Enbridge ordered to shut Line 5 pipeline in victory for Michigan officials



Judge rules shutdown must happen within 24 hours, orders to remain in effect until a hearing on state's request for preliminary injunctionBloomberg News Kevin Orland June 25, 2020

Enbridge Inc. was ordered to temporarily halt operations of its Line 5 crude oil pipeline by a Michigan judge, handing a victory to state officials who have sought to shut down the conduit.

Circuit Court Judge James Jamo ruled Thursday against the continued operation of the conduit’s west line and prevented it from restarting the east line. The shutdown must happen within 24 hours, and the orders will remain in effect until a hearing on the state’s request for a preliminary injunction.

It’s a win for Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and Attorney General Dana Nessel, who have tried to shut down the pipeline since taking office last year over concerns about a potential spill in the Great Lakes. Enbridge had planned a US$500 million project to replace the line and enclose the segment that runs under the lakes in a tunnel to improve its safety. Enbridge didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday’s ruling.
Enbridge gears up for another pipeline fight as Michigan state looks to shut Line 5
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Line 5 runs along a 645-mile (1,040-kilometre) route from Superior, Wisconsin, to Sarnia, Ontario, transporting as much as 540,000 barrels a day of light crude and synthetic crude, and natural gas liquids that are refined into propane. The pipeline was built in 1953 and consists mostly of 30-inch diameter pipe. It splits into two 20-inch diameter lines for the 4.5-mile section that runs under the Straits of Mackinac, which connects Lake Michigan and Lake Huron.

The most recent tussle over Line 5 started last week, when Enbridge discovered that a screw anchor support for the segment in the straits had shifted from its original position. The company says it shut down the line and notified the state the day it found the damage.

Whitmer wrote to the company asking for all its information on the incident, and Nessel later filed court motions asking to shut down the line until the state had fully

Judge shuts down energy pipeline in Michigan's Great Lakes

Enbridge Inc. insists Line 5 pipeline itself was not damaged when an anchor support shifted below surface

The Associated Press · Posted: Jun 25, 2020

Line 5 carries oil and natural gas liquids used in propane from Superior, Wis. to Sarnia, Ont. A judge ordered Enbridge to close Line 5 as 'immediately as possible' but no later than 24 hours. (Dale G. Young/Detroit News via The Associated Press)
A judge shut down an energy pipeline in Michigan's Great Lakes on Thursday, granting a request from the state after the owner reported problems with a support piece far below the surface.

Calgary-based Enbridge Inc. has not provided enough information to Michigan officials to show that continued operation of the west leg of the Line 5 twin pipeline is safe, Ingham County Judge James Jamo said.

He told Enbridge to close Line 5 as "immediately as possible" but no later than 24 hours.

Without the temporary order, "the risk of harm to the Great Lakes and various communities and businesses that rely on the Great Lakes would be not only substantial but also in some respects irreparable," the judge said.

Great Lakes Enbridge pipeline reopens prompting Michigan to ask for shutdown

There was no immediate comment from Enbridge.

Enbridge's Line 5 carries oil and natural gas liquids used in propane from Superior, Wis., to Sarnia, Ont.

A 6.4-kilometre segment divides into two pipes that lie on the bottom of the Straits of Mackinac, which connect Lake Huron and Lake Michigan between Michigan's Upper and Lower peninsulas.

Enbridge last week said an anchor support on the east leg of the pipeline had shifted. The company said Line 5 itself was not ruptured and that no oil spilled into the water.

The east leg remains shut down, but Enbridge resumed the flow on the west line Saturday.

The judge said he'll hold a hearing Tuesday on the state's request for a preliminary injunction that, if granted, could keep Line 5 closed indefinitely.

"With the continued operation of this pipeline, the risk of severe and lasting environmental damage to Michigan's most important natural resource continues to grow every day," Attorney General Dana Nessel said.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer criticized the restart of the west leg of Line 5, calling it a "brazen disregard for the people of Michigan" and the safety of the Great Lakes.

Enbridge wants to ultimately put the twin pipes in a tunnel to protect them. The project was approved in 2018 by a Republican administration before Nessel and Whitmer, both Democrats, took office.

Michigan judge orders temporary Enbridge Line 5 shutdown


A judge has granted Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s request to temporarily shut down the Line 5 pipeline after Enbridge Energy last week reported “significant damage” to an anchor support on the pipeline. (Courtesy photo)

Enbridge Energy must temporarily cease operations of the Line 5 pipeline beneath the Straits of Mackinac, an Ingham County judge ruled Thursday. 

Circuit Court Judge James Jamo has granted Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s request to temporarily shut down the pipeline after Enbridge Energy last week reported “significant damage” to an anchor support on one of the pipeline’s two legs.

In a decision issued Thursday, Jamo ordered Canadian oil company Enbridge to cease operations “as immediately as possible,” and no more than 24 hours from the order’s issuance.
Michigan Democratic congressional members seek Enbridge Line 5 shutdown
Enbridge rebuffs Whitmer, won’t close Line 5 after damage to anchor support

Nessel campaigned for office in 2018 on a promise to shut down Line 5. She is pursuing separate lawsuits intended to permanently shutter the pipeline and asked for the temporary restraining order and injunction Monday.

In a statement Thursday, Nessel said she was grateful for the ruling, but it is “only a short-term fix.”

