COLD WAR 2.0 A COMMON ENEMY;CHINA

After 17 years, truce nears in U.S.-Europe jet subsidy war

By Tim Hepher, Andrea Shalal, David Shepardson and Philip Blenkinsop

© Reuters/Pascal Rossignol FILE PHOTO: An Airbus A350 jetliner flies over Boeing flags as it lands after a flying display during the 51st Paris Air Show at Le Bourget airport near Paris

(Reuters) -The United States and Europe are expected to announce a five-year suspension of tariffs in their 17-year-old dispute over aircraft subsidies on Tuesday, allowing them to focus on the threat posed by China's nascent commercial aircraft industry, people familiar with the matter said.


A deal to pause the world's largest corporate trade dispute would help U.S. planemaker Boeing and Europe's Airbus, while granting relief to dozens of other industries affected by tit-for-tat tariffs that were suspended in March. They face a renewed trade war within weeks if there is no progress.

U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai discussed the dispute in her first face-to-face meeting with EU counterpart Valdis Dombrovskis on Monday ahead of Tuesday's U.S.-EU summit, where China will also be a key topic. Tai travels to Britain on Wednesday.

The European Commission, which oversees EU trade policy, and the United States had vowed to find a solution by July 11 when the currently suspended transatlantic tariffs are due to resume.

Officials had targeted a permanent solution through a pair of treaties - one between the United States and European Union, the original parties, and another between Washington and London following Britain's exit from the EU - on new ground rules for aerospace.

But reaching a detailed accord has proven complex, given nearly two decades of legal wrangling and thousands of pages of documents, said one source briefed on the talks.

A standstill agreement would push back the resumption of tariffs by years at a time when U.S. President Joe Biden has vowed to reset relations with European partners after four tumultuous years under former President Donald Trump.

Freezing the conflict over jet subsides, some of which have been rescinded or wound down, would give both sides more time to focus on broader agendas such as concerns over China's state-driven economic model, several of the sources said.

The tariffs on $11.5 billion of goods were progressively imposed from 2019 after the United States and EU both won partial victories at the World Trade Organization over claims of unfair aid for Boeing and Airbus.

The dispute has dragged on since 2004 when the United States withdrew from a 1992 aircraft subsidy pact and took the EU to the WTO, claiming Airbus had managed to equal Boeing's share of the jet market thanks in part to subsidized government loans.

The EU counter-sued over what it termed unfair R&D support and subsidized tax incentives for Boeing.

In recent months, top European, British and U.S. officials have engaged in intense discussions to settle the dispute and focus on other challenges, including China.

CHINA 'ON RADAR'

Tai told Reuters in May she was optimistic about reaching a deal with Brussels, adding that the two sides needed to look at "the bigger question" of China's ambitions to become a global player in the commercial aircraft industry.

The U.S. has floated a joint review of aerospace funding in non-market economies like China, two of the people said.

One of the sources said the two sides had agreed to increase information-sharing, but gave no further details.

"There's no question that the rise of China's aircraft industry is ... on everybody's proverbial radar," U.S. Chamber of Commerce Senior Vice-President Marjorie Chorlins told reporters on Monday, noting what she described as China's "heavy subsidization" of its industries.

She said settling the dispute would provide "a tremendous boost of goodwill" for broader U.S.-European ties.

Brussels and Washington remain at odds over steel and aluminum tariffs, but are expected at Tuesday's summit to set a Dec. 1 deadline to end punitive tariffs related to the dispute, according to a draft communique seen by Reuters.

Like the United States, the EU has sparred with Beijing on trade and security this year. But its 27 nations could struggle to agree a common front on topics like aerospace.

In April, for example, Hungary blocked an EU statement criticizing China's new Hong Kong security law, sparking a row over the right of member states to veto EU foreign policy.

The Chinese embassy in Washington had no immediate comment.

None of the parties agreed to comment on the talks.

HURDLES TO PERMANENT AGREEMENT

In a potentially key breakthrough, the United States had watered down opposition to the principle of future public loans for Airbus and removed its demand for compensation.

But its insistence on advance notice of any future public loans had triggered concerns among EU officials, who rejected giving Washington any veto power, people familiar with the talks said.

