#SNAKEOIL  #QUACK

Trump’s COVID ‘Cure’ Was Developed Using Fetal Tissue

By Claire Lampen 
HYPOCRISY OCT. 8, 2020

Oops. Photo: NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP via Getty Images

When President Donald Trump came down with an apparently very serious coronavirus infection last week, his medical team responded with an experimental drug cocktail that the president has since touted as nothing short of miraculous. Trump likes one of these drugs so much that he released a little hype video on Wednesday, calling the treatment a coronavirus “cure.” (This is only according to Trump — one doctor told the New York Times that there is “one million percent no” chance that it could have “cured” him in 24 hours, as he has claimed.)

In a rambling five-minute video posted to Twitter on Wednesday, a conspicuously bronzed Trump said his COVID infection was a “gift from God” because it introduced him to the drug Regeneron. It sure sounds like no one told him that this particular treatment is developed using fetal tissue, a crucial research avenue Trump’s administration has harshly condemned, and tried to restrict as part of its war on abortion rights.

A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT! pic.twitter.com/uhLIcknAjT— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 7, 2020

According to the New York Times, Regeneron is made by cultivating monoclonal antibodies from a cell line called 293T, which stem from the kidney tissue of a fetus aborted in the 1970s. (The 293T cells are used to test “the antibodies’ ability to neutralize the virus,” per a company rep.)

The Times notes that both Moderna and AstraZeneca are using 293T cells in producing their coronavirus vaccines. The cells are reportedly also involved in testing the antiviral Remdesivir, another of the drugs seemingly enabling the president to record blustery PSAs mere days after being infected.

The Trump administration first cracked down on “new acquisition of fetal tissue from elective abortions” in summer 2019, limiting the federal funds available to critical National Institutes of Health–partnered research projects — the University of California San Francisco’s work on an HIV cure, for example. According to a great many of the country’s leading research institutions and medical bodies, fetal cells have clear advantages over adult cells, namely their high replication speed and ability to become any type of cell in the body. They have been used for medical research since the 1930s, and are responsible for such significant advances as the polio vaccine.

Use of fetal tissue is subject to a stringent code of ethics that, among other things, bars physicians and scientists from financially incentivizing abortion to advance their work. Despite the facts, the claim that “Planned Parenthood sells baby parts” for profit remains a favorite refrain of anti-choice extremists on the religious right. That ideology appears to be a motivating factor behind the Trump administration’s decision to establish a fetal-tissue ethics review advisory board in June of last year, one predictably stacked with abortion opponents. The Department of Health and Human Services explained in a statement that “promoting the dignity of human life from conception to natural death is one of the very top priorities of President Trump’s administration,” per the Times.

Given that the cell line on which Regeneron’s antibody therapy relies dates back to the 1970s, its research efforts wouldn’t run afoul of NIH funding guidelines. It would, however, fly in the face of anti-abortion zealots, who decry fetal-tissue research on the grounds that it “violate[s] the bodies of aborted babies by commodifying them for use in medical research.”

Still, as one member of the ethics advisory board — Lawrence Goldstein, a senior faculty member at the University of California at San Diego, and a scientist who has used fetal tissue for research — told the Washington Post, “a lot of the opponents have looked the other way” on Regeneron. Goldstein (correctly) labeled this selective blindness “blatant hypocrisy,” but what else could we conceivably expect?

Trump Attacks Whitmer After Feds Foil Plot To Kidnap Her, Complains She Hasn’t Thanked Him

President Donald Trump participates in the first presidential debate against Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden at the Health Education Campus of Case Western Reserve University on September 29, 2020 in Cleveland 

By Cristina Cabrera
|
October 9, 2020 8:59 a.m.

President Donald Trump ranted about Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Thursday night after the FBI announced they had thwarted a right-wing conspiracy to kidnap and possibly kill Whitmer.

Following the FBI’s announcement on Thursday, Whitmer had slammed Trump over his refusal to denounce right-wing extremist groups, particularly white supremacists, during the first presidential debate less than two weeks ago.

“Hate groups heard the President’s words not as a rebuke but as a rallying cry, as a call to action,” said the governor.