“If the lines are put back into operation, one mismanaged incident or accident would result in a historic catastrophe for our state,” Nessel said in the statement. “Work must continue toward complete removal of Line 5 from our waters.” 

Nessel said she remains alarmed that Enbridge still hasn’t said what damaged the anchor support. In response to questions from Bridge earlier this week, an Enbridge spokesman said the matter is still under investigation.

Jamo’s order forces both legs of Line 5 to remain closed until he rules on the injunction request. A hearing is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Tuesday.

After discovering the damage last Thursday, Enbridge stopped petroleum transports in both legs of the pipeline and used divers and a remote-operated vehicle to investigate. 

By Saturday afternoon, Enbridge had reopened the west leg after saying it had determined it was not damaged. The east leg remains closed.

That prompted outcry from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Nessel, both of whom said Enbridge had failed to fully involve the state in its response. 


In a letter Saturday, Whitmer asked Enbridge CEO Al Monaco to shut down the line until and provide the state with engineering reports, photographs, video and other evidence of the damage, as well as a full report about what caused the damage and how Enbridge will prevent it from happening again.

Enbridge continued to operate the west line. In court filings, Enbridge lawyers argued the company answers to federal regulators with the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, or PHMSA, and not to the state. 

Federal regulators had “no objections” to reopening the west leg, Enbridge spokesman Ryan Duffy said in a statement.

In his order Thursday, Jamo disagreed.

Jamo noted that under a 1953 state easement that grants the company permission to site the pipeline in the bottomlands, Enbridge must exercise “due care” in its Line 5 operations.

Enbridge failed to “provide sufficient documentation to the State of Michigan related to the nature, extent, and cause(s) of the newly-discovered damage,” Jamo wrote, which left the state unable to assess any lingering risk of harm. 

“The severe risk of harm that may result from [Enbridge’s] operation of the West Line if wrong in its conclusion that it can safely do so in spite of recent damage to Line 5 of unknown origin is so substantial and irreparable, and endangers so many communities and livelihoods and the natural resources of Michigan, the danger far exceeds the risk of financial loss,” of a temporary shutdown, Jamo wrote. 

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Enbridge Line 5 shut down after anchor support incurs ‘significant damage’
June 19, 2020 | Kelly House
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Friday announced the damage and called on Enbridge Energy’s CEO to release “all information available” about the incident in the Straits of Mackinac.


Enbridge rebuffs Whitmer, won’t close Line 5 after damage to anchor support
June 21, 2020 | Riley Beggin

An anchor support to one leg of the pipeline was recently damaged. The company says it will continue to operate the other leg under the Straits of Mackinac. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer says more needs to be known about the damage before resuming oil flow.


Appeals court sides with Enbridge over Dana Nessel in Line 5 tunnel dispute
June 11, 2020 | Kelly House
In a unanimous opinion issued Thursday, a three-judge panel rejected the Michigan Attorney General’s constitutional challenge to the Republican-passed 2018 law that made way for the Line 5 tunnel project.

Israel wages war of semantics over West Bank 'Area C'

COLONIALIST, OCCUPATION FORCES OF RACIST APARTHEID STATE ISRAEL
Issued on: 25/06/2020

A Palestinian woman gestures as Israeli border police stand guard during the confiscation of a container used by Palestinians to sell petrol near Yatta village, in 'Area C' of the occupied West Bank HAZEM BADER AFP

VIDEO AT THE END

Jerusalem (AFP)

To the United Nations, "Area C" is Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank. But Israel, which aims to annex parts of the territory, is waging a war of semantics over its status.

Pro-Israel NGOs and more recently a government agency are using email and social media to take aim at foreign media about their "biased" grammar when describing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

But rather than trying to impose the biblical "Judea and Samaria" term used by Israel for the West Bank, the reproaches focus on the Oslo peace accords of the 1990s.

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As part of these interim Israeli-Palestinian agreements, the West Bank was divided into Areas A, B and C. The first two zones constitute around 40 percent of the territory and were due to be largely under Palestinian jurisdiction.

Area C was to remain under full Israeli control, with the intention of Israel transferring part of the zone to the Palestinians under a final agreement.

But peace talks collapsed and Israel now intends to annex its settlements and the Jordan Valley -- which lie in Area C -- and could set such plans in motion from July 1.

Annexation forms part of a broader US peace plan unveiled in January, which paves the way for the eventual creation of a Palestinian state in the remaining territory.

Currently more than 450,000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank, alongside more than 2.8 million Palestinians.

Washington is now proposing a 50-50 split of Area C, separating around 300,000 Palestinians who live there from the settlers whose homes would become part of Israel.

Yossi Beilin, one of the Israeli negotiators of the Oslo accords, said that Area C was intended to become "part of Palestine" in a final deal.

Viewing Area C now as Israeli territory "abuses the Oslo agreement", he told AFP, by turning something "interim" into something "forever".

Beilin said the Israeli right believes they are being "very generous" in proposing to divide the area in two.

"They don't understand why the world is against it," said Beilin, who has served as a minister for the left-wing Labor party.

- 'Disputed' land? -

The West Bank was ruled by Jordan following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and Amman later annexed the territory, in a move never recognised by the international community.

Israel drove out Jordanian forces in the 1967 Six-Day War and sees the land as "disputed", opposing the term "occupied", which is widely used in international media.

An Israeli government official recently told a European correspondent to abandon the phrase "occupied Palestinian territory".

