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Keystone XL owner TC Energy seeking $15B from U.S. for costs of cancelling pipeline

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Company is seeking compensation for costs, but has no plans to revive project

Pete Evans · CBC News · Posted: Nov 23, 2021 

Even if it wins compensation, TC Energy says it has no plans to revive the pipeline itself. (Daniel Acker/Bloomberg)

TC Energy Inc. has filed a formal request for arbitration under NAFTA rules, seeking $15 billion in compensation from the U.S. government for the money it spent on trying to develop the cancelled Keystone XL pipeline.

The company said in a statement late Monday that it has officially filed paperwork under a part of NAFTA rules that allows companies to seek compensation for lost investment. The case is moving ahead under NAFTA rules and not new ones made under its successor, the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), because it is a legacy case, and NAFTA was the trade law on the books when it started, said Erin LeBlanc, a lecturer at the Smith School of Business in Kingston, Ont.

"It's the largest claim for a Canadian organization against the U.S. government at $15 billion," she said, citing the figure first reported by Bloomberg of how much in damages the company is seeking.

U.S. President Joe Biden symbolically killed the pipeline on his first day in office earlier this year, the culmination of a multi-year saga under three U.S. presidents to build a pipeline to bring 900,000 barrels a day of crude oil from Alberta to refineries on the U.S. Gulf Coast.

The pipeline was proposed under the Obama administration, who ultimately rejected the application on environmental grounds. President Trump then revived the project, before Biden squashed it again.

WATCH | How politics killed the Keystone XL pipeline:

Expert says politics played a role in the demise of Keystone XL

6 months ago

3:38

University of Calgary's Richard Masson says politics played a role at the death of the Keystone XL project pipeline. The Alberta government and TC Energy announced today the termination of the pipeline project. 3:38

Although TC Energy is trying to get compensation for the money it spent trying to develop the project, it has no intention of reviving the pipeline.

"As a public company, TC Energy has a responsibility to our shareholders to seek recovery of the losses incurred due to the permit revocation, which resulted in the termination of the project," the company said in a press release.

Long odds

LeBlanc said she thinks the case has huge implications.

"Governments on both sides are going to look at it because of the amount, but other companies are going to be looking as to how it gets handled."

And she also thinks TC Energy has some "valid claims" in the matter. The pipeline being suddenly nixed "amounts to indirect expropriation without compensation. Their investment was brought down to a value of zero by one stroke of a pen."

TC can also credibly claim it was singled out by the decision, she said. "It wasn't a policy change that affected a bunch of other organizations."

The Keystone XL pipeline would have expanded an existing pipeline to move almost one million barrels of oil per day.

The facts may be on their side, but trade lawyer Mark Warner says the company has a steep uphill climb to victory because of history.

"The United States has never lost any single case that's been brought under NAFTA Chapter 11," he said in an interview. "That's not to say it's impossible, but the cases that have succeeded have tended to succeed against Canada and Mexico."

Politics was a factor in the project being cancelled, and Warner says politics may prove to be TC's best chance of claiming a win in the matter, if the U.S. government decides it wants to settle for pennies on the dollar for political reasons to avoid a long, protracted fight.

"They've got deep pockets and they can wait the other party out, and they've had a pretty good track record of winning," Warner said. "It's always a possibility that the Biden administration says, 'We don't want to fight this,' but I think that's unlikely to happen."

• TC Energy considers selling steel among next steps after Keystone XL cancellation

• 'We're very, very fortunate': Alberta town enjoying a mini-boom thanks to Keystone XL

With files from the CBC's Meegan Read

 

FUNDAMENTALIST FEMICIDE

'Murder every day': Turkish women fearful after treaty exit
 

Women clash with police at a July protest against Turkey's withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention (AFP/YASIN AKGUL)


Fulya Ozerkan and Burcin Gercek in Ankara
Wed, November 24, 2021,

Turkish women feel more vulnerable and legally unprotected since Turkey withdrew from a convention that activists argued helped deter male violence, according to women's campaign groups.

The landmark Istanbul Convention came into force in 2014 and laid the way for a Europe-wide legal framework to tackle, prevent and prosecute violence against women.

Turkey abruptly withdrew in March following a decree by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

And though there's been no detectible surge in violence, rights advocates say that there has been a jump in unexplained deaths.

The withdrawal also risked encouraging abusers, campaigners say, with one asking lawyers if they would be released from prison.

Conservatives in Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development party (AKP) had claimed the treaty promoted homosexuality and threatened the traditional Turkish family structure, although there was no public consultation on the claims.

Women's rights advocates have been protesting since March to make their voices heard and keep the convention alive, even as the government insisted its home-grown laws and constitution were adequate to protect women.

"This country is waking up to a woman's murder every day," said Nursen Inal of the We Will Stop Femicide Platform.

"Turkey's departure from the Istanbul convention has encouraged male perpetrators," she told AFP, ahead of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on Thursday.

The brutal killing in Istanbul of 28-year-old Basak Cengiz, an architect, repeatedly stabbed by a man wielding a samurai sword earlier this month, sparked a public outcry.

The suspected killer, Can Goktug Boz, reportedly told the police that he committed the murder because he was bored.

"I went out to kill someone and picked a woman," he said according to testimony published by Turkish media.

He was later charged with aggravated murder.

- 'Off the agenda' -

A total of 345 women have been killed since the start of the year, according to the We Will Stop Femicide Platform. There were 410 women killed in 2020, with dozens found dead under suspicious circumstances.

The killing of Cengiz revived calls for Turkey to rejoin the treaty but Erdogan sought to draw a line under the issue last week, saying that the convention was "completely off the agenda".

