Majority of Americans Polled Say Jackson Qualified to Be on Supreme Court

Most Americans who have an opinion on President Joe Biden's Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson believe that she is qualified to sit on the nation's highest court, according to a new poll.

© Drew Angerer/Getty

 Although many Americans remained undecided, polling indicated that most who had an opinion believed Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson was qualified to serve on the court. Jackson is pictured after her nomination was announced by President Joe Biden at the White House in Washington, D.C. on February 25, 2022.

Aila Slisco 1 hour ago

A YouGov poll conducted on Friday, the same day that Biden announced the nomination, found that 39 percent of Americans were confident that Jackson was qualified to serve on the court, while 13 percent said that she was not qualified and a 48 percent plurality were undecided. A 66 percent majority of Democrats said that she was qualified. Although most Republicans and independents were undecided, 32 percent of independents and 20 percent of Republicans agreed.

Jackson was confirmed to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals last year, where she succeeded current Attorney General Merrick Garland. She previously served for over eight years as a federal district court judge and also has experience as a public defender and as assistant special counsel on the U.S. Sentencing Commission.

Jackson is the first Black woman to be nominated to the Supreme Court. The poll found that a 56 percent majority of Black Americans believed Jackson was qualified to serve on the court, with 38 percent being undecided and 6 percent saying she was not qualified. Only 35 percent of white Americans agreed that she was qualified, while 50 percent said they were not decided and 15 percent said she was not qualified.

The poll also found that a 46 percent plurality said they were "not sure" whether Jackson would be confirmed to the court, with 41 percent saying she would be confirmed and 13 percent insisting she would not. A 56 percent majority of Democrats said that she would be confirmed, while Republicans were the most likely to say she would not at 16 percent.

Republican Senators Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine joined every member of the Democratic caucus to confirm Jackson to the Court of Appeals last year. Barring any opposition from Senate Democrats, Jackson could be confirmed to the Supreme Court without any Republican support.

Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa, the ranking Republican member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, issued a statement to "congratulate" Jackson on her nomination last Friday, while vowing that she would "receive the most thorough and rigorous vetting."

During a Monday Fox News appearance, Grassley promised the Republicans were "going to be polite" during the confirmation process. He made the remarks while taking shots at Democrats for getting "down in the gutter" during confirmation hearings for Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

Other Republicans offered immediate opposition. Graham denounced Jackson as a member of the "radical left" following the nomination, despite having voted to confirm her to the appeals court last year. The Republican National Committee (RNC) warned that Jackson was "a Democrat partisan who will put far-left special interests ahead of defending the liberties of Americans."

Weeks before the nomination was announced, a YouGov / Yahoo News poll that included details of Jackson's educational background and judicial experience found that most believed she was either "very" or "somewhat" qualified to serve on the court.

After being presented with details like Jackson graduating from Harvard Law School and her serving as a clerk to Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, who she may replace, 69 percent of Americans agreed that she was qualified—including 57 percent of Republicans.

The most recent poll was conducted online on February 25 among 2,092 U.S. adults. No margin of error was listed. The earlier poll was conducted online among 1,625 U.S. adults between February 3 and February 7, with a 3 percent margin of error.

Newsweek reached out to the RNC for comment.

Nebrija University And ArcelorMittal Make 3D-Printed Steel Frame

Dustin Wheelen


Lighter than its aluminum and titanium counterparts.

Manufacturers typically construct production model frames from steel or aluminum. While steel weighs more than aluminum, the material delivers cost benefits for the producer and a more rigid chassis for the rider. However, if brands could negate the weight gain that comes with steel, they could have the best of both worlds.

© RideApart.com 3D-Printed Steel Frame

That’s exactly what Madrid’s Nebrija University set out to do when it partnered with multinational iron and steel company ArcelorMittal. By pairing Nebrija University’s intelligent design developments and competition vehicle experience with ArcelorMittal’s R&D might and additive manufacturing technology, the project established a new method for fabricating a tubular steel trellis frame: 3D printing.

"We had more or less achieved the new shape with our algorithms,” admitted Nebrija University Mechanical Engineer Sergio Corbera. “The possibility of generating hollow parts was the main unknown in metal 3D printing. We are talking about wall thicknesses of between 0.8 and 1 millimeter in the chassis.”

© Provided by RideApart external_image

Producing those 0.8-1mm hollow steel tubes was the first hurdle of the partnership, but steel presents the perfect material for such a lightweight construction, as aluminum and titanium don’t maintain the same structural integrity at such a reduced thickness. When the engineers determined that the 3D-printed tubes were structurally sound, the team integrated the data into the algorithm, allowing the system to automatically create stable geometric shapes.

"The simulations seem to indicate that we have achieved a very balanced chassis that allows a very good behavior of the bike on the circuit,” revealed Corbera. “We have applied a new manufacturing technology (3D printing) for this sector with a material that could look like prior relegated to that industry and with geometric shapes that break with the usual",

Project leads also stressed that the team didn’t need to develop a new steel alloy for the 3D printing process to achieve success. The partners used standard powdered steel for the additive manufacturing technique, which should allow manufacturers to produce 3D-printed frames without having to develop a proprietary blend of metals. On the other hand, brands like Honda already have 3D-printing initiatives and can further develop the alloy to gain even more structural or cost advantages.