Foreign media including AFP describe Areas A, B and C as Palestinian territories, referring to the region as the "occupied West Bank".

The United Nations special envoy, Nickolay Mladenov, clarified to AFP that Area C is "considered occupied Palestinian territory".

But efforts by an Israeli government department to seek out journalists on social media -- telling them to scrap the term -- have escalated in recent weeks.

"I believe this public nitpicking on Twitter is a new phenomenon," said Glenys Sugarman, former director of Israel's Foreign Press Association.

"I handed over the FPA towards the end of last year -- I was not aware of anything like this by the GPO," she said, referring to Israel's Government Press Office.

The GPO, which is linked to the prime minister's office, acknowledged "occasional engagements with incorrect/inaccurate/biased reports in the media".

The government department stressed, however, that it was not "the GPO's role" to clarify Area C terminology ahead of Israel's possible annexation.

© 2020 AFP

ONE HUNDRED FIRMS LINKED TO ILLEGAL ISRAELI SETTLEMENTS 

JORDAN IS PALESTINE
Palestinians unveil Jordan Valley fund as annexation looms

Issued on: 25/06/2020

The fertile Jordan Valley, which Israel plans to annex along with Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, is home to 10,000 settlers, who live alongside some 65,000 Palestinians JAAFAR ASHTIYEH AFP

Ramallah (Palestinian Territories) (AFP)

The Palestinian Authority has announced a multi-million-dollar fund to support residents of the Jordan Valley, just days before Israel intends to start annexing the strategic swathe of the occupied West Bank.

"The government has decided to establish projects to support the residents of the Jordan Valley," Palestinian prime minister Mohammed Shtayyeh told AFP on Wednesday.

The scheme will be implemented within days and amount to 35 million Israeli shekels ($10 million), the premier said.

The financing will largely focus on agricultural improvements, although it also includes education and health projects.

Additionally, Shtayyeh said the PA will "allocate land to all Palestinians who want to invest in the Jordan Valley."

Palestinians greatly outnumber Jewish settlers in the fertile valley, which makes up about 30 percent of the occupied West Bank.

But Israel considers the area essential to its security and intends to take steps towards annexing it, along with Jewish settlements across the West Bank, from July 1.

President Donald Trump promised US blessing for the annexations as part of a controversial peace plan he unveiled in January that has been angrily rejected by the Palestinians as a violation of international law.

The plan broke with longstanding international consensus on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and has been opposed by Washington's Arab and European allies as well as the United Nations.

© 2020 AFP

Democrat raises questions about Trump admin's deliveries of ventilators abroad

Dan De Luce and Abigail Williams

© Provided by NBC News

WASHINGTON — A senior Democratic senator has demanded President Donald Trump explain his administration's rationale for sending thousands of ventilators to foreign countries without approval from Congress and raised concerns that political considerations are affecting decisions on international aid to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, according to letters sent Wednesday and obtained by NBC News.

"I write to express concern about the absence of clear guidelines for providing ventilators to foreign countries," Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, wrote in a letter to Trump.

Menendez said the administration has yet to offer "an adequate rationale" for waiving legal requirements to notify Congress about the assistance and asked the White House to explain the criteria for deciding which countries should receive ventilators.

© Orlando SIerra Image: HONDURAS-HEALTH-VIRUS (Orlando SIerra / AFP - Getty Images)

In a separate letter to the acting head of the U.S. Agency for International Development, John Barsa, the senator said he was concerned that the White House National Security Council's influence on decision-making on ventilator assistance "interjects political agendas into how USAID allocates its Global Health and Emergency Reserve Fund resources."

Acting USAID spokesperson Pooja Jhunjhunwala acknowledged the agency received the letter and said, "We always work closely and cooperatively with Congress and seek to be as timely and responsive as possible to their requests for information."

U.S. assistance is tailored to each country’s needs, she said. "This includes working with frontline workers to slow the spread, care for the affected, and equip local communities with the tools, such as ventilators, needed to fight COVID-19.”

The administration has informed Congress it plans to spend about $202 million to purchase 7,582 ventilators to distribute to up to 40 countries. Trump's national security adviser, Robert O'Brien, has said the president is committed to donating or selling 14,000 ventilators abroad.

The letters from Menendez come amid frustration among some career staff at USAID, who say public health experts at the agency have been shut out of the deliberations, two government officials familiar with the issue told NBC News. The officials said USAID staffers are concerned that poorer countries possibly require other more basic items such as personal protective equipment instead of ventilators, and may lack staff with special training to operate the machines.

"There are no criteria" for the delivery of ventilators, said one of the officials. "This is totally driven by the president and by the White House."

The White House and USAID were not immediately available to comment.

But a senior administration official said the U.S. is providing medical supplies and ventilators to countries that need them, and rejected the idea that the decisions are arbitrary.

Now that domestic needs for ventilators have been met, the president "continues to reach out to our partners and allies around the world to ensure they can have access to high-quality, America-made, life-saving ventilators to meet their medical needs," the administration official said.

"With the United States now on track to produce over 100,000 high-quality ventilators by the end of the July 2020, by far the highest production of ventilators in history, the President continues to reach out to our partners and allies around the world to ensure they can have access to high-quality, America-made, life-saving ventilators to meet their medical needs," the official said.

