Sunday, November 29, 2020

Mammoth move: loneliest elephant heads to Cambodia after Cher campaign
AFP

I THOUGHT LUCY AT THE EDMONTON ZOO WAS THE LONLIEST ELEPHANT

Following years of public outcry and campaigning by American pop star Cher, the "world's loneliest elephant" embarked Sunday on a mammoth move from Pakistan to retirement in a Cambodian sanctuary

© Muhammad DAUD With musical performances and heartfelt messages, Pakistanis said their final goodbyes to the country's only Asian elephant ahead of a planned move to Cambodia following a years-long campaign by animal rights activists for his relocation.

The famed singer and Oscar-winning actress has spent recent days at the Islamabad zoo to provide moral support to Kaavan -- an overweight, 36-year-old bull elephant -- whose pitiful treatment at the dilapidated facility sparked an uproar from animal rights groups and a spirited social media campaign by Cher.

Aamir QURESHI Kavaan (in enclosure at right) is set to be flown to Cambodia following a campaign by pop star Cher to free the elephant

"My wishes have finally come true", Cher said in a statement thanking her charity Free The Wild.

"We have been counting down to this moment and dreaming of it for so long and to finally see Kaavan transported out of (the Islamabad) zoo will remain with us forever."

Kaavan's case and the woeful conditions at the zoo resulted in a judge this year ordering all the animals to be moved.

"Thanks to Cher and also to local Pakistani activists, Kaavan's fate made headlines around the globe and this contributed to the facilitation of his transfer," said Martin Bauer, a spokesman for Four Paws International -- an animal welfare group that has spearheaded the relocation effort.

© Aamir QURESHI A team of vets and experts from Four Paws have spent months working with Kaavan to get him ready for the trip to Cambodia

Experts spent hours coaxing a slightly sedated Kaavan into a specially constructed metal crate -- at one point using ropes to help pull him in -- that was to be hoisted onto a lorry and taken to Islamabad airport.

From there, Kaavan will be sent via a Russian transport jumbo jet for the lengthy flight to Siem Reap in northwestern Cambodia. The plane will stop for refuelling in New Delhi.

Cher spent several days in the Pakistani capital to visit Kaavan before the trip to a 10,000-hectare (25,000-acre) Cambodian wildlife sanctuary, with Prime Minister Imran Khan personally thanking the 74-year-old star.

VIDEO Music, farewells for Pakistan's celebrity elephant before relocation

Mammoth move: loneliest elephant heads to Cambodia after Cher campaign (msn.com)
Click to expand

Cher was due to fly to Cambodia on Sunday to be in the Southeast Asian nation when the elephant arrives.

Officials said Kaavan will initially be kept in a small designated section of the park where he can see other elephants.

"Sending him to a place where he can be with other elephants of his kind ... is really the right choice," climate change minister Malik Amin Aslam told AFP.

"We will be happy to see him happy in Cambodia and we hope he finds a partner very soon."

- 'Loneliest' elephant -

Dubbed by the press as the world's loneliest elephant, Kaavan is the only Asian elephant in Pakistan -- the tiny number of other pachyderms at other zoos are African.

A team of vets and experts from Four Paws have spent months working with Kaavan to get him ready for the trip to Cambodia, which has included training the elephant to enter the massive metal transport crate that will be placed in a cargo plane for the seven-hour flight.

Zoo officials have in the past denied Kaavan was kept in substandard conditions or chained, claiming instead the creature was pining for a new mate after his partner died in 2012.

But Kaavan's behaviour -- including signs of distress such as continual head-bobbing -- raised concerns of mental illness.

Activists also said Kaavan was not properly sheltered from Islamabad's searing summer temperatures.

Kaavan's mate Saheli, who also arrived from Sri Lanka, died in 2012.

Rights groups and conservationists have said that the abysmal conditions at the Islamabad zoo resulted in part from the lack of legislation in Pakistan aimed at protecting animal welfare.

"There's a lot of improvement to be made," said Rab Nawaz with the World Wildlife Federation in Pakistan.