“Our steel frame weighs around 3.8 kilos," noted ArcelorMittal R&D Engineer Paula Rodriguez. "A high-grade aluminum frame from the major motorcycle manufacturers doesn't drop below 5 kilos, while the other steel frames are around 6/7 kilos. It seems like a small difference, but on a piece like this it's a huge saving.”

POSTMODERN ALCHEMY
Are Lab-Grown Diamonds The Gemstone Of The Future?
Frances Solá-Santiago 

For more than 50 years, diamonds have been the ultimate symbol of love and the go-to gemstone for engagement rings. From songs proclaiming them “a girl’s best friend” to ad campaigns highlighting their eternal power, diamonds are firmly embedded in our culture. But as the lab-grown diamond industry continues to rise in popularity and produce cheaper and more sustainable alternatives to mined diamonds, is the gemstone really forever?

First things first: What is a lab-grown diamond? “A lab-grown diamond is optically, chemically, and physically identical to a natural diamond,” explains Melissa Cirvillaro, chief marketing officer of Lightbox, a subsidiary of De Beers Group that creates lab-grown diamonds, via email. “It is grown in a laboratory over a period of weeks rather than mined from the earth.” The process involves a diamond seed — a thin wafer of existing gemstone — as well as raw carbon and energy, which are then put under conditions that mimic the natural environment where a traditional diamond flourishes. Over the past few years, it’s becoming a popular choice among consumers.

According to Vogue Business, six to seven million carats of lab-grown diamonds were produced in 2020. While mined diamond production still outpaces the lab-grown industry — in comparison, over 110 million carats of diamonds were mined in 2020 — this sector is growing: According to Aether, a lab-grown diamond jewelry brand, the market has grown from 1% to 5% in the past three years alone. Since then, not only have new lab-grown brands launched, but heritage and mainstream brands like De Beers Group and Pandora have adopted lab-grown options into their offering as well.

© Provided by Refinery29

Why are people foregoing diamonds?

While the earliest descriptions of diamonds were found in a Sanskrit manuscript dated to 320-296 BCE, the reason many people today own diamonds is thanks to modern-day marketing. Thanks to the legendary “A Diamond Is Forever” campaign launched in 1948, the De Beers company — one of the world’s biggest diamond miners, cutters, and sellers — successfully convinced the world that the only proper way to get engaged was with a diamond ring. This gave birth to the engagement ring industry as we know it today: From 1939 to 1979, wholesale diamond sales climbed in the country from $23 million to $2.1 billion.

Yet, as consumers have become more aware of the environmental and social impact of their fashion and shopping choices, the question of ethics surrounding diamonds has also been raised. Some argue that this industry has a severe environmental, economic, and social impact on communities where natural diamonds are mined, fueling armed conflicts. Two decades since governments worldwide signed the Kimberley Process, a certification created in 2003 with a mission to reduce the mining and exporting of “blood diamonds,” human rights violations are still being documented in countries where diamond mining occurs. Yet, many still argue that the economic and social benefits are bigger than it seems: the Natural Diamond Council says that over 80% of the net economic benefits of diamond production are retained within their originating countries.

Are lab-grown diamonds more sustainable?

There are also concerns when it comes to the environmental consequences of mining diamonds. While mined, diamonds require over 120 gallons of water for each carat, according to The Diamond Foundry, a company that produces synthetic diamonds, some lab-grown diamond companies use electricity and fossil fuels for production.

But many lab-grown-diamond companies are trying to extract energy and carbon from resources they claim are more sustainable. Marketed as the first-ever diamond made from air, Aether uses technology that captures carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to produce its diamonds. “We’re effectively reducing the carbon footprints of our customers and offsetting their impact,” the company’s CEO, Ryan Shearman, tells Refinery29. Aside from turning air into diamonds, Shearman says the company’s facilities and production also rely on clean energy from solar and wind power. Aether is also foregoing the use of other lab-grown diamonds for their seeds (ie. those thin diamond wafers) obtaining them instead from their own products, which they claim are “carbon negative.”

“Our goal is to be able to not just act as a source of diamond jewelry and have a positive impact for our customers, but also from a business-to-business standpoint to be able to offer diamond seeds out there in the marketplace,” Shearman says.

Los Angeles-based VRAI is also attempting to reduce the environmental impact of mined diamonds and its own lab-grown production. “We’ve been really focused on showing the beauty and the opportunity that lab-grown diamonds have by showcasing that you can have a luxury product that doesn’t compromise your ethics,” says Mona Akhavi, CEO of VRAI.

The brand, which is owned by The Diamond Foundry, uses hydropower from the Columbia River in Washington to extract the energy needed to grow their diamonds. (While hydropower can help offset the carbon footprint, the practice has received criticism from environmentalist groups, who have called out the construction of large dams for their harm to wild rivers and fish populations.)

While many lab-grown-diamond companies claim to be more sustainable than mined diamonds, there is no clear consensus on just how much energy lab-grown diamonds require: A 2011 report by the University of Virginia found that making lab-grown diamonds can use an estimated 20 kilowatt-hours per carat, while numbers provided to the trade publication JCK from “a veteran [diamond] grower” show that a single-stone high-pressure, high-temperature press — one of two types of machines used to grow diamonds — requires 175 to 225 kilowatt hours per rough carat (a similar amount of energy to what the average American household uses to power a home for seven days).

© Provided by Refinery29

Are mined diamonds over?