Even more critical is the benchmark to be used when deciding whether the interest on any future loans is market-compatible.

Under the 1992 subsidy pact, one third of a project could be financed by direct government support such as loans and cleared indirect R&D support up to 4% of a company's revenue.

One option is to revisit that framework with market rules replacing subsidy quotas and a new cap on indirect R&D support.

Brexit has also complicated negotiations.

Britain and the United States came close to striking an aerospace agreement in December that could have forced the hand of Brussels in its own talks with Washington.

Britain's ability to negotiate trade deals independently of the EU is central to its new "global Britain" stance. But its flexibility on Airbus is cramped by its role as one of four core nations involved in the planemaker, pre-dating its EU accession.

Airbus, which has 14,000 staff in Britain, has made plain work could shift abroad if the UK turns its back on aerospace.

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal, Philip Blenkinsop, David Shepardson, William James, Tim Hepher; Writing by Tim Hepher; Editing by Jane Merriman and Stephen Coates)

China's three-child policy unlikely to be welcomed by working women

By Jieyu Liu, University of London


A mom walks with her daughter along a lake in Beijing on Tuesday. China says it will allow couples to have three children, up from two, as the Communist Party attempts to reverse declining birthrates and aver a population crisis, but experts say it is woefully inadequate. Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI | MORE PHOTOS

June 4 (UPI) -- China's new policy of allowing couples to have three children (replacing the previous limit of two) is an attempt to respond to aging population concerns and a slowing birth rate. But the policy's implications for working women and their families mean few will welcome the change with open arms.

Population aging is a significant concern in China. According to the latest national census in November 2020, the number of people in the country age 60 and older has reached 260 million -- or 18.7% of the population. By 2050, this number is expected to increase to 500 million.

Though societies are aging around the world, the challenges are more acute in China due to the number of people involved (nearly 20% of the global population), their relatively low income, and the country's stage of economic development.

While improved living standards have increased life expectancy, the state's family planning policy -- the "one-child policy" -- has contributed most to the aging trend. This policy was formally introduced in 1979 in response to concerns that uncontrolled population growth would jeopardize economic development and modernization, and was strictly and effectively implemented in urban areas through workplace fines and other punitive measures.

But almost four decades on, the first generation of one-child policy children have become parents, placing on their shoulders the responsibility of potentially each having to support two parents and four grandparents.

To address this inverse population pyramid, the state ended the one-child policy in 2015, introducing a national two-child policy in its place. Since the state had (from the mid-1980s) allowed rural couples to have a second child if their first was a girl, this new policy targeted the urban population.

But few couples -- just 5% or 6% -- opted for a second child, given the inadequate child care and increased family living costs in big cities like Beijing and Shanghai.

RELATEDChina scraps 'two-child policy' to allow parents to have three children

The new three-child policy has sparked a wave of online discussion among Chinese citizens, with many expressing shock and resentment about the state's renewed efforts to manipulate citizens' child-bearing decisions.

Some posted online pictures of previous state slogans dating from the period of the one-child policy. One such slogan stated, "if one person exceeds the birth quota, the villagers of the whole village have to undergo tubal ligation."

Social media discussions among women commented on how unfairly the new policy initiative would affect their employment and family life, given that child care remains a woman's job in China. Only a very small minority were hopeful that implementation of the three-child policy would lead the state to improve housing, education, medical and old-age care facilities.

Urban vs. rural

The policy's impact will depend on where in China you look. In major cities and provincial capitals, my five-year study of Chinese family life reveals that only a very small proportion of couples born in the 1980s -- the first cohort of the "only-child generation" -- had a second child, even once they were allowed.

So it seems unlikely that couples of the 1980s cohort would take advantage of the three-child allowance. Married interviewees born in the 1990s, acclimatized to only-child culture, have adopted a "wait and see" approach toward the possibility of having even a second child.

The comments of one interviewee (born in 1991) capture the dilemma facing him and his wife as they contemplate a second child:

"It's possible. But I won't be making the final decision. If my wife suffers a lot from bringing up our first child, we will definitely not have a second child. Before their first child arrived, many of my friends were so confident in their plans to have a second child. But as soon as they had their first child, they all hesitated to have a second one. We will see if our future financial situation allows and it will also depend on whether our parents are in good health."