"To us, women are the holiest creature. We will never allow their holiness to be tainted," he said. "Thus, there's no need for the Istanbul convention."

But women's advocates are fighting on.

Berrin Sonmez of the Women's Platform for Equality said Turkey's withdrawal from the convention created a perception that male offenders can act with impunity.

"A jailed male perpetrator asked his lawyer shortly after Turkey exited from the treaty whether he would be released," she told AFP.

Adile Dogan of the Esenyali Women's Solidarity Association, said the attitude of security forces and prosecutors had also changed.

Previously, every police station had a department dedicated to policing violence against women, and restraining orders could be imposed within 24 hours, Dogan said.

Now it takes a full two days to impose such a protective order and police station provision for women can be inadequate.

Dogan said that women threatened by male violence are now required to obtain a medical report proving injuries, with a threat no longer enough to start procedures.

- 'Will not give up' -

Sonmez said police stations are reluctant to assist women and instead refer them to the courts which can sometimes prove difficult to access, particularly in city centres.

Activists also pointed to the increase in the number of suspicious deaths since the convention was removed.

Sonmez said: "180 women were murdered from March to July 2021 and besides that, there have been 171 suspicious deaths. This is not a justifiable number."

Cases were closed without further investigation unless there was social media pressure, she said.

Inal questioned why "these women's deaths remain suspicious?"

"Because of a lack of adequate prosecution and investigation," she said.

"Laws are there to protect the women, therefore we keep saying we will not give up on the Istanbul convention."

fo-bg/gw/pbr

SYMPHONY OF DESTRUCTION: HOW THE AKP IS UNDERMINING TURKEY’S INSTITUTIONS

BURAK KADERCAN
NOVEMBER 22, 2021


LONG READ

All the critics are wrong. Under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Justice and Development party, Turkey has never been better. In fact, it continues to improve! The economy is thriving, and is projected to become one of the top 10 in the world by 2023, which is not only the centennial of the Republic of Turkey but also an election year. Don’t listen to the doomsayers: Almost all households in Turkey (and their doormen) have a car of their own. The economy is so good that people can’t find enough cars to buy. While Western countries from France to Germany, from the United States to the United Kingdom, are struggling with shortages, Turkey passed the pandemic test with flying colors — in fact, it set a model of success for the rest of the world. A “world leader” himself, Erdoğan’s strong and ethical leadership has garnered admiration in the eyes of the oppressed, and drawn jealousy and fear from the oppressors. Things are not good — they are great, all thanks to Erdoğan and the Justice and Development Party (popularly known by its Turkish acronym, AKP).

Tune into the (AKP-controlled) mainstream media in Turkey, and you will immediately be exposed to these narratives. “Narrative” is the operative word here. In reality, as almost all Turkey-watchers would agree, Erdoğan and the AKP are at a crossroads seemingly not of their own choosing, and most certainly not of their liking. The AKP can no longer deliver as it did in the past and is increasingly proving itself to be borderline incompetent across a range of activities, from providing basic public goods to handling the refugee crisis and managing a modern economy.

This is not the first time that the AKP has hit a rough patch. In the past, it could make it through troubled times with audacity, determination, and intimidation. But this formula isn’t working today, not least because it is unclear if Erdoğan knows where he wants to go. For example, he may wait until 2023 for general elections, when they are currently scheduled. Alternatively, he may press the button for early elections tomorrow. No one really knows, which is nothing new. What is new is that the AKP is acting as if it doesn’t know either.

How did we get here? Where do we go from here? The answer to the first question entails a paradox. In order to rise to the top and make sure it stayed there, the AKP “hollowed out” Turkey’s institutions, from the bureaucracy and the judiciary to the central bank and the national media. The AKP has succeeded in cementing its hegemonic status in Turkish politics, but at the cost of undermining the very same institutions through which it is supposed to govern. The result is an institutional decay that is gradually but surely transforming the Turkish political landscape.

The second question is much harder to answer. In order to reverse — or at least slow down — its decline, the AKP is increasingly focusing on creating an alternative reality of some sort for its core constituents. It is thereby, and rather ironically, institutionalizing the existing polarization and societal tensions in the country. The result is a “clash of realities” that is bound to tear apart the very fabric of Turkish society. Whether Turkey can pull out of this spiral is an open question. If it cannot, darker days are ahead.

This Time It’s Different

“New directions in Turkish politics” is a catchphrase probably as old as the first English-language commentary ever published on modern Turkey. What is special now? The AKP has long relied on three key mechanisms to sustain its position as a “unipole” in Turkish politics, and these mechanisms no longer seem to be working. This dysfunction emboldens the opposition while weakening the AKP.

The first part of the AKP’s strategy is the provision of public goods, enough to keep most of the public content, if not ecstatic. Most notably, the AKP went to great lengths to provide social welfare benefits to middle- and low-income families, while also revitalizing the healthcare system. This dynamic, usually lost in conventional debates over “culture wars,” “identity politics,” and “secularists versus Islamists,” has long played an important role in allowing the AKP to cement its relationship with its core constituents.

However, due to a declining economy and poor governance (which are closely related), the AKP has become incapable of providing these benefits. More importantly, its failings in governance have now become too visible to either ignore or deny. First and foremost, Turkey is bedeviled by economic problems, with no apparent recovery on the horizon. The Turkish lira has lost almost half of its value in the span of three years. While the economy is still growing, rising prices are affecting middle- and low-income households significantly. “Escaping” (migrating) to Europe has become a dream for countless youth, who see no real future for themselves in Turkey.