Beyond ethics and sustainability, multiple reports conclude that diamonds have lost relevance with millennials and Gen Z who are less interested in engagement and marriage than generations before them. As society moves away from the idea of the nuclear family as its bedrock, so do the symbols that used to hold it together. In turn, diamond companies are adapting to fit changing social tides, turning to lab-grown diamonds for cheaper and more sustainable offerings. For proof, see Lightbox, which was founded by De Beers Group in 2018.

Then, there is the generational economic factor — millennials own just 5% of the wealth in the United States — which is makes the cheaper prices of lab-grown diamonds appealing to the demographic. For example, the cheapest available diamond stud earrings at De Beers are sold for $1,150 for a .14 carat diamond, while Lightbox offers a similar pair for $250 including a .25 carat diamond.

But while lab-grown diamonds are more economical, many argue that they won’t retain their value as much as mined diamonds, which are becoming more rare: Global supply of mined diamonds peaked in 2006 with 176 million carats mined, a level that, according to Bloomberg, will never be reached again. “Natural diamonds are a finite natural resource: the earth is not making any more. So, this rarity makes them a long-term store of value,” Sally Morrison, public relations director at Lightbox, wrote via email. Experts envisioned that, in 2021, there would be a 15 million carat deficit in the supply of mined diamonds, which could lead to a demand in lab-grown diamonds.

“Fewer and fewer mined diamonds will be available that are coming out of the ground, that means that the gap there can only be filled by lab-grown,” says Shearman.

Are mined diamonds forever? Maybe not. But thanks to the lab-grown, they will remain eternal.

Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?

Are Lab-Grown Diamonds The Same As Natural Stones?

Ukraine envoy to U.S. says Russia used a vacuum bomb in its invasion

By Patricia Zengerle 

© Reuters/Stringer . FILE PHOTO: Smoke rising after shelling on the outskirts of the city is pictured from Kyiv

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Human rights groups and Ukraine's ambassador to the United States on Monday accused Russia of attacking Ukrainians with cluster bombs and vacuum bombs, weapons that have been condemned by a variety of international organizations.

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch both said that Russian forces appeared to have used widely banned cluster munitions, with Amnesty accusing them of attacking a preschool in northeastern Ukraine while civilians took shelter inside.

Oksana Markarova, Ukraine's ambassador to the United States, told reporters after meeting with members of the U.S. Congress that Russia had used a thermobaric weapon, known as a vacuum bomb, in its invasion of her country.

"They used the vacuum bomb today," Markarova said after a meeting with lawmakers. "...The devastation that Russia is trying to inflict on Ukraine is large."

A vacuum bomb, or thermobaric weapon, sucks in oxygen from the surrounding air to generate a high-temperature explosion, typically producing a blast wave of a significantly longer duration than that of a conventional explosive and is capable of vaporizing human bodies.

There has been no official confirmation that thermobaric weapons have been used in the conflict in Ukraine. CNN reported that one of its teams had spotted a Russian thermobaric multiple rocket launcher near the Ukrainian border early on Saturday afternoon.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said she had seen reports but did not have confirmation that Russia had used such weapons. "If that were true, it would potentially be a war crime," she told a press briefing, noting that there are international organizations that would assess that and President Joe Biden's administration "would look to be a part of that conversation."

The Russian embassy in Washington did not respond to requests for comment.

Markarova said Ukraine was working actively with the Biden administration and Congress to obtain more weapons and tougher sanctions.

"They should pay, they should pay a heavy price," she told reporters after leaving the meeting.

One lawmaker who attended the meeting, Democratic Representative Brad Sherman, said the Ukrainians had asked for a U.S.-enforced no-fly zone over Ukraine but that he felt that was too dangerous because it could provoke conflict with Russia.

Amnesty International said international humanitarian law prohibits the use of inherently indiscriminate weapons such as cluster munitions. Launching indiscriminate attacks that kill or injure civilians constitutes a war crime.

(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle, additional reporting by Eric Beech; Editing by Leslie Adler, Rosalba O'Brien, Mary Milliken and Sandra Maler)

Opinion: Bury it? Shoot it into space? Why scientists still can't find a place for nuclear waste

Opinion by Paul Hockenos 

A major Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, to be released Monday, is expected to warn that humans are wrecking the planet so profoundly that we may run out of ways to survive the crisis. The report speaks of a "rapidly closing window of opportunity to secure a liveable and sustainable future for all."

© RWE Germany

This might make it tempting to rush to nuclear energy as a quick, low-carbon fix.


But its faults are numerous, not least that there is still no answer to the 80-year-old question: Where to store the burgeoning tons of highly radioactive spent fuel?

Propositions abound: from catapulting it into space, ditching it between tectonic plates, or burying it deep underground on remote islands.

But try as they have, scientists can't find a safe, long-term, cost-effective way to dispose of nuclear waste.

Even as new countries like Poland, Egypt, Bangladesh, and Indonesia line up to start nuclear programs -- on the face of it, a low-carbon energy source that could cut emissions -- every nation in the world with nuclear power struggles with the same dilemma.

Thus far, the determined hunt for a secure nuclear graveyard has been unsuccessful -- and there's no fix in sight. While the search goes on, ever more of the highly toxic refuse -- a lethal by-product of the plutonium and uranium used in nuclear energy and weaponry production -- piles up on top of the 370,000 tons of fission residue that languishes in stockpiles worldwide. Experts say that could jump by 1.1 million tons in a century.