In response, Trump tweeted that Whitmer “has done a terrible job” with her emergency restrictions amid the COVID-19 pandemic; restrictions that had allegedly infuriated the 13 charged suspects in the FBI case to the point where they allegedly devised a scheme in which they would kidnap Whitmer and put her “on trial.” Several of the suspects allegedly floated the possibility of killing the governor.

The President also complained about Whitmer’s lack of gratitude toward him personally after the feds foiled the kidnapping plot on Thursday.

“My Justice Department and Federal Law Enforcement announced today that they foiled a dangerous plot against the Governor of Michigan,” he tweeted. “Rather than say thank you, she calls me a White Supremacist—while Biden and Democrats refuse to condemn Antifa, Anarchists, Looters and Mobs that burn down Democrat run cities.”

Trump attacked Whitmer again during an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity on Thursday night.

“I see Whitmer today, she’s complaining, but it was our Justice Department that arrested the people that she was complaining about,” the President said. “It was my Justice Department that arrested them, but instead she goes and does her little political act.”

He ranted again that the Michigan governor is doing “a horrible thing to the people” by imposing requirements on masks and indoor capacity limits to keep COVID-19 from spreading.

Whitmer’s office did not immediately respond to TPM’s request for comment.

Listen to Trump below:
Trump attacks Whitmer and complains she’s ungrateful to him after feds foiled plot to kidnap her. pic.twitter.com/ilFo1GgI9q
— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) October 9, 2020

MUG SHOTS OF GUN RIGHTS TERRORISTS

 AND TRUMP SUPPORTERS 

Cristina Cabrera (@crismcabrera) is a newswriter at TPM based in New York. She previously worked for Vocativ, USA Today and NY1 News.

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer says Trump should not provide hate groups “a rallying cry”

By THE OAKLAND PRESS | theoaklandpress@medianewsgroup.com |
PUBLISHED: October 9, 2020                            
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer addresses the state.

After the charges announced by both federal and state authorities Thursday about a plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, she mentioned some of the president’s rhetoric in recent weeks and months.

Whitmer, while thanking law enforcement agencies and personnel as well as praising Michigan’s people and their grit, did address some of what President Donald Trump has said and not said, particularly declining to denounce hate groups, such as the Proud Boys.

Quickly, Trump’s campaign slammed the governor, calling her statements “shameful, according to Mediaite.com.

Meanwhile, the story of the arrests and raids throughout Michigan has made national news, including landing near the top of the DrudgeReport.com in the late afternoon and at the top of the NYTimes.com and near the top of the Wall Street Journal.
drudge report on michigan gov and trump.jpgThe featured headlines at the top of the Drudge Report on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2020, seen in this screen shot of the popular new aggregator site as the election approaches.

Read the full statement from Michigan’s governor here:

——

Good afternoon. Earlier today, Attorney General Dana Nessel was joined by officials from the Department of Justice and the FBI to announce state and federal charges against 13 members of two militia groups who were preparing to kidnap and possibly kill me.

When I put my hand on the bible and took the oath of office 22 months ago, I knew this job would be hard, but I’ll be honest – I never could’ve imagined anything like this.

I want to start by saying thank you to law enforcement. Thank you to the fearless FBI agents. And thank you to the brave Michigan State Police troopers who participated in this operation – acting under the leadership of Col. Joe Gasper.


I also want to thank Attorney General Nessel and US Attorneys Birge and Schneider and their teams for pursuing criminal charges that hopefully will lead to convictions, bringing these sick and depraved men to justice.13 people charged in plot to kidnap Gretchen WhitmerSix men have been charged by federal law enforcement authorities with plotting to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer at her Elk Rapids vacation home as well as attacking police, according to a criminal complaint filed Tuesday and unsealed Thursday in federal court.

As a mom with two teenage daughters and three stepsons, my husband and I are eternally grateful to everyone who put themselves in harm’s way to keep our family safe.

2020 has been a hard year for all of us. Hard for our doctors and nurses. Truck drivers and grocery store workers. It’s been hard for teachers and students and parents. Hard for those who have had to stay isolated to stay safe. And it’s not over yet.

But here’s what I know: we are Michiganders. We have grit. We have heart. And we are tough as hell.