The COVID-19 pandemic also hit the country hard, and the AKP failed to provide the kinds of subsidies and funds that many Western governments provided to their citizens for relief. Furthermore, the AKP even faltered in an area where it was supposed to be strongest: healthcare. Turkey’s healthcare system is one of its core strengths, and probably one of the ruling party’s biggest accomplishments. When it came to vaccinations for COVID-19, however, the government put all its eggs in one basket: China’s Sinovac vaccine. The promised vaccine did not show up in sufficient numbers, leading to a crisis. Facing criticism, the minister of health declared in May that 100 million Sinovac vaccines were on their way. However, the government then abruptly turned to BioNTech in June and rapidly vaccinated a substantial proportion of the population. Still, the botched Sinovac episode cost Turkey some critical months, and what happened remains a mystery.

This summer’s wildfires in the forests along the Aegean coast offer yet another example of failure. The public learned that Turkey lacked sufficient working firefighting aircraft. It turned out that the government had chosen to allow its existing aircraft to rot in their hangars while outsourcing the relevant services to private purveyors, whose assistance was neither satisfactory nor timely. This obvious failure created a public outcry. The AKP responded as it always does, announcing that its management of the disaster was nothing but superb, and that those who criticized the government were in fact harboring malign and shady intentions.

Perhaps the single biggest problem facing the AKP in terms of domestic support is the refugee crisis. Estimates differ, but most concur that Turkey now hosts somewhere between four and seven million refugees, primarily from Syria. This influx has created many societal tensions in the country. The government’s refugee policy also lacks institutional transparency and attracts considerable criticism from the party’s own base, making it one area where, arguably, the AKP’s infallibility narrative has very limited mileage — even for the party’s staunchest proponents.

The second leg of the AKP’s strategy of domination involves Erdoğan himself. His antics may appear repulsive to his domestic and foreign critics, but that is largely irrelevant. Like it or not, Erdoğan holds a special appeal for his followers. This special “bond” has allowed Erdoğan to signal strength, willpower, and determination in times of crises. A master orator, his discourses and behavior have spoken directly to the hearts and minds of his core supporters.

However, especially in the last couple of years, he looks less like the Erdoğan of the past. Some have argued that his health and mental capacity are rapidly declining. Such rumors have long been in circulation and cannot yet be verified — but still, something about him is off. Recently, he has taken some measures that appear rather odd, particularly if his intent is to launch a charm offensive. For example, the president has developed a habit of throwing bags of Turkish tea on unsuspecting crowds at random occasions. The criticism peaked when he was seen doing so from his bus during his summer visit to the fire-hit Aegean region. It isn’t clear why he distributes tea in this way, and obviously no-one on his team has had the courage to tell him that even some of his core supporters are not very enthusiastic about the practice.

Furthermore, Erdoğan has also engaged in certain public stunts that do not necessarily speak to his strengths (to say the least). For instance, he recently went on live television, singing with a choir of youngsters. On paper, such actions might show that he is still in touch with the country’s youth. In practice, however, a televised concert showing Erdoğan singing lethargically in front of a less-than-enthusiastic crowd only signals how far he and his team have strayed from their core constituents.

The third part of the AKP’s strategy involves efforts to keep the opposition divided. The logic is straightforward: The AKP can still claim the single largest voter bloc. As long as the opposition does not unite, the AKP can preserve its status as a unipole. However, the old tricks do not work as well anymore, especially after recent public policy failures and with Erdoğan’s image as a declining leader. Most notably, in the municipal elections of 2019 the AKP lost its quarter-century-long hold on Turkey’s two major cities, Istanbul and Ankara. In a parallel universe where the AKP could actually engage in self-critique, these electoral losses might have served as a wake-up call. Instead, the AKP responded by challenging the Istanbul elections, claiming that the opposition had somehow cheated. The elections were repeated, and the AKP suffered a crushing and humiliating defeat at the hands of Ekrem Imamoglu, now the mayor of Istanbul.

What happened in Istanbul did not stay in Istanbul. Their victories in the municipal elections only encouraged the main opposition parties to cooperate even further. In addition, more and more political and social actors are now speaking out against the AKP despite their full knowledge that the government can target them for retribution. The result is a snowball effect: Allegations of corruption and nepotism are skyrocketing, and each act of defiance encourages the next.

The AKP still tries to silence its critics through various measures, but in doing so it delves deeper and deeper into a confusing narrative. The AKP presents itself as the best thing to happen to humanity since sliced bread. Turkey’s problems follow not from the AKP’s failings, but from its stunning victories. More precisely, foreign powers are attacking Turkey (so the story goes) simply because the government has done such a marvelous job at making Turkey great again, triggering jealousy and fear in the Western world. For Turkey to survive this attack, the AKP is the country’s only hope, and if someone fails to see this irrefutable fact, they must be pawns of foreign interlopers. These narratives are still influential among the AKP’s core supporters. However, for the opposition, they are merely sweet nothings that the party whispers into the ear of a weakening electoral base.

Increasingly, the AKP acts as if it has given up the idea of fixing real problems and instead hopes to create an alternate universe for its core constituents. For example, the AKP appears as if it is battling the criticism that points out the existence of economic troubles in Turkey instead of addressing the economic troubles themselves. In this scenario, the main problem becomes not the economy per se, but those who blame the government for the state of the economy. Recently, for example, the government accused a number of supermarket chains of artificially inflating prices and then slammed them with fines totaling $300 million. This act speaks volumes about how the government is — or rather, isn’t — dealing with the economic problems of the country. According to the government, there is no problem to speak of — and if there were, the party that has ruled for two decades would be the last actor responsible for them.