"Kaavan is just one animal. There's lots of animals in Pakistan... which are in miserable conditions."

ds/wat/mtp

Thai protesters challenge king's military command

By Jiraporn Kuhakan and Patpicha Tanakasempipat

Pro-democracy rally in Bangkok

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thai anti-government protesters challenged on Sunday King Maha Vajiralongkorn's personal control over some army units to condemn the military's role in politics

Pro-democracy rally in Bangkok

It was the latest open defiance of the king by protesters, who have broken taboos by criticising the monarchy in a country where it is officially revered under the constitution and laws ban insulting it.

Pro-democracy rally in Bangkok

FROM THREE FINGERS TO ONE

Hundreds of protesters gathered to march to the 11th Infantry Regiment, one of two units that were moved under the king's command in 2019.

"An army should belong to the people, not the king," Parit "Penguin" Chiwarak told reporters. "In a democratic system, the king is not responsible for directing command of the military."

Protesters accuse the monarchy of enabling decades of military domination.

Parit is among several protest leaders who already face charges under lese majeste laws against insulting the monarchy after his speeches at previous rallies.

Pro-democracy rally in Bangkok

Protests which began in July initially demanded the departure of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, a former junta leader, and a new constitution, but now also seek to curb the powers of the king.

At the barracks, an advance guard of protesters set about removing razor wire barricades.

The foreign ministry said in a statement that the country adhered to the rule of law, but that the right to freedom of speech must keep within it.

Pro-democracy rally in Bangkok

"In every case where the law is violated, officials take action with strict adherence to the appropriate legal processes without discrimination," the ministry said.

Prayuth has rejected protesters' demands that he quit along with their accusations that he engineered last year's election to keep power that he first took from an elected government in 2014.

The Royal Palace has made no comment since the protests began, but the king has said that despite their actions the protesters are loved "all the same".

(Writing by Matthew Tostevin; Editing by Robert Birsel)

VOTE BUYING

Canada adds extra C$691 million to agriculture sector, cuts timeline for dairy farmers' aid

(Reuters) - Canada's government said on Saturday it will pump an additional C$691 million ($531.87 million) to support the country's dairy, poultry and egg farmers, and also reduced the timeline for payment promised to dairy farmers last year

© Reuters/ALEX FILIPE Dairy workers maintain a farm in Carrying Place

Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau said the government slashed its initial eight-year schedule and will deliver the remaining C$1.405 billion from a total of C$1.75 billion promised in August 2019, directly to farmers in only three years.

The package for dairy farmers also build on a $250 million CETA on-farm investment program, Bibeau said in a statement https://www.canada.ca/en/agriculture-agri-food/news/2020/11/government-of-canada-announces-investments-to-support-supply-managed-dairy-poultry-and-egg-farmers.html

The Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), the free trade agreement between Canada and the European Union, sets out the removal of tariffs on 99% of all goods types traded between the EU and Canada, some over a period of up to seven years.

The government's compensation payments recognize business dairy and poultry farmers have lost out after trade pacts were struck with the European Union and Pacific nations.

Bibeau last year promised that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government will make no further dairy market-access concessions in other trade negotiations. https://bit.ly/2VfvS6I

Dairy Farmers of Canada President Pierre Lampron welcomed the compensation plan.

Lampron said the latest move will place the dairy farmer group in a better position to compete with increased imports of dairy products made from foreign milk.

($1 = 1.2992 Canadian dollars)

(Reporting by Maria Ponnezhath in Bengaluru; Editing by Alistair Bell)

NATIONALISM IS UNILINQUALISM

Quebec sovereigntists and French-language activists rally in Montreal

"A French-speaking country!"

Protesters gather to protest the decline of French in Montreal.

That is what hundreds of protesters shouted in the streets of Old Montreal on Saturday afternoon.

Montrealers gathered near city hall demanding action be taken against the decline of French in the Greater Montreal area.

"We're about independence and the French language obviously is the cornerstone of our identity," said Jacques Martin, protest organizer and Mouvement des Jeunes Souverainistes member.

Accent Montreal, a group that believes French is on the decline in Montreal, has launched a petition calling on the city to create a French-language council.

As of Saturday morning, the petition garnered nearly 18,000 signatures.

"The French language is losing ground in Montreal," said Sabrina Mercier-Ullhorn, spokesperson for Accent Montreal. "Everyone needs to take part (in) that fight to ensure that the French language remains the common language in Montreal."

