MEDIA CONCENTRATION MONOPOLY CAPITALISM

Tribune shareholders approve hedge fund Alden's bid

Shareholders of Tribune Publishing, one of the country’s largest newspaper chains, approved a $630 million takeover bid by hedge fund Alden Global Capital on Friday, the company said in a brief statement. Alden, which already owned nearly one-third of Tribune, stands to take full control of the Chicago Tribune, Baltimore Sun and other Tribune papers.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

Through its Digital First Media chain, Alden owns the Boston Herald, Denver Post and San Jose Mercury News.

Tribune offered little additional detail beyond the fact that it expects the deal to close on May 25. In a statement, Alden said the move “reaffirms our commitment to the newspaper industry" and its focus on retooling publications so they can ”operate sustainably over the long term."

The Alden deal is just the latest major acquisition of a newspaper company by an investment firm dedicated to maximizing profits in distressed industries. The collapse of print advertising as readers migrated to digital publications has rocked the traditional newspaper business. Publishers have shut down more than 2,000 papers over the past 15 years and half of newsroom jobs have disappeared.

Investment firm owners are often criticized for valuing profits over the mission of local journalism, and Alden is no exception.

The deal drew opposition from many of the company’s journalists in an unusual spate of employee activism. They set up rallies, tried to find local buyers and begged for a rescue in their own newspapers. They had rooted for a higher bid from hotel mogul Stewart Bainum in the belief that it would be better for local journalism, although that never came to fruition. They lobbied Tribune's No. 2 investor, Los Angeles Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong, to vote no and scuttle the deal.

In a blog post, the president of the union representing Tribune journalists lamented that Tribune's shareholders had “ let everyone down ” by approving the deal, but said the union would “continue to hold Alden Global Capital accountable.”

Confusion arose earlier in the day when a spokeswoman for Soon-Shiong said he “abstained” from the vote. According to Tribune’s April 20 proxy statement, which states that approval of the deal required the votes of at least two-thirds of shares not owned by Alden, an “abstain” vote counted the same as an “against” vote.

Neither Tribune nor its board made any public comments on vote result until late in the day Friday. In its statement, Tribune effectively confirmed earlier reporting attributed to unnamed Tribune officials that Soon-Shiong’s ballots were submitted without the “abstain” box checked, and so were counted as “yes” votes toward the Alden takeover in accordance with the instructions on the ballot. Tribune did not name Soon-Shiong directly, but said that proxies from “one of the company's largest shareholders” were submitted in this fashion.

Soon-Shiong's representative, Hillary Manning, said the billionaire viewed Tribune as a “passive investment” and that he is focused on the “revitalization” of the L.A. Times and the San Diego Union-Tribune, which he bought from Tribune in 2018. Soon-Shiong stands to gain about $150 million from his Tribune stake.

Legal experts agreed that if Soon-Shiong left his ballot blank, he likely did so deliberately.

One possibility, said Andrew Verstein, a UCLA School of Law professor, is that Soon-Shiong intended to vote yes but didn’t want to take flak for that vote. “If you say yes, people yell at you for selling out the newspaper," he said.

Alden became Tribune’s largest shareholder in 2019. The union representing Tribune’s journalists says the hedge fund’s cost cuts have already led to shrinking newsrooms and closed offices. A 2020 report from the University of North Carolina’s journalism school said the combination of Alden and Tribune would be the country’s second-largest newspaper publisher by circulation, behind Gannett.

Tribune itself is no stranger to cost cuts and shrinking newsrooms. After emerging from bankruptcy in 2012, it split from its TV broadcasting arm in 2014 and since then has bought and sold papers including the Los Angeles Times (sold), the San Diego Union-Tribune (bought and then sold) and the New York Daily News (bought, then hit with layoffs that cut its editorial staff in half ). Its annual revenue has fallen by more than half since 2015, and by the end of 2020 its number of full- and part-time employees stood at 2,865 people, just 40% of its headcount five years earlier.

Overall, publishers have shut down more than 2,000 papers over the past 15 years; half of newsroom jobs have disappeared.

Investment firms have played a significant role in consolidating the industry as online competition drew away readers' attention and ad dollars. Hedge fund Chatham Asset Management bought newspaper chain McClatchy in an auction last year following the company's bankruptcy, beating a bid from Alden. A newspaper company managed by private equity firm Fortress bought Gannett in 2019 with a high-interest loan from another private equity firm. The newspaper company, which retained the Gannett name and is publicly traded, has since ended the management arrangement with Fortress.

An expected higher bid for the whole company from the hotel mogul Bainum never fully materialized after he was unable to find a buyer for the Chicago Tribune. Hansjörg Wyss, a billionaire from Wyoming who had expressed interest in owning the Chicago Tribune, joined Bainum's bid, then subsequently dropped out. He did not say why.

