AP Interview: Former president says US failed in Afghanistan

Sun., June 20, 2021


KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghanistan’s former president said Sunday the United States came to his country to fight extremism and bring stability to his war-tortured nation and is leaving nearly 20 years later having failed at both.

In an interview with The Associated Press just weeks before the last U.S. and NATO troops leave Afghanistan, ending their ‘forever war,’ Hamid Karzai said extremism is at its “highest point” and the departing troops are leaving behind a disaster.

“The international community came here 20 years ago with this clear objective of fighting extremism and bringing stability ... but extremism is at the highest point today. So they have failed,” he said.

Their legacy is a war-ravaged nation in “total disgrace and disaster."

“We recognize as Afghans all our failures, but what about the bigger forces and powers who came here for exactly that purpose? Where are they leaving us now?" he asked and answered: "In total disgrace and disaster.”

Still, Karzai, who had a conflicted relationship with the United States during his 13-year rule, wanted the troops to leave, saying Afghans were united behind an overwhelming desire for peace and needed now to take responsibility for their future.

“We will be better off without their military presence,” he said. “I think we should defend our own country and look after our own lives. ... Their presence (has given us) what we have now. ... We don’t want to continue with this misery and indignity that we are facing. It is better for Afghanistan that they leave.”

Karzai's rule followed the overthrow of the Taliban in 2001 by a U.S.-led coalition that launched its invasion to hunt down and destroy the al-Qaida network and its leader, Osama bin Laden, blamed for the 9/11 attacks on America.

During Karzai's rule, women re-emerged, girls again attended school, a vibrant, young civil society emerged, new high-rises went up in the capital Kabul and roads and infrastructure were built. But his rule was also characterized by allegations of widespread corruption, a flourishing drug trade and in the final years relentless quarrels with Washington that continue even until today.

“The (US/NATO military) campaign was not against extremism or terrorism, the campaign was more against Afghan villages and hopes; putting Afghan people in prisons, creating prisons in our own country ... and bombing all villages. That was very wrong.”

In April, when President Joe Biden announced the final withdrawal of the remaining 2,500-3,500 troops, he said America was leaving having achieved its goals. Al-Qaida had been greatly diminished and bin Laden was dead. America no longer needed boots on the ground to fight the terrorist threats that might emanate from Afghanistan, he said.

Still, the U.S.'s attempts to bring about a political end to the decades of war have been elusive. It signed a deal with the Taliban in February 2020 to withdraw its troops in exchange for a Taliban promise to denounce terrorist groups and keep Afghanistan from again being a staging arena for attacks on America.

There is little evidence the Taliban are fulfilling their part of the bargain. The United Nations claims the Taliban and al-Qaida are still linked. The architect of the U.S. deal and current U.S. peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad says some progress has been made but without offering any details.

Karzai has had harsh words and uncompromising criticism of U.S. war tactics over the past two decades in Afghanistan. Yet he has become a linchpin of sorts in a joint effort being launched by the United States and Britain to get a quarrelsome Afghan leadership in Kabul united enough to talk peace with the Taliban. The insurgent group has shown little interest in negotiating and instead has stepped up its assaults on government positions.

The Taliban have made considerable strides since the May 1 start of the U.S. and NATO withdrawal. They have overrun dozens of districts, often negotiating their surrender from Afghan national security forces.

But in many instances the fighting has been intense. Just last week a brutal assault by the Taliban in northern Faryab province killed 22 of Afghanistan's elite commandos, led by a local hero Col. Sohrab Azimi, who was also killed and widely mourned.

“The desire of the Afghan people, overwhelmingly, all over the country is for peace,” said Karzai, who despite being out of power since 2014 has lost little of his political influence and is most often at the center of the country's political machinations.

Diplomats, Western officials, generals, tribal elders and politicians on all ends of Afghanistan's political spectrum regularly beat a path to Karzai's door in the heart of the Afghan capital.

As the final military withdrawal is already more than 50% complete, the need for a political settlement or even a visible path to an eventual settlement would seem to be taking on greater urgency even as Afghans by the thousands are seeking an exit. They say they are frustrated by relentless corruption, marauding criminal gangs — some linked to the powerful warlords in Kabul —and worsening insecurity. Few see a future that is not violent.

Karzai had a message for both sides in the conflict: “The two Afghan sides, none of them should be fighting." While accusing both Pakistan, where the Taliban leadership is headquartered, and the United States of stoking the fighting, Karzai said it is up to Afghans to end decades of war.

To Pakistan's military and civilian leadership, Karzai said Afghanistan wants “a civilized relationship... if Pakistan adopts an attitude away from the use of extremism against Afghanistan, this relationship can grow into a beautiful relationship, into a very fruitful relationship for both sides.”

To the warring sides in Afghanistan, Karzai said: “I’m very emphatic and clear about this, both sides should think of the lives of the Afghan people and the property... fighting is destruction.”

"The only answer is Afghans getting together. ... We must recognize that this is our country and we must stop killing each other.”

___

Follow Kathy Gannon on Twitter at www.twitter.com/@kathygannon

Kathy Gannon, The Associated Press

SRI LANKAN ECO DISASTER



Sri Lanka Ship Fire

This photo provided by Sri Lankan Navy shows the sinking MV X-Press Pearl off Colombo port, Sri Lanka, Thursday, June 17, 2021. The container ship carrying chemicals sank off Sri Lanka’s capital on Thursday nearly a month after catching fire, raising concerns about a possible environmental disaster. The ship's operator said the wreck of the Singapore-flagged X-Press Pearl "is now wholly sitting on the seabed at a depth of 21 meters (70 feet).” (Sri Lanka Navy via AP)


BHARATHA MALLAWARACHI

Sat, June 19, 2021


LOMBCOO, Sri Lanka (AP) — The U.N. representative in Sri Lanka said the sinking of a container ship that caught fire while transporting chemicals off the capital Colombo has caused “a significant damage to the planet” by releasing hazardous substances into the ecosystem.

The Singapore-flagged X-Press Pearl sank off on Thursday a month after catching fire, raising concerns about a possible environmental disaster.

The U.N. said it was coordinating international efforts and helping Sri Lanka in assessing the damage, recovery efforts and preventing such disasters in the future.