"We want the City of Montreal to act by legislation to have a council of the French language that can make sure bill 101 is properly enforced in Montreal," Martin added.

The Quebec French language office reported last year the percentage of Montrealers who have French as a mother tongue declined by six per cent between 1996 and 2016.

"We aren't against people being bilingual; we're against institutions being bilingual and that's why we're here today," said Martin.

READ MORE: Quebec government plans to table expanded French language law next year

The recent uproar in the French language debate is sparked by a Journal de Montreal investigation claiming an undercover reporter had trouble being served in French in downtown Montreal.

"Everyone francophone can tell you that it's hard sometimes to get served in French in some neighbourhoods, like especially the downtown area," said Mercier-Ullhorn.

The administration insists French is Montreal's strength, highlighting that it has appointed a person responsible for French language to the executive committee and proposed an action-plan to protect the language.

"Lip service is nice, and if there's an opening from the administration, that's nice, but we want to see concrete action being taken," said Martin.

Parti Quebecois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon echoed those sentiments.

READ MORE: Bloc Québécois to file bill on French language proficiency for new citizens

"We need to at some point agree on solutions that will keep the proportions between the English and the French language within the Montreal region," he said.

The protest comes shortly after the Minister Responsible for French Language, Simon Jolin-Barrette, announced French language laws would be expanded by early 2021.

"What he needs to do of course is to ensure that the French language becomes the real language of work which has always been the issue with bill 101 it's hard to ensure that but maybe strengthening it," said Mercier-Ullhorn.

HATE SPEECH IS NOT FREE SPEECH!

Academic targeted by racist messages following criticism of Alberta's

(UCP & KENNEY) pandemic response

Paige Parsons CBC

© CBC Ubaka Ogbogu is an associate law professor at the University of Alberta who specializes in public health law and policy.

An Edmonton academic says he's received racist messages in the wake of publicly criticizing the province's response to COVID-19.

Earlier this week, Ubaka Ogbogu was interviewed for a CBC story about secret recordings of the province's Emergency Operation Centre daily meetings. The recordings, obtained by CBC, show the provincial government has not followed some of the recommendations made by Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta's chief medical officer of health.

In the story, Ogbogu, an associate law professor at the University of Alberta who specializes in public health law and policy, was critical of what was revealed. He described the province's pandemic response as being "in tatters."

On Saturday, Ogbogu shared a recording of a message left on his office voicemail on Twitter. He said receiving the message forced him to take his profile off the university's website.

The nearly 40 second voicemail is laden with expletives and racist language.

"C--cksucker, for a f--cking lawyer you sure are a heavy hitter, you and your 20 recorded . . . you're a f--king prick, dude. Go back to your own f--cking country," the message begins.

"Like, honestly like f--ck off, man. What do you have invested in our politics? What? To get more of your own people here? Like, f--cking go home. This is not your country. You're a loser, f--ck off."

Ogbogu said he's used to receiving angry messages for the positions he takes, but this was much more hateful than normal.

"They've taken the time to research me, that's just not a Twitter post, a tweet or something you post on Facebook. A person who has researched me, found my number, found my email address, to me is a serious threat," he said.

The call came from an anonymous number, but he suspects that whoever left the voicemail could be the same person who sent him a hateful email after the CBC story was published, which used similar rhetoric.

He decided to take his profile off the University of Alberta website on Friday evening, and contacted campus protective services to secure his public information. He also reported the messages to Edmonton police's hate crimes unit.

Ogbogu said he believes the caller wasn't happy with his comments in the CBC story, but said he thinks their views have been framed by the way UCP staff have portrayed him on Twitter that describe him as biased and partisan in favour of the NDP.

After the story about secret recordings was published, Steve Buick, press secretary for the minister of health, tweeted about Ogbogu, calling him "the most frantically biased academic in Alberta."

When reached for comment on Saturday, Buick said the provincial government condemns hatred directed toward any Albertan. He also defended his response to Ogbogu's criticism.

"It is only normal for the Government to respond to incorrect information being put on social media," Buick said via email.

"Nothing in the Government's responses refer to race, ethnicity, or country of origin, and to suggest otherwise is false."