Younger couples in urban areas also showed no strong preference for sons.

By contrast, my study found that in rural areas many of the married cohorts of the 1980s and 1990s had a second child. Whether or not rural couples respond positively to the new three-child policy will depend on the genders of their existing two children.

Despite the increased investment in girls' education in rural China, I found consistent son preference across three generations. If a couple's two children are both girls, it is therefore highly likely that they will try to have a third child. Indeed, in rural Fujian, where there is a much stronger lineage culture and custom than in many northern provinces, some villagers born in the early 1990s had three or four children in their efforts to produce a boy heir.

Burden of care

Having three children will have gendered and generational consequences. Gender discrimination is deeply institutionalized in the Chinese labor market. When asked if they planned to have a second child, some of my women interviewees acknowledged that their employers' unwillingness to bear the costs of their reproductive decisions made it difficult to decide. Unless gender discrimination in the labor market is addressed systematically, choosing to have three children will have a detrimental effect on women's employment trajectory.

The limited provision of child care availability for infants under the age of 3 means that when a new mother's maternity leave ends (currently after around four months), her mother or mother-in-law will take on child care responsibilities for their new grandchild. Given the shortage of good quality care homes for elderly people, these grandparents will also have to care for their own parents. In short, having three children will serve only to increase the burden of care on all generations.

Jieyu Liu is a reader in sociology of China and deputy director of the China Institute at SOAS, University of London.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

SAY WHAT

Batman Can Save Downtown Gotham
But Can’t Go Down on Catwoman, DC Says
Rebecca Alter
\
© Warner Bros. Warner Bros.

Batman has always had a slightly more fragile relationship to his masculinity than other superheroes. While Marvel’s top-heavy boys are glad to be ogled and Deadpool openly stans Bea, Babs, and Bernadette, the Caped Crusader shrouds himself in a bat cowl and hides from intimacy. So when DC told the creators of the animated series Harley Quinn that under no circumstances could Batman go down on Catwoman, maybe they were just trying to keep the character consistent?

The HBO Max adult animated series creators, Justin Halpern and Patrick Schumacker, told Variety in an interview, “in this third season of Harley we had a moment where Batman was going down on Catwoman. And DC was like, ‘You can’t do that. You absolutely cannot do that.’ They’re like, ‘Heroes don’t do that.’ So, we said, ‘Are you saying heroes are just selfish lovers?’ They were like, ‘No, it’s that we sell consumer toys for heroes. It’s hard to sell a toy if Batman is also going down on someone.’” Is DJ Khaled on the board of DC? Harley Quinn has plenty of violence and gore, and they sell toys based off of that no problem, but Batman can’t pleasure his on-again off-again lover? Well no one can tell us what to do with our Batman and Catwoman action figures in the privacy of our homes

Batman-Catwoman oral sex scene cut from Harley Quinn
By Neil Wilkes, Editor-in-chief | 22m

© HBO

A proposed scene in which Batman performed oral sex on Catwoman was cut from an episode of Harley Quinn, co-creator Justin Halpern has revealed.

The dark animated comedy follows the DC character Harley Quinn (voiced by Kaley Cuoco) and her friend Poison Ivy (Lake Bell) and their interactions with other characters from the DC Universe.

The show is known for its adult humour and risque jokes, but talking to Variety, Halpert admitted that one of their more extreme ideas for a scene was deemed to go too far.

"It's incredibly gratifying and free to be using characters that are considered villains because you just have so much more leeway," he said.

"A perfect example of that is in this third season of Harley [when] we had a moment where Batman was going down on Catwoman.

"And DC was like, 'You can't do that. You absolutely cannot do that.' They're like, 'Heroes don't do that.' So, we said, 'Are you saying heroes are just selfish lovers?'

"They were like, 'No, it's that we sell consumer toys for heroes. It's hard to sell a toy if Batman is also going down on someone.'"

The third season of the show is currently in production and is expected to premiere later this year.

Jefferson Airplane - Up Against The Wall... (1970 private press) USA 

great psychedelic acid rock/folk

A GENERATION OF BOOMERS 

ARE REVOLUTIONARIES!