“An environmental emergency of this nature causes significant damage to the planet by the release of hazardous substances into the ecosystem,” U.N. Resident Coordinator in Sri Lanka Hanaa Singer-Hamdy said in a statement late Saturday. "This in turn threatens lives and livelihoods of the population in the coastal areas.”

A U.N. team of oil spill and chemical experts— provided by the European Union— has been sent to Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka has already submitted an interim claim of $40 million to X-Press Feeders to cover part of the cost of fighting the fire, which broke out on May 20 when the vessel was anchored about 9.5 nautical miles (18 kilometers) northwest of Colombo and waiting to enter the port.

The Sri Lankan navy believes the blaze was caused by its chemical cargo, which included 25 tons of nitric acid and other chemicals, most of which were destroyed in the fire. But debris including burned fiberglass and tons of plastic pellets have already polluted nearby beaches.

A ship manifest seen by The Associated Press said the ship carrying just under 1,500 containers, with 81 of those described as “dangerous” goods.

The main concern has been about 300 tons of bunker oil used as fuel for the ship. But officials have been saying it could have burned off in the fire.

Both Sri Lankan authorities and the ship’s operator, X-Press Feeders, have said so far there is no sign of an oil spill.

UPDATED

The US could be facing its worst drought in 1,200 years, and summer hasn't even reached its peak yet.

Cheryl Teh
Mon, June 21, 2021

A thermometer display shows a temperature of 130 degrees at the Furnace Creek Visitor's Center at Death Valley National Park on June 17 in Furnace Creek, California. Patrick T. Fallon/Getty Images


California is bone-dry after a heat-wave hit the state, with water levels dipping to all-time lows.


Experts say climate change is responsible for what may become the worst drought the US has seen in 1,200 years.


In the meantime, the West and South West continues to sizzle - and summer has yet to hit its peak.


Residents on the West Coast are in for a miserable, sizzling summer filled with prolonged drought and record-breaking temperatures, say experts.

A scientist the Guardian spoke to even warned that the US could experience one of the worst droughts in its modern history.

"This current drought is potentially on track to become the worst that we've seen in at least 1,200 years. And the reason is linked directly to human-caused climate change," Kathleen Johnson, associate professor of Earth system science at the University of California in Irvine, told the Guardian.

The projection came just as California's rivers and reservoirs dried up and the state recorded historically low water levels.

In particular, if water levels in Lake Oroville, California's second-largest reservoir, continue to dwindle, it could have devastating impacts on the state's power supply. This is because the lake generates energy by flowing through the Edward Hyatt Power Plant. Low water levels may force this power plant to close, leaving around 800,000 homes without energy when wildfire season swings around, per CNN.

The heatwave hitting California prompted Gov. Gavin Newsom to declare a statewide emergency last week. Newsom called on the state's residents to conserve energy, saying that the heat "has and will continue to put significant demand and strain on California's energy grid."

Energy troubles amid the heatwave are also hitting Texas. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas said many power plants in the state went offline last week, just months after a major outage left Texans without heat during in the middle of winter.

The Washington Post reported on June 18 that more than 40 million Americans saw triple-digit temperatures where they live in the prior week. Temperature records were also broken in Salt Lake City last Tuesday when the weather services measured a high of 107 degrees, smashing the area's 147-year record for temperatures in June.

What makes the US's weather troubles worse is that summer hasn't even peaked.

According to the National Centers for Environmental Information's archive of temperatures across the US from 1981 to 2010, the amount of sun's rays reaching Earth tends to peak on the summer solstice on June 21. However, the US tends to see warm temperatures increasing into July. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said the summer of 2020 was one of the hottest ever seen in the US, with August, in particular, being especially "dry and destructive."

Read the original article on Insider

Extreme 2021 fire season expected across much of western North America


Mario Picazo
Sun, June 20, 2021

Extreme 2021 fire season expected across much of western North America

Embedded content: https://players.brightcove.net/1942203455001/B1CSR9sVf_default/index.html?videoId=6259754536001

As summer 2021 rolls in, the potential for wildfires in many areas of western North America increases. Drought in the region has been on the rise for months, and at this point, more than a third of the area extending from the southwest United States into southern Canada is in a severe to extreme situation.

grapes california fire damage (Bloomberg Creative. 

Fire damaged grapes hang on the vines in a vineyard in California, USA. 

(Bloomberg Creative. Bloomberg Creative Photos. Getty Images)

With tinder-like conditions already present in many drought affected areas, experts warn that when intense heat waves and strong dry winds join this vulnerable scenario, wildfires will be very easy to spark and could quickly become extremely dangerous.

Wildfire experts Daniel Swain and Mike Flannigan weigh in on what this wildfire season could shape up to be, and the main ingredients that could potentially make this a season to remember. Watch the video above to hear what they have to say.

Thumbnail credit: Ashley Cooper. The Image Bank. Getty Images

West's drought has no end in sight: 'If we do nothing, it’s going to be really bad'


Joel Shannon and Christal Hayes, USA TODAY
Sun, June 20, 2021

Spring rainstorms weren’t enough to fill Utah’s reservoirs or rejuvenate the soil, so Gov. Spencer J. Cox took his plea to Twitter: Fix your leaky faucets, stop taking long showers, get rid of the lawn – and pray for rain.

The crisis isn’t unique to Utah. About 40% of the country is experiencing drought conditions, according to U.S. Drought Monitor. Drought has been a consistent problem in the Southwest for about two decades, and it’s increasingly creating an existential question: Does the West have enough water to go around?

Huge reservoirs are drying up as drought threatens farms and fuels wildfires. Cox, a Republican, warned the drought puts crops, livestock, wildlife, the state’s food supply and “really, our way of life” at risk.


It's all happening at a pace that is surprising and alarming experts. Some worry that without major water conservation, the West could be on track for unprecedented water shortages.

States and local governments are ramping up rules aimed at cutting back water usage, and most of the initial burden is expected to hit farmers, who are responsible for the vast amount of water use. But individuals are also seeing water restrictions affect them – especially if they have a lawn to water.

Even so, conservation may not be enough to fix the problem, Cox feared. “We need some divine intervention.”