But some public health experts said ventilators are not the most urgent item for impoverished countries fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Ventilators are not what lower income countries need most. They need support for their health systems, personal protective equipment, testing and contact tracing," said Lawrence Gostin, a professor of medicine and law at Georgetown University and head of the O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law.

Dr. Craig Spencer, director of global health in emergency medicine at Columbia University Medical Center, agreed. "It's worse than swatting a fly with a sledge hammer," Spencer said, as most poorer countries "need much more basic tools, like running water or a supply of oxygen."

In his letter to Trump, Menendez also asked whether the White House National Security Council "is instructing USAID to procure or purchase ventilators from specific vendors or manufacturers, and whether you, members of your family, or any senior White House officials hold stock or control shares (either directly or through mutual funds) in the companies USAID is purchasing ventilators from."

© Chris Bergin Image: Ventec ventilator (Chris Bergin / Reuters file)

The Trump administration has already come under scrutiny for how it has managed the purchase and distribution of crucial medical supplies inside the U.S. since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak in January. NBC News has previously reported that senior political appointees made decisions on federal contracts and the allocation of scarce medical resources based in part on personal relationships and partisan loyalty.

During the early stages of the coronavirus outbreak, U.S. public health and hospital officials worried that the country faced potentially dire shortages of ventilators for critically ill patients and cited Italy as a worst-case scenario where doctors had to ration the equipment. After initially resisting the idea, President Trump eventually used presidential authority under the Defense Production Act to order companies to manufacture large numbers of ventilators for the crisis.

Critical care doctors, meanwhile, have increasingly chosen less invasive methods to help patients breathe, viewing the machines as a last resort. A recent medical study published concluded that using the machines more sparingly would save the lives of COVID-19 patients. The National Institutes of Health has issued treatment guidelines calling for a phased approach for patients with breathing problems and putting off using ventilators if possible.
'King of ventilators'

In comments at briefings and in tweets since April, President Trump has mentioned plans to send ventilators to various countries, boasting that the U.S. is now the "king of ventilators."

"Just spoke to President Juan Orlando Hernandez of the Republic of Honduras. We work closely together on the Southern Border. Will be helping him with his request for Ventilators and Testing," Trump tweeted.

But Guatemala was absent from the presidential tweets related to Central America, and the administration has announced no plans to send ventilators to that country. Guatemala has more than once suspended deportation flights from the U.S. after dozens of deportees tested positive for the coronavirus upon arriving from the United States.

Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei complained about a lack of U.S. aid — and ventilators — last month.

"Guatemala is an ally of the United States, but I don't believe the US is an ally to Guatemala, because they don't treat us like one," Giammattei said on May 21 at an Atlantic Council conference via Zoom. "We've seen how they've assisted other countries with ventilators, and we haven't even gotten a dime from them — not even one single mask from the United States. We don't feel appreciated."

When asked about Guatemala, Acting Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs Michael Kozak told reporters last month there was no correlation between pandemic assistance and that country's approach to deportation flights and U.S. immigration policy.

"There isn't some hard linkage here between cooperation on removals and ventilators," Kozak said. "We're trying to get medicine and medical supplies to anybody who needs them, including countries that we have not particularly good relations with."

Earlier this month, the State Department said it was providing more than $8 million in assistance to help Guatemala fight COVID-19.

Thailand: Pro-democracy activists mark Siamese revolution anniversary

Protesters in Thailand have defied government warnings to mark the anniversary of the 1932 revolution that brought an end to absolute monarchy. They say authorities are removing symbols of the revolution.


Thai political activists staged demonstrations Wednesday to mark the anniversary of the 1932 Siamese revolution which overthrew Thailand's absolute monarchy. The bloodless uprising saw the monarchy become a constitutional one and increased democracy.

Over 100 people gathered at Bangkok's Democracy Monument early in the morning. Footage projected onto a white sheet used as an impromptu screen showed the 1932 overthrow announcement.


The golden plaque in the center of the shot is the original one commemorating the end of absolute monarchy in Thailand in 1932

"Eighty-eight years ago today around dawn, the People's Party seized power and changed the system of governance to a democracy," said pro-democracy activist Anon Nampa at the rally.

Another prominent pro-democracy activist Chonthicha Jangrew told the Associated Press that authorities were trying to eradicate the revolution from history "and how important democracy is in Thailand."

Read more: Thailand: Exiled activist's disappearance sparks calls for justice

Did authorities allow the rallies?

Police had placed "No entry" signs at the monument but in the end allowed the activists to stage the demonstration for around 15 minutes.

Activists also displayed a replica of a commemorative plaque installed in 1936 at the spot where the proclamation took place. The event could still be considered illegal under COVID-19 social distancing regulations.

Another protest was planned near the palace, and police said they were monitoring rallies in at least 12 other provinces.

Government and police had made warnings ahead of the day, making it clear that such activities would be considered subversive and undermining the country's constitutional monarchy, but did not move to directly stop protests.

Read more: Rights group slams Thailand's repressive laws to intensify crackdown on COVID-19 critics

Why is the anniversary significant?

Thailand, formerly known as Siam, has seen a steady rolling back and removal of symbols relating to the 1932 Revolution in the last few years. The current king holds immense power and criticizing the royal family can be punished by 15 years in prison.

The government has been led by army commander Prayuth Chan-ocha since he seized power in a 2014 military coup. He was democratically elected in 2019 in an election that has been described as free but not fair.