PREDATING THEIR REVOLUTIONARY

OFFSPRINGS IN GEN X,?,Z AND MILLENIALS

•May 29, 2021



Veterans Of The Psych Wars

https://wherethebuffaloroam1968.blogs... Recorded live in Avalon ballroom, some sources sais that is 1969-xx-xx but i belive more sources that sais which is from feb-april 1970 Vinyl Rip quality bootleg: 8,8 VG very good, not necesary to repaired but i added some EQ, album was pressed on vinyl as a private press in 1970 and this video is from the vinyl rip The cover of the original bootleg is very good and the Jeffersons are one of the most vindictive bands of the time as well as Thomas Jefferson a revolutionary president, but today's Jefferson airplane has become the same as Pink Floyd and other bands of the style in the actual era that have sided with the establishment and using their music to promote reptilians electoral campaigns, regards to Grace Slick

 

We can be together

 Volunteers 

Eskimo blue day

 Mexico 

Somebody to love

Wooden ships 

Plastic fantastic lover

Emergency 

The ballad of you and me and Pooneil

 Taken from two PBS television specials: Tracks A1,A2,A4-B3 from "Go Ride The Music" recorded on April 2, 1970 at Wally Heider Studio, San Francisco; Tracks A3,B4 from "A Night At Family Dog" recorded on February 4, 1970 at the Family Dog At The Great Highway, San Francisco

 Family Dog are the company which promotes most of the Avalon acts background effects & footages by this channel Enlist psychedelic marines, j0inT mental navy 

FAIR USE "Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use." I am not own the rights to this album, I use it only for promitional-cultural use , if the video was a copyright problem I will immediately delete it

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Eskimo Blue Day (At The Family Dog, 09.09.69)
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Jefferson Airplane
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At The Family Dog
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Emergency
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Jefferson Airplane
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Song
The Ballad Of You And Me And Pooneil (At The Family Dog, 09.09.69)
Artist
Jefferson Airplane
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At The Family Dog
Licensed to YouTube by
Aviator Management GmbH; Warner Chappell, BMI - Broadcast Music Inc., and 5 Music Rights Societies

U.N. promotes human rights of elderly with World Elder Abuse Awareness Day

By Kyle Barnett


The United Nations is advocating for the elderly through World Elder Abuse Awareness Day. File Photo by Debbie Hill/UPI | License Photo

June 14 (UPI) -- The United Nations has declared June 15 World Elder Abuse Awareness Day.

The human rights wing of the oversight organization highlighted elderly as being more susceptible to neglect, physical and psychological abuse, as well as more likely to be openly mocked.

The message of newly named independent U.N. expert Claudia Mahler is clear -- not to allow any abuse of the human rights of the elderly.

"Policies based on ageist attitudes cannot be tolerated, and I urge states to monitor and implement measures to avoid ageist approaches," Mahler said in a press release. "Older persons need to have access to accountability mechanisms that provide for remedies and redress when their human rights are violated."

Mahler called on all governments, including the international community, to take action to protect the elderly from psychological and physical abuse.

An uptick in online abuse and discrimination toward the baby boomer generation in particular has been noted.

"Derogatory comments in the media are a direct attack against the dignity of older persons," Mahler said. "The 'boomer remover' hashtag attached to coronavirus posts and media articles calling for older persons to sacrifice themselves to save the economy or to safeguard younger generations by exposing themselves to the virus are clearly reflections of bias against older persons."

The call for proper treatment comes after COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on the elderly community.

The pandemic endangered not only the lives of the elderly, but also their access to medical care and even their pensions.

Around two-thirds of those age 70 and older have at least one underlying condition that puts them at great risk of illness or death from COVID-19.

"While older persons have become more visible in the COVID-19 outbreak, their voices, opinions and concerns remain unheard. Verbal and derogatory online abuse have profound negative effects on the human rights of older persons," Mahler said.

It is predicted that from 2019 to 2030 the number of people 60 and older will grow by 38%, from 1 billion to 1.4 billion.

"Older people have the same rights to life and health as everyone else. Difficult decisions around life-saving medical care must respect the human rights and dignity of all," U.N. chief António Guterres said.