Ogbogu said this kind of online targeting by UCP staff members encourages others to pile on and harass him and other academics.

"They seem to not understand that our role as academics allows us to be able to scrutinize the government's policies," Ogbogu said. "We're citizens as well. It's a democratic right that we have, to scrutinize our government's policies and, when necessary, criticize them."

Ogbogu said he had no option but to take his profile off his university's website, but that it comes at a great cost.

"I am one of the few Black academics at the University of Alberta, I am the only Black academic in my faculty, and to then have a profile that essentially says nothing and doesn't tell people how to reach me, to me carries far weightier consequences than perhaps I would have if I wasn't a Black academic," he said.

Still, he said he has no plans to stop offering his expert opinion publicly. He said having a vigorous public debate about health policy is important and believes given his expertise it's important for him to be part of those conversations.

"It's not an option open to me to just quit now. I can't live with myself if I do. I feel a sense of obligation and duty to Albertans and Canadians to do my job."

WAIT, WHAT?

Utah monolith: The mysterious silver monolith in the desert has disappeared

By Alanne Orjoux and Melissa Alonso, CNN 11/29/2020

A tall, silver, shining metal monolith discovered in the desert in southeastern Utah -- which prompted theories of alien placement and drew determined hikers to its secret location -- has now disappeared, the state's Bureau of Land Management said Saturday.

© Utah Department of Public Safety

The monolith was removed by an "unknown party" sometime Friday night, the agency said in a Facebook post.

"We have received credible reports that the illegally installed structure, referred to as the 'monolith,' has been removed" from BLM public lands, the post said.

"The BLM did not remove the structure, which is considered private property."
'We've got to go look at it!'

The monolith was first discovered November 18 by officers from the Utah Department of Public Safety's Aero Bureau.

They were flying by helicopter, helping the Division of Wildlife Resources count bighorn sheep in southeastern Utah, when they spotted something that seemed right out of "2001: A Space Odyssey."

"One of the biologists ... spotted it, and we just happened to fly directly over the top of it," pilot Bret Hutchings told CNN affiliate KSL. "He was like, 'Whoa, whoa, whoa, turn around, turn around!' And I was like, 'What.' And he's like, 'There's this thing back there -- we've got to go look at it!'"

And there it was -- in the middle of the red rock was a shiny, silver metal monolith sticking out of the ground. Hutchings guessed it was "between 10 and 12 feet high." It didn't look like it was randomly dropped to the ground, he told KSL, but rather it looked like it had been planted.

"I'm assuming it's some new wave artist or something or, you know, somebody that was a big ("2001: A Space Odyssey") fan," he said, referencing a scene in the 1968 film where a black monolith appears.

Still, it is illegal to install structures or art without authorization on public lands "no matter what planet you're from," said Utah DPS in a statement released Monday.

Where is it?

The location of the monolith was not disclosed because authorities said they didn't want curiosity seekers to become stranded in the remote landscape and need to be rescued.

But of course, that didn't stop some. Several people already successfully located the monolith, tucked in a redrock slot canyon south of Moab.

The trek involved driving in the darkness over rocky terrain and verifying GPS coordinates, according to three people who went to see it. At least one explorer got lost at first. But the trip was worth it, they said, even if the monolith wasn't the work of aliens.

David Surber may have been among the very first to view the monolith in person. The coordinates to the monolith were circulating on Reddit, but none of the users could confirm they were correct. Surber volunteered to find out.

The coordinates were indeed correct, and Surber eagerly shared the results of his visit with 200 Reddit users who'd flooded his inbox. Among his findings: The monolith wasn't magnetic or solid (he said it sounded "like a cardboard box" when he knocked on it). He also shared step-by-step instructions for the drive out to the monolith.

"At the end of the day, extraterrestrial or made through artistic expression; the monolith provided an opportunity for thousands of people to rally behind something positive again," he told CNN in an email. "It was a good escape from all the negativity we've experienced in 2020."

Ancient shipwreck washes ashore after Tropical Storm Eta hit Florida

While Eta battered Florida with flooding rains and strong winds earlier this month, it also washed ashore the remnants of a long-lost ship on Crescent Beach.