Scientists and advocates suggest another solution: The West needs to drastically cut its water usage, and that means more than taking shorter showers.

Watch: Oregon wildfires a cautionary tale in worsening drought
Rain alone unlikely to fix the drought problem

Droughts can be short-term, but the one facing the West probably isn’t. The problem appears to be too big, the trend too strong to be reversed by drenching rains or a few above average years of precipitation.

“I don’t see a going back to a pre-drought time any time soon,” Veva Deheza, executive director of the National Integrated Drought Information System, told USA TODAY.

A spring 2020 study warned that the West is exiting an unusually wet time in its history and heading straight into an unusually dry time that could last years, decades or centuries.

Scientists see that trend playing out year after year.

“The anticipation is always that, eventually, rain will come. And so we’re stretching out the water that we do have,” said Nancy Selover, who recently retired as Arizona’s state climatologist.

She compared the water supply issues in the West with that of survivors on a desert island. “You have to say: How long do you think it’ll be until somebody rescues us? How much does everyone get when you simply don’t know when the rain will come?”

Typically, states use massive reservoirs to store extra water from years with above-average precipitation so it can be used during drier times. It’s a complex system involving more than just rain water: melted snow from mountainous regions is among one of the biggest concerns.

But these are not normal times.

Scientists describe the past two decades as a drought worsened by climate change, population growth and increased agricultural needs, and the say the Colorado River Basin is undergoing “aridification” that will complicate water management for generations to come. That’s especially troubling for the seven states that rely on the Colorado River for water: Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.

Drought is a concern across the country, Deheza said. They're occasional in the East and sometimes extreme in the Midwest. But in the West, particularly in the Southwest, they've recently been nearly pervasive.

Droughts in wetter climates can put a short-term strain on water systems that can spiral into a crisis. A 2016 drought in Georgia led to concerns about taps running dry.

But in the already dry Southwest, the slow-moving crisis is just as severe but will take much longer to turn around – especially amid concerns the climate is becoming more desert-like.

“It’s getting harder and harder to recover from these low … years,” John Berggren, a water policy analyst with Western Resource Advocates, told USA TODAY. Berggren said reservoir levels are dropping without any good years to help replenish them.

Drought has ripple effects, Berggren said. Just one of them: Dry soil can suck up moisture before it reaches reservoirs, making it hard to fill them back up, even during an unusually wet year.

And Deheza said warming temperatures cause more water to evaporate, also complicating efforts to build up reserves.

It takes intricate planning to ensure dry years won’t damage most people’s day-to-day lives. But with growing uncertainty about the changing climate of the Southwest, it’s getting harder to make those plans, Deheza said.

Lake Mead is seen in the distance behind mostly dead plants in an area of dry, cracked earth that used to be underwater near Boulder Beach on June 12.
Drought concerns growing at an alarming pace

The largest reservoir in the country made headlines in early June when it dipped to a record low, a rapid decline that outpaced projections from just a few months ago.

Lake Mead then stood at just 36% of full capacity, and the spiral shows no sign of letting up. That's a troubling statistic for the Hoover Dam, where low water levels have reduced energy capacity by 25%. Typically, the dam powers enough electricity to serve more than 1 million people a year across Nevada, Arizona and California.

A similar situation is playing out in Northern California’s Lake Oroville, where one hydroelectric power plant will probably have to shut down for the first time ever because of the abnormally low water levels.

“Things are starting to plummet pretty drastically,” Berggren said.

Doing nothing to reduce water usage could lead to an unimaginable future for the West, Berggren said: “If we do nothing, it’s going to be really bad.”

A high-water mark or "bathtub ring" is visible on the shoreline of Lake Mead at Hoover Dam.

June 6: Hoover Dam, a symbol of the modern West, faces an epic water shortage

He described a world where rivers run dry, dust overruns the landscape, some taps stop flowing and millions of people flee in search of water.

But that hypothetical isn’t imminent, and much can be done to prevent it, Berggren said.

Many experts note that while conditions are worsening and only exacerbated by climate change, the West has always been dry and has experienced prolonged periods of droughts.

Jay Lund, a professor at the University of California, Davis who heads its Center for Watershed Sciences, described prolonged periods of precipitation and dry periods over centuries, sometimes lasting decades.

“We’ve always had a lot of trouble with droughts. Always,” Lund said. “The difference here is now the temperatures are higher. Now we have more people. Now we have more agriculture. Now we need more water and have an increased demand.”

And just a small adjustment, such as temperatures becoming just a few degrees warmer, can start a ripple effect on everything from water levels, food prices, water consumption and wildfires.
Water conservation hits farms, lawns first

Water conservation won’t bring back the rain, but experts say it’s a needed step to help prevent widespread water shortages.

Contingency plans for how to divide up water among states as shortages hit have already been made, and cutbacks are expected in the coming year.

Agriculture – which uses about 90% of ground and surface water in some Western states, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture – is likely to be the first to endure shortages.

There are short and long-term changes farmers can make, all of them challenging. Upcoming water shortages may be temporary, but farmers may have to rethink their approach to low-value crops like hay and alfalfa – especially in areas where a lot of water is needed to grow them. Some farmers might even elect to leave the region, something that also could have ramifications on the interconnected agriculture community and prices in grocery stores.

Watch: Water woes at America’s largest reservoir

Selover noted that more farmers are fallowing their fields, letting land rest and go unplanted for a period of time, when water is in short supply. But for some, such as those growing pecans or walnuts, one year without watering an orchard means trees die and won’t be able to produce again for up to a decade.

“If you have one year that you don't provide water to the trees, they die, and next year's water isn't going to bring them back. So now you've lost everything,” she said. “A lot of those trees take five, seven, 10 years of growing before they produce the first nut.”

The choices aren’t easy.

“They’ll either have to plant different crops that don’t use as much water or they’ll just have to fallow their fields,” Selover said.

Berggren said conservation will require changes in the landscapes that surround homes and cities. In many cases, water-guzzling plants and grasses should be replaced with more drought-tolerant native landscapes that look great and are better suited to the climate.