Prior to his bid for all of Tribune, Bainum struck a side deal to buy Baltimore Sun Media from Tribune for $65 million via a nonprofit. In a statement, Bainum said that while his efforts to buy Tribune have “fallen short,” his focus now is on Baltimore and Maryland, where he is “evaluating various options” to create nonprofit newsrooms.

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An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that Alden would gain control of the Los Angeles Times in a successful bid for Tribune. The newspaper is owned by Tribune’s No. 2 investor, Patrick Soon-Shiong, and is not part of the Alden deal.

Tali Arbel, The Associated Press

Air Canada cabin crews no longer forced to cover 'discreet' tattoos or remove ear or nose piercings: arbitrator

Christopher Nardi 20 hrs ago


OTTAWA – In a reflection of changing social norms, a labour arbitrator has ruled that cabin crew on Air Canada flights should be allowed to sport discreet but visible tattoos, as well as piercings in their ears and nose without fear of disciplinary action.

© Provided by National Post Air Canada cabin crews may be a little more decorated from now on.

Until last week, Air Canada’s personnel policy did not formally allow any cabin personnel from having any visible tattoos and piercings (minus a pair of matching stud earrings) while on duty.

But in a brief but impactful ruling, labour arbitrator William Kaplan put an end to much of the policy described by Air Canada’s cabin crew union as “unreasonable and discriminatory.”

So going forward, don’t be surprised if you see Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge cabin crew sporting any of the following, as now allowed by the arbitrator:

Henna tattoos, a temporary form of body art generally using a paste from certain plants, so long as they are worn for any religious, cultural or celebratory reason.

Visible but “discreet” tattoos anywhere except on most of the head or neck, so long as they are not offensive or refer to “nudity, hatred, violence, drugs, alcohol, discrimination or harassment.”

Kaplan also makes significant changes to both airlines’ very strict policy on piercings by bumping the maximum of acceptable earrings per ear from one to three, as well as allowing a single nose piercing.

But not anything goes in terms of piercings. For earrings, they must be made of either plain gold, rose gold, silver, diamond, wood or pearl and must be a stud “no larger than a quarter inch” or a hoop that is no bigger than a Canadian dime, the arbitrator ruled.

Air Canada signs C$5.9 bln government aid package, agrees to buy Airbus, Boeing jets

Nose piercings must also be either a stud or hoop that must fit “flush or snug against the nostril.” Any visible adornment that stretches the ear or nose in any way, such as spacers, gauges, plugs or tunnels are still forbidden.

In his ruling, Kaplan disagreed with Air Canada’s assertion that their policies were “reasonable and not discriminatory” and that they were necessary to both protect the companies’ image as well as ensure customers’ views and values were being respected.

“I agree that the Companies’ image is important to their brands, and that customers’ views and values are important. Indeed, other airlines have policies regarding tattoos and piercings,” Kaplan wrote.

“However, it is not clear that the Companies’ tattoo and piercings policies, in their present form, are necessary to advance their business interests,” he added, noting that the changes are also to ensure the airlines’ policies comply with the collective bargaining agreement and the Canadian Human Rights Act.

In his ruling, the arbitrator also requires Air Canada to expunge any disciplinary action relating to the now-defunct tattoo and piercing policies from impacted employees’ records.

Kaplan’s decision formalizes an agreement between the Air Canada Component of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) and the airline reached after the union filed a grievance back in 2019 against the company’s personal grooming standards.

On social media, the union said that forcing workers to cover their discreet tattoos and remove their additional piercings caused them stress and anxiety.

“We are extremely pleased we were able to work with our national carrier to come to an agreement on tattoos, henna and piercings being visible in the workplace,” local union president Wesley Lesosky said in a statement.

“This decision is good news for our members. It’s a precedent-setting award not just in the airline sector but across the board, and reflects an evolving and more accepting view towards free expression in the workplace.”

In a statement, Air Canada said the ruling is a sign of the times, where visible tattoos and multiple piercings are increasingly accepted without being viewed as a mark of unprofessionalism.

“Air Canada accepts this ruling as it provides clarity with respect to this matter. Social norms evolve and as a consequence corporate policies do change over time to reflect these, so we will be updating our policy accordingly and implementing this decision,” spokesperson Peter Fitzpatrick wrote in a statement.

Citing confidentiality reasons, both CUPE and Air Canada declined to say how many employees had been disciplined in the past for visible tattoos and unacceptable piercings or what kind of sanctions they faced. But Lesosky said no financial compensation would be required by any employees.

He also hopes workers for other airlines with similarly restrictive tattoo and piercing are encouraged to speak up thanks to this case.

“This is the first ruling of its type for the sector, and certainly this would open the door for other groups within the airline sector to pursue a similar course of action,” the union president said.

Tree poaching soars in British Columbia as lumber prices soar

By Karen Graham
Published  May 17, 2021

Big trees, small trees, dead trees, softwoods and hardwoods have all become valuable targets of tree poachers in British Columbia. Image by Rdfr, CC SA 3.0.