Many of those attending the rally were vocal critics of Prayuth's five-year junta and believe that the king and the military still wield more power than is fair or legal in a constitutional monarchy.

Prayuth did not directly address the protesters but told citizens "don't violate the monarchy, don't violate the law."

ed/msh (AP, dpa, Reuters)

The Khana Ratsadon overthrew the government of King Prajadhipok of the Rattanakosin Kingdom in response to domestic issues as well as global political currents, ending almost 800 years of absolute monarchy under the Kings of Siam.
Siamese revolution of 1932 - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Siamese_revolution_of_1932
Alternative Title: Revolution of 1932

Promoters Revolution, also called Revolution of 1932, (June 24, 1932), in the history of Thailand, a bloodless coup that overthrew the Thai king, put an end to absolute monarchy in Thailand, and initiated the so-called Constitutional Era. The coup was headed by a group of men often referred to as the “promoters.” They included members of the Thai elite, noted intellectuals, some European-educated, and disaffected army officers; among the key “promoters” were Pridi Phanamyong and Phya Phahon Phonphayuhasen

https://www.britannica.com/event/Promoters-Revolution

The 1932 Coup in Thailand - ScholarWorks at WMU - Western ...

https://scholarworks.wmich.edu › cgi › viewcontent

by PR Serireongrith - ‎1983 - ‎Related articles

8-1983. The 1932 Coup in Thailand: An Account of a ... The former absolute monarchy was overthrown; ... ment of Thai politics, including the revolution of 19 32.

Thailand (History): Rewind to the 1932 Siamese Revolution ...

www.europe-solidaire.org › spip › article46159

Sep 16, 2018 - Thailand (History): Rewind to the 1932 Siamese Revolution ... P. Phibunsongkhram fought the monarchists until he was overthrown in 1957. ... transferring power from the absolute monarchy to Khana Ratsadon, but they did ...

Time to Truly Understand Thailand's 1932 Revolution – The ...

https://thediplomat.com › 2017/06 › time-to-truly-understand-thailands-19...

Jun 29, 2017 - The Thai government has been trying to bury the memory of the revolution that gave ... Thailand soldiers in Bangkok during the 1932 revolution. ... the 85th anniversary of the 1932 revolution that ended the absolute monarchy. ... to power in 1958 through a self-coup, his regime overthrew the entire political ...

New Zealand: Glacier melts enough ice to provide drinking water for country

A glacier in New Zealand has lost enough water through ice melt over three years to provide drinking water to every citizen for the same period. Scientists say many glaciers are in danger of disappearing completely.


A glacier in New Zealand is believed to have lost so much ice over the last three years that it could provide drinking water for every resident of the country over the same period, a research institute announced Wednesday.

Scientists say the Brewster Glacier on the South Island lost 13 million cubic meters of ice between 2016 and 2019, the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) said.

"Over the past few years, our observations of extreme and variable conditions highlight strong impacts on water — which is arguably our most precious natural resource," said NIWA climate scientist Andrew Lorrey.

The Southern Alps range has lost more than 15.9 trillion liters of water, which is about the amount today's population of New Zealand would use in 40 years. This constitutes around 30% of the range's ice volume.

Read more: Antarctica experiences first known heat wave

'The path to extinction'

Damage sustained by some glaciers between 2018 and 2019 may place them on the path to extinction, Lorrey explained.

Marine heatwaves and record temperatures impacted snow lines. Ash from the recent Australian bush fires also blanketed some of the ice, increasing the potential for more melting as the ash absorbs more solar radiation.

Read more: Iceland holds ceremony for first glacier lost to climate change

It could take 20 or 30 years of improvement in snow cover before scientists could "even start to consider whether the recent damage can be reversed to any degree," Lorrey said.

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TORTURE BY ANY OTHER NAME
Video shows abusive taming of baby elephant for Thai tourism

Issued on: 25/06/2020

Around 3,000 domesticated pachyderms work in Thailand's massive tourism sector, used for rides and performing tricks for travellers eager for a once-in-a-lifetime experience with the beasts Lillian SUWANRUMPHA AFP 

THEY ARE NOT BEASTS, THEY ARE FELLOW SENTIENT MAMMALS WHO SHOULD BE FREE AND NOT IMPRISONED AND TORTURED
Bangkok (AFP)

Footage of a distressed baby elephant jabbed by bullhooks at a Thai camp to tame it before joining the tourist industry has been released by conservationists in an appeal to end the practice.

The footage, taken on a hidden camera last year and published Wednesday by UK-based animal rights group World Animal Protection (WAP), shows what they say is the forced separation of a two-year-old female elephant from her mother.

The distraught calf is confined to a small space known as the "crush box" and held by chains and ropes for days as she struggles to escape.

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Calves are repeatedly jabbed with a bullhook, a long rod with a sharpened metal tip, to get them to understand basic commands, sometimes causing bleeding.

About 3,000 domesticated elephants work in Thailand's tourism sector, used for rides and performing tricks for travellers.

Animal rights activists have long argued that elephants endure abuse in the tourism industry, starting with the so-called "crush" process to tame them when young.

"We need to ensure that this is the last generation of elephants used for commercial tourism," Jan Schmidt-Burbach, a wildlife veterinarian with WAP, told AFP.

WAP has not released details of the location of the camp to avoid repercussions for the people who shot the video.

