducted and the need for a minimum rate.
They will also “reaffirm commitment to reach a consensus based solution by end of 2020”.
The OECD efforts were stalled late last year by last-minute changes demanded by Washington, which many G20 officials view as reluctant to deal with a potentially politically tricky matter before the presidential election.
Mnuchin said OECD countries were close to an agreement on the minimum tax level, which he said would also go a long way to resolving the issue of where tax is paid, although he warned that some aspects of the tax proposal could require approval by the U.S. Congress.
“I think we all want to get this done by the end of the year, and that’s the objective,” Mnuchin told the seminar.
Mnuchin sought to reassure G20 delegates that a U.S. proposal to add a “safe harbor” regime to the tax reform effort - which has drawn criticism from France and other countries - would not let companies simply opt out of paying taxes.
“It’s not an optional tax,” he said. “You pay the safe harbor as opposed to paying something else. People may pay a little bit more in a safe harbor knowing they have tax certainty.”
U.S. officials say their proposal would help address lawmakers concerns and smooth passage of legislation that might be required for U.S. implementation of new global tax rules. In essence, they argue, it would allow a multinational enterprise to elect to pay more foreign tax in exchange for better terms in the event of disputes over taxes, and easier administrative procedures.
But many questions remain.
MORE CLARITY NEEDED
French Finance Minster Bruno Le Maire told reporters it remained unclear exactly what the U.S. proposal would entail.
“We’re still in the process of assessing what it really means,” he said, adding, “It’s not a non-starter for the French government. It’s fair and useful to give all the attention to this new proposal.”
European Union Economy Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni told Reuters there was still hard work ahead.
“It’s good that there is a commitment to find a solution, but ... it’s not there,” he said, adding that he would meet with Mnuchin for bilateral talks later Saturday.
Scholz told reporters Germany remained sceptical. “I think we shouldn’t start with letting companies choose which taxes they want to pay. This is leading to nowhere,” he said.
Several European countries, including France, Spain, Austria, Italy, Britain and Hungary either already have a plan for a digital tax or are working on one, creating the risk of a highly fragmented global system.
“You cannot have in a global economy different national tax systems that conflict with each other,” Mnuchin said.
Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said on Feb. 14 he would be ready to pay more tax in Europe and would welcome a global OECD solution that would make the levies uniform.
Additional reporting by Michael Nienaber, Francesco Canepa, Leika Kihara and Jan Strupczewski; Writing by Jan Strupczewski and Andrea Shalal; Editing by Pravin Char and Frances Kerry
Chris Kahn
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, often maligned by opponents as a liberal outsider who cannot unify the Democratic Party, won the party’s Nevada caucuses by a comfortable margin thanks to a diverse coalition of supporters, according to polling agency Edison Research.
Democratic U.S. presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders speaks at a campaign rally in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., February 21, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Segar
Edison, which compiles voter polls and live election results for media organizations including ABC News, CBS News, CNN, NBC News and Reuters, found Sanders won the largest share of whites and nonwhite caucus-goers.
Hispanics in particular - who account for nearly one-third of Nevada’s population - loomed large in his victory as he claimed support from more than half of the Latinos attending Saturday’s caucuses.
Sanders also won caucus-goers of nearly every age group. He won the largest share of women and men, including white college-educated women - a group that is expected to be especially important for Democrats to win against Republican President Donald Trump in November.
And despite a public feud with Nevada’s 60,000-member Culinary Workers Union over his signature plan to replace private health insurance with a government program, Sanders won the largest share of the union vote. One of every three people who either belonged to a union or had a family member in a union said they would support Sanders.
Edison’s polling also found Sanders won most of those caucus-goers who said they cared more about a candidate’s stance on the issues than their perceived electability.
Here are some other highlights from the Edison poll, which was based on interviews with 2,746 Nevada Democrats, including about 1,780 as they entered early voting sites earlier in the week and another 966 on Saturday at 30 locations around the state:
** Among Hispanics, 53% said they were going to support Sanders ahead of the caucuses.
** Among African Americans, 36% said they supported former Vice President Joe Biden, while 27% favored Sanders and 18% backed billionaire Tom Steyer.
** Among caucus-goers who are members of a labor union or have family members in a union, 34% said they planned to caucus for Sanders. About one in four caucus-goers said they were part of a union family.
** 62% said they support replacing all private health insurance with a single government plan. That initiative, also known as Medicare for All, is a signature issue for Sanders and U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren. It was criticized earlier this month by the state’s Culinary Workers Union in what was seen as a boost for more moderate Democrats who are still in the race.
** 43% of Democratic Nevada caucus-goers say healthcare is the issue that mattered most to them when deciding which candidate to support. Another 25% said it was climate change, 18% said it was income inequality and 9% said foreign policy.