As lumber prices soar, timber poachers armed with chainsaws are cutting down trees across Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. The poaching is going on in a municipally-owned 5,000 hectare (12,355 acres) swath of woods known locally as Six Mountains.

And the poachers are not particular, as CTV News Canada reports. Big, small, and even dead trees are disappearing. The softwoods and hardwoods have all become valuable targets as timber prices hit record highs.

Since January, at least 100 trees, including firs, red cedar, and maple trees have been cut down in the region. Journalist Larry Pynn first suspected poaching was going on when he came across freshly cut red cedar tree stumps, along with a set of deep tire tracks that ran for nearly a kilometer in the mud before terminating at the main road.

“I immediately suspected that this is the work of poachers,” said Pynn, who lives nearby, according to The Guardian. “These are clearly valuable trees and they were likely cut because of that.”

Flynn has found additional evidence of poaching in the area, which is also home to the endangered coastal Douglas fir ecosystem that’s on the verge of disappearing due to years of logging and urban development.

B.C. lumber prices are sky-high

According to Flynn, the two poached cedar trees he came across would fetch close to C$1,000 ($824) each for the raw wood. But the current fine for removing wood from the forest stands at C$200. “It’s the same fine if you litter – there’s no deterrence,” said Pynn.

In B.C., recent prices for softwood lumber reached $1,600 for 1,000 board feet compared with about $300 a year ago. “It’s an economic motive for sure,” said Matt Austin, a B.C. Forests Ministry assistant deputy minister. “These trees can be pretty valuable.”

The Hill is reporting that prices across the U.S. are up 308 percent since the beginning of the pandemic, according to an analysis by industry trade magazine Random Lengths. Kevin Lee, CEO of the Canadian Home Builders Association, told CBC in April that a 2,500-square-foot home could see more than “$30,000 in additional costs for lumber.”

Mason also points out that sawmills on Vancouver Island won’t take in logs without “timber markings.” This system is widely used to track the provenance of wood – and as a rule, mills won’t accept timber that hasn’t been marked. If the wood is milled down into boards, tracing its origins is nearly impossible.

“It’d be illegal, but if someone had a sawmill set up on their property and someone said, ‘Hey, if I could get some cedar, would you mill it for me?’ You know, obviously, it’s not on the up and up, but it definitely could take place,” Mason said.


Read more: https://www.digitaljournal.com/world/tree-poaching-soars-in-british-columbia-as-lumber-prices-soar/article#ixzz6vcIGrxgo

U.S. moves to double tariffs on Canadian softwood lumber imports


CALGARY — A move by the U.S. Commerce Department to increase preliminary tariffs on softwood lumber imports from Canada, if finalized, will raise producer costs and cut into their profits but is unlikely to affect prices to consumers of wood products, analysts say.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

The department's recommendation to more than double the "all others" preliminary countervailing and anti-dumping rate to 18.32 per cent from 8.99 per cent on Friday drew criticism from the Canadian government and industry and applause from the lumber industry south of the border.

The increase is unlikely to result in higher lumber prices because they've more than doubled in the past year to all-time record highs, said Kevin Mason, managing director of ERA Forest Products Research.

"Prices are supply-and-demand driven," he said. "(Tariffs) drive the cost up for producers but it's not going to affect prices."

Because it's a preliminary tariff rate, current cash deposit rates will continue to apply until the finalized rates are published, likely in November.

“U.S. duties on Canadian softwood lumber products are a tax on the American people," said Mary Ng, minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade, in a statement.

“We will keep challenging these unwarranted and damaging duties through all available avenues. We remain confident that a negotiated solution to this long-standing trade issue is not only possible, but in the best interest of both our countries.”

In a note to investors, RBC analyst Paul Quinn said finalized rates from the previous administrative review process wound up being largely in line with the preliminary rates.

"We think higher rates will incentivize producers to push harder for a resolution to the softwood lumber dispute, which could unlock significant cash," he said, noting an estimate that collected tariffs from Canadian producers on deposit add up to more than $4 billion.

Friday's rates applied to individual companies vary in impact, he said, with West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. up slightly to 11.4 from nine per cent, Canfor Corp. up to 21 from 4.6 per cent, Resolute Forest Products Inc. jumping to 30.2 from 20.3 per cent, and J.D. Irving up to 15.8 from 4.2 per cent.

Former president Donald Trump's administration imposed a 20 per cent "all others" tariff on Canadian softwood in 2018, before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, but lowered it to about nine per cent late last year after a decision favouring Canada by the World Trade Organization.

The increased tariffs will hurt American consumers who are faced with a market where supply can't keep up with demand, said Susan Yurkovich, president of the BC Lumber Trade Council.

“We find the significant increase in today’s preliminary rates troubling," she said in a news release.

"It is particularly egregious given lumber prices are at a record high and demand is skyrocketing in the U.S. as families across the country look to repair, remodel and build new homes.