Cutting back on water is something parts of California are already familiar with, even if puts only a small dent in overall water use. In June in Redding, California, City Manager Barry Tippin said the city may again use "water police" to enforce conservation rules if the drought worsens.

In the past, the workers left door hangers that spelled out water use cutback rules and explained strategies to use less water.

People who watered lawns on days they shouldn't have or otherwise broke conservation rules could expect a visit from the "water police."

Meanwhile, Nevada has moved to outlaw “non-functional turf” in the Las Vegas area – decorative grass that guzzles water and isn’t used by anyone.

In Iowa, Des Moines Water Works has asked central Iowa residents to cut lawn watering by 25%.

But experts know conservation has its limits: “Let’s face it, if these conditions continue to persist and get worse, conservation practices only get you so far,” Deheza said.

Drought-plagued regions may need to make major structural changes in how communities and industry use water. She said history tells us both do a “fantastic job of adapting” when needed. And the Southwest has plenty to learn from communities in Africa and the Middle East that have long lived in deserts.

But it's increasingly clear simply waiting for the water to come back won't end the crisis.

“You can never fix this problem,” Lund said. “There is no solution. It’s like fixing the problem with hurricanes on the East Coast. You don’t. You live with it and learn how to manage it.”

Contributing: Doyle Rice, USA TODAY; Michele Chandler, Redding (Calif.) Record Searchlight; Donnelle Eller, Des Moines Register; Ian James, Arizona Republic; The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: US drought prompts water restrictions – and there's no end in sight

JUNE 21 

CANADA'S INDIGENOUS PEOPLES DAY

The Métis Nation Applauds the Passage of An Act respecting the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples


OTTAWA, ON, June 18, 2021 /CNW/ - The Métis Nation applauds the Senate's passage at 3rd reading on June 16th of Bill C-15, An Act respecting the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (the Act). The Bill is expected to receive Royal Assent next week. Canada is taking a historic step towards reconciliation.

United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (CNW Group/Métis National Council)

Today is an important day for the Métis Nation and for all Canadians. The UN Declaration affirms the right of self-determination of the Métis Nation, First Nations and Inuit. It sets out the minimum standards for our survival, dignity and well-being. The Act establishes a framework to implement the UN Declaration in Canadian law in consultation and collaboration with Indigenous peoples.

Métis National Council Vice President and National Spokesperson David Chartrand states, "This legislation is the foundation for a renewed relationship between Canada and Indigenous peoples. The Métis Nation has been a strong supporter of implementation legislation. We have worked tirelessly to bring this day to fruition. We would like to thank Prime Minister Trudeau for keeping his promise to bring this legislation forward and Minister Lametti for overseeing its advancement through Parliament. This is a real accomplishment. We eagerly await Royal Assent."


The Act was co-developed in 2020 by the Métis National Council, the Assembly of First Nations, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami and the Government of Canada. It mandates the development of an action plan within two years to achieve the objectives of the UN Declaration, in partnership with the Métis Nation, Inuit and First Nations. We will work on a nation-to-nation, government-to-government basis with our First Nations, Inuit, and Government of Canada partners to design and implement a distinctions-based action plan that upholds the inherent rights of the Métis Nation and strengthens our citizens, communities and governments.

Métis National Council President Clément Chartier reflects that, "This is the culmination of decades of hard work and advocacy by Indigenous leaders, within Canada and globally. The recent heart-breaking discovery of the children at the Kamloops Indian Residential School reminds us that the deadly effects of colonialism remain with us to this day. We will work urgently to create an action plan that overturns these harmful legacies and creates a future where our human rights as Indigenous peoples are honoured and respected. We owe this to our future generations and to all Canadians."

The MNC represents the Métis Nation in Canada at the national and international levels. The Métis Nation's homeland includes the 3 Prairie Provinces and extends into the contiguous parts of British Columbia, Ontario, the Northwest Territories and the United States. There are approximately 400,000 Métis Nation citizens in Canada, roughly a quarter of all Aboriginal peoples in the country.

SOURCE Métis National Council

View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/June2021/18/c4607.html

AP Interview: UN aid chief: Tackle root causes of suffering

CAPITALI$M & IMPERIALISM

RADICAL; TO GET TO THE ROOT OF THE PROBLEM 

K MARX


FILE - In this Oct. 23, 2017, file photo, Mark Lowcock, U.N. Emergency Relief Coordinator, addresses his statement, during the Pledging Conference for the Rohingya Refugee Crisis, at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. Lowcock, who steps down Friday, June 18, 2021 after four years, said in an interview with The Associated Press that unfortunately the world has been dealing with symptoms, including people displaced by fighting and natural disasters or at risk of famine, which is now stalking Ethiopia’s embattled Tigray region and Yemen. 

(Salvatore Di Nolfi/Keystone via AP, File)



Mark Lowcock
EDITH M. LEDERER
Thu, June 17, 2021

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The outgoing U.N. humanitarian chief warned that “the explosion” in needs for humanitarian assistance in recent years will keep getting worse until major powers tackle the root causes of hunger and desperation -- conflicts, extremism, climate change, poor governance, corruption and violence, to name a few.

Mark Lowcock, who steps down Friday after four years, said in an interview with The Associated Press that unfortunately the world has been dealing with symptoms, including people displaced by fighting and natural disasters or at risk of famine, which is now stalking Ethiopia’s embattled Tigray region and Yemen.

In a very divided world, where the geopolitical system has failed to manage conflicts very well, he said, there has been a “failure of the leading powers" to tackle the causes.


“If the world wants to see less humanitarian suffering, you have to deal with the causes of that suffering,” Lowcock said. “If you tackle the causes, you can make progress, you can improve people’s lives.”

During his lifetime, the 58-year-old British economist said the world moved from having more than half the global population living in “the most extreme poverty” to less than 10% in that dire situation before the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020.

The people and countries left out of that economic progress are “the ones enmeshed in humanitarian suffering,” he said.

Lowcock was highly critical of the world’s rich countries, and especially the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations, for “not acting much more aggressively and generously and protecting the poorest countries coming out of the pandemic,” not only with vaccines but supporting their economies, which “have taken the biggest hit in relative terms” and are “under huge strain.”

Rich countries pumped trillions of dollars into their economies to protect their citizens and their nations, and “that’s the right thing to do,” he said.