We made it through the Great Recession.

We made it through auto bankruptcies.

We made it through floods and polar vortexes.

But none of us has faced a challenge like COVID-19. Not in our lifetimes.

I’ve said it many times – we are not one another’s enemy. This virus is our enemy. And this enemy is relentless. It doesn’t care if you’re a Republican or a Democrat. Young or old. Rich or poor.

It doesn’t care if we’re tired of it.

It threatens us all – – our lives, our families, our jobs, our businesses, our economy. It preys on our elderly and medically vulnerable residents. And it has exposed deep inequities in our society.

This should be a moment for national unity. Where we all pull together as Americans to meet this challenge head-on – with the same might and muscle that put a man on the moon. Seeing the humanity in one another and doing our part to help our country get through this.mich gov on top of nytimes.jpgA screen shot of the New York Times on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2020, after arrests were announced alleging a plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer by right-wing militia groups.

Instead – our head of state has spent the past seven months denying science. Ignoring his own health experts. Stoking distrust and fomenting anger. And giving comfort to those who spread fear and hatred and division.

Just last week, the President of the United States stood before the American people and refused to condemn white supremacists and hate groups – like these two Michigan militia groups.

“Stand back, and stand by,” he said to them.

“Stand back, and stand by.”

Hate groups heard the president’s words not as a rebuke, but as a rallying cry. As a call to action.

When our leaders speak, their words matter. They carry weight.

When our leaders meet with, encourage, or fraternize with domestic terrorists they legitimize their actions – they are complicit. When they stoke and contribute to hate speech – they are complicit.

In 1981, President Ronald Reagan spoke to the NAACP’s annual convention and his comments stand in sharp contrast to what we have seen on the national and state level from his own beloved party in 2020.

He said: “A few isolated groups in the backwater of American life still hold perverted notions of what America is all about.” “Recently in some places in the nation there’s been a disturbing reoccurrence of bigotry and violence.”

Then, Reagan sent a direct message to those “who still adhere to senseless racism and religious prejudice.”

“You are the ones who are out of step with our society,” he said. “You are the ones who willfully violate the meaning of the dream that is America. And this country, because of what it stands for, will not stand for your conduct.”

So let me say this loud and clear: hatred, bigotry, and violence have no place in the great state of Michigan.drudge report on michigan gov plot.jpgA screen shot of the Drudge Report at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2020, with headlines about the alleged plot to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

And if you break the law, or conspire to commit heinous acts of violence against anyone – we will find you, we will hold you accountable, and we will bring you to justice.

For the past seven months, I’ve made the tough choices to keep our state safe. These have been gut-wrenching decisions no governor has ever had to make.

And I get it: life has been hard for us all.

When I get out of bed every morning, I think about the high school seniors like my daughter who missed graduation ceremonies, or those Michiganders who have missed weddings and funerals. I think about all the moms who are working from home, making breakfast every day, logging kids into their zoom class, and doing laundry. I think about the small business owners who spent a lifetime building something great, who are now hanging on by their fingernails just to keep the lights on.

The disruption this virus has caused to our daily lives is immeasurable.

It has already taken the lives of more than 210,000 Americans – including over 6,800 right here in Michigan.

As painful as these losses are, our hard work and sacrifices have saved thousands of lives. We have one of the strongest economic recoveries in the nation.

Make no mistake: there will be more hard days ahead.

But I want the people of Michigan to know this: As your governor, I will never stop doing everything in my power to keep you and your family safe. You don’t have to agree with me. But I do ask one thing: never forget that we are all in this together.

Let’s show a little kindness. And a lot more empathy. Give one another some grace. And let’s take care of each other.

Wear your mask. Stay six feet apart. Wash your hands frequently. And look out for your neighbors.

We are Michiganders. I know we can get through this. We will get through this.

So let’s get through it together.

US to collect tariffs on aluminum sheet goods from 18 countries

BUT NOT CANADA 

by Tyler Van Dyke, Breaking News Reporter
| October 09, 2020 

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross announced on Friday that the United States will collect tariffs on $1.96 billion worth of aluminum sheet goods from 18 different countries.