"As U.S. producers remain unable to meet domestic demand, the ongoing actions of the industry, resulting in these unwarranted tariffs, will ultimately further hurt American consumers by adding to their costs."

She called on the U.S. industry to end its decades-long campaign alleging Canadian lumber is unfairly subsidized and instead work with Canada to meet demand for "low-carbon wood products" the world wants.

In a separate news release, Jason Brochu, U.S. Lumber Coalition co-chair, applauded the Commerce Department's commitment to enforce trade laws against "subsidized and unfairly traded" Canadian lumber imports.

The coalition says the U.S. industry remains open to a new U.S.-Canada softwood lumber trade agreement "if and when" Canada demonstrates it is serious about negotiations.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 21, 2021.

Companies in this story: (TSX:WFG, TSX:RFP, TSX:CFP)

Dan Healing, The Canadian Press

Drought is so bad in California that farmers aren’t planting crops this season


By Karen Graham
Published May 21, 2021

Arastradero Lake with great blue heron and very low water level in January, 2021,

Severe drought conditions in California are forcing many farmers to forego planting crops this season because there is not enough water – and this situation will be felt at the grocery store, even as food price inflation already tightens its grip on the U.S. economy.

The drought has forced some farmers to destroy crops, like Joe Del Bosque’s asparagus field in California’s Central Valley. He had to make a tough decision, save his asparagus, which needs a lot of water, or save his melon crop, which doesn’t require near as much water.

“It feels terrible,” Del Bosque said. “First of all, it’s a producing field. It could have gone another three years, but what hurts is we had about 20 people working this field, and we have to tell them there’s no work for them next year.”

“You don’t see drought as a natural disaster where something is falling, cracking open, or washing away what you see out here in a drought is nothing,” Del Bosque said. “Bare land. No crop, no water, and no people are working. It’s just silence. That’s what a drought is here, no food. It’s deafening and disheartening.”

The map shows that 16 percent of the state is in “exceptional” drought. U.S. Drought Monitor, Public Domain

California grows a third of the United States’ vegetables and two-thirds of the nation’s fruits and nuts. This year’s drought has been made worse due to a La Nina weather system that pushed winter storms away from California’s coast, leaving the state with less moisture than usual.

And because the state depends on winter storms for most of its water – there will be little or no relief until – hopefully, in October, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The state’s water system is complicated

Ernest Conant is the Regional Director for the Great Basin Region of the Bureau of Reclamation. It’s a long title, with a lot of responsibility behind it because the bureau is the one who decides who gets what amount of water and when.

The Bureau’s rules and regulations, some of which date back to the Gold Rush Days of early California, are complicated and confusing, involving contracts, and water rights. “The problem is for the economy to operate, there has to be some certainty of expectations as to what water supply is available,” Conant said.

Aerial photo of the California Aqueduct at the Interstate 205 crossing, just east of Interstate 580 junction. Image – Ikluft, Creative Commons SA 2.0.

Added to this mish-mash of rules and regulations is having to choose between agriculture and the environment, and while food production is very high on the list, supporting wildlife, particularly the salmon fisheries is also important.

But, perhaps right up there with agriculture is also having enough water available for the wildfire season, and this year’s season is already expected to be as bad as the 2020 season.

State and federal governments are working on repairing canals and building additional reservoirs, but this could take between five and ten years before a change would be noticed. “The problem is for the economy to operate, there has to be some certainty of expectations as to what water supply is available,” Conant said.

But when all is said and done, some people think the state just isn’t prepared, again. “We are in worse shape than we were before the last drought, and we are going to be in even worse shape after this one,” said Jay Lund, co-director of the Center for Watershed Sciences at the University of California at Davis.

“We’ve had dry springs before, but that is just astonishing,” said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at the University of California, Los Angeles and The Nature Conservancy. “And we’re still a few months out from seeing the worst of things.”


Read more: https://www.digitaljournal.com/tech-science/drought-is-so-bad-in-california-that-farmers-arent-planting-crops-this-season/article#ixzz6vcJ0vzPY

Oatly surge shows alternative food remains hot commodity

Issued on: 22/05/2021 - 

Oatly's successful Nasdaq debut shows the populartity of alternative food products during Covid-19 Thomas URBAIN AFP/File

New York (AFP)

This week's rousing stock market debut of dairy alternative Oatly underlines anew people's enduring appetite for vegan products. If anything, that hunger has grown during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Following a heady Nasdaq debut on Thursday and another surge in Friday's session, the Swedish food company is now valued at about $13 billion, a lofty level for one that took in $421 million in revenues last year from sales of oat-based milk, ice cream and other products not made with space-age technology.

Oatly is far from alone in the emerging space

Earlier this month, Nestle launched a new non-dairy milk made with peas, adding to a slate of plant-based options for burgers, sausages and tuna.

At its vast chain of coffee shops, Starbucks now offers four creamers made from something other than cow's milk: soy, almonds, coconut and, since March, oats.