“But it would also have been a smart thing as well as a kind and generous thing to have spent a little bit of that money protecting the very poorest countries,” Lowcock said in the virtual interview on Wednesday.

It is also in the self-interest of wealthier nations, he said, because the problems that can brew in fragile countries — becoming havens for terrorism, places where climate change is hardest to tackle, sites where new diseases emerge and old diseases like Ebola reemerge — “come back to bite you if you don’t invest enough to contain the problems.”

Lowcock called for a much bigger effort to help poorer countries out of the pandemic.

Rather than just announcing it was donating vaccines, he said, the G-7 should have made clear that what they were doing was “a small down payment,” and that they would work with the larger Group of 20 major economies to do a lot more.

The G-7 leaders promised 1 billion doses for vaccine-hungry countries, far short of the 11 billion doses the World Health Organization said is needed to inoculate at least 70% of the world’s population and truly end the pandemic.

Lowcock said the G-7 announcement -- including 500 million doses from the United States and 100 million each from Britain and Canada -- is basically enough vaccine to reach about 10% of the people who need it in low- and middle-income countries.

He said the G-7 didn’t announce money to get the vaccine from the manufacturer into the syringes of health workers who can immunize people, stressing that there are “huge costs in the delivery system.” Some of the very poorest countries that got a little bit of vaccine but had no delivery systems gave some back, he said.

The G-7 should have made “a much more rounded, longer term commitment” to finance vaccine requirements, he said, and it should be challenging the G-20 “to step up and meet part of the share of the costs as well.”

By comparison, he recalled that in the much smaller financial crisis of 2007-2008, “the leading countries in the G-20 instructed the international financial institutions to provide a lot of assistance to the most vulnerable countries, and they bankrolled that.”

For the last 15 months, Lowcock said, he has been pressing the G-7 and the G-20 to provide a lot more economic help to the poorest countries.

“That has not happened through this crisis,” he said. “If more resources don’t come, then the pandemic is going to last a lot longer than it would otherwise do, and that will ultimately harm the rich countries as well as adding to the misery and suffering of the poorer countries.”

Lowcock called his last four years as the U.N.'s undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs “challenging,” especially because “the causes of humanitarian suffering have been growing.”

He said the U.N. and the broader humanitarian community, whose “true grit” he has come to admire, have been able “to stave off the worst outcomes in these big disasters, essentially because we have raised quite a lot of money.”

In his first year, the U.N. raised $14 billion for its global humanitarian appeals, Lowcock said, and four years later “we raised $20 billion, so roughly a 40% increase over the period.”

But he said he worries that funding for humanitarian aid is voluntary, and there’s far too much reliance on a small number of countries. As a prime example, he said, 70% of the $20 billion raised last year came from the U.S., Germany, the European Union and the United Kingdom.

Historically, the system for humanitarian relief has been “far too reactive,” Lowcock said. “It’s waited for the problem to get almost overwhelming before doing something about it, and we’ve tried to act much earlier when we knew a problem was coming, and much faster.”

He said an earlier and faster response to a humanitarian crisis is cheaper, and “it’s also more humane.”

“We reach 100 million people a year,” Lowcock said. “We certainly saved millions of lives.”

White American Stupid People

Convention circuit of delusion gives forum for election lies

MOLOCH ADDRESSES HIS FOLLOWERS
 

Republicans Conspiracy Theories

Former President Donald Trump addresses the crowd via video Saturday, June 12, 2021, at the River's Edge Apple River Concert Venue in New Richmond, Wis. The MAGA rally was organized by pillow salesman-turned conspiracy peddler Mike Lindell. For a few hours last weekend, thousands of Donald Trump’s loyal supporters came together under the blazing sun in a field in Western Wisconsin to live in an alternate reality where the former president was still in office — or would soon return. (AP Photo/Jill Colvin)

JILL COLVIN
Thu, June 17, 2021

NEW RICHMOND, Wis. (AP) — For a few hours last weekend, thousands of Donald Trump’s supporters came together in a field under the blazing Wisconsin sun to live in an alternate reality where the former president was still in office — or would soon return.

Clad in red MAGA hats and holding “Trump 2021” signs, they cheered in approval as Mike Lindell, the MyPillow creator-turned-conspiracy peddler, introduced “our real president.” Then Trump appeared via Jumbotron to repeat the lie that has become his central talking point since losing to Joe Biden by more than 7 million votes: “The election was rigged.”

Lindell later promised the audience that Trump would soon be reinstated into the presidency, a prospect for which there is no legal or constitutional method.

In the nearly five months since Trump’s presidency ended, similar scenes have unfolded in hotel ballrooms and other venues across the country. Attorney Lin Wood has told crowds that Trump is still president, while former national security adviser Michael Flynn went even further at a Dallas event by calling for a Myanmar-style military coup in the U.S. At the same conference, former Trump lawyer Sidney Powell suggested Trump could simply be reinstated and a new Inauguration Day set.

Taken together, the gatherings have gelled into a convention circuit of delusion centered on the false premise that the election was stolen. Lindell and others use the events to deepen their bond with legions of followers who eschew the mainstream press and live within a conservative echo chamber of talk radio and social media. In these forums, “evidence” of fraud is never fact-checked, leaving many followers genuinely convinced that Biden shouldn't be president.

“We know that Biden’s a fraudulent president, and we want to be part of the movement to get him out,” said Donna Plechacek, 61, who traveled from Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, with her sister for the event. “I know that they cheated the election. I have no doubt about that. The proof is there.”

State election officials, international observers, Trump’s own attorney general and dozens of judges — including many Trump appointed — have found no verifiable evidence of mass election fraud. Indeed, Trump’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency called the election “the most secure in American history” and concluded there was “no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes, or was in any way compromised.”

But Plechacek is not alone. A recent Quinnipiac University poll found that two-thirds of Republicans, 66%, think Biden’s victory was not legitimate, while CNN found in April that 70% of Republicans do not think Biden won enough votes to be president. Half, 50%, said there is solid evidence to support that claim.

They are people like Deb Tulenchik and Galen Carlson from Pequot Lakes, Minnesota, who recalled the shock they felt after the election as Trump’s early election night lead faded as additional ballots were counted.