Germany is shutting down its last nuclear power plant at the end of this year. France, on the other hand, just announced a massive build-out of its already prodigious nuclear fleet. The US is betting on nuclear to help hit climate goals.

Like most nations with nuclear power, they store the toxic spent fuel in steel cannisters at temporary locations, usually at nuclear plant facilities and military stations -- often incurring the wrath of local residents who want nothing to do with the hazardous material that remains radioactive for a million years.

Indeed, proponents and adversaries of nuclear power agree these interim solutions are untenable: we can't just dump this toxic mess on subsequent generations, and then they on others. Moreover, spent fuel, though no longer usable for energy production, remains radioactive and thus poses health, security, and proliferation risks.

At the moment, the Finns are putting deep geological disposal on the table as a solution -- currently the least objectionable of the options under discussion. But the Nordics' claim to have finally cracked this headache from hell is riddled with uncertainties.

This summer, on a tiny, sparsely populated island in the Baltic Sea, the first of hundreds of tightly sealed volcanic-clay-and-copper-clad drums of spent nuclear fuel will be lowered into a 500-meter deep granite vault and, eventually, cemented shut -- not for a million but, presumably, for about 100,000 years.

Yet this geological tomb is only another, ultimately temporary, fix. As nuclear waste expert Andrew Blowers, author of "The Legacy of Nuclear Power" and a former member of the UK's Committee on Radioactive Waste Management, says, "Currently no options have been able to demonstrate that waste will remain isolated from the environment over the tens to hundreds of thousands of years."

Copper and cement will eventually corrode and decay, while nuclear waste remains radioactive and highly toxic for millennia. Some experts though say the risk of leaks, and water contamination, is higher than Finnish authorities acknowledge.

Moreover, earthquakes or other dramatic shifts in geological conditions could set the poisonous elements free. And then there's the cost: Finland will spend €3.5 billion ($3.9 billion) on the facility, which will in the course of the next 100 years house 6,500 tons -- of their own -- spent fuel.

Other countries, such as the US, Britain, and Sweden say they will also, one day, bury their nuclear refuse in similar vaults. But even where the unique geological conditions exist, the same obstacle always arises: opposition from locals. Nobody but nobody wants radioactive waste anywhere near their families.

This is why another option, tectonic burial, looks appealing -- until one looks more closely. The idea is to send nuclear waste plummeting into the earth's core, basically hitching a ride on a geological plate on the ocean floor that is in the process of diving beneath an adjacent plate. The further the downward plate submerges beneath the earth's skin, the further away the nuclear waste is carried from our natural world.

But geologists pour scorn on the notion: the movement of tectonic plates is much too slow, the volume of nuclear refuse too great, and then there's the threat of subterranean volcanos or quakes that could send the mess spewing back into the ocean.

Hurtling nuclear waste in the other direction, namely into space, is also a nonstarter. There, the risk of rocket failure, the issue of space debris, and the wildly prohibitive cost stop this ploy dead in its tracks.

The exorbitant cost of the ongoing search -- and then of the "solution" itself -- illustrate why we don't want ever more of this menacing debris. Thus far, the US has spent $13 billion of taxpayer money in its unsuccessful effort to rid the country of its 90,000 tons of radioactive waste.

In Finland, at least, the nuclear industry picks up the bill. At the Finns' rate, disposing of all of the world's current nuclear waste could total €135 billion ($153 billion) and another €6 billion ($6.8 billion) a year for the estimated 10,500 more metric tons produced annually.

Yet, since no long-term secure repository is in sight, says Blowers, "on-site storage of spent fuel is likely to remain for several generations, at least until mid to end of next century. As the volume grows, they will have to cope with ever more complex, difficult management issues."



And we can't just cut and run.

Until scientists find a secure, long-term, cost-effective way to dispose of the already generated nuclear waste on planet Earth, we must stop generating yet more of it. Genuinely renewable energy is cheaper, safer, faster, and cleaner. Nuclear power is the opposite of a quick fix.

Container lines suspend shipments to Russia, Maersk considering

Container ship in Suez Canal

LONDON/COPENHAGEN (Reuters) -Container shipping company Ocean Network Express (ONE) on Monday suspended bookings to and from Russia while Maersk said it was considering doing the same in response to Western sanctions on Moscow following its invasion of Ukraine.

Russia's assault on its neighbour, which Moscow says is a "special operation", is the biggest state-to-state invasion in Europe since World War Two.

"Booking acceptance to and from St Petersburg, Russia is suspended with immediate effect until further notice whilst we evaluate the operational feasibility,” Singapore-headquartered ONE said in a customer advisory on Monday.


ONE added that it had also suspended bookings for the Russian port of Novorossiisk as well as the Ukrainian container port of Odessa.

Germany’s Hapag Lloyd said on Feb. 24 it had issued a temporary suspension on bookings for Russia and halted sailings for Ukraine. A Hapag spokesperson said on Monday it was “due to the developments we have seen last week and to ensure we comply with any sanctions imposed”.

MSC, the world's biggest container line by capacity, said as of Monday it was maintaining shipping and inland services to and from Russia "in full compliance with international sanctions measures".

"Bookings for permitted Russia-related cargo will be accepted only with a thorough screening process by MSC with prepayment required for all imports to Russia," the company said in a statement.