The tariffs would be "the largest and most far-reaching case that our department has brought in more than 20 years," Ross said on Fox Business's Mornings with Maria.

Among the countries included are Germany, Bahrain, and Oman. Germany faces the highest tariffs, anywhere from 52%-132%.

Today @Commercegov announced affirmative preliminary determinations in the antidumping duty investigations of imports of common alloy aluminum sheet from 18 countries: https://t.co/bibcJgtyAS pic.twitter.com/wVuK6qdMqd— Sec. Wilbur Ross (@SecretaryRoss) October 9, 2020

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Ross told anchor Maria Bartiromo that the tariffs were a result of "aluminum dumping" into the U.S. Even though China is not among the counties facing this new tranche of tariffs, "What's really been happening, actually, is Chinese excess capacity has been dumped into other markets. That, in turn, displaces production, which gets dumped here." China already faces a number of tariffs from the U.S., including on steel and aluminum.

Ross said that the tariffs are "in effect right now" but clarified that "these are preliminary determinations, but the tariffs will be starting to be collected right away. Final determinations will be in February 2021, assuming that the [International Trade Commission] rules that there really was damage."

Asked whether he was concerned that the tariffs would have a negative impact on prices for consumer goods, Ross said that "very often, the same countries that are subsidizing the exports subsidize some of the tariffs, and they do it either directly or by letter their currency depreciate. Both ways help to offset the tariff," which would prevent an increased burden on the consumer.

Ross also emphasized that even with these tariffs, there is an increased demand for goods that use sheet aluminum, such as RVs.

"I was out in Indiana two days ago, and they are one of the leading companies making recreational vehicles — RVs — said that they are months backlogged despite prices, despite CBD, despite everything else," he said.

Work from home becomes permanent option for some Microsoft employees

by Kareem Anderson
 Email Twitter: @MindHead1 6 hours ago inNews

Many scientists and pharmaceutical experts are estimating that life in the US may still be irregularly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic well into 2021, and in light of a business landscape reacting to that reality, Microsoft has officially allowed work-from-home to be a permanent option for its employees.

According to internal guidance given to The Verge, Microsoft will be upending its traditional on-premise work environment for a more flexible “hybrid workplace.” Microsoft’s new flexible working plans include employee allowances to work-from-home freely for under 50 percent of the work-week and while some flexible work hours will be available without manager approval, managers will be given the power to approve of more permanent remote options. Part-time work schedules will also be available for employees barring any managerial disapprovals based on work-type.

In conjunction with the new work-from-home shift, Microsoft will also be adjusting benefit structures and perhaps pay as a result with the company covering home office expenses for permanent remote work but stipulating that those who choose to “move away from Microsoft’s offices will need to cover their own relocation costs.” The distinction between the two options is subtle but necessary to determine what equipment the company should and will reimburse.

While the work-from-home options appear to be available to all employees, Microsoft notes that not all employees will be able to take advantage of the new allowances, particularly those who require to access to data centers and in-person training as well as those who work in hardware labs such as the company’s Surface employees. Aside from these minimal stipulations, employees are otherwise free to relocate both nationally and internationally if their new work-from-home schedule and environment don’t interfere with their workload.

Today’s news appears to supersede Microsoft’s decision made in late July, to reopen its offices presumably for in-office work in January of 2021 at the earliest which will allow for people who choose to go back into the office then to do so, while simultaneously mandating a new permanent work-from-home availability.

Cerrejón mineworkers hold firm: show your support

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7 October, 2020Workers at the Cerrejón coal mine in Colombia are five weeks into a bitter strike against the imposition of a brutal new shift system. They need your support.


Members of IndustriALL affiliate Sintracarbón are in the fifth week of a strike at the Cerrejón coal mine in Colombia.
Union president Igor Diaz gives a strike update in a radio interview on Monday

When the Covid-19 restrictions began, collective bargaining negotiations were suspended. When they resumed this summer, Cerrejón unilaterally announced a radical change to the shift system, without consulting the union and in violation of Colombian law. The new shift roster, which workers call the 'death shift', will lead to the loss of 2,500 direct and indirect jobs, and require workers to work an additional 72 days a year for the same wage.