Thanks to the country’s polarization, many Trump supporters didn’t know anyone who voted for Biden and only saw Trump-Pence signs lining the roadways as they drove around their neighborhoods. Carlson, 61, said he went to bed believing Trump won. He didn't heed warnings that mail-in votes take longer to count, so early returns would likely skew toward Trump, who urged his supporters to vote in person and not by mail.

“I was asleep early cause it looked like it was going to be a done deal. And then when we woke up I couldn’t believe it,” he said.

“Disbelief,” echoed Tulenchik, 63.

Trump spent months girding himself against possible defeat, insisting he could only lose if there was massive fraud. It's a lie he's sure to repeat as he steps up his public schedule in the coming weeks.

But the narrative was already resonating under the beating sun at the Wisconsin MAGA rally, where attendees came decked out in Trump gear, including plenty of shirts declaring, “Trump Won!”

While Lindell repeatedly described the event as a free speech festival — paid for by him — it had all the trappings of a Trump rally, including several of his frequent warm-up acts and a large American flag hoisted up by cranes.

It was a carnival atmosphere: a face-painting tent for kids; stands selling corndogs, fresh-cut fries and ice cream; a flyover of old military planes. The 2020 campaign lived on, with vendors selling old campaign merchandise — along with Lindell’s pillows. One older man with a cane walked around shirtless, wearing a sparkly cowboy hat and Crocs and using a Trump flag as a cape. One young woman carried a helmet with horns — reminiscent of the headgear worn by an Arizona man who calls himself the QAnon Shaman and who took part in the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.

Indeed, several people said they were at the U.S. Capitol that day, though they were vague on their roles.

While some were Trump rally devotees, traveling the country to see the former president in person, many said they were attending their first political event. Some said they paid little attention to politics until the election, or began to get involved because they opposed pandemic restrictions.

Again and again, attendees insisted Trump won the election. And several said they sincerely believed that he will be reinstated in the coming months — a belief that has been pushed by Lindell and repeated privately by Trump, even though there is no legal framework under which that could be accomplished.

“Not all Democrats are evil. They will see the truth. Whether they like it or not, they will see the truth,” said Beth Kroeger, 61, who lives in Sussex, Wisconsin, and said she expects Trump back in the Oval Office this time next year, “No doubt about it.”

Some suggested the military would be involved; others are convinced he remains in control today.

Most assailed the mainstream media and said they instead got their news from people like Lindell and former Trump strategist Steve Bannon, as well as the conservative channel Newsmax, talk radio and social media platforms.

Few have gone to greater lengths than Lindell to convince the American public the election was stolen. By his own account, he has spent millions of dollars staging election-related events, hiring private investigators and creating movies that purport to document the alleged fraud — not to mention the $1.3 billion defamation lawsuit that has been filed against him by Dominion Voting Systems. (He has counter-sued.)

He now claims he has evidence that China and other countries hacked voting machines to switch votes from Trump, a Republican, to Biden, a Democrat, in “a cyberattack of historical proportions.” But the evidence he cites in his most recent film, which features a blurred-out, anonymous cyber expert, has been repeatedly debunked for not demonstrating what he claims.

Still, attendees repeatedly referenced his videos as clear proof of fraud.

“There’s just so much evidence that Mike Lindell has,” said Lynda Thibado, 65, who traveled with her husband, Don Briggs, from Menomonie, Wisconsin, by camper and stayed overnight at an adjacent campground.

“I mean, such proof positive,” Briggs agreed.

The couple said they hoped the election would be overturned, but they were less confident that would happen.

“I don’t know if they can legally do anything now,” said Briggs. Still, he said, “I don’t think Biden will be the president come 2024, one way or the other.”

 

  

Activists protest EU migration policies at Croatian border

  

Migration Croatia Protest  A man holds a banner during a protest against the violent pushbacks of migrants, allegedly conducted by Croatian police, near the border crossing

Sat, June 19, 2021

MALJEVAC, Croatia (AP) — Dozens of human rights advocates briefly blocked Croatia’s border with Bosnia on Saturday to protest the European Union’s migration policies.

The protesters demanded that EU’s border agency, Frontex, be dismantled and countries end their pushbacks of migrants trying to reach Western Europe. Waving banners reading “Stop deportation,” or “No human is illegal,” they parked cars at the border and shouted slogans against EU policies.

No incidents were reported as Croatian police stood nearby.


Croatian officers have faced allegations of using violence to turn back migrants trying to come in from Bosnia, which authorities have denied.

Thousands of people remain stranded in Bosnia while waiting for a chance to cross into the EU member state Croatia and move on toward other, wealthier EU nations.

Francesco Cibati, from a rights group based in Trieste, Italy, said protesters came to demand that everyone be granted the right to seek asylum. He said organizations from Spain, Germany, France, Austria and Slovenia supported the protest.

“European Union is violently pushing back people and Croatian police is doing that on behalf of European Union, paid by European Union," he said. "So we are here to protest this situation, which is intolerable.”

Migrants fleeing war and poverty in the Mideast, Africa or Asia come to the Balkans by first arriving in Turkey, then slipping into Greece or Bulgaria before moving on toward North Macedonia, Serbia and Bosnia.

___

Follow all AP stories on global migration at https://apnews.com/hub/migration

‘We will not stop’: pipeline opponents ready for America’s biggest environmental fight



Sheila Regan
Sun, June 20, 2021

As the sun set, more than a dozen young people carried a wooden bridge toward a narrow section of the Mississippi River. The bridge allowed the group to cross more easily from their camp to where the immense oil pipeline was being built on the other side.

They were cited for trespassing – but they had symbolically laid claim to the marshy landscape.

Related: How the US lets hot school days sabotage learning

That same day, Dawn Goodwin’s voice was soft but forceful as she spoke into the camera: “I’m calling on you, Joe Biden, to uphold our treaties, because they are the supreme law of the land.”

Goodwin, an Ojibwe woman and environmental activist, was recording a livestream from a picturesque camp site amid northern Minnesota’s natural beauty – where she and dozens of others had come together to protest the construction of the Line 3 pipeline.