The surprising shipwreck discovery was stumbled upon by local resident Mark O’Donoghue, who then alerted St. Augustine Lighthouse Archaeological Maritime Program (LAMP) director Chuck Meide to the newfound findings.

After the assessment of the initial survey, it was revealed that the ship originated from the 1800s, most likely a large American vessel carrying cargo, capable of storing hardware or flour, according to Jay Smith, LAMP's relations communication specialist and governance officer, who spoke to The Weather Network through email.

He also noted that the wooden frame with the iron bolts was a common boat-building technique in the 1800s.

© Provided by The Weather Network

It is believed the wreck belonged to the Caroline Eddy, a ship lost in August 1880, about 14.5 kilometres south of the lighthouse.

Photo: Chuck Meide/Lighthouse Archaeological Maritime Program (LAMP)

"We have been getting used to things coming up onshore after major storms, but of course, each new discovery is exciting and a great opportunity to learn more about history," said Smith. "We are always excited to get out in the field and see what can be learned from anything that either comes ashore or gets uncovered."

Based on historical research, the organization believes the wreck belonged to the Caroline Eddy, a ship lost in August 1880, about 14.5 kilometres south of the lighthouse.

Also mentioned in the archives was that the ship was caught in a hurricane or gale and collapsed off the coast, Smith said, adding that the crew aboard survived by grabbing onto the rigging and floated to shore.

"What we have ascertained from the shipwreck, we think the Caroline Eddy is a strong potential candidate for the shipwreck. We also know that the ship was salvaged and left on the beach. There is nothing within the shipwreck to indicate items were left onboard so it is likely it was salvaged – hence more evidence," added Smith.

The beach in this particular part of Anastasia Island has seen some massive erosion, so it is likely that the wreck was buried under a dune, and as the water encroached on the dune, the wreck emerged, explained Smith.

More than 70 per cent of all known historic shipwrecks lost in Florida are merchant vessels that participated in the coastal trade, moving goods from one coastal port to another along the Atlantic coast.

Photo: Chuck Meide/Lighthouse Archaeological Maritime Program (LAMP).

With that, he acknowledged that Eta aided in the dune’s erosion and revealed the shipwreck.

"Anastasia Island, like other barrier islands, will see periods of erosion and periods of buildup – it’s all part of the cycle. The hurricane provided the erosion needed to uncover the shipwreck," said Smith.

Mentioned in the historical archives was that the ship was caught in a hurricane or gale and collapsed off the coast. The crew aboard survived by grabbing onto the rigging and floated to shore.

Photo: Chuck Meide/Lighthouse Archaeological Maritime Program (LAMP).

If the wreck does belong to the Caroline Eddy, Smith said it was built before the American Civil War, used by the Union to sail across the Atlantic to Gibraltar, on Spain's south coast, as well as Genoa, Italy.

This vessel would have been just like any other cargo vessel of its time – consider it like the trucks of the seas – this is how the world’s economy functioned and traded using these types of vessels," said Smith.

More than 70 per cent of all known historic shipwrecks lost in Florida are merchant vessels that participated in the coastal trade, moving goods from one coastal port to another along the Atlantic coast.

Thumbnail courtesy of Chuck Meide/Lighthouse Archaeological Maritime Program (LAMP).

#ENDFURFARMING
Oregon mink farm has COVID-19 outbreak after advocates warned of danger in state

Tracy Loew
Salem Statesman Journal

SALEM, Ore. – An Oregon mink farm has reported an outbreak of COVID-19 among animals and workers.

Oregon Department of Agriculture spokeswoman Andrea Cantu-Schomus declined to say which county the farm is in or how many workers have tested positive, citing federal health privacy rules. The farm has about 12,000 animals, she said.

Outbreaks in farmed mink have been reported in several U.S. states and countries. Earlier this month Denmark announced it would kill all 17 million of the mink raised there after confirmation that 12 people had been infected with a mutated strain of COVID-19 that had spread from mink to humans. That strain has not been found elsewhere.

Oregon has the nation’s fourth-largest farmed mink industry, after Wisconsin, Utah and Michigan. All three of those other states have had outbreaks on mink farms.

The Oregon farmer reported mink with symptoms to ODA on Nov. 19, Cantu-Schomus said.