And in Singapore, since December consumers have the option to purchase lab-grown chicken composed from animal muscle cells.

The alternative food industry was already on the rise before the pandemic, with startups like Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods winning praise for vegan items that surprised many consumers with their likeness to meat in terms of taste, odor and texture.

In April 2019, Burger King made waves after launching the first vegan version of its popular "Whopper" sandwich. Since then, most big fast-food chains have followed suit, while producers have joined Nestle in introducing meatless supermarket products.

During Covid-19, meat alternatives enjoyed a temporary surge in interest as some consumers sought healthier products. Sales of Beyond Meat products spiked initially before moderating.

The surge also came as production problems, due partly to Covid-19 outbreaks, temporarily curtailed conventional meat availability, though supplies later stabilized.

"The pandemic opened people's eyes to the risks of the meat industry, the relative fragility of its value chain," said Jan Dutkiewicz, a fellow at Concordia University and Harvard Law School who writes often on food and environmental studies.





- Transformation ahead? -

Investor interest in alternative meat is keen in part because of the environmental costs of conventional meat production, as well as concerns about animal welfare.

Investments in alternative food tripled in 2020 to $3.1 billion, according to the Good Food Institute, a nonprofit.

This included $2.1 billion for plant-based meat, egg and dairy companies; $360 million for cultivated meat companies; and $590 million for fermentation companies devoted to protein alternatives.

Sales of meat alternatives jumped 45 percent in 2020 in the United States, but still account for only 1.4 percent of total retail meat sales, according to the Good Food Institute.#photo1

History shows it can be difficult for food substitutes to achieve sustained success, said Nicholas Fereday, an analyst specializing in consumer foods at Rabobank.

Despite the success of products like aspartame and stevia, sugar remains the dominant coffee sweetener, he said. And for now, nobody has been able to simulate popular items like roast beef or grilled pork with a vegan option.

"Environmental and animal welfare concerns will trigger interest among people who are looking for brands that align with their values and encourage the initial purchase," Fereday said, but they will only keep buying if they like the product.

Dutkiewicz notes that the conventional meat sector operates on relatively narrow profit margins, with large volumes needed to the ventures economical.

If alternative proteins gain enough ground, "there may be a point where many large companies will start not just diversifying into alternative proteins but will start divesting from their existing holdings in protein," he said.

Dutkiewicz drew a comparison with large automotive companies now phasing out the internal combustion engine and transitioning to electric cars.

But, he cautioned, "we are at the very, very early stages of this."

© 2021 AFP

‘Revival of the occult’: French youth turn to tarot, astrology during Covid-19

Issued on: 22/05/2021 - 

Young adults in France are increasingly turning to tarot and astrology during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a recent poll. © Charlotte Wilkins, FRANCE 24

Text by: Charlotte WILKINS

Young people in France are increasingly turning to tarot, astrology and other forms of esoterism, a trend that accelerated during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a recent poll.

When French President Emmanuel Macron announced France’s first lockdown on March 16, 2020, Theotime Sorgato, 22, left Paris for Brittany with a couple of his friends. He packed his computer, some clothes and books, a deck of tarot cards, and Alejandro Jodorowsky’s celebrated guide to the Tarot de Marseille.

Every day he studied a new card, using the tarot as a “psychological tool” rather than for divination.

“It really draws out a person’s subconscious,” Sorgato told FRANCE 24 by phone. “My generation are looking for ways to connect to themselves, and find symbols to understand what’s going on inside them. There’s a real revival of the occult.”

With no idea of how long lockdown would last, and with his work as a freelance jewellery stylist and production manager on hold, he had plenty of time on his hands to explore the cards in depth.

“Covid-19 really played on people’s sense of identity,” he continued. “People were trying to understand who they were during the pandemic.”

Sorgato is one of thousands of young French men and women who are increasingly turning to tarot, astrology and other forms of esoterism.

Nearly 70 percent of French youth, between the ages of 18-24, believe in parasciences (including astrology, numerology, palm reading, clairvoyance and cartomancy), a trend that has been on the rise for the past 20 years, according to an Ifop poll published last December.

Four out of ten French people now believe in astrology, compared to three out of 10 Americans, an increase of 10 points since 2000, the poll added.

Best friends Nina Dotti, 25, and Ysée Eichhorn, 24, both studying film in Paris, have been exploring astrology for a few years.

Nina Dotti, 25, held Instagram lives on astrology with her best friend Ysée Eichhorn, 24, during France's second Covid-19 lockdown. © Teodora Doslov

Eichhorn didn’t find the first Covid-19 lockdown hard.

“I’m a Capricorn,” she said, smiling shyly. “We’re real homebodies. We like solitude, we’ve got old people’s habits.”

But as the Covid-19 pandemic wore on, and she went through a gruelling operation on her legs, followed by a five-month rehabilitation process, she looked to a sense of community online.