"We expect Russia-related cargo shipments to be impacted by an increasing number of inspections and controls at European and other international ports."

Meanwhile, Maersk said on Monday it was closely monitoring the fast-evolving sanctions and restrictions imposed against Russia, and making preparations to comply with them.

"Our preparations include a possible suspension of Maersk bookings to and from Russia on ocean and inland," it said in a statement.

In a coordinated response, the United States, European countries and others have made the unusual move of targeting Russia's central bank with financial sanctions and put limits on cross-border transactions by the country's largest lenders.

Maersk, which handles roughly one in six containers shipped worldwide, said it was focusing on safeguarding types of containers and cold chain operations that "include important goods such as groceries and pharmaceuticals".

Maersk said limitations to operations over Russian air space would impact its air services.

A spokesperson declined to elaborate on the possible measures and said the company expects to provide further information later on Monday.

The company last year generated roughly 2.5% of its total revenue from Russia. It operates container shipping routes to St. Petersburg and Kaliningrad in the Baltic Sea, Novorossiysk in the Black Sea, and to Vladivostok and Vostochny on Russia's east coast.

Maersk has been active in Russia since 1992.

Last week, the company halted all port calls in Ukraine until the end of February and has shut its main office in Odessa on the Black Sea coast.

MSC said it has been unable to serve Ukrainian ports since Feb. 24.

Russia says its actions in Ukraine are designed not to occupy territory but to destroy its southern neighbour's military capabilities and capture what it regards as dangerous nationalists.

(Reporting by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen and Stine Jacobsen in Copenhagen and Jonathan Saul in London; Editing by David Goodman, Frank Jack Daniel, Andrew Heavens and Toby Chopra)

Viasat believes 'cyber event' is disrupting its satellite-internet service in Ukraine

California-based Viasat announced on Monday that it believes "a cyber event" disrupted its satellite internet service in Ukraine.

"Viasat is experiencing a partial network outage — impacting internet service for fixed broadband customers in Ukraine and elsewhere on our European KA-SAT network," the company told CNBC.

The Viasat outage began on Feb. 24, the day Russia invaded Ukraine.

Elon Musk, CEO of Viasat rival SpaceX, said his company's service is "active in Ukraine," with "more terminals en route" to provide internet access to the country.

© Provided by CNBC A Viasat Inc. logo seen displayed on a smartphone and in the background.

Michael Sheetz 

CNBC

Viasat said Monday that it believes "a cyber event" disrupted its satellite-internet service in Ukraine, with an ongoing outage under investigation.

"Viasat is experiencing a partial network outage — impacting internet service for fixed broadband customers in Ukraine and elsewhere on our European KA-SAT network," the California-based company said in a statement to CNBC.

"We are investigating and analyzing our European network and systems to identify the root cause and are taking additional network precautions to prevent further impacts while we attempt to recover service to affected customers."

The outage began on Feb. 24, the day Russia invaded Ukraine, according to the company, which said it notified "law enforcement and government partners," adding it has "no indication that customer data is involved."

It is unclear how many customers Viasat has in Ukraine, and the company declined to say how many are being affected.

Shares of Viasat were up 3.5% in midday trading Monday at about $45.

SpaceX says it is sending dishes to Ukraine

© Provided by CNBC A Starlink user terminal, also known as an antenna or satellite dish, on the roof of a building.

Viasat operates large satellites in geosynchronous orbit — meaning they are stationary at a point about 35,000 kilometers from Earth to maximize coverage area.

That's the traditional method of providing broadband service from space, but a number of companies are pouring funds into developing networks in low-Earth orbit that utilize hundreds or thousands of satellites — such as SpaceX's Starlink.

On Sunday, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk announced his company's service is "active in Ukraine," with "more terminals en route" to provide internet access to the country. Musk's tweet came in response to a request for Starlink support from Ukraine digital minister Mykhailo Fedorov.

Musk did not specify how many terminals — or ground antennas that connect users to the network — were being sent or when they would arrive.

SpaceX has launched 2,000 Starlink satellites to date. The company's service has around 145,000 users as of January, who pay $99 a month for the standard service or $500 a month for a premium tier.

Elon Musk’s promised Starlink terminals have reached Ukraine, according to official

Mitchell Clark and Loren Grush 

SpaceX sent a truck full of Starlink user terminals to Ukraine, according to an image tweeted by the country’s vice prime minster, who had asked CEO Elon Musk for assistance during Russia’s invasion. Over the weekend, Mykhailo Fedorov tweeted at Musk, asking him to provide Ukraine with Starlink stations. In response, Musk said that the satellite internet service had been activated for the country and that more terminals were on their way. Today, it seems that promise has been fulfilled, with Musk responding to Fedorov’s latest tweet, “You are most welcome.”

'

© Image: Mykhailo Fedorov

As fighting continues in Ukrainian cities, there have been concerns that there could be cyberattacks on critical internet infrastructure, which could make it harder for news to leave the country or for people to contact loved ones. These fears were heightened following some partial outages that occurred last week.

© Source: Twitter Fedorov’s tweet on Monday announcing that the dishes had arrived.

© Source: Twitter Fedorov’s tweet over the weekend, requesting Musk’s aid.