Of course, none of this is particularly new. What is new, however, is that the AKP now looks as if it has made managing the perceptions of its core constituents a key — perhaps even the key — priority. This signals the utmost desperation. As reality proves too difficult to deal with, the AKP opts instead to create an alternate reality of its own.

Overall, Turkish politics is undergoing yet another “great transformation.” However, the transformation itself is not akin to an earthquake — that is, a massive, instant, and discrete event that changes the landscape in a single stroke. Instead, it is more like the melting of the ice caps, triggered by a series of long-term trends and occurring gradually. In the case of Turkey circa 2021, the main underlying cause is institutional decay.

Victory Is Defeating the AKP

The present situation is in fact the story of a paradox inherent within the AKP’s strategy of domination. From its early years, the AKP believed that the existing personnel in the country’s leading institutions did not share the party’s “vision” of government. Hence, in order to rise to the top and stay there as long as possible, the AKP hollowed out Turkey’s institutions. It did a stunning job, increasingly displaying a preference for loyalty over merit and filling the country’s institutions with those whose abilities were overshadowed by their devotion to the party — to put it mildly.

In addition, Turkey’s new and controversial presidential system linked the country’s entire political system to one human being, with two important consequences. First, when Erdoğan sneezes, the entire country catches a cold. In other words, tying all important decisions to the president leaves the country at the mercy of one individual. Plus, having surrounded himself with “yes men,” Erdoğan is unlikely to hear even constructive criticism from his minions — a dynamic that only perpetuates the cycle.

Second, the “personalized” nature of Erdoğan’s rule has turned out to be contagious within the AKP ranks. Countless corruption allegations and the AKP’s barely hidden penchant for nepotism paint an interesting, if not necessarily surprising, picture: So-called patronage networks have taken over most institutions, ranging from various bureaucracies to the national Wushu federation. Of course, this observation does not implicate everyone affiliated with the AKP. Still, the AKP’s patronage networks have become too visible and salient for anyone to claim that they don’t exist in the first place.

The AKP is being defeated by its own victory. Over the last two decades, the party has proven itself to be a master at breaking existing institutions and norms. However, when it comes to building (or rebuilding) institutions — which is not to be mistaken for building roads and bridges — the AKP has failed, partially due its overwhelming success at breaking the very institutions it aimed to control in the first place. Paradoxically, as the AKP reaches the peak of its institutional control, it also weakens as a political actor. Perhaps the AKP broke Turkey’s institutions a little too much.

Where Do We Go From Here?

The dominant inclination within Turkey’s opposition is rather optimistic: that the AKP is going away. This sentiment, however, leaves out two key dynamics. First, the AKP is not merely a collection of politicians operating in a societal vacuum. It is also a political movement that can still claim the unyielding support of tens of millions of Turkish citizens. The AKP is well aware of this support and is banking on it to prolong its reign. In fact, the AKP’s strategic communications machine has long invested in constructing an alternate reality for its constituents, wherein the AKP under Erdoğan is Turkey’s only hope in the face of threats emanating from foreign powers. Given this scenario, the party and Erdoğan must be defended at all costs.

Second, it would be a mistake to underestimate the AKP. The AKP is not “out” yet — it is not even down for the count. Instead, the party circa 2021 is like an aging professional boxer whose past bad habits are finally catching up with him. The party looks tired, confused, disoriented, and angry, which makes it easier for political rivals to land blow after blow. Still, the AKP has long proven itself to be a rather flexible and nimble political actor, with a certain talent for thinking (and acting) outside the box. That Turkey’s institutions have been gutted may weaken the AKP in conventional politics, but the situation also makes it possible for the AKP to react in unexpected and unconventional ways.

A most important dynamic to watch for will be the clash of realities. Pro-AKP segments of society and the anti-AKP opposition are looking at the same country, but they see two different Turkeys. To the AKP’s critics, Turkey is in freefall in almost all relevant domains, and the AKP — now almost a synonym for corruption, nepotism, and incompetence — is responsible for all of Turkey’s ailments. The AKP’s staunchest supporters, though, maintain that Turkey has never been better, stronger, and more democratic, and even questioning this can be seen as direct evidence of treachery. When AKP leaders speak, the party’s core constituents hear Mehter, or the traditional songs of the Ottoman military band, signaling that Turkey’s glorious past is now finally meeting its glorious future. Listening to the same speeches, the AKP’s discontents hear only a symphony of destruction. These two realities may co-exist for a while but, paradoxically, as long as they do even a modicum of societal and political reconciliation will be out of reach — with or without the AKP.

Turkish politics have always been complicated. It may be difficult to offer detailed predictions about Turkey’s future, but one thing is certain. The weaker the AKP gets in domestic politics and the more visible its governance failures become, the more it will push its Manichean narrative of the opposition as an ungrateful and potentially seditious group that does not belong with the nation. This will further ossify the existing clash of realities. Unless Turkish politicians and citizens — regardless of their political convictions — address this slow-burning problem, it is bound to create significant political and social tensions down the road.

As for those watching Turkey from afar, this may be the best time to wake up and smell the coffee. Just like Turkish coffee itself, the coming transformation may be sour. We may all need to update our existing assumptions about how Turkish politics really work to embrace the coming transformation and better understand it.

Burak Kadercan is an associate professor of strategy and policy at the U.S. Naval War College. The views expressed here are his own and do not reflect those of the Naval War College, the Department of the Navy, the Department of Defense, or the U.S. government.