“I joined Tiktok like lots of other people, and I saw a lot of astrology memes, videos and jokes. I realised that a lot of people were talking about astrology … that all happened during Covid.”

When France’s second lockdown kicked in, from October-December 2020, she and Dotti held Instagram lives on an astrological theme with their closest friends every Monday, discussing how each of the Zodiac signs might be experiencing lockdown, and trying to guess the star signs of characters from "Harry Potter", or "Shrek", or "Friends".

For Eichhorn, who describes herself as shy and introverted, it was really “helpful” to discover the qualities of her star sign as a young teenager, and find that “it really resonated” with her.

At school, when she and her more outgoing friend Dotti met boys they liked, they were quick to find out their birthday and run astrological compatibility checks.

“When I found out my boyfriend’s date of birth, and did his birth chart, it turns out that our two charts are perfectly opposite, perfectly complementary … aligned in the stars, it's amazing,” sighed Dotti.

After mastering the basics of the 12 signs of the Zodiac, the women went on to learn about ascendants, houses and transits. A few years later they launched their own Instagram page, lastrotrorigolo (Astro for fun).

“Some people laugh at us when we ask them their star sign,” said Eichhorn. “But it’s funny, because the more we develop it, the more it attracts and interests people because they understand that it’s not just 12 signs, but that they have their own astrological chart.”

Stefan Mickael, a fortune teller, tarot reader and medium, in the northern Paris suburb of Seine- Saint-Denis, puts the rising trend for esoterism down to a growing open-mindedness, in the same way that LGBT and women’s rights are gaining traction in France.

Stefan Mickael, a fortune teller and medium in the northern Paris suburb of Seine-Saint-Denis, puts the rising trend for esoterism down to a growing open-mindedness in France. © Charlotte Wilkins, FRANCE 24

“Thirty years ago it was hard to build a career as a fortune teller. I started out doing tarot readings on the quiet for my aunt and her friends … very much word of mouth … there was no internet at the time and I wasn’t ready to put myself out there,” he said, before eventually setting up as a practitioner full-time.

Madame Morin, a tarot reader in Paris’s 18th arrondissement (district) whose grandmother taught her to read the cards, said she thought French youth were looking for some form of reassurance.

“Before people used to go to church and they prayed, now people go to church a lot less. People are a lot less religious but often my clients have told me that I'm a replacement for a priest. Young people need something to believe in,” said Morin.

The French are no strangers to fortune tellers, mediums and tarot readers. Former president François Mitterrand consulted the astrologer Elisabeth Tessier throughout his tenure, seeking advice on subjects such as the Maastricht Treaty and the Gulf War. General de Gaulle began using an astrologer, Major Maurice Vasset, towards the end of the Second World War. Vasset advised De Gaulle against holding a referendum in 1969 in a desperate attempt to restore his prestige after the shock of the May 1968 protests. But De Gaulle ignored him, lost the referendum and was forced to resign.

'A birth chart’s like having an esoteric identity card,' says Ysée Eichhorn, 24. © Charlotte Wilkins, FRANCE 24

But Dotti and Eichhorn are less interested in being told what the future might hold than they are in understanding themselves and their friends.

“Our favourite game is trying to guess other people’s star signs. And it’s useful,” Dotti said, explaining, with a laugh, how she had landed an internship at a casting studio by accurately guessing the star signs of the three people interviewing her.

Neither of them reads their horoscope in magazines but they set great store by a birth chart.

“It’s a way of working on yourself,” said Dotti of astrology, who has the horoscope app Co-star but turned the daily notifications off.

“Getting a message saying ‘you’re going to have a shit day but you’ll get through it’. Who wants to hear that at 8am in the morning?” she laughed.

“A birth chart’s like having an esoteric identity card,” said Eichhorn. “I see astrology as psychology. I know there must be something to it, I just want to believe in it – it's like faith.”

Spanish enclave in a quandary over Ceuta's 'lost boys'

Issued on: 22/05/2021 - 

Ceuta officials say they are currently caring for more than 400 children and teenagers Antonio Sempere AFP/File

Ceuta (Spain) (AFP)

Days after up to 10,000 people surged across the Moroccan border into Spain's Ceuta enclave, many hundreds are still here, mostly minors, posing a quandary for the tiny territory.

"We can't yet say how many people entered Ceuta -- we estimate between 8,000 and 10,000, and it seems 6,600 have returned to Morocco," Mabel Deu, one of the city's deputy leaders, told reporters on Friday.

Most of the migrants swam, but some came in inflatable boats, with Spanish government officials saying 1,500 of them were under 18. That figure has not been confirmed by the city.

"We don't know how many minors came in," Deu said.

By Friday, Ceuta had 438 children and teenagers in its care at two locations and was preparing a third, she said, acknowledging there were still "a good few hundred people wandering around the city".

Those at the centres are registered, fed and clothed and given a place to stay after being tested for Covid-19.

But many others are sleeping rough in parks or doorways, penniless and hungry.