In order to tap into the Starlink system, consumers must have a user terminal — a white flat dish that SpaceX sells directly to customers. With a clear view of the sky, the dishes can send and receive signals from any active Starlink satellites that are overhead. It’s these terminals that have been shipped to Ukraine, though it’s unclear from the photo how many there are.

Much of the infrastructure that powers satellite internet exists in space, though there is still plenty of equipment on the ground. In order to provide internet access, satellites must be able to communicate with gateways, fixed ground stations on Earth that are connected to existing fiber-optic cables.

There’s still a possibility of technical issues or cyberattacks on satellite internet like Starlink — another satellite ISP says it’s experiencing disruptions in the country thanks to a “cyber event,” according to a CNBC report.

Starlink is SpaceX’s ambitious internet-from-space initiative, aimed at launching tens of thousands of satellites to low Earth orbit to provide broadband Internet coverage to the ground below. So far, the company has nearly 2,000 active satellites in orbit. In January, SpaceX claimed during a launch livestream that it had 145,000 active users, and Musk implied in a February tweet that SpaceX has more than 250,000 user terminals in production.

Now that the dishes have arrived in Ukraine, it’s unclear exactly how they will be used or distributed, though one Twitter user posted a screenshot claiming to be using the service in Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital. The antennas do need unimpeded access to the sky, which may be difficult in a warzone. Additionally, the locations of SpaceX’s gateways aren’t explicitly public info, but internet sleuths on Reddit have found some, including one in Ukraine’s neighbor Poland.

Despite many customers having their Starlink orders delayed in the past year, some members of the Starlink subreddit have said they’d be willing to wait longer if it could help people in Ukraine. Others have asked if they’d be able to send their personal terminals to the country. It’s debatable how practical (or even feasible) these goodwill gestures would be, but it’s another example of people being willing to come together to support Ukraine.

Elon Musk deploys Starlink to keep Ukraine connected to the internet

MobileSyrup 

Amid Russia’s ongoing illegal invasion of Ukraine, reports coming out of the on-defence country suggest that constant attacks have caused internet outages in some parts of the nation, disabling the country from staying connected with the rest of the world.

© Provided by MobileSyrup Elon Musk deploys Starlink to keep Ukraine connected to the internet

Ukraine’s Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov requested SpaceX CEO Elon Musk to provide Ukrainians access to Starlink’s internet connection.

Later the same day, Musk replied to Fedorov’s appeal, stating “Starlink service is now active in Ukraine. More terminals en route.”

It’s worth noting that Starlink satellites don’t just magically beam internet to your phone or computers. Users need to have a receiving dish along with a Starlink router to access the internet.

In a follow-up tweet, Fedorov clarified that Starlink terminals (dish) are currently on their way to Ukraine, and thanked Musk for the aid and for supporting the distraught nation. In addition, the country’s official Twitter account also thanked the billionaire for the support.

In other Starlink-related news, CEO Musk recently announced a new Starlink high-performance antenna and Premium package with speeds ranging between 150-500 Mbps.

Source: @FedorovMykhailo

Ukraine gets Starlink internet terminals - and friendly warning about safety

(Reuters) -Ukraine on Monday said it had received donated Starlink satellite internet terminals from SpaceX, but an internet security researcher warned these could become Russian targets.

© Reuters/DADO RUVIC Illustration shows Starlink logo and Ukraine flag

"Starlink — here. Thanks, @elonmusk," Ukraine's vice prime minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, tweeted, days after asking SpaceX's billionaire chief executive officer Elon Musk for help. Fedorov's tweet included a picture of the back of a military-looking truck, loaded with terminals.

Musk tweeted back, "You are most welcome".

The terminals look like home satellite television dishes and can provide relatively fast internet service, by residential standards, by connecting to a fleet of satellites in low orbit.

But John Scott-Railton, a senior researcher at the University of Toronto's Citizen Lab project, took to Twitter to warn the terminals could become Russian targets.

"Re: @elonmusk's starlink donation. Good to see. But remember: if #Putin controls the air above #Ukraine, users' uplink transmissions become beacons ... for airstrikes," he tweeted.

"#Russia has decades of experience hitting people by targeting their satellite communications," he added in a series of 15 tweets detailing the risks. (https://bit.ly/35BEFs2)

Musk said on Saturday that Starlink is available in Ukraine and SpaceX is sending more terminals to the country, whose internet has been disrupted due to the Russian invasion.

Fedorov thanked Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States for helping to swiftly approve the activation of Starlink in Ukraine.

One of the challenges is to install end-user terminals, which require a clear view of the sky to connect to Starlink, Tim Farrar, a consultant in satellite communications said.

As high-rise buildings can block the service, one has to go to the top of the highest building nearby to set up the antenna, he said. "That's a fairly vulnerable place to be."

"It is not going to be something that can offer a replacement for terrestrial internet on a large scale," he said.

SpaceX did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

(Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain and Arunima Kumar in Bengaluru and Hyunjoo Jin in San Francisco; Editing by Stephen Coates)

Musk activates free Starlink internet service in Ukraine

Megan Cerullo 

SpaceX founder and billionaire Elon Musk is providing free satellite-based internet service in Ukraine through his company Starlink, as Russia invades the nation and causes power outages

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© Patrick Pleul/picture alliance via Getty Images Tesla Gigafactory - Elon Musk

Starlink is a growing network of small satellites that SpaceX has been building out since 2018 to supply broadband internet access around the globe. On Monday, the Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine and minister of digital transformation, Mykhailo Fedorov, tweeted that a truck full of Starlink terminals had arrived on Ukraine soil, after he had requested them.