The U.N. is advocating for the elderly to enjoy the same rights and the same medical care.

"No person, young or old, is expendable," Guterres said.

Catholic order that staffed Kamloops residential school refuses to share records families seek

Angela Sterritt, Jennifer Wilson 

CBC NEWS

© Submitted by Bronwyn Shoush Seven of Bronwyn Shoush's aunts and uncles lay in residential school graves in Mission, B.C. For decades she's been searching for answers about how exactly they died.

The order of nuns that taught at the former Kamloops residential school, and others in B.C., continues to withhold important documents that could help tell the story of how Indigenous children died at the schools over the last 150 years.

The Sisters of St. Ann has never approved the release of relevant government records — documents that could relate to deaths at the schools — according to the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation and the religious order.

"It might be because there were things that weren't relevant to the school system or names of those students, as well as other people like visitors," said Sister Marie Zarowny, a St. Ann spokesperson.

She also said the sisters have provided some documents to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission about the residential school system, but is unwilling to share some records outlining internal workings of the congregation, as well as what is called the school "narrative."

"What is in those documents, why can't I have access to them?" said Bronwyn Shoush, whose father attended St. Mary's residential school in Mission, B.C.

Like Kamloops, it was also staffed by the Sisters of St. Ann and administered by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate.

Seven of her father's nine siblings lay buried in the residential school cemetery. The children were all in marked graves that have since fallen into disrepair, she says. Yet she knows very little about how they came to die at school. Her father told her one sibling was killed in what he was told was an accident — falling on a pitchfork. Another died suddenly and others from Illness, but Shoush has few other details.

The National Student Memorial Register lists 21 children as having died at St. Mary's, but to add to the confusion, none of her aunts or uncles are named.

"The longer it's locked up and held or destroyed or held in secret, the more you're likely to be very suspicious," Shoush said.

It also goes against the Truth and Reconciliation mandate as set up by the Indian Residential School Settlement agreement.

"This is a concern and remains inconsistent with the actions of the vast majority of other signatories to the Settlement Agreement," reads a statement from Stephanie Scott, executive director of the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation.
'Turn over these records immediately"

The Royal B.C. Museum that houses St. Ann's private archival collection has appealed to the nuns to "provide better accessibility of these records to the public — but particularly to Indigenous communities whose members attended residential schools."


Video: Remembering life in the Kamloops residential school (cbc.ca)


Researchers can access the archives by appointment, but some have noted it's not always easy to do so.

The B.C. government also called on Sister of St. Ann, imploring them "to turn over these records immediately."

In the order's defence, Zarowny said St. Ann wanted to be able to fix historical inaccuracies before documents were made public.

But Ry Moran, who guided the creation of the TRC's national archive says having a hodgepodge of the records conceals more important truths.

"The biggest inaccuracy is that kids' own names were robbed from them and replaced with Christian Western names," Moran said.

"We're going back and figuring out what names, lands, territories, identities and villages were actually stolen from kids in the first place."

The sisters taught at St. Mary's, Kamloops, Kuper Island and Lower Post Indian residential schools where children experienced rampant physical, emotional and sexual abuse.

Records can be forced by law

St. Ann is not the only entity to refuse to hand over the documents.

Father Ken Thorson of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate told the CBC that his congregation would not be providing personnel files of the staff at the residential schools citing privacy laws.

Those could include disciplinary records of nuns who treated children poorly.

But the TRC's mandate outlines that "In cases where privacy interests of an individual exist, and subject to and in compliance with applicable privacy legislation and access to information legislation, researchers for the Commission shall have access to the documents."

And it's not just churches who have refused to give up residential school documents.

The federal government has been in court as early as 2020 trying to block the creation of statistical reports on residential school abuse claims.

The Supreme Court of Canada also ruled in 2017 that thousands of records documenting abuse at residential schools should be destroyed.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Crown-Indigenous Relations said, "As per the terms of the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement, Canada was obligated to disclose all relevant documents to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission."

It added "the courts have consistently found that Canada has met its document disclosure obligations and that no further action is required."

Still, those at the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation disagree.