Image: Xinhua (Photo by Mustafa Kaya)

How the Kyle Rittenhouse Trial Verdict Could Devastate the Work of Black Lives Matter Activists


Josiah Bates

TIME
Tue, November 23, 2021

Jacob Blake's uncle, Justin Blake, center, holds a Pan-African flag as he rallies with dozens of other protesters on the steps of the Kenosha County Courthouse on Nov. 16, 2021. Activists are now concerned that the no guilty verdict could "give license" and send a message to others that may identify with Rittenhouse's actions. Credit - Ashlee Rezin—AP

Activists are now concerned that the no guilty verdict could "give license" and send a message to others that may identify with Rittenhouse's actions.

On the surface, the jury’s Nov. 19 verdict in the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse was all too simple. His defense team successfully pled the case that Rittenhouse was acting in self-defense when he shot and killed two people during a night of protests and unrest in Kenosha last August.

But Rittenhouse’s reasons for being in Kenosha, then-roiled by the police shooting of Jacob Blake, and the lack of accountability that’s being placed on his behavior is something criminal and racial justice activists are deeply concerned—and wholly unsurprised—about moving forward

During an interview with Fox News broadcast on Nov. 22, Rittenhouse claimed that he supports the Black Lives Matter movement, and argued that his case had nothing to do with race. (While the circumstances were, broadly, related to a collective response to racial justice and police brutality, Rittenhouse and all three men he shot are white.)

However, according to some activists, the ramifications of his trial are less about Rittenhouse as an individual, and more about what he is now seen as representing—an opposition to protests and protesters that isn’t less about protecting property or supporting law enforcement, and more about a deep-seated disdain for racial equality.

Read more: The Kyle Rittenhouse Verdict Makes Us All Less Safe

The impact of Rittenhouse’s trial will be seen in “what happens when the people who respond to injustice are confronted by those who don’t agree with the response,” Dr. Amara Enyia, a public policy expert with Movement 4 Black Lives (M4BL) tells TIME. “This verdict is more about those who disagree with people who are protesting for whatever reason. It sends a message to those people—that they can get involved in ways that are reckless.”

“The jury’s verdict upholds white supremacy, even though the victims were white. The underlying issue was about the power of Black people to push back against police violence,” argues Delores Jones-Brown, a criminal justice professor at John Jay College in New York.

Blake, a 29-year-old Black man, was shot and paralyzed during a confrontation with police officers on Aug. 23, 2020. (The officers involved have not faced any criminal charges.) To many, the incident was yet another example of the injustices that often befalls Black civilians during encounters with the police—and resonated even more after George Floyd’s murder and the killing of Breonna Taylor.

“[Like with] many issues that people feel like are so important,” Enyia says of racial justice protesters, “the only way that they can get the attention of the powers that be is by being out in the streets engaging in their First Amendment rights.”

And it didn’t take long after news of Blake’s shooting broke for protests and unrest to spread across Kenosha. In addition to peaceful protests and demonstrations led by local organizers, individuals engaged in violence and property damage. On Aug. 24, 2020, the Wisconsin National Guard was sent to the city.

Kyle Rittenhouse listens as the Judge Bruce Schroeder talks about jury deliberations on Nov. 17, 2021 in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

Sean Krajacic—Pool/Getty Images

These are the circumstances that Rittenhouse arrived in, ostensibly to serve as a medic for people injured in clashes between protesters and counter-protesters, as well as to guard businesses deemed at risk of looting or property crimes. Regardless of his initial intentions, activists believe that his presence served to escalate tensions—to a fatal point. Before the night was out, Rittenhouse had fatally shot two men and injured a third. During his trial, Rittenhouse and others testified that his first victim, Joseph Rosenbaum, had initiated a conflict; Rittenhouse claimed he shot in self-defense. As he fled the scene, he then engaged physically with Anthony Huber, who was killed, and Gaige Grosskreutz, who was injured. Both of these men were armed.

“I think for white protesters, this may be their first brush with the idea that if you [are] for social justice or racial justice, you are at great risk that the system is willing to harm you,” Jones-Brown says. And activists are now concerned this verdict could “give license” and send a message to others that may identify with Rittenhouse’s actions. “It actually emboldens them. It sends a message that they will not be held accountable for their behavior and decision-making,” Enyia adds.

This in turn will most likely impact Black people engaged in protest work to a much larger extent than their white peers or “allies.”

Read more: In the Kyle Rittenhouse Trial, Self-Defense Took Center Stage

“These are the same voices that vilify Black protesters fighting for racial justice and defend state-sanctioned police violence against them. Rittenhouse is one person, but his actions are intrinsically tied to a web of white supremacist rhetoric and the nation’s longstanding history of anti-Black violence,” Rashad Robinson, president of the civil rights activists group Color of Change, said in a Nov. 19 statement.

“For those of us who believe in protest and who believe in the need for protest as a tool toward the end of systemic and structural injustice, it won’t stop us,” Enyia tells TIME. “Protesting is a tool and we will continue to use it.”

Other racial justice activists speaking with TIME in response to the jury’s verdict likewise say it will not impact their advocacy. But it presents serious complications, and may well change their tactics—forcing those on the ground protesting on the defense, focused on assessing potential threats and protecting themselves as well as uplifting their cause.

In some cases, this might mean carrying a legal firearm. (An August survey from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project revealed that demonstrations involving armed individuals are “nearly six times as likely to turn violent or destructive,” when compared to those that take place without firearms.) It could also mean that more organizers are trained in de-escalation tactics. The big takeaway is that this is another reminder that activists and protesters can’t rely on the system itself to protect them.

Furthermore, it reinforces the dangerous dichotomy that those protesting against white supremacy and racial violence will be at greater risk of it for calling it out.

Correction, November 23 The original version of this story misstated the person who Kyle Rittenhouse engaged with and killed. It was Anthony Huber, not Joshua Ziminski. Ziminski is alive.