Fedorov had appealed to Musk in a tweet Saturday, asking him to extend Starlink's high-speed broadband internet services to the besieged country, rhetorically noting that "while you try to colonize Mars — Russia try to occupy Ukraine! While your rockets successfully land from space — Russian rockets attack Ukrainian civil people!"

Musk apparently obliged, tweeting Saturday that Starlink service was active in Ukraine and also agreeing to send more Starlink terminals to expand the country's bandwidth.

"Starlink service is now active in Ukraine. More terminals en route," Musk tweeted.

Invading Russian troops have disrupted Ukraine's internet infrastructure, making service unreliable and spotty in parts of the country.

The Starlink service, which its website bills as being "ideal for rural and remote communities" and other locales where internet connections have historically been unavailable, is expected to be more reliable than land-based systems that are currently out of service.

One Starlink terminal costs $499. The system was recently used to restore communications in remote villages in Tonga after a volcanic eruption triggered a tsunami, cutting off internet service

Ukraine conducts successful test of SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet system

By Simran Kashyap | Published: Tuesday, March 1, 2022,  Kyiv, 

Speeds reached over 200 megabits per second. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk provided Ukraine with the system to make sure that Russian forces aren't able to take down Ukraine's internet connectivity. Responding to a request from Ukraine's minister of digital transformation, tech billionaire Elon Musk said on Twitter that his satellite-based internet system Starlink is now active in Ukraine and that there are more terminals en route. 

Fears of Russian targeting as mysterious symbols come up on Ukraine buildings 

 Musk made the announcement on Twitter after Ukraine's minister of digital transformation tweeted that while Musk tries to "colonize Mars," Russia is trying to occupy Ukraine. 

The minister called on Musk to provide his country with Starlink stations, the AP story stated. "Starlink service is now active in Ukraine," Musk said in a tweet. "More terminals en route." 

The tweet came some 10 hours after Ukrainian Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov urged Musk to provide Starlink services to Ukraine, days after it was invaded by neighboring Russia. Ukraine crisis: What stranded Indians should do to keep themselves safe? 

Ex-army chief tells "While you try to colonize Mars -- Russia try to occupy Ukraine! While your rockets successfully land from space -- Russian rockets attack Ukrainian civil people! We ask you to provide Ukraine with Starlink stations," Fedorov tweeted at Musk.

 He also called on the billionaire "to address sane Russians to stand" against their government's invasion. 

Internet monitor NetBlocks said Ukraine has seen a "series of significant disruptions to internet service" since Thursday, when Russia launched military operations in the country. 

Second round of talks between Russia-Ukraine may take place on March 2 Starlink operates a constellation of more than 2,000 satellites that aim to provide internet access across the planet. The company on Friday launched a further 50 Starlink satellites and many more are slated to be put into Earth's orbit.

Americans charged after crossing southern Alberta border with prohibited, allegedly undeclared firearms

Two Americans have been charged with multiple firearms offences after allegedly failing to declare guns when crossing the Coutts border

Author of the article: Michael Rodriguez
Publishing date: Feb 28, 2022 •

Two Americans entering Canada at southern Alberta's Coutts border crossing in early January have been charged with several firearms offences. PHOTO BY CBSA
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Two Americans entering Canada at southern Alberta’s Coutts border crossing in early January have been charged with several firearms offences.

Alaskans Adam Peter Brown, 39, and Bethany Ann Brown, 42, were headed north in a motorhome on Jan. 3 when border agents pulled them aside for a search. Officers found two prohibited assault-style rifles, four prohibited nine-millimetre handguns and one restricted .45-calibre handgun, which the Canadian Border Services Agency alleges the travellers did not declare. The CBSA seized the guns, as well as 11 prohibited high-capacity magazines.

The Browns are each charged with five offences: smuggling, making false statements, possessing a prohibited or restricted gun with ammunition, failing to follow firearms storage regulations and unauthorized possession of a firearm.

Two Americans entering Canada at southern Alberta’s Coutts border crossing in early January have been charged with several firearms offences. PHOTO BY CBSA

“Canada Border Services Agency officers remain on alert to seize smuggled firearms at the border. This is a top priority for the agency and an important way we contribute to Canada’s public safety, protecting the communities we serve,” said Ben Tame, the director of CBSA operations in southern Alberta.

The Browns are scheduled to appear in court in Lethbridge on March 1. They are currently out of custody on a promise to appear in court.

The incident happened weeks before a blockade at the Coutts border crossing stifled traffic for nearly three weeks, where several people were arrested and charged with firearms offences. The CBSA did not note any correlation between the two events.

'Enough is enough:' University of Alberta students host rally supporting Ukraine

Before about 150 people in the university's main quad, Natalie Hanas, one of the event's organizers, condemned the Russian Federation's invasion
Author of the article:Hamdi Issawi
Publishing date:Feb 28, 2022 • 3 hours ago • 2 minute read • Join the conversation

Edmontonians take part in a rally in support of Ukraine, organized by the Ukrainian Students' Society (USS) at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, on Monday Feb. 28, 2022. PHOTO BY DAVID BLOOM /Postmedia

University of Alberta students made a heartfelt appeal to stand with Ukraine at a rally Monday as the eastern European country closed the fifth day under Russian attack.