"The federal government and provincial governments also have not shared all the records they agreed to provide to the NCTR. We continue to negotiate acquisition of further records from many settler organizations — both religious and governmental," the statement read.

For those like Shoush who want information about how her relatives died, it could take years of fighting just to find the truth.

Outgoing U.N. aid chief slams G7 for failing on vaccine plan

By Michelle Nichols

© Reuters/DENIS BALIBOUSE 

UN humanitarian coordinator Lowcock attends a news conference in Geneva

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Outgoing U.N. aid chief Mark Lowcock slammed the Group of Seven wealthy nations on Monday for failing to come up with a plan to vaccinate the world against COVID-19, describing the G7 pledge to provide 1 billion doses over the next year as a "small step."

"These sporadic, small-scale, charitable handouts from rich countries to poor countries is not a serious plan and it will not bring the pandemic to an end," Lowcock, who steps down on Friday, told Reuters. "The G7, essentially, completely failed to show the necessary urgency."

The leaders of the United States, Japan, Germany, Britain, France, Italy and Canada met in Cornwall, England over the weekend and also agreed to work with the private sector, the Group of 20 industrialized nations and other countries to increase the vaccine contribution over months to come.

Video: Mixed reactions to the G7 vaccine plan (Reuters)


"They took a small step - at that very, very nice resort in Cornwall - but they shouldn't kid themselves it's more than a small step and they have still have a lot to do," Lowcock said.

"What the world needed from the G7 was a plan to vaccinate the world. And what we got was a plan to vaccinate about 10% of the population of low and middle income countries, maybe by a year from now or the second half of next year," he said.

In May, the International Monetary Fund unveiled a $50 billion proposal to end the COVID-19 pandemic by vaccinating at least 40% of the population in all countries by the end of 2021 and at least 60% by the first half of 2022.

"That is the deal of the century," said Lowcock, adding that the G7 could also have done a lot more to provide vital supplies - such as oxygen ventilators, testing kits and protective equipment - to countries who are going to have to wait longer for vaccines.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday urged world leaders to act with more urgency, warning that if developing countries were not vaccinated quickly, the virus would continue to mutate and could become immune to inoculation.

(Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Bill Berkrot)

Canada's vaccine donations to COVAX to come only from its COVAX supply: Gould


OTTAWA — Canada's promise to donate almost 13 million vaccine doses to the global vaccine sharing alliance known as COVAX includes none of the 251 million doses of vaccine Canada bought directly from drug companies.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

International Development Minister Karina Gould confirmed in an interview with The Canadian Press Monday that the 13 million doses are the rest of the vaccines Canada would have received from COVAX from a $220 million contract to buy doses from COVAX.

"The remainder of the COVAX, allotments that we have, we will not be accepting anymore in Canada, and so we'll be returning those back to COVAX.," said Gould.

Canada has received about one million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine through two shipments from COVAX so far, and was to get another undetermined shipment of that vaccine this month. In all Canada intends to refuse 1.4 million doses of Johnson & Johnson, 4.1 million AstraZeneca and 7.8 million doses of Novavax, but the latter hasn't been approved for use anywhere yet.

It also believes the $575 million it donated in cash to COVAX should be able to buy between 72 million and 85 million doses.

NDP health critic Don Davies said Canada's suggestion it is donating up to 100 million doses to COVAX is a "shell game" where most is cash to buy doses that don't exist in a global supply shortage, and more than half of the actual doses Canada is donating are a vaccine that isn't in use.

"Like what kind of flim-flam game is this?" he asked.

So really, Davies said Canada's "generous contribution" is six million doses that we never should have been taking from COVAX in the first place.

COVAX was created in 2020 to try and pool the scarce but crucial global supplies of vaccine, and distribute them equitably around the world. Wealthy nations were asked to buy doses through COVAX and donate money to buy doses for countries that weren't able to afford them on their own.

Instead, most wealthy countries agreed to donate to COVAX but also signed dozens of direct contract deals with vaccine makers to ensure their own supply of vaccines.


Video: Officials say COVID-19 vaccine donations won’t affect Canada’s rollout (Global News)


Steven Hoffman, a professor of global health, law and political science at York University in Toronto, told the House of Commons health committee Monday that the self-interested vaccine hoarding of wealthier nations is breeding resentment and undermining global co-operation.