Sri Lanka lifts ban on weedkiller linked to cancer cases


A Sri Lankan farmer sprays pesticide at his rice farm at Piliyandala, just outside the Sri Lankan capital Colombo (AFP/LAKRUWAN WANNIARACHCHI)


Wed, November 24, 2021,

Sri Lanka on Wednesday lifted its partial ban of a weedkiller subject to US lawsuits over claims it causes cancer, after abandoning a campaign to become the world's first completely organic farming nation.

The island country has been in the grips of a severe economic crisis, with a lack of foreign exchange triggering shortages of food, crude oil and other essential goods.

On the weekend, authorities lifted a ban on pesticides and other farming goods, after food shortages saw the price of vegetables double and supermarkets began rationing rice.

Sri Lanka completely banned the use of glyphosate -- classified as a "probable carcinogen" by the World Health Organization -- in 2015.

Three years later it carved out a limited exemption for the tea industry, the country's main export earner.

A government bulletin circulated on Wednesday revoked all remaining restrictions on the weedkiller with immediate effect.

Agriculture minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage confirmed to reporters on Wednesday that all remaining bans on agricultural products had been abolished.

Glyphosate is the active ingredient in weedkiller Roundup and has been widely used around the globe since its introduction in 1974, both on food crops and outside of agriculture on public lawns and in forestry.

German chemicals giant Bayer has been plagued by legal woes since it bought Roundup producer Monsanto in 2018, with a series of claims by cancer patients who say glyphosate caused them to fall ill.

The firm has set aside billions of dollars to cover the costs of the lawsuits.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa banned agricultural chemical imports in May, saying he wanted to make Sri Lankan farming 100 percent organic.

The island had previously spent up to $400 million each year to import fertiliser, much of it given to farmers for free.

Rajapaksa's office admitted the import ban had led to the abandonment of around a third of Sri Lanka's farmlands during the current cultivation season, which began a month ago.

aj/gle/ssy

Kansas City Detective Who Fatally Shot a 26-Year-Old Man In His Own Yard Becomes First White Officer Officer Since 1942 to be Convicted of Killing a Black Man


Nicole Duncan-Smith
Tue, November 23, 2021

A Kansas City, Missouri, police detective has been found guilty of the 2019 killing of a Black father of three. The cop involved in the fatal shooting was the first white officer to face a criminal trial for killing a Black person in the city since 1942.

Justice seems to have been served in the Missouri case, as the 43-year-old Eric DeValkenaere was convicted in a bench trial of second-degree involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action.

Eric DeValkenaere, 43, is charged with involuntary manslaughter after 26-year-old Cameron Lamb as he sat in a pickup truck in his own backyard on Dec. 3, 2019. Photo: 41 Action News/ YouTube screenshot.

Jackson County Circuit Court Judge J. Dale Youngs gave his guilty verdict on Friday, Nov. 19, the same day as the Kyle Rittenhouse trial results, where the 18-year-old was found not guilty on all charges in connection with his shooting three men, two fatally, at the Jacob Blake uprisings in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in August 2020.


Twitter took note.

“Wow. Barely an hour after Rittenhouse. In KC, the first white officer in 80 years to face charges for the shooting death of a Black man has been found guilty. In 2019, Eric DeValkenaere went into 29 y.o Cameron Lamb’s backyard w/o a warrant and killed him.” posted Aaron Randle.

561 miles away from Kenosha, this Kansas City judge held the shooter responsible for his actions.

A little under two years ago in December 2019, Cameron Lamb was shot in a pickup truck on his own property by Detective DeValkenaere. Lamb had been tracked to the property after a police helicopter observed him chasing his girlfriend as she sped away from him in her Mustang.

DeValkenaere claimed that Lamb pointed his firearm at another detective and he shot him in order to save his colleague’s life. He testified at trial: “I’m thinking, ‘I can’t let this happen, I can’t let him shoot Troy.’” Troy Schwalm is the other detective.

However, this theory was rebutted at trial, when the prosecution maintained that the 26-year-old Lamb did not have a gun on him when he was shot, despite one being recovered at the crime scene on the floor of the garage underneath Lamb’s arm dangling outside the driver’s side window.

Another officer who was first to arrive on the scene testified he did not see a gun on the ground. Prosecution made the case that the scene may have been staged with a planted gun, arguing that Lamb was only holding his phone.

The officer has been suspended without pay pending termination by the Kansas City Police Department.

Attorney Lee Merritt, who spoke for the Lamb family, said, “Today will not bring him back. Justice is going to be short, but this is momentous. This is historic. And it means something.”

Lamb’s mother Laurie Bey echoed her lawyer’s sentiment by sharing that she simply misses her son, “I miss my baby.”

“This just did not have to be. It did not have to be,” she continued. “My son was at his home and he was minding his own business when they took it upon themselves to go into the backyard. He was very needed not only to his family but to the community.”

This case was one of many that put a national spotlight on this particular police department, hoping to push the Kansas City Fraternal Order of Police to consider reform.

More news from our partners:

WILDCAT! WORKERS DIRECT ACTION 

A Chipotle general manager and 4 of his employees FELLOW WORKERS quit after a surge of to-go orders drove them to their breaking points

At least 5 workers at a Chipotle in Austin, Texas told Insider they quit on November 14.

The location's former general manager said the store was too understaffed to meet the demand for food orders.

Chipotle said the Austin location was closed November 15 "due to available labor," but reopened the following day.

A group of five Chipotle employees, including a general manager and kitchen manager, quit their jobs at the end of their shifts on November 14 after working under "impossible" conditions, they told Insider.