Sintracarbón members voted for strike action to resist this assault on their terms and conditions. The Colombian labour ministry offered facilitation to end the strike, but Cerrejón boycotted the process. The mine is jointly owned by three multinational mining companies, AngloAmerican, BHP and Glencore, who have refused to intervene. IndustriALL has written to the companies more than once to demand they take responsibility for the crisis.

IndustriALL has also written to Cerrejón’s customers - major energy companies in Europe and Turkey, including Vattenfall and Engie – asking them to conduct due diligence over Cerrejón’s violations of workers’ rights. In addition, IndustriALL is contacting institutional investors in the three mining multinationals, including pension funds, to make them aware of the situation.

Sintracarbón workers need your support. 

Please sign the LabourStart petition and tell the company to return to the negotiating table.

http://www.industriall-union.org/cerrejon-mineworkers-hold-firm-show-your-support

Once again, a company has taken advantage of the Covid-19 pandemic to attack workers' rights. This time, it's coal miners in Colombia who have had to go on strike. Workers at the Cerrejón coal mine are in the middle of bitter dispute with three multinational mining companies, Anglo American, BHP and Glencore.   When the pandemic broke out back in February the union, in good faith, withdrew its list of demands and suspended collective bargaining negotiations. When negotiations resumed in July, the company refused to respond to the union proposals, and instead demanded concessions in rights and benefits. Then the company unilaterally announced a radical shift change roster, without consulting the union and in violation of Colombian law. The new shift roster, which workers call the 'death shift' will lead to the loss of 2,500 direct and indirect jobs, will require workers to work an additional 72 days a year for the same wage, will cause turmoil in workers' family lives and will lead to an increase in fatigue and thus an increase in accidents. The company has boycotted the government labour ministry’s facilitation to end the strike, now in its fourth week. The union in Colombia and IndustriALL global union have a launched an online campaign on LabourStart in support of the miners.  Please take a moment to show your support - click here.  And please don't forget our campaign in support of miners in Ukraine, who have taken their fight for justice underground - into the mines.  Learn more and show your support here.

Nitrogen fertilizers are jeopardizing climate goals, new study finds

BY AFS STAFF

OCTOBER 9, 2020

The expanding use of nitrogen fertilizers in agriculture is pushing nitrous oxide emissions to levels that jeopardize climate goals and the objectives of the Paris Agreement, according a new study published in Nature.

Nitrous oxide — a greenhouse gas 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide — remains in the atmosphere longer than a human lifetime. Its use has risen 20 percent from pre-industrial levels and accelerated in recent decades, with alarming implications for climate change, researchers found.

“The dominant driver of the increase in atmospheric nitrous oxide comes from agriculture, and the growing demand for food and feed for animals will further increase global nitrous oxide emissions,” explains study lead author Hanqin Tian, director of the International Center for Climate and Global Change Research at Auburn University in Alabama. “There is a conflict between the way we are feeding people and stabilizing the climate.”

The study, which aimed to produce the most comprehensive assessment to date of all sources and sinks of the potent greenhouse gas, was undertaken by an international consortium of 57 scientists from 14 countries and 48 research institutions, with the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) in a key role. It was led by Auburn University under the umbrella of the Global Carbon Project and the International Nitrogen Initiative.

The study also determined that the largest contributors to global nitrous oxide emissions come from East Asia, South Asia, Africa and South America. Emissions from synthetic fertilizers dominate releases in China, India and the United States, while emissions from the application of livestock manure as fertilizer dominate releases in Africa and South America, the study found. The highest growth rates in emissions are found in emerging economies, particularly Brazil, China and India, where crop production and livestock numbers have increased.

The most surprising result of the study was the discovery that current trends in nitrous oxide emissions are not compatible with pathways consistent to achieve the climate goals of the Paris Agreement.

“Current emissions are tracking global temperature increases above 3°C — twice the temperature target of the Paris Agreement,” said study co-author Robert Jackson, a Stanford University professor and chair of the Global Carbon Project.

However, opportunities to reduce nitrous oxide emissions do exist, according to study co-author Wilfried Winiwarter, a senior research scholar in IIASA’s Air Quality and Greenhouse Gases program and former director of the International Nitrogen Initiative’s European center.