To avoid starvation as the coronavirus halts global travel, hundreds of elephants are back in their home villages with their handlers.

But Thailand's plans to relax some travel restrictions in the coming weeks, if the virus remains contained, have conservationists fearing the return of "the crush".

© 2020 AFP

CANADA TOO 

‘Blue solidarity’ represses social justice movements, contributes to anti-Black racism, paper says

Brian Hill GLOBAL NEWS JUNE 23, 2020

© Youtube / Islam Muslim Ottawa police Const. Daniel Montsion is facing criminal charges in the death of Abdirahman Abdi, a 37-year-old Somali-Canadian man who died after a confrontation with officers in 2016. Montsion's trial is expected to begin Feb. 4, 2019.

Amid ongoing protests about the use of excessive and deadly force by police against Black and Indigenous peoples, questions have been raised about the role police and their union leaders play in exacerbating anti-Black racism in North America.

Solidarity among police officers serves to “repress social justice movements that challenge police authority” and supports tactics that discriminate against racialized communities, argue York University professors Mark Thomas and Steven Tufts in a recent study.

“The repressive role of policing is revealed in instances of mass protests, whereby police forces often implement highly militarized tactics and severely constrain the civil liberties of demonstrators,” the study said.

READ MORE: ‘Cogs in the colonial wheel’: Why racism in Canada’s police force is as old as policing

Since the death of George Floyd on May 25 in Minneapolis police custody, there have been protests in the United States, Canada and around the world calling for changes to how police use force, especially deadly force.

These calls are the latest in a movement to end anti-Black racism — a movement Tufts said has been hindered by police and their union leaders, especially in the United States, who have spoken out against demonstrators and blocked efforts to create stronger police oversight.

In some cases, Tufts said, police have argued they are victims of hate crimes, while successfully lobbying governments to pass legislation that shields officers from prosecution or financial responsibility for their actions while on duty.

In Canada — including Toronto, where Black residents are 20 times more likely to die from police use of force than white residents — the “blue solidarity” movement is less overt than in the U.S. but still concerning, Tufts said.

“I don’t buy the argument that we’re so different in Toronto or Canada,” he said.

READ MORE: What it’s like to police in marginalized communities amid George Floyd protests

Both the Toronto Police Association and the Canadian Police Association reject Tufts’ arguments, saying it's unreasonable to compare what’s happening in the U.S. with the Canadian experience.

The two associations also reject the idea that police unions in Canada repress democratic movements, including Black Lives Matter. They also say that they do not shield officers from accountability and that their role is mostly limited to negotiating better wages, safer working conditions and making sure due process is followed whenever officers are investigated.
Racism in policing

The discussion of racism in policing is not new in Canada. As APTN reported, a 1989 royal commission into the wrongful conviction of a Mi’kmaw man in Nova Scotia made 82 recommendations on how to reform policing in the province, including mandatory racial education for cadets and recruiting more minority officers.

There have since been dozens of reports that make similar recommendations on how to improve policing in racialized communities, including a 2019 report by an expert panel that looked at the future of policing in Indigenous communities.

“Living in peace, harmony, and well-being is something that most people enjoy, expect, and consider as part of their human rights in Canada. However, this has not been the experience of Indigenous Peoples,” wrote panel chair Kimberly Murray, a Mohawk of Kanehsatake and the former executive director of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.

READ MORE: March for Black lives planned for Ottawa’s Elgin Street on Saturday

Calvin Lawrence, a retired RCMP officer and former instructor on use of force techniques, said he experienced racism on an almost daily basis during his 30-year career — both from fellow officers and the public.

Lawrence said unions and other police officers speak out in defence of officers accused of serious wrongdoing, including excessive force, when they should instead remain silent.

The case of Ottawa police officer Daniel Montsion is an example of this type of behaviour, Lawrence said. Montsion is currently on trial after pleading not guilty to several criminal charges, including manslaughter, in connection with the 2016 arrest of Abdirahman Abdi, who died while in police custody.

When Montsion was first charged, CBC reported that Ottawa police officers began wearing black-and-blue rubber wristbands that said “united we stand” with Montsion’s badge number. The bracelets were reportedly being sold for $2 each, with all proceeds going to the police union’s benevolence fund, the Ottawa Citizen reported.

READ MORE: Ottawa police bought ‘assault gloves’ officer wore during Abdi’s arrest: defence

While officers were told by the police chief they could not wear the bracelets on duty, because they are not part of the official police uniform, they were not restricted from wearing them when off duty.

Officers were also told they could attend Montsion’s trial so long as they wore civilian clothing, coordinated their attendance with the union, and refrained from wearing the bracelets at the courthouse, the Citizen reported.

“Police officers are supposed to maintain neutrality and this is not maintaining neutrality,” Lawrence said. “To the average citizen, this is mob rule.”

Lawrence also said what a lot of people don’t understand is that while white members of the community may look at the bracelets and say “this is wrong,” Black men will look at the bracelets and say, “that could be me.”

“I think that if this person is charged, they should keep quiet about it and just go out and do their jobs,” he said.
Due process or lack of accountability?

While Lawrence thinks police unions need to take a more active role in improving officers’ ability to de-escalate volatile situations, he also believes unions are necessary for protecting workers’ rights and preventing abuse within police forces.

Lawrence said the absence of organized labour during his 30-year RCMP career contributed toward inequalities and racial injustices within the force.