Before about 150 people in the university’s main quad, Natalie Hanas, one of the event’s organizers, condemned the Russian Federation’s invasion and urged the audience as well as the greater community to support Ukraine by asking Members of Parliament to take immediate action.

“This needs to end, and enough is enough,” Hanas said. “We must stand with Ukraine today and every day.”

As students returned to in-person classes this semester, Hanas, president of the Ukrainian Students’ Society, said the demonstration serves to “remind the world of the injustice faced by Ukrainian citizens,” and called on supporters to stem misinformation by sharing verified news about the war and asking MPs to increase sanctions against Russia.

Alla Nedashkivska, chair of the university’s modern languages and cultural studies department, also addressed the audience, urging supporters to overtake Ottawa’s promise to match up to $10 million in Canadian Red Cross donations for Ukrainian aid.

Edmontonians take part in a rally in support of Ukraine, organized by the Ukrainian Students’ Society (USS) at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, on Monday Feb. 28, 2022. PHOTO BY DAVID BLOOM /Postmedia

“Let’s ensure that every wounded Ukrainian soldier has the medical aid they need and deserve,” she said, “and let’s ensure that every Ukrainian baby born in a bomb shelter has the life they deserve.”

She also urged supporters to call on the Canadian government to provide military aid and equipment to aid Ukraine and noted that her department is doing its own part to combat misinformation about the war by sharing the truth about it through conferences, seminars, research and the like.

“The world sees the truth and sees who is the aggressor,” she said. “The world also sees that Ukraine and Ukrainians are fighting for freedom.”

Kalie Keays, a University of Alberta student studying psychology and Ukrainian folklore, attended the rally in solidarity. Having joined a similar event on Sunday, she believes these rallies show the people of Ukraine “that they’re not alone, and they have support all over the world.”

Like her friends, teachers and a roommate, Keays said she also has family in Ukraine, which brings the war closer to home.

“They’re struggling, and I just want to do my best to support them,” Keays said. “It really affects all of us.”

But rallies like these also offer a sense of comfort, she added.

Edmontonians take part in a rally in support of Ukraine, organized by the Ukrainian Students’ Society (USS) at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, on Monday Feb. 28, 2022. PHOTO BY DAVID BLOOM /Postmedia

“Seeing everyone gathered together and hearing all the people speaking in Ukrainian just really felt like home for me,” she said. “It felt like we’re all coming together for one thing that we all really care about.”

On Monday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that Canada will be sending anti-tank weapons and “upgraded ammunition” to Ukraine, and banning crude oil imports from Russia.

He also asked the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), an arms-length regulator, to review the presence of Russia Today, a Russian state-sponsored network, on Canadian airways because “there is a significant amount of misinformation circulating from Russia,” Trudeau said.

— With files from Postmedia
hissawi@postmedia.com

Editorial: Madu should be ejected
Edmonton Journal Editorial Board

Kaycee Madu did not interfere with the administration of justice when he phoned Edmonton’s police chief over a traffic ticket, says an investigation released Friday.

© Greg Southam/Postmedia Premier Jason Kenney with then Justice Minister Kaycee Madu.

But it wasn’t for lack of trying. “Did Minister Madu attempt to interfere with the administration of justice? He did,” wrote retired Justice Adele Kent.

That one sentence should spell the end of Madu’s time in cabinet.

Yet, despite the report’s conclusions, Madu remains in cabinet; Kenney shuffled him late Friday to labour and immigration after having “stepped back” from the justice ministry when the story came to light in January. It’s an inadequate response for such a serious abuse of office.

While the report acknowledges Madu’s concerns about racial profiling by police deserve serious recognition, as does his concerns over actions of some police, such as the Lethbridge Police Service, “it does not absolve the minister from responsibility.” In fairness, Madu has also been on the forefront on the issue of racial profiling by police and he has pushed to end “carding” in Alberta.

However, Madu’s attempt to circumvent the rule of law is as grievous a matter as if he succeeded. One only has to thumb through the Criminal Code to see that attempted offences are serious matters in their own right.

To his credit, Edmonton police Chief Dale McFee did not consider ripping up a $300 distracted driving ticket Madu received on March 10, 2021. That does not excuse Madu from calling to discuss the ticket in the first place.

For Alberta’s chief law officer of the Crown tasked with upholding the administration of justice to be found attempting to subvert it is not only a serious breach of protocol and ethics. It also undermines public confidence in the legal system’s integrity.

Kenney, when asked Saturday if it’s acceptable for a cabinet minister to interfere in this way, denied the report concluded that interference occurred. That’s a grossly selective interpretation of the facts. Kenney is downplaying the whole affair as just a matter of bad optics — ignoring the finding that Madu tried but failed to obstruct the legal process, including playing the do-you-know-who-I-am card to the ticketing officer and phoning the chief. What’s important is that Madu tried to interfere with the justice process. Full stop.

While Kenney has a political need to keep a prolific Edmonton MLA such as Madu in his inner circle, Kenney too has a responsibility to keep public faith in the integrity of Alberta’s justice system and in his government.

A simple cabinet shuffle down the front bench to labour and immigration, no matter the politics involved, will not suffice; Madu should be ejected from cabinet.

Local editorials are the consensus opinion of the Journal’s editorial board, comprising Colin McGarrigle, Dave Breakenridge and Bill Mah.