“Europe is the only region in the world that has successfully reduced nitrous oxide emissions over the past two decades,” Winiwarter says. “Industrial and agricultural policies to reduce greenhouse gases and air pollution and to optimize fertilizer use efficiencies have proven to be effective. Still, further efforts will be required, in Europe as well as globally.”

“This study shows that we now have a comprehensive understanding of the nitrous oxide budget, including climate impacts,” adds study co-lead Rona Thompson, a senior scientist from the Norwegian Institute for Air Research. “We are able to assess and quantify measures to reduce nitrous oxide emissions, and many of these measures will also improve water and air quality, benefiting both human health and ecosystems.”

Study co-leader Josep “Pep” Canadell, chief scientist in the Climate Science Center at the Australia-based Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization and executive director of the Global Carbon Project, agrees that the research is significant and urgent.

“This new analysis calls for a full-scale rethink in the ways we use and abuse nitrogen fertilizers globally and urges us to adopt more sustainable practices in the way we produce food, including the reduction of food waste,” he notes. “These findings underscore the urgency and opportunities to mitigate nitrous oxide emissions worldwide to avoid the worst of climate impacts.”

Image: Shutterstock/Singkham

CANADA
NDP Leader Singh calls for Second World War-style excess profits tax to pay for pandemic spending

BILL CURRY
OTTAWA OCTOBER 8, 2020

NDP leader Jagmeet Singh responds to a reporters question during a news conference on Parliament Hill Thursday in Ottawa.
ADRIAN WYLD/THE CANADIAN PRESS

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is calling for an excess profits tax to help pay for emergency pandemic spending, drawing inspiration from temporary tax measures imposed by Canada and the U.S. during the First and Second World Wars to address profiteering concerns.

At a news conference on Parliament Hill, Mr. Singh repeated his calls for a wealth tax and tougher enforcement of offshore tax evasion while also adding the new proposal to his party’s wish list of tax measures.

Mr. Singh said that while many businesses are suffering during the pandemic, he pointed to companies such as Amazon.com Inc. and large grocery chains as examples of firms that are enjoying “massive” profits because of shifting consumer trends. He said corporate profits that are above prepandemic averages should be subject to at least double the current corporate tax rate.

“It should not be everyday people that pay the price for the cost of this pandemic or the cost of the recovery," he said. “Those at the very top who have enjoyed massive profits should certainly pay their fair share.”

Mr. Singh later asked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Question Period on Thursday whether he would support the idea. Mr. Trudeau did not directly address the question, but said the government has already raised taxes on the top 1 per cent of income earners.


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Katherine Cuplinskas, press secretary to Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, also did not directly address the NDP proposal, but said in an e-mail that the government pledged in last month’s Throne Speech to “identify additional ways to tax extreme wealth inequality," including by limiting the stock option deduction for wealthy individuals at large, established corporations and "addressing corporate tax avoidance by digital giants.”

The NDP is in a position of influence on Parliament Hill as the only opposition party to vote with the minority Liberal government on a confidence vote this week. The Liberals secured the NDP’s support in exchange for adopting NDP policy proposals in areas such as sick leave and increasing income support benefits. In addition to the new call for a tax on excess profits, Mr. Singh also repeated his party’s earlier requests for a 1-per-cent wealth tax on family wealth over $20-million and increased taxes on “web giants” such as Amazon, Google and Facebook.

Some economists in Canada and the United States have recently called for an excess profit tax to cover the cost of high levels of emergency government spending during the pandemic. Both countries imposed temporary excess profit taxes during the First and Second World Wars.

Allison Christians, the H. Heward Stikeman Chair in Tax Law at Montreal’s McGill University, who has researched excess profit taxes, said such a temporary tax would make “great sense” in the current environment. However, she cautioned that the continuing uncertainty regarding how countries tax multinational corporations complicates the issue. She said such a tax could be more easily applied to Canadian companies.

“It’s not a punishment of their success. Rather, it’s an acknowledgement that the brokenness of the market has created a windfall for them,” she said in an interview. “And if the government takes some of that, especially now to pay for things that we now really are struggling to pay for, for example, health care, then that’s good over all for the economy.”