On one occasion, when he brought forward a complaint, Lawrence said he was told not to make it a “racial issue” unless he wanted it to go nowhere.

Meanwhile, a younger generation of Black organizers has begun arguing for governments to defund the police.

READ MORE: ‘They’re targeting us’: Why some advocates want to defund Canadian police

Sandy Hudson, a founder of Black Lives Matter Toronto and a UCLA law student, says police unions have been “instrumental” in ensuring police officers are not required to cooperate with civilian investigations that look into police use of force.

She said unions have argued and governments have agreed, including in Ontario, that officers can decide whether to participate in these investigations, even when the use of force results in serious injury or death.

Hudson cites the recent shooting of D’Andre Campbell by a Peel Regional Police officer as an example of this: provincial legislation has allowed the officer to refuse to participate in the investigation into his alleged actions.

This, Hudson said, impacts the public’s ability to determine what happened and to hold police officers accountable.

“These unions aren't really acting like unions in the traditional sense. They are protecting police officers from being held accountable when they consistently target, kill and harm Black and Indigenous communities. And that shouldn’t be allowed to stand,” she said.

READ MORE: D’Andre Campbell fatally shot by police in Brampton home after calling for help, family says

Both Mike McCormack, president of the Toronto Police Association, and Tom Stamatakis, former president of the Vancouver Police Union and current president of the Canadian Police Association, reject claims that police unions shield officers from civilian oversight.

They say police unions, like other labour organizations, have a duty to defend their members against charges or allegations resulting from their service, and that ensuring due process is followed is a priority in any workplace investigation.

“We are here to protect the members rights and to ensure due process is done. We are not here to support racism, systemic racism or anything like that,” McCormack said.

Stamatakis also said timeliness of investigations, such as those conducted by civilian oversight bodies like Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit (SIU), is critical to providing justice and making sure any officers involved are treated fairly — something Ontario’s current government agreed with when it imposed time restrictions on SIU investigations and overturned legislation from the previous government, which it called the “most anti-police legislation in Canadian history.”

“We are one of the most regulated groups in the world in policing,” McCormack said.

“We're here to ensure that there is accountability, transparency and that our members’ rights are respected.”
‘Blue solidarity’ in Canada

One of Tufts’ main arguments is that “blue solidarity” movements in the U.S. and Canada have portrayed police as victims in response to Black Lives Matter.

Tufts pointed to McCormack’s call to cancel a $260,000 city grant to Toronto’s Pride parade after organizers banned uniformed police officers from attending the parade following demands made by Black Lives Matter.

He argues the union made it seem like officers were marginalized by not being allowed to participate in the parade, while Black Lives Matter organizers said the presence of uniformed officers at the parade discourages racialized people from participating.

READ MORE: Ontario’s police watchdog examining fatal officer-involved shooting of man in Mississauga

McCormack said he stands by his past comments on the issue, adding that he was speaking on behalf of LGBTQ2 police officers who were disappointed they could not march in the parade.

He also said participating in the parade is a chance for the Toronto Police Service to mend its relationship with the LGBTQ2 community, a relationship he acknowledges has been “rife” with stress and conflict.

“Many of my members (are) part of that community” McCormack said. “We have been working tirelessly, diligently to break down those barriers, to break down those walls.”

But Hudson disagrees with how the association leaders characterize Canadian police involvement in cross-border solidarity movements, such as Blue Lives Matter and the Thin Blue Line.

She also said if blue solidarity wasn’t an issue in Canada, she would expect more officers to speak out against colleagues who use excessive force or when issues of systemic discrimination are brought to public attention.

Stamatakis, meanwhile, said that while there are informal relationships between police officers in the two countries, no Canadian police association or police force has taken up these causes in any significant way.

READ MORE: George Floyd death: Use of police weaponry scrutinized after injuries at protests

He also criticizes the study done by Thomas and Tufts, saying it doesn’t make sense to consider the U.S. and Canada together.

“That's one of the shortcomings of the research; where they sort of lump the Canadian experience in with the American experience,” he said.

Still, Stamatakis said, if members of the Black community feel their interactions with police are racialized, or if they believe they’re being targeted, then police must find a way of improving this relationship.

“When we have people in our community that are saying they're concerned about how their interactions with the police are occurring, then we need to be listening to that,” he said.
Police use of force

There are examples of police unions in Canada directly opposing legitimate forms of public scrutiny, Tufts said.

In 2013, McCormack opposed an investigation by former Ontario ombudsman André Marin into police use of force tactics following the shooting death of Sammy Yatim by Toronto police officer James Forcillo earlier that year.

At the time, McCormack said Marin, a former director of the SIU, was “grandstanding” by announcing he would look into how police in Ontario use force before an investigation into whether Forcillo had acted improperly was complete.

“I'm a little bit shocked that somebody such as the ombudsman would not be respecting due process and waiting until he got all the facts and information and I think that the optics are terrible in the sense that his comments clearly do not indicate confidence in the SIU or the Toronto police or the investigative process," McCormack said, according to a 2013 Globe and Mail article.

However, the Globe also reported that neither the SIU nor the government were opposed to Marin’s investigation.

Both McCormack and Stamatakis said that it is exceptionally rare for an officer to use force, with deadly force being even rarer, and that the work police officers do is dangerous, involves a lot of unknown factors, mental illness and armed individuals.