Canada has fully vaccinated more than one in 10 people already, and partially vaccinated more than two in three. Hoffman said even with G7 donations of a billion doses in the next year, only about one in 20 people in a low-income country will be vaccinated by the end of December.

"That means that as we prepare to go back to normal, nearly everyone in poorer countries knows that won't be their reality in 2021, and probably not in 2022, either," he said.

Canada is among the countries that joined both sides of COVAX — buying $220 million of vaccines from CVOAX suppliers and donating $575 million to buy and distribute vaccines to others.

It also signed private deals to buy at least 251 million doses of seven different vaccines, more than three times what it needs to fully vaccinate every Canadian. The deals were made before it was clear which vaccines would work and be authorized.

Four of the seven have been authorized for use. Novavax intends to request approval in the summer, after reporting positive results from a Phase 3 trial Monday. Medicago and Sanofi are still doing Phase 3 trials and hope to be ready for authorization before Christmas.

Canada should have at least 50 million excess doses of Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca and J&J by the end of the year, and eventually up to 124 million of the other three either this year or in 2022.

Gould said Canada will donate the extra doses it has but isn't promising any yet because so many things have already gone wrong in the world of pandemic vaccine making.

"You know, a number of issues arise with vaccine production, as we've seen over the past year," she said.

"We are just wanting to be as open and honest and transparent as the process unfolds, to ensure that once we do have those extra vaccines, we can give as clear an answer as possible and a timeline."

An Angus Reid Forum survey taken the first week of June suggests the government is doing what a majority of Canadians want. The survey, which can't be given a margin of error because it was taken online, found 72 per cent of those polled want Canada to vaccinate all Canadians first and then share doses globally.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 14, 2021.

Mia Rabson, The Canadian Press

Note to readers: This is a corrected story. An earlier version incorrectly suggested Canada had only received one shipment from COVAX so far. It has received two.

MNI WICONI WATER IS LIFE

Minnesota court affirms approval of Line 3 oil pipeline


ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota Court of Appeals on Monday affirmed state regulators' key approvals of Enbridge Energy’s Line 3 oil pipeline replacement project, in a dispute that drew over 1,000 protesters to northern Minnesota last week.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

A three-judge panel ruled 2-1 that the state’s independent Public Utilities Commission correctly granted Enbridge the certificate of need and route permit that the Canadian-based company needed to begin construction on the 337-mile (542-kilometer) Minnesota segment of a larger project to replace a 1960s-era crude oil pipeline that has deteriorated and can run at only half capacity.

Pipeline opponents said they are considering an appeal to the Minnesota Supreme Court, but that their main focus is trying to persuade President Joe Biden to intervene and the continuing protests. The Biden administration hasn't taken a clear position on Line 3, but a legal challenge is pending in federal court on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' approval of a wetlands permit that activists say should be withdrawn.

Tribal and climate change groups, plus the state Department of Commerce, had asked the appeals court to reject the approvals. They argued that Enbridge’s oil demand projections failed to meet the legal requirements. But the court said there was reasonable evidence to support the PUC's decision.

“With an existing, deteriorating pipeline carrying crude oil through Minnesota, there was no option without environmental consequences,” wrote Judge Lucinda Jesson, joined by Judge Michael Kirk. “The challenge: to balance those harms. There was no option without impacts on the rights of Indigenous peoples. The challenge: to alleviate those harms to the extent possible. And there was no crystal ball to forecast demand for crude oil in this ever-changing environment."

But Judge Peter Reyes dissented, agreeing with opponents that the oil demand forecast was flawed. He said the project benefits Canadian oil producers but would have negative consequences for the hunting, fishing, and other rights of the Red Lake and White Earth tribes, and would provide no benefit to Minnesota.

“Such a decision cannot stand. Enbridge needs Minnesota for its new pipeline," Reyes wrote. "But Enbridge has not shown that Minnesota needs the pipeline.”

Tribal and environmental groups welcomed Reyes' dissent and vowed to keep fighting. They said their primary strategy going forward won't hinge on appeals, given they could take nine months to a year. Enbridge hopes to put the line into service in the fourth quarter.