Prof. Christians said her review of Canada’s excess profit tax during the Second World War left her with the impression that it raised some revenue, but not a lot, and that it didn’t harm the economy.

Scott Hodge, president of the Washington-based nonpartisan Tax Foundation, wrote in July that modern advocates of excess profit taxes tend to have an “idealized” view of how they worked in wartime. He noted that the foundation’s research at the time found that such taxes were difficult to administer “and certainly impacted economic growth.”

The NDP made its call on the same day that the Parliamentary Budget Officer released a report indicating that increased spending on business tax enforcement by the Canada Revenue Agency is generating billions in new tax revenue and a nearly sixfold return.

Thursday’s PBO report examined the effect of $1.9-billion in additional funding that has been provided to the CRA over an eight-year period starting in 2015-16. The government has said the funding is aimed at the underground economy and preventing tax evasion and aggressive tax planning, and that it expects it will generate $13-billion in increased revenue.

The PBO doesn’t confirm that figure, but says it appears the government is generating about $5.70 for every new dollar spent on business tax compliance. It projects that ratio will decline over time, which suggests the government may fall short of the $13-billion target. It also notes that Ottawa will likely only collect about 81 per cent of the identified revenue because of appeals and other challenges in collecting taxes owed.

Mr. Singh said the PBO’s findings support his call for increased tax enforcement as a way of addressing concerns over the federal deficit, which the PBO said last month could reach $328.5-billion this fiscal year.

Dan Kelly, president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, said tax proposals from the NDP need to be taken seriously given the party’s current position of influence in Parliament. He said “excess profits” is hardly a concern for most small businesses this year.

He cautioned though that the government should be careful in imposing any new tax-enforcement measures on businesses during a period in which many are struggling to keep the doors open while managing the new paperwork burden created by various support programs.

“To enable the CRA to go after tax cheats, they have to create a whole bunch of paperwork for thousands who aren’t," he said. “And right now, this would be a real poor use of time for small-business owners to be facing giant audits."

Kyrgyzstan’s President declares state of emergency, orders troops to deploy amid unrest



OLGA DZYUBENKO
BISHKEK
REUTERS
PUBLISHED OCTOBER 9, 2020



People rally to demand the impeachment of Kyrgyz President Sooronbai Jeenbekov, at Bishkek's Ala-Too Square, on Oct. 7, 2020.
VYACHESLAV OSELEDKO/AFP/GETTY IMAGS

Kyrgyz President Sooronbai Jeenbekov declared a state of emergency in the capital Bishkek on Friday and ordered the military to end days of unrest, as supporters of rival political groups fought on the streets.

A Reuters journalist in the capital heard gunshots and saw demonstrators from rival groups throwing rocks and bottles at each other and scuffling. One opposition politician was reported to have been wounded.

Jeenbekov’s office said in a statement the state of emergency, including a curfew and tight security restrictions, would be in effect from 8 p.m. on Friday until 8 a.m. on Oct. 21.

His order did not say how many troops would be deployed but they were instructed to “take the situation under control” and use military vehicles, set up checkpoints, and prevent armed clashes.

Earlier the president had said he was ready to resign once a new cabinet was appointed.

Kyrgyzstan's President Sooronbai Jeenbekov said on Friday he was ready to resign once a new cabinet was appointed to end the power vacuum in the Central Asian nation gripped by unrest since opposition supporters seized government buildings on Tuesday.REUTERS

The country has seen a power vacuum, with opposition groups quarrelling among themselves since seizing government buildings and forcing the cancellation of results from Sunday’s parliamentary election which they denounced as fraudulent.

Two leading opposition figures reached an agreement to join forces on Friday, and won the backing of Jeenbekov’s predecessor as president, Almazbek Atambayev. But their followers and followers of other groups held rival rallies, which politicians said posed a danger of violence.

Russia has described the situation in Kyrgyzstan, which borders China and hosts a Russian military base, as “a mess and chaos.”

The crisis tests the Kremlin’s power to shape politics in its former Soviet sphere of influence, at a time when fighting has erupted between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and Belarus is also engulfed in protests.