A report published by the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police research foundation said use of force occurs in less than 0.1 per cent of police-public interactions. However, the report also said the total number of people exposed to these kinds of tactics remains high because of how often police interact with the public.

Hudson, meanwhile, cites a 2018 Ontario Human Rights Commission report that found Black residents in Toronto are 20 times more likely to be killed by police than white residents.

She also said if nearly everything the police do doesn’t require force, then perhaps front-line officers in Canada shouldn’t be armed, such as in the U.K., where police routinely do not carry guns.

“If so many of the cases they respond to don't require that sort of response, they shouldn't have those things at all,” she said.

WikiLeaks founder Assange faces new accusations of trying to recruit hackers at conferences

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WASHINGTON — WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange sought to recruit hackers at conferences in Europe and Asia who could provide his anti-secrecy website with classified information, and conspired with members of hacking organizations, according to a new Justice Department indictment announced Wednesday.

The superseding indictment does not contain additional charges beyond the 18 counts the Justice Department unsealed last year. But prosecutors say it underscores Assange's efforts to procure and release classified information, allegations that form the basis of criminal charges he already faces.

Beyond recruiting hackers at conferences, the indictment accuses Assange of conspiring with members of hacking groups known as LulzSec and Anonymous. He also worked with a 17-year-old hacker who gave him information stolen from a bank and directed the teenager to steal additional material, including audio recordings of high-ranking government officials, prosecutors say.

Assange's lawyer, Barry Pollack, said in a statement that “the government’s relentless pursuit of Julian Assange poses a grave threat to journalists everywhere and to the public’s right to know.”

“While today’s superseding indictment is yet another chapter in the U.S. Government’s effort to persuade the public that its pursuit of Julian Assange is based on something other than his publication of newsworthy truthful information,” he added, “the indictment continues to charge him with violating the Espionage Act based on WikiLeaks publications exposing war crimes committed by the U.S. Government.”

Assange was arrested last year after being evicted from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, where he had sought refuge to avoid being sent to Sweden over allegations of rape and sexual assault, and is at the center of an extradition tussle over whether he should be sent to the United States.

The Justice Department has already charged him with conspiring with former U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning in one of the largest compromises of classified information in U.S. history by working together to crack a password to a government computer.

Prosecutors say the WikiLeaks founder damaged national security by publishing hundreds of thousands of classified documents, including diplomatic cables and military files on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, that harmed the U.S. and its allies and aided its adversaries.

Assange maintains he was acting as a journalist entitled to First Amendment protection. His lawyers have argued the U.S. charges of espionage and computer misuse were politically motivated and an abuse of power.

Assange generated substantial attention during the 2016 presidential election, and in investigations that followed, after WikiLeaks published stolen Democratic emails that U.S. authorities say were hacked by Russian military intelligence officials. An investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller revealed how Trump campaign associates eagerly anticipated the email disclosures. One Trump ally, Roger Stone, was found guilty last year of lying about his efforts to gain inside information about the emails. Assange, however, was never charged in Mueller's Russia investigation.

The allegations in the new indictment center on conferences, in locations including the Netherlands and Malaysia in 2009, at which prosecutors say he and a WikiLeaks associate sought to recruit hackers who could locate classified information, including material on a “Most Wanted Leaks” list posted on WikiLeaks' website.

According to the new indictment, he told would-be recruits that unless they were a member of the U.S. military, they faced no legal liability for stealing classified information and giving it to WikiLeaks “because ‘TOP SECRET’ meant nothing as a matter of law.”

At one conference in Malaysia, called the “Hack in the Box Security Conference,” Assange told the audience, “I was a famous teenage hacker in Australia, and I've been reading generals' emails since I was 17.”

Germany bans single-use plastic products

The German Cabinet came to the agreement after months of speculation and the ban will mean the country falls in line with an EU directive to reduce waste. The prohibition will come into effect from July 2021.



The German Cabinet agreed on Wednesday to end the sale of single-use plastic straws, cotton buds and food containers from July next year, bringing it in line with a European Union directive intended to reduce the amount of plastic waste.

The move means the sale of single-use cutlery, plates, stirring sticks and balloon holders, as well as polystyrene cups and boxes, will be banned from July 3, 2021.

Read more: China to ban single-use plastic bags and straws

Environment Minister Svenja Schulze said the decision was part of an effort to move away from a "throw-away culture." Indeed, up to 20% of trash collected in parks and other public spaces in Germany consists of single-use plastic, primarily polystyrene containers.


"Many single-use plastic products are superfluous and non-sustainable use of resources," Schulze said.


Germany amassed a record 18.7 million tons of packaging waste in 2017, according to data published by the Federal Environmental Agency (UBA).

Plastic takes decades to degrade and microscopic particles have been found inside fish, birds, and other animals.

Polystyrene pollution

In a separate development, scientists have come across polystyrene in the guts of tiny, soil-dwelling organisms in the Antarctic.

The discovery raises the prospect that microplastics pollution has already "deeply" entered the planet's most remote land-based ecosystems.

Read more: Coronavirus aggravates Thailand's plastic waste crisis

While the presence of microplastics across the world's seas is not unknown to researchers, the study illustrated the first examples of contamination in the Antarctic terrestrial food chain.

"Plastics have therefore entered even some of the most remote soil food webs on the planet, with potential risks for the whole biota and ecosystems," the study's authors said after their findings were published in the journal Biology Letters.

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