Hollis Johnson/Business Insider

Mary Meisenzahl
Mon, November 22, 2021

Peter Guerra, a Chipotle veteran of five years and general manager for six months, worked at the Scofield Farms Chipotle location in Austin, Texas.

"My store was severely understaffed, we struggled just to keep our heads above water," with less and less support from management, Guerra said. He said he was regularly scheduled to work 80 hours a week, but often had to work additional hours to cover for employees who quit and left gaps in staffing.

Chipotle stores operate with two food prep lines: one for customers who order on-site and another for digital orders. Some Chipotle workers have previously told Insider that it's hard to keep up with the rapid rate at which digital orders stack up.

Guerra said the constant pressure to serve so many customers at once made it seem like he was being set up by the company's leadership to fail.

He said he started to hit his breaking point on Saturday, November 13, when digital orders were piling up while a line of customers stretched to the door. He said he didn't have enough workers to meet demand, so he closed the dining room to focus only on digital orders.

He was "in tears" at the thought of facing the same pressure the next day when only one other person was scheduled to work, he said. He had to close the dining room that day, as well.

At the end of his shift on Sunday, November 14, Guerra said he quit.

"I thought, 'this is literally going to kill me if I keep it up,'" Guerra said.

Kitchen manager James Williams also quit that Sunday after working 16 hours on his last day, he told Insider. Trying to manage both the dining room and kitchen, "I was stretched infinitely too thin," he said. When he and Guerra made the decision to close the dining room, both said customers were sympathetic.

"They could see the burnout on our faces," Guerra said of customers who were in line when the store closed. Digital orders continued to come in, and DoorDash drivers were also understanding and told workers to take their time, Williams said. Both told Insider that they finished their shifts and cleaned up the store, before leaving around 1 a.m.

Mary Meisenzahl/Insider

"Everyone that didn't clock in the next day was assumed to have quit," Williams told Insider. "It was a ghosting process."

A total of five employees of the Austin location confirmed to Insider that they quit on November 14. Chipotle declined to comment on staffing at the store but said that the location is now open.

"The Parmer Lane location was temporarily closed on Monday due to available labor, but reopened Tuesday with normal business hours," a spokesperson told Insider. As of Thursday, November 18, the restaurant still did not appear to be accepting online orders.

"In a few minor instances, there have been challenges with available labor so we made adjustments in these restaurants to temporarily accommodate the needs of the business," the spokesperson said.

Chipotle, like the broader restaurant industry, has seen instances recently of workers walking out and quitting as a symptom of what's referred to as a labor shortage. Business owners say they're unable to find staff and cases even cite a lack of desire to work, while workers say they can demand better pay and benefits in the tight labor market. This mismatch has led to restaurants decreasing hours and closing dining rooms.

Many workers have said they feel they have no choice but to leave these demanding service jobs.

GERMANY

COALITION GOVERNMENT

Petrolhead, novelist, trampolinist for post-Merkel cabinet
 

The co-leaders of The Greens party Robert Habeck and Annalena Baerbock are expected to take top jobs in the new German government (AFP/Ina Fassbender)More

Christian Lindner
German politician (FDP)
German politician, federal minister of finance and vice chancellor of Germany

Deborah COLE
Wed, November 24, 2021, 3:20 AM·4 min read

Olaf Scholz, who is on the brink of succeeding Angela Merkel after 16 years as German chancellor, has assembled a team of strange bedfellows to share power at the helm of his centre-left government.

The coalition of Scholz's Social Democrats with the ecologist Greens and the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) will place often ideologically opposed leaders of the smaller parties in pivotal jobs.

Here's a look who the top ministers are likely to be and what can be expected of them.

- Car-lover steering economy -

FDP leader Christian Lindner looks set to claim the coveted finance portfolio in the incoming government.

Lindner is known for sharp suits and a firm grip on the wheel of his party, which he has steered back into power after eight years in the wilderness.

The fast-talking 42-year-old would be handed the keys to the job he has been gunning for for years at a crucial moment for the German economy.

The vintage car lover, who used to list his interests outside politics on his website as "anything that can be filled with petrol", would have to oversee a massive green investment programme agreed by the new coalition.

Lindner's enthusiasm for strict fiscal discipline and his desire to see business, not government, take the lead on renewable energy do not make him a natural ally for the Social Democrats (SPD) and the Greens.

Against the backdrop of surging inflation, his party's tight embrace of balanced budgets could put Lindner, recently engaged to be married, on a collision course with the more left-leaning members of the government.

- 'Super' minister for climate -

Robert Habeck, who is expected to lead a new super-ministry for climate in the incoming government, is the urbane Greens co-leader who helped turn the party into a major electoral force.

The 52-year-old philosopher who has published several novels co-authored with his wife has harnessed his soft-spoken charm as a powerful draw for the ecologist outfit.

Habeck was long seen as a possible finance minister but he appeared to have lost a tug-of-war to Lindner.

Now nearly two months of wrangling has seen Habeck likely to clinch an attractive consolation prize -- a new power centre combining authority for the economy, climate protection and energy policy.

"We are talking here about a moment to change the course of history," Habeck insisted on the campaign train in the run-up to September's general election in which the Greens placed third.

He made headlines in April when, as the higher-profile member of the Greens' leadership duo, he stepped aside in favour of his younger female partner in power, Annalena Baerbock, as the party's first candidate for chancellor.

When her bid for the top job ran into trouble over a plagiarism scandal and dubious bonus payments, Habeck put on a show of loyalty even as pundits asked whether he wouldn't have been the better standard-bearer.