The opposition is divided between 11 parties which represent clan interests in a country that has already seen two presidents toppled by popular revolts since 2005.

Rival candidates for the premiership Omurbek Babanov and Tilek Toktogaziyev joined forces on Friday, with Toktogaziyev agreeing to serve as Babanov’s deputy. They were backed by four parties, local news website 24.kz reported.

They were joined at a rally in Bishkek by the former president Atambayev. A few thousand followers chanted “I am not afraid” and “Kyrgyzstan” to the rhythmic beating of large drums.

Followers of another candidate, Sadyr Zhaparov, also numbering a few thousand, held a demonstration nearby. Some of Zhaparov’s supporters later rushed into the square, leading to scuffles between the rival groups until the Babanov and Toktogaziyev supporters withdrew.

A video posted by several Kyrgyz media showed an apparently unconscious Toktogaziyev being taken away from the square, with people around him screaming he was wounded and taking off his coat to revel a bulletproof vest.

Separately, an aide to Atambayev said a shot had been fired at his car which did not wound anyone.

Jeenbekov’s allies swept Sunday’s parliamentary vote in the official results that have now been discarded. They have kept a low profile as the opposition parties have taken to the streets. Western observers said the election was marred by credible allegations of vote-buying.

So far, veteran officials who supported the revolt have been in control of the security forces. On Friday, self-appointed provisional heads of the interior ministry and the state security service left their respective buildings and handed over the leadership to their deputies. The two state bodies said the move was meant to ensure security forces remained apolitical.

VIDEO https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-kyrgyzstans-president-declares-state-of-emergency-orders-troops-to/

Spain: Portraits of King Felipe VI burned as thousands protest his Barcelona visit

By Euronews with AP • last updated: 09/10/2020 

Activists of Catalonia's pro-independence grassroots group, ANC, burn a portrait of Spain's King Felipe VI during a demonstration in Barcelona on Friday, October 9, 2020. - Copyright Emilio Morenatti/Associated Press

Several thousand Catalan separatists REPUBLICANS protested the visit of Spanish King Felipe VI and Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to Barcelona amid continued tensions between the restive region and national authorities.

Several thousand Catalan separatists protested the visit of Spanish King Felipe VI and Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to Barcelona amid continued tensions between the restive region and national authorities.

Crowds gathered as activists of the pro-independence grassroots group Catalan National Assembly (ANC) set fire to a portrait of the Spanish monarch during a demonstration in the centre of the city.

Police set up roadblocks and heavily patrolled the streets around the train station where the king and prime minister attended the Barcelona New Economy Week innovation awards on Friday.

Representatives of the Catalan government and the city's mayor Ada Colau did not attend.

The visit by Spain’s heads of state and government comes less than two weeks after Catalonia’s regional chief, Quim Torra, was removed from office by Spain’s Supreme Court.

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The court ruled him unfit to hold office for having violated election laws when he refused to remove a banner from public buildings supporting imprisoned Catalan separatists during an official election campaign.

As well as a €30,000 fine, the panel of judges on the court upheld a one-and-a-half-year ban on Torra holding public office imposed by a Barcelona court in December 2019.

Some small groups of protesters gathered to burn photos of the king on Thursday night, chanting "Catalonia has no king."

But there were no reported major clashes with police like the ones that occurred when Sánchez held a Cabinet meeting in Barcelona in December 2018.

Effigies of the king were burned in a show of defiance on Catalonia's National Day - known as La Diada - on September 11, just weeks before the Supreme Court's ruling on Torra's case.

Over 50,000 protesters turned out for the annual celebrations which usually attracts large numbers but were muted by the region's response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Catalonia’s separatist movement, which is supported by roughly half the 7.5 million residents in the region, wants to create a republic in the wealthy northeast corner of Spain.

The region's political system is in paralysis in the wake of Torra's ban. Snap elections have been tentatively pencilled in for February 14, 2021, if regional lawmakers can't elect a candidate to replace the ousted president.

The competing pro-independence parties in Catalonia’s ruling coalition are refusing to put forward a joint candidate to replace Torra as a way to protest their leader’s removal, while parties opposing secession lack a majority to elect a successor.