Some came alone, while others crossed the border with friends or older siblings. Most are boys, either teenagers or in their early 20s.

"They told us they came to visit or that they were coming to see a football match with Ronaldo," Deu said, accusing the Moroccan authorities of "manipulative tricks" to encourage the huge wave of arrivals.

- 'We can't cope' -

Earlier this week, Ceuta officials admitted they were completely overwhelmed, appealing for a show of solidarity from Spain's 17 regions.

"We cannot cope, there are too many children," Carlos Rontome, another of the city's deputy leaders, told Spanish national radio.

"We are the frontier, we're the breakwater, but we have limited capacities. We're a small city of 19 square kilometres (seven square miles)... so it's very difficult to absorb all these people," he said.#photo1

"The only solution is to distribute them among the other regions."

This week, Spain's regions agreed to take in 200 unaccompanied minors who were already in Ceuta to free up space for the new arrivals.

"The problem cannot fall on (Ceuta's) shoulders alone... The whole country must tackle the problem while taking into account the best interests of the minor," said Social Justice Minister Ione Belarra.

Save the Children said the proposal could ensure the youngsters were better cared for.

"We believe that this measure could serve to alleviate the immediate pressure on Ceuta's protection system while offering better care to these children," Carmela del Moral, the NGO's head of child policies, told AFP.

- 'I dream of being a cleaner' -

NGOs say they've been overwhelmed by the scale of need in Ceuta.

"If we continue at this pace, it's impossible: no NGO, nor the Spanish state nor any European state could cope with this amount of people," said Abdesalam Mohammed Hussein, head of local NGO Alas Protectoras.#photo2

"We provide food and warm clothes, but we can't reach everyone because there are just too many."

An Arabic speaker, he says some youngsters said they went to the centres but found they "were full", while others didn't even know where they were.

Many say their parents have no idea where they are.

"My mum must be very worried by now, because I was the only person earning so we could eat," 16-year-old Omar Luriaghri told AFP.

But he can't call her because she doesn't have a phone.

"Frankly my dream is to work here as a cleaner," he said.

- Hotline for lost children -

For now, Ceuta is focusing on tracing the parents. On Thursday, it opened a hotline for worried families which was swamped with "more than 4,400 calls" in the first 24 hours.

"Our teams are working morning, noon and night to find the families and ensure the child's immediate return, because that's what the parents and the children want," Deu said.

"Many have been crying and wanting to go home since the first day."

For some on the streets, desperation is taking hold, with Spanish police on Friday having to revive a young Moroccan who tried to hang himself with a metal cable along the promenade.

"Sending children back is not legal and must not be tolerated," said Ricardo Ibarra, head of the Children's Platform, which groups 67 child rights NGOs, raising concerns about possible pushbacks -- informal cross-border expulsions without due process.

But an interior ministry spokesman insisted all returns were being carried out "through legally-established channels" and said they did not have a breakdown of returnees by age group.

It is Spain's government "that ultimately decides whether they have to return or can stay here," he told AFP.

© 2021 AFP

ON THE GROUND

Unaccompanied Moroccan minors in Ceuta: ‘We can’t stand sleeping on the streets anymore’


Issued on: 22/05/2021 - 

Many migrants are afraid of seeking help for fear of being deported. 

© FRANCE 24

Text by:FRANCE 24

Video by:Wassim Cornet

Spanish authorities have confirmed that at least 438 unaccompanied minors were among the more than 8,000 mainly Moroccan migrants who either scaled or swam around a border fence to reach the Spanish enclave of Ceuta earlier this week. But many are still roaming the streets, purposely avoiding aid groups for fear of detection and expulsion back to Morocco. FRANCE 24 reports.

At least eight aid organisations, including the Red Cross, have deployed to Ceuta since thousands of migrants arrived on the enclave’s shores.

“We give them food, clothes and a hygiene kit, and we try to make their stay as easy as possible,” Manu Fernandez, a volunteer from Red Cross Andalucia explained, after his team was called in as emergency help to deal with the sudden influx of migrants.

Although many of the migrants are in dire need of help after suffering from hypothermia or dehydration during their cross-border journey, some, including children, are afraid of approaching aid groups for fear they will be detected by police and deported back to Morocco.

Authorities estimate that at least 1,000 people are sleeping it rough, which is quickly taking its toll on their health.

“We slept on the street, in a wooded area, and also in an abandoned house. It was so cold at night,” two migrant teenagers tell FRANCE 24’s reporters after finally deciding to approach the Red Cross. “We came here to get some food and water, we can’t stand being out on the streets anymore.”

Japan lawmakers accused of violating Olympic spirit by LGBTQ campaigners

Issued on: 22/05/2021 - 

The comments have sparked a backlash as Japan prepares to host the virus-postponed Olympics in two months' time Philip FONG AFP/File

Tokyo (AFP)

Rights activists have accused ruling lawmakers in Japan of violating the Olympic spirit with homophobic remarks that included saying same-sex relationships "resist the preservation of the species".