Across the state, along the pipeline’s planned route of construction, activists have traveled from all over the country to do the same: many have locked themselves to construction equipment, and hundreds have been arrested. Goodwin’s preferred method of protest is arguably less physical – she was in the middle of leading a four-day prayer ceremony – but she hoped it would be no less effective to draw attention to the potential harm the pipeline represents.

“We’re done messing around with the process and trusting that the process is going to work, because in the end, it failed us,” she said. “What am I trusting instead? The power of the people, and the creator.”

The proposed Line 3 pipeline – which, if expanded, would move crude oil from Alberta in Canada through Minnesota to Wisconsin – has quickly become the biggest target of US environmental advocates. In addition to attracting protesters from around the country, it’s bringing attention to Biden’s unfulfilled promises so far on the climate crisis, as advocates argue he could step in to stop an expansion of fossil fuel infrastructure but hasn’t. The US already produces more oil than it can use, and is increasing exports of oil and natural gas, despite vowing to cut its own climate pollution.

The ramp-up in protests in Minnesota comes on the heels of a major environment win, with developers canceling the Keystone XL pipeline – something Indigenous activists fought for about a decade. Now, advocates are framing Line 3 as the latest frontier in environmental justice, in part because of the risks it poses to the waterways Indigenous Americans rely on.

“For all of the reasons that Keystone XL was shuttered and more, Line 3 needs to be stopped as well,” said Collin Rees, a senior campaigner for Oil Change International. “There’s an increasing understanding that we can’t continue to expand fossil fuels.”

If the pipeline moves forward, Rees said, the Biden administration will be undermining its own authority at international climate negotiations. Other countries – including Denmark, Ireland, and Spain – are moving to ban future licenses for oil and gas drilling.

The 52-year-old pipeline, operated by the Canadian energy company Enbridge, is being replaced because it is deteriorating. Two other Enbridge pipelines have experienced major spills. But the replacement line is on an entirely new route, one that crosses rivers, lakes and wetlands. “Because if there’s a spill, we don’t know what’s going to happen. We don’t fully understand the underground. We want to think we do but we don’t,” Goodwin said.

Goodwin is a “water protector” – the name for Native Americans and allies who are joined in resistance to fossil fuels, and in particular oil pipelines.

Water protectors also fought the Dakota Access pipeline, drawing activists from all over the world to Standing Rock in 2016 and 2017.

It’s a form of activism that is often physically taxing, and not without legal risk: a number of states are initiating greater penalties for protestors who trespass to oppose oil and gas infrastructure. But activists say the water protector strategy has proven effective with the cancelation of the Keystone XL pipeline.

But the movement has had setbacks: a federal judge in Louisisana recently blocked the Biden administration’s pause on certain oil and gas leases. And in an obstacle for opponents of Line 3, a Minnesota court recently sided with Enbridge on challenges to its permit.

Tara Houska, a tribal attorney and founder of the Giniw Collective, which has been protesting the pipeline for years, called the ruling “disappointing” but said the fight continues.

“We cannot stop. And we will not stop,” she said.
Recent escalation

Since December, protesters have been camping, praying, and holding space. But they’ve also gone to greater extremes: Johnny Barber locked his neck to an Enbridge gate in March a statement against the pipeline.

He was inspired by Standing Rock, a Native-led movement in resistance to the Dakota Access pipeline, centered in water protector camps set up near where the pipeline was being constructed. Founded on tenets of Native sovereignty and cultural preservation as well as environmental concerns, it drew allies from all over the world.

“Standing Rock was a watershed moment in the fight to stop these pipelines,” Barber said. “I just promised myself at that point that if there was, if and when that the next battle came up, that I’d make sure I was able to participate.”

“There’s multiple different ways that people are fighting this pipeline,” said Ojibwe water protector Taysha Martineau, who is part of a camp called Mgizi, on land near the pipeline’s route in Cloque. When she was starting out, Martineau was angry and hurt, in part because the reservation where she is from worked out an agreement with Enbridge to build the line through the reservation.

“I was fighting back just to exist,” she said, referring to tensions she had with members of her own tribe. Since then, she has found a sense of community with other water protectors, and seen her work shifting. “I went from screaming down the line of riot police to praying on these easements with sheriff’s departments,” she said.

Martinez said the power of prayer brought her to the headwaters. “I’m not locked down to machinery today, because I recognize that upholding our treaties doesn’t always have to come from a place of anger,” she said.

“It was the women here, who told me that it was my time to stand here with them. And so I’m standing here in solidarity and learning my place as a young Two Spirit, learning where I’ll fit when we do achieve our goal to stop Line 3.”

In the first week of June, more Line 3 protesters from around the country swarmed northern Minnesota. By 7 June, about 200 people had been arrested. About 2,000 environmental advocates arrived at the White Earth Reservation a day earlier for three days of training, according to the Treaty People Gathering.

Keya Chatterjee, the head of the US Climate Action Network, said the non-profit’s policy arm brought three busloads of people from Seattle, Spokane and North Carolina to participate.

Before noon, she said, a Customs and Border Patrol helicopter appeared. “[It] just started severely harassing us, flying really, really low, and kicking up dust.” Nine people from her group were arrested, Chatterjee said.

According to the US Customs and Border Protection in Grand Forks, the agency was responding to a local law enforcement request for assistance in regard to a report of trespassing on private property. “CBP’s headquarters is investigating the facts to determine precisely what occurred and whether the actions taken were justified,” read the agency’s statement.

“All appropriate actions will be taken based on the facts that are learned, including with respect to the incident itself as well as the agency’s applicable policies and procedures.”
A fight for treaty rights

Because Enbridge needs access to land protected by treaties in order to complete construction, activists say the expansion also challenges longstanding agreements that ensure the right to hunt, fish, gather wild rice, and preserve cultural resources for Ojibwe people.

“Our local state and federal governments are violating treaties by allowing this pipeline to go through,” said Nancy Beaulieu, an Ojibwe woman who co-founded the Rise coalition with Goodwin.

“We’re here to make the stand for all living things,” Beaulieu said. In addition to calling on Biden to end the water-crossing permits, she wants the state to disallow Enbridge’s need for more water. “Consider the drought that we’re in,” she said. “Our water levels are very low already.”