But the father of four let his ambition shine through during the post-election haggling, grabbing the Greens' most high-profile ministry in the cabinet.

- First woman top diplomat -

As a former medal-winning trampolinist, Annalena Baerbock is used to aiming high.

Although the 40-year-old failed in her bid to snatch Merkel's crown and become Germany's first Green chancellor, the expert in international law is poised to become the country's first woman foreign minister.

She has pledged to put human rights at the centre of German diplomacy, promising a tougher ride for Russia and China after the commerce-driven pragmatism of the Merkel years.

Almost from the start of her rocky campaign for the election, Baerbock disappointed lofty expectations with a series of missteps.

But polished television debate performances followed by a record score of 15 percent for the Greens on polling day left Baerbock well-placed to stake a claim to a high-profile post.

The mother-of-two and trained lawyer is described as quick on her feet and determined, with a meticulous attention to policy details.

"She keeps asking questions until she has really understood an issue," a party source told the Handelsblatt daily. "She won't be fobbed off."

Raised on a farm near Hanover, Baerbock had an early taste of politics when her parents took her to anti-nuclear demonstrations in the 1980s, a movement that spurred the creation of the Green party.

As a teenager Baerbock took part in trampoline competitions, winning three bronze medals in German championships. The sport taught her to "be brave", she has said.

bur-dlc/hmn/bp

Solomon Islands capital under curfew after protesters target parliament


Solomon Islands (AFP/STAFF)

Wed, November 24, 2021

The Solomon Islands capital Honiara was placed under curfew Wednesday after protesters attempted to storm the Pacific island nation's parliament, police said.

Police fired tear gas at the protesters, who had set alight buildings, partly burning down a police station and a hut near the parliament building, a police spokesman said.

He was unable to confirm witness accounts that the protest was a failed attempt to topple Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare.

"A crowd formed in front of the parliament, I don't know the exact numbers but it was a huge crowd," he told AFP.

"They intended to make the prime minister resign, that's the public speculation, but we're still investigating the motives.

"The important thing is police now have control of the situation and no one is out on the streets."

He said police were unaware of any injuries.

Video footage shot by onlookers showed police and protestors facing off along a street and columns of smoke rising from torched buildings.

Images on social media also showed crowds looting food from local stores.

Honiara resident Jeremy Gwao said people in the capital were fearful after the dramatic events.

"Many didn’t know there would be a protest and were shocked," he said.

"There were hundreds and hundreds on the street... and their main aim was to get the PM to step down.

"It was a scary situation and it's still tense. People at the moment don't know what's going to happen and police are trying to keep everything calm."

- 'Devastating consequences' -

Canberra's official Smart Traveller advice service warned Australian nationals in the Solomons capital to be vigilant.

"The situation is evolving in Honiara with civil unrest. Please exercise care, remain where you are if it is safe to do so and avoid crowds," it said.

The violence reportedly involved a group of protesters who travelled to Honiara this week from the neighbouring island of Malaita.

Their grievances are believed to involve perceived neglect by the central government and lingering dissatisfaction at the Solomons' decision to switch diplomatic allegiances from Taiwan to China in 2019.

Many communities in Malaita had forged deep ties with Taipei and the island's local government has repeatedly complained about embracing China.

Such inter-island tensions spurred unrest that led to the deployment of an Australian-led peacekeeping force from 2003 to 2017.

There was rioting following general elections in 2006, with much of Honiara's Chinatown razed amid rumours businesses with links to Beijing had rigged the vote.

Honiara-based lawmakers from Malaita issued a statement this week calling for protesters from their home island to refrain from violence.

"The devastating consequences that such actions will have on our people and future will take this country back 20 years," it said.

Sogavare's office has been approached for comment.

str-ns/je

SPACE WARS

Airbus, Thales Launch French Reconnaissance Space System

France's CERES space system satellites. Photo: Thales

 JOE SABALLA

NOVEMBER 23, 2021

European aerospace firms Airbus and Thales have launched three signals intelligence satellites to bolster the French military’s surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities.

Known by the French acronym CERES, the system lifted off on an Arianespace Vega rocket from the country’s spaceport in French Guiana. It will reportedly be positioned at an altitude of 700 kilometers (434 miles) in low-Earth orbit.

The CERES was developed to detect and geo-locate electromagnetic signals emitted by radio communication systems and radars that surface sensors cannot reach. They are designed to allow the military to adapt more quickly and effectively to all operational scenarios.

The system features three identical satellites that carry signals intelligence (SIGINT) payloads and user and ground control segments. It provides in-depth information even in adverse weather conditions.

Airbus integrated the global system and space segments into the CERES, while Thales was responsible for full mission chain, system performance, and supplying the satellite platforms.

CERES satellites. Photo: Airbus

‘Completing Intelligence Capability’

According to the developers, the CERES satellites are based on experience gained from the ESSAIM (communications intelligence) and ELISA (electronic intelligence) micro-satellite demonstrators launched more than a decade ago.

They explained that the technical and o

Airbus, Thales Launch French Reconnaissance Space Systemperational lessons they acquired from these systems were “key” to enabling the CERES’ high performance in electromagnetic detection and compatibility.

Thales executive vice president Philippe Duhamel expressed his belief that the newly-launched system will complete the strategic and tactical defense intelligence capabilities of the French military.

“DGA (French Armament General Directorate) trusts Thales to be in charge of the CERES end-to-end mission performance, for which we rely on our experience of more than 20 years in space-based SIGINT, our unique know-how in satellite payloads, and our wide knowledge in SIGINT and electronic warfare in all environments,” Duhamel said, as quoted by Australian Defence Magazine.