The comments -- made during discussions on a new anti-discrimination bill -- have sparked a backlash as Japan prepares to host the virus-postponed Games in two months' time.

Kazuo Yana from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) said during a meeting on Thursday that LGBTQ relationships "resist the preservation of the species, which should happen biologically", the Asahi Shimbun daily reported.

Fellow LDP member Eriko Yamatani also hit out at transgender athletes at the closed-door meeting, according to Jiji Press.

"Some people have stated an opinion that they have a male body but they are women. Therefore, they should be allowed to use the women's restroom. Or they participate in women's sports and win medals. A number of ridiculous things are happening," she reportedly said.

Broadcaster TBS and other Japanese media also quoted an unnamed lawmaker as saying that LGBTQ sexualities "can't be accepted in a moral way".

Pride House Tokyo -- a community hub officially recognised as part of the Olympic programme -- criticised the remarks in a joint statement Saturday with US-based campaign group Athlete Ally.

"These comments, if true, are in violation of the spirit of the Olympics and Paralympics which Tokyo is hoping to host," they said.

"How can athletes truly feel safe playing in a country where a member of the ruling party makes such discriminatory remarks?" added Pride House Tokyo's director Gon Matsunaka.

Another Japanese rights group that is supporting the new bill has called the reported remarks "extremely regrettable".

The Olympic charter states that "every individual must have the possibility of practising sport, without discrimination of any kind".

Tokyo 2020 organising committee chief Seiko Hashimoto -- appointed in February after her predecessor was forced to resign over sexist comments -- has pushed for greater gender equality at the Games.

Pride House Tokyo opened a permanent meeting space and information centre in central Tokyo in October.

© 2021 AFP

Countries urge broader patent waivers than just Covid vaccines

NATIONALIZE BIG PHARMA 

THERE IS NO INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Issued on: 22/05/2021 - 

Proponents of a patent waiver on Covid-19 vaccines and other treatments argue it would boost access in developing countries Luis ACOSTA AFP


Geneva (AFP)

Dozens of countries have revised a proposal at the WTO for patent waivers for medical tools needed to combat Covid, insisting it must be broader than just vaccines, non-governmental organisations said Saturday.

More than 60 countries have presented a revision of their text before the World Trade Organization on ditching intellectual property protections for Covid-19 jabs and other medical tools while the pandemic rages, according to the Doctors Without Borders (MSF) charity and NGO Knowledge Ecology International (KEI).

KEI published what it said was the revised text, which pushed for the waiver to be broad and long-lasting.

The WTO did not immediately verify the authenticity of the document, but a Western diplomat close to the waiver discussions confirmed it was genuine and had been distributed to all WTO members.

That text said the waiver should cover all medical "prevention, treatment and containment" tools needed to battle Covid.

In addition to vaccines, it should include treatments, diagnostics, vaccines, medical devices and protective equipment, along with the material and components needed to produce them, it said.

It also said the waiver should last for "at least three years" from the date it takes effect, following which, the WTO's General Council should determine whether it could be lifted or should be prolonged.

- 'Frightening increase' -

"We are pleased to see the governments sponsoring the COVID-19 intellectual property waiver proposal reaffirm that the waiver aims to remove monopoly barriers for all medical tools ... needed to tackle this pandemic," MSF South Asia chief Leena Manghaney said in a statement.#photo1

"With a frightening increase in infections and deaths in developing countries, and with potentially promising treatments in the pipeline, it is crucial that governments have every flexibility at their disposal to beat back this pandemic," she said.

The WTO has since October faced calls led by India and South Africa for the temporary removal of such IP protections, in what proponents argue will boost production in developing countries and address the dramatic inequity in access.

That notion has long met with fierce opposition from pharmaceutical giants and their host countries, which insisted patents were not the main roadblocks to scaling up production and warned the move could hamper innovation.

The positions appeared to shift earlier this month, when Washington came out in support of a global patent waiver for the jabs, with other long-time opponents voicing openness to discuss the matter.

The European Parliament voted narrowly this week to urge Brussels to get behind the proposal.

Observers have however said the ambitions for the waiver appear to differ significantly among the longtime supporters and those now coming around to the idea, who have seemed to focus more narrowly on vaccines.

It remains unclear if countries will be able to see eye to eye, but with the pandemic that has killed over 3.4 million people still far from over, there is intense pressure on them to do so.

With the new revision on the table, MSF called for "governments to immediately move towards text-based negotiations," insisting there was no time to lose.

In light of the WTO's usual glacial pace in decision-making -- with agreements requiring consensus backing by all 164 member states -- a deal could meanwhile take time.

According to MSF, more than 100 countries overall now support the proposal, including China and Russia.

A full 62 countries are now official co-sponsors of the proposal, with Indonesia, Fiji, Vanuatu and Namibia having joined in recent weeks.

© 2021 AFP