ODA took samples from 10 of the sick mink, and all came back positive for SARS-CoV-2, the animal virus linked to COVID-19 in humans. Cantu-Schomus was unable to say how many mink were sick, but said the 10 were a sample of the population.

Nov. 25:Dead minks infected with a mutated form of COVID-19 rise from graves after mass culling

Nov. 5:Denmark to slaughter 15M farmed minks over coronavirus fears

On Nov. 23, ODA placed the farm under quarantine, meaning no animals or animal products can leave the farm.

On the same date, the Oregon Health Authority asked all workers on the farm to self-isolate, Cantu-Schomus said.

State and national environmental groups have been raising alarm about possible infections Oregon’s mink industry, the Statesman Journal, part of the USA TODAY Network, previously reported.

"This was so foreseeable," said Lori Ann Burd, with the Center for Biological Diversity, one of the groups urging Oregon to take action. "We'll certainly be following up with the agency to demand answers and to find out what they're doing to mitigate this outbreak and public health risk."

In letters to Gov. Kate Brown and state agencies, the groups asked for immediate inspections of Oregon’s mink farms, as well as quarantines and a phased buy-out of the industry.

At that time, state officials said they did not intend to take any of the groups’ recommendations. Oregon's state veterinarian has been communicating with mink farmers about the outbreaks, Cantu-Schomus has said.

“We have been engaged with the Oregon mink industry for some time, providing information on biosecurity to prevent the introduction of SARS-CoV-2 and were ready to respond,” State Veterinarian Ryan Scholz said in a written statement Friday.

“The farmer did the right thing by self-reporting symptoms very early and he is now cooperating with us and the Oregon Health Authority in taking care of his animals and staff,” Scholz said. “So far, we have no reports of mink mortalities linked to the virus but that could change as the virus progresses.”

In Wisconsin, about 3,400 farmed mink have died over the past month after contracting the virus. And in Utah, about 10,000 mink have died since August.

In addition to Denmark and the United States, COVID-19 infections have been reported in farmed mink in the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and Italy and Greece, according to the World Health Organization.

All of the mink in the Oregon outbreak appear to have recovered, Cantu-Schomus said. ODA will test the mink 7-10 days after symptoms resolve, and, if necessary, continue testing every 14 days until no more infected mink are found.

The sample size will be significantly larger and will ensure with a 95% confidence level that if the virus was present it would be detected, she said.

"It is suspected that infected workers introduced SARS-CoV-2 to mink on the farm, and the virus then began to spread among the mink," Cantu-Schomus said.

ODA is working with OHA, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Centers for Disease Control to investigate transmission dynamics among mink, other animals around the farm, and people, she said.

Last week, ODA officials said they had no plans to do inspections or test mink unless symptoms were reported. Cantu-Schomus was unable to say Friday whether that is still the case.

Michael Whelan is executive director of Medford-based Fur Commission USA, a national nonprofit representing mink farmers.

He said the group is offering free COVID-19 testing to farm operators and employees.

"All we can do is just keep reminding the farmers that this is serious and they have to screen all people that get anywhere near the mink," Whelan said.

Cantu-Schomus was unable to say how many farmed mink there are in Oregon.

"There is no evidence that animals, including mink, are playing a significant role in the spread of COVID-19 to people," she said. "Currently in the U.S., there is no evidence of mink-to-human spread. However, investigations are ongoing."

SEE https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/search?q=mink

The U.K. Only Hurts Itself by Slashing Aid Budget

Mihir Sharma
Sat, November 28, 2020

(Bloomberg Opinion) -- The most enthusiastic campaigners for Britain’s exit from the European Union insisted that Brexit’s end result would be a “Global Britain” — a country set free to forge alliances, agreements and trading pacts across the world. More than four years on, we still have no clear idea what a Global Britain would actually look like. No enthusiastic new trading partners have been discovered. Rather than rushing to remedy the situation, Boris Johnson’s government now seems intent on shredding what remains of the United Kingdom’s global image.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced plans to slash about four billion pounds from the country’s development assistance budget. This would lower spending below a threshold — 0.7% of the country’s GDP — that has survived political handovers, a recession and austerity. One government minister has already resigned, former prime ministers have decried the move and MPs are in revolt. While Sunak says he hopes the cuts will be temporary, no expiry date has been set — and many within Johnson’s party are convinced that the foreign aid budget is still too big.