In the past, courts have upheld US treaties with the Ojibwe. A court ruled in 1999 that Ojibwe tribes retain their right to hunt, fish and gather, as laid out in the treaties of 1837 and 1854.

Other activists have taken a more direct approach. At the end of last year, 52-year-old Indigenous activist Tania Aubid built a prayer lodge alongside the Mississippi. Her plan was to stay in the way of the pipeline, and she has held that cultural site since.

In early June, Aubid says law enforcement officers visited the lodge while she was praying, and told her she was trespassing – at which point Aubid pointed out the prayer lodge is a cultural resource, protected by the 1855 Treaty Authority.

The officers left – but the prayer lodge makes obvious what Indigenous activists have been saying for years: The further development of oil and gas infrastructure is in direct conflict with Native ways of life, and the health and safety of Native people who depend on the land being developed.

For now, Aubid feels confident that her message is getting across. “Here, they know that we’re doing what we can to protect the 1855 Treaty territories,” Aubid said.

Four arrested after Extinction Rebellion protest at Ascot aimed at the Queen


Leonie Chao-Fong

THE INDEPENDENT
Sun, June 20, 2021




An XR protestor is escorted from the racecourse during the races (Action Images via Reuters)

Four protesters linked to the Extinction Rebellion climate change movement were arrested after chaining themselves to running rails at the Royal Ascot.

Activists unfurled a banner with the slogan ‘Racing to Extinction’ following the opening race on Saturday, the final day of the races.

As security scrambled to remove the banner, they realised the demonstrators had shackled themselves to the railings and glued to the banner. A screen was erected while the they were removed.

The four protesters, who were dressed as catering staff, are understood to have been employed at Royal Ascot and were later revealed to be linked to Extinction Rebellion.

In a statement, the group said action had been taken to send a direct message to the Queen – who was attending the Berkshire meet for the first time since 2019 – to intervene in influencing environmental policy.

Extinction rebellion protestors at the racecourse during the races (Action Images via Reuters)

On Sunday the police confirmed that all four protesters are in custody while a representative of Ascot described the incident as “minor” and acknowledged the activists “were never intending to cause any harm”.

A police statement read: “Thames Valley Police is aware of a protest which took place yesterday at Ascot racecourse. Officers who were on duty at the scene were able to quickly disrupt the protest, and four people have been arrested. They are currently in police custody.

“No one at the racecourse was in any danger at any point, and the day’s events were able to continue with minimal disruption.”

The actions on Saturday by the Extinction Rebellion activists echoed those by the suffragette Emily Davidson, who in 1913 died after attempting to attach a flag to the King’s horse during the Epsom Derby.

One of the protesters, Sam Smithson, said: “I’m really sorry to be disrupting this event, but unfortunately, like suffragette Emily Davison, we have been left with no other choice, as we are running out of time in the race to tackle the climate and ecological emergency.

“We can’t negotiate with each other or nature for more time by carbon offsetting, whilst also promoting infinite growth on a finite planet and chopping down our ancient woodlands.”

In a statement released after the protest, Extinction Rebellion said it had been started 15 minutes before the next race to avoid any injury to jockeys or horses.

They called on the Queen to use her influence “to tell the truth and act now on the climate and ecological emergency”.

Nick Smith, Director of Racing & Public Affairs at Ascot, said: “It was a minor incident, quickly dealt with by the police and our own teams. It barely got noticed.

“The positive point is how quickly it was dealt with. These protesters were never intending to cause any harm, all they’d have brought on site with them was a banner. We had a plan in place and it was dealt with efficiently and with no delay.”

UK

Climate activists stage protest against Shell at Science Museum

Sean Russell
Sun, June 20, 2021

(EPA)

Youth climate activists have continued a protest against oil giant Shell at the Science Museum on Sunday after being threatened with arrest on Saturday.

Members of the London branch of the UK Student Climate Network (UKSCN London) are demonstrating against the decision of the museum to accept sponsorship for the Our Future Planet exhibition, accusing Shell of “greenwashing.”

The exhibition will feature carbon capture and storage technologies and nature-based solutions to the climate crisis. Meanwhile Shell reportedly poured $25bn of investment into oil and gas in 2018 alone.

Izzy Warren, 17, an A-level student from west London, told PA: “The fact that Shell, an oil company, are sponsoring the exhibition is absurd. It's blatant greenwashing.”

UKSCN London said that, on Saturday evening, a team of police officers had arrived and threatened to arrest them when they tried to spend the night in the museum’s Kensington building.

“We hadn’t been given any warning that the police were coming, they just showed up,” Izzy said.

“They told us they ‘wouldn’t hesitate’ to arrest us all, they had the resources to arrest us all, and that they would arrest us all for aggravated trespass.”

The move prompted the group to abandon the protest for the night but return at 1pm on Sunday.

“(The Science Museum) continues to justify the sponsorship, and so the protest last night was us taking further action because further action needed to be taken,” Izzy said.

“It's really brought attention not just to the Shell sponsorship but also the lengths to which the Science Museum will go to protect that sponsorship deal.”

Groups such as Extinction Rebellion UK have come out in support of the protests tweeting: “London youth strikers are occupying the @sciencemuseum calling on them to drop @Shell. We along with @ScientistsX, @drop_BP and many others call on science museum to listen to the youth, and protect our future. There’s no future with #FossilFuels.”

Greenpeace UK have also shown support for the group asking the Science Museum to listen to UKSCN London and “Drop Shell immediately”.

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Lizzy added: “People are angry and rightfully so, and they will hopefully come and join us outside the museum now.”

An open letter to the museum published on UKSCN’s website said: “We condemn the Science Museum’s decision to accept this sponsorship and provide Shell with an opportunity for brazen greenwashing.”

It said Shell had a history of committing “horrific human rights violations” in the developing world.

The letter continued: “Solving the climate crisis goes beyond cutting carbon emissions; this must be a fight for climate justice.

“We stand alongside the activists in the Global South who face violence from fossil fuel corporations, such as Shell, and the communities who are and will be hit hardest by climate change, despite contributing the least to cause it.”

The Independent has approached the Science Museum for comment