“There's a good chance we'll appeal because we should ... but I don't think a remedy's going to come out of it that's going to be meaningful for us,” said Frank Bibeau, an attorney for the White Earth Band of Ojibwe and other pipeline opponents.

Enbridge said in a statement that the court's decision is confirmation that the commission thoroughly reviewed the project and gave the appropriate approvals.

“Line 3 has passed every test through six years of regulatory and permitting review, including 70 public comment meetings, appellate review and reaffirmation of a 13,500-page (environmental impact statement), four separate reviews by administrative law judges, 320 route modifications in response to stakeholder input, and multiple reviews and approvals by the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission for the project’s certificate of need and route permit."

At least 1,000 activists from across the country gathered at construction sites near the headwaters of the Mississippi River last week. They urged Biden to cancel the project, as he did the Keystone XL pipeline on his first day in office. Nearly 250 people were arrested, in addition to more than 250 arrests since construction began in December. A smaller group marched Thursday to the Minneapolis office of Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar.

The Line 3 replacement would carry Canadian tar sands oil and regular crude from Alberta to Enbridge's terminal in Superior, Wisconsin. The project is nearly done except for the Minnesota leg, which is about 60% complete.

Opponents of the more than $7 billion project say the heavy oil would accelerate climate change and risk spills in areas where Native Americans harvest wild rice, hunt, fish, gather medicinal plants and claim treaty rights.

Enbridge says the replacement Line 3 will be made of stronger steel and will better protect the environment while restoring its capacity to carry oil and ensure reliable deliveries to U.S. refineries.

Activists are vowing to keep up a summer of resistance against the project amid the escalating battle over energy projects and rising awareness that racial minorities suffer disproportionate harm from environmental damage. And they're drawing parallels with the fight over the Dakota Access pipeline, which was the subject of major protests near the Standing Rock Reservation in the Dakotas in 2016 and 2017.

“Our resistance is clearly growing. We cannot stop and we will not stop,” said Tara Houska, founder of the Giniw Collective, one of the Indigenous groups behind last week's protests.

Steve Karnowski, The Associated Press

'Diamond rush' grips South African village after discovery of unidentified stones

More than 1,000 fortune seekers on Monday flocked to the village of KwaHlathi in South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal province in search of what they believed to be diamonds after a discovery of unidentified stones in the area.

A man shows an unidentified stone as fortune seekers flock to the village after pictures and videos were shared on social media showing people celebrating after finding what they believe to be diamonds, in the village of KwaHlathi outside Ladysmith, in KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa, June 14, 2021. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

Story by Reuters 

The people traveled from across South Africa to join villagers who have been digging since Saturday, after a herd man who dug up the first stone on an open field, which some believe to be quartz crystals, put out the word.

The discovery was a life changer, said one digger Mendo Sabelo as he held a handful of tiny stones.

"This means our lives will change because no one had a proper job, I do odd jobs. When I returned home with them, (the family was) really overjoyed," said the 27-year-old father of two.

Unemployed Skhumbuzo Mbhele concurred, adding: "I hadn't seen or touched a diamond in my life. It's my first time touching it here."

The mines department said on Monday it was sending a team comprising of geological and mining experts to the site to collect samples and conduct an analysis.

A formal technical report will be issued in due course, the department said.

The lack of an analysis of the stones has not deterred the fortune seekers as long lines of parked cars on both sides of the gravel road could be seen just a few metres from the open field, where the young, old, female and male dug through the soil with picks, shovels and forks to find riches.

South Africa's economy has long suffered from extremely high levels of unemployment, trapping millions in poverty and contributing to stark inequalities that persist nearly three decades after the end of apartheid in 1994. The coronavirus pandemic has made it worse.

Some people have started selling the stones, with the starting price ranging from 100 rand ($7.29) to 300 rand.

The provincial government has since requested all those involved to leave the site to allow authorities to conduct a proper inspection, amid fears the people digging at the site could potentially be spreading the coronavirus.


© Siphiwe Sibeko/Reuters Fortune seekers flock to the village of KwaHlathi, in KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa, in search of what they believe to be diamonds.