The stricken economy is just an excuse. Johnson has had Britain’s overseas development establishment in his sights for some time. The spending cuts were preceded by institutional changes that eliminated the cabinet position associated with the international development department, which now falls under the foreign office. Johnson himself has written in the past that British development assistance is too “austere and purist” in its approach. (With that well-known Johnsonian consistency, he accused it in the same column of tolerating corruption.)

I’m not going to argue with those who say that development assistance should be incorporated into a strategy that prioritizes the giver’s national interests. Like it or not, such selfish considerations are always going to be part of any national development agency’s calculations.

But I am astounded that even a Johnson-led government could imagine that, in 2020, development assistance represents wasted money. It is, in fact, a vital source of international reach and power. China has used its own money like a bludgeon, creating a web of dependence and debt across the continents. Meanwhile, U.S., British, and Japanese efforts still dwarf China’s in many ways. As long as they remain sufficiently “austere and purist,” they will be preferred by several countries as having fewer strings attached.

Indeed, development assistance is literally the only geo-political field in which Brexiting Britain can stand toe-to-toe with the U.S. or the EU. This is not the 19th century; we in the Indo-Pacific expect to see French warships in our waters, not British. For India, and most other countries in this neighborhood, multiple other trading relationships are more important than that with the U.K. We worry about investment flows from Japan or the Gulf. People would rather study in Australia or migrate to Canada.

Only in the world of development does Britain remain globally relevant. When it comes to augmenting state capacity, pioneering new development paradigms and a host of other influential issues, what Whitehall says matters a great deal. Britain is not now and never will again be a superpower in any other way.

It is this — Britain’s only calling card to the world — that Johnson wants to throw away. Does the move reflect a failure to appreciate the degree to which development assistance augments the U.K.’s soft power? Or a disdain for the wonky do-gooders of the development establishment? Or simple ideological discomfort with the notion of British money “leaving” its shores?

All of the above, I expect. It’s also more evidence that empire nostalgia is the true guiding spirit of the Brexiteers’ movement. While Johnson is cutting development financing by four billion pounds, he is raising defense spending by the same amount for the next four years. (I told you: It’s not about the recession.) It’s gunboats, not grants, that Johnson thinks will endear his global Britain to the world.

Pound for pound, that money would do more for the U.K.’s place in the world if spent on development financing rather than guns and tanks. The 19th century fantasies of Johnson and his followers will cost Britain influence and friends for decades to come.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Mihir Sharma is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. He was a columnist for the Indian Express and the Business Standard, and he is the author of “Restart: The Last Chance for the Indian Economy.”

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

Far-right extremists explode in anger at Pope Francis

Published on November 28, 2020 By Alex Henderson, AlterNet

Pope Francis kisses a child during the Wednesday general audience in Saint Peter's square at the Vatican, June 20, 2018. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini

In an op-ed published by the New York Times on Thanksgiving, Pope Francis defended some of the social distancing restrictions that have been enacted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic — applauding governments that have been “acting decisively to protect health and to save lives” by “imposing strict measures to contain the outbreak.” And some right-wingers have responded by slamming the Pope as a “socialist” or a “communist.”

The Pope explains, “Most governments acted responsibly, imposing strict measures to contain the outbreak. Yet some groups protested, refusing to keep their distance, marching against travel restrictions — as if measures that governments must impose for the good of their people constitute some kind of political assault on autonomy or personal freedom! Looking to the common good is much more than the sum of what is good for individuals. It means having a regard for all citizens and seeking to respond effectively to the needs of the least fortunate.”

According to The Pope, “If we are to come out of this crisis less selfish than when we went in, we have to let ourselves be touched by others’ pain.” And practicing social distancing, he writes, is one way to look after the wellbeing of others.”

Some on the far right have been furious:

The Daily Beast’s Molly Jong-Fast noted how unhinged the responses from the far right have been:

And others have been rising to the Pope’s defense:

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment

Sunday, November 29, 2020

The U.K. Only Hurts Itself by Slashing Aid Budget

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