** Among white, college-educated women, 22% said they planned to caucus for Sanders, compared with 19% for Klobuchar, 18% for Warren, 17% for Buttigieg and 13% for Biden.
** Sanders had the largest share of support from caucus-goers of all age groups, except those 65 and older. Among the 65-plus group, 28% said in entrance polling that they supported Biden, 20% supported Klobuchar, 14% supported Buttigieg and 12% supported Sanders.
** 52% of those participating in the Democratic caucus were doing so for the first time. A record number of Democrats were expected to have attended the Nevada caucuses, in part because of population growth in the state and also the party’s decision to allow residents to vote early this year for the first time.
** 65% say that when picking a candidate to support, they are thinking mostly about that person’s electability instead of whether the candidate agrees with them on major issues.
** 66% of Democratic caucus-goers said they considered themselves to be liberal. Another 31% said they were moderates and 3% were conservative.
** Among political moderates, support was largely split among Sanders, Biden and Buttigieg, with those three candidates getting a little more than 20% each.
** Most of Nevada’s caucus-goers came with their minds made up. Eighty-three percent of Democratic caucus-goers said they made their pick for the party’s nomination more than a few days before the caucus.
** About half of the poll respondents were college graduates. The other half did not have a college degree.
Reporting by Chris Kahn; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Cynthia Osterman
Democratic U.S. presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders speaks at a campaign rally in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., February 21, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Segar
Edison, which compiles voter polls and live election results for media organizations including ABC News, CBS News, CNN, NBC News and Reuters, found Sanders won the largest share of whites and nonwhite caucus-goers.
Hispanics in particular - who account for nearly one-third of Nevada’s population - loomed large in his victory as he claimed support from more than half of the Latinos attending Saturday’s caucuses.
Sanders also won caucus-goers of nearly every age group. He won the largest share of women and men, including white college-educated women - a group that is expected to be especially important for Democrats to win against Republican President Donald Trump in November.
And despite a public feud with Nevada’s 60,000-member Culinary Workers Union over his signature plan to replace private health insurance with a government program, Sanders won the largest share of the union vote. One of every three people who either belonged to a union or had a family member in a union said they would support Sanders.
Edison’s polling also found Sanders won most of those caucus-goers who said they cared more about a candidate’s stance on the issues than their perceived electability.
Here are some other highlights from the Edison poll, which was based on interviews with 2,746 Nevada Democrats, including about 1,780 as they entered early voting sites earlier in the week and another 966 on Saturday at 30 locations around the state:
** Among Hispanics, 53% said they were going to support Sanders ahead of the caucuses.
** Among African Americans, 36% said they supported former Vice President Joe Biden, while 27% favored Sanders and 18% backed billionaire Tom Steyer.
** Among caucus-goers who are members of a labor union or have family members in a union, 34% said they planned to caucus for Sanders. About one in four caucus-goers said they were part of a union family.
** 62% said they support replacing all private health insurance with a single government plan. That initiative, also known as Medicare for All, is a signature issue for Sanders and U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren. It was criticized earlier this month by the state’s Culinary Workers Union in what was seen as a boost for more moderate Democrats who are still in the race.
** 43% of Democratic Nevada caucus-goers say healthcare is the issue that mattered most to them when deciding which candidate to support. Another 25% said it was climate change, 18% said it was income inequality and 9% said foreign policy.
** Among white, college-educated women, 22% said they planned to caucus for Sanders, compared with 19% for Klobuchar, 18% for Warren, 17% for Buttigieg and 13% for Biden.
** Sanders had the largest share of support from caucus-goers of all age groups, except those 65 and older. Among the 65-plus group, 28% said in entrance polling that they supported Biden, 20% supported Klobuchar, 14% supported Buttigieg and 12% supported Sanders.
** 52% of those participating in the Democratic caucus were doing so for the first time. A record number of Democrats were expected to have attended the Nevada caucuses, in part because of population growth in the state and also the party’s decision to allow residents to vote early this year for the first time.
** 65% say that when picking a candidate to support, they are thinking mostly about that person’s electability instead of whether the candidate agrees with them on major issues.
** 66% of Democratic caucus-goers said they considered themselves to be liberal. Another 31% said they were moderates and 3% were conservative.
** Among political moderates, support was largely split among Sanders, Biden and Buttigieg, with those three candidates getting a little more than 20% each.
** Most of Nevada’s caucus-goers came with their minds made up. Eighty-three percent of Democratic caucus-goers said they made their pick for the party’s nomination more than a few days before the caucus.
** About half of the poll respondents were college graduates. The other half did not have a college degree.
Reporting by Chris Kahn; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Cynthia Osterman
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)