ORNL, TVA to drive decarbonization, explore carbon-free technologies

The Oak Ridger
Tue, March 1, 2022

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Tennessee Valley Authority are joining forces to advance decarbonization technologies from discovery through deployment through a new memorandum of understanding.

High-voltage power lines carry electricity generated by the Tennessee Valley Authority to Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Eliminating carbon dioxide emissions in the production of U.S. electricity is essential to achieving the federal government’s goal of net-zero carbon emissions. TVA — which provides electricity for 153 local power companies serving 10 million people in Tennessee and parts of six surrounding states — is actively implementing a variety of new technologies in pursuit of this goal, according to a news release issued by both ORNL and TVA.

As DOE’s largest science and energy laboratory, ORNL offers research and development capabilities and expertise that can further accelerate the transition to a carbon-free electricity sector.


“ORNL applies a broad range of scientific capabilities to the development of clean energy solutions, and TVA is an invaluable partner for deploying these technologies for the benefit of East Tennessee and the nation," ORNL Director Thomas Zacharia said in the release.

Partnerships between TVA and ORNL date to the earliest days of the lab, with recent collaborations including the first full-scale computer simulation of a working nuclear reactor and installation of 3D-printed reactor components, all aimed at accelerating cost-effective deployment of carbon-free nuclear power.

“TVA is proud to partner with Oak Ridge National Laboratory to identify and scale innovative nuclear and other technologies that will create a cleaner, carbon-free future,” Jeff Lyash, TVA president and CEO, said in the release. “This is right in TVA’s wheelhouse, and our partnership will redefine what’s possible for the national and global energy industry.”

The institutions will work together to promote, pursue, evaluate and demonstrate the feasibility, operability and affordability of utility-scale decarbonization technologies. These technologies will focus on electricity, but the partners may also explore related developments such as hydrogen generation and grid modernization and security.

Thomas Zacharia

Under the new MOU, the partners intend to explore:


Direct air carbon capture from power-generating plant exhaust and from dilute sources such as the atmosphere;


Converting carbon dioxide into valuable products;


Hydrogen generation and utilization;


Static and dynamic electric vehicle, or EV, charging and applications that pair EVs and the electrical grid;


Light water small modular reactors and fourth-generation advanced nuclear reactors, building on the partners’ 2020 advanced reactor technology MOU;


Long-duration energy storage;


Electrification of parts of the economy currently fueled by fossil energy, as well as solutions related to geothermal heating and cooling along with process heating; and


Modernization of the grid to enhance reliability and resiliency, improve cybersecurity and prevent outages due to extreme weather.

Jeff Lyash

Throughout the partnership, ORNL’s campus will serve as a living laboratory to accelerate the development, demonstration and deployment of these emerging technologies.

This article originally appeared on Oakridger: ORNL, TVA to drive decarbonization, explore carbon-free technologies

Israeli GenCell achieves scientific breakthrough with zero-emission green ammonia project

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF

© (photo credit: MAX PIXEL) Spray Fertilizer Pesticide Tractor Agriculture.

Israeli company GenCell Energy has announced they've achieved a major scientific breakthrough that enables the production of green ammonia directly from water at a very low temperature and pressure in comparison to the traditional ammonia production processes typically carried out around the world today.

Following their evaluation of GenCell's scientific breakthrough, Japanese technology provider TDK Corporation announced they plan to continue investing in and developing GenCell's innovative zero-emission green ammonia synthesis project towards its next milestone.

GenCell, based in Petah Tikva, is the leading provider of hydrogen and ammonia to power solutions.

The company has developed green power solutions based on zero-emission alkaline cells and green ammonia-to-energy technology, which allow for uninterrupted power that can help the world move away from diesel and shift to clean energy.

GenCell co-founder and CEO Rami Reshef says they've developed a "novel approach to producing green ammonia, the fuel of the future, within the framework of the project [they] are carrying out together with the support of TDK."

Their hydrogen-on-demand solution provides central power for off-grid, poor-grid sites, and for rural electrification.

“We believe that the new process will expand the availability of green ammonia for diverse uses, not only as fuel for the backup and off-grid solutions used by our customers, but also for a far wider range of industrial and agricultural applications," Reshef added.

© Provided by The Jerusalem Post Rami Reshef, CEO of GenCell 

(credit: COURTESY OF GENCELL ENERGY)

The company's clean and energy efficient method for producing green ammonia offers an emission-free alternative to some 235 million tons of ammonia produced each year through traditional processes involving pollutant carbon emissions.

The success of this project could allow green ammonia to serve as a central hydrogen carrier for the energy industry and be a key component of fertilizers for agriculture.

Reshef says this breakthrough reaffirms their keen interest in pursuing the project.

Green ammonia could also serve as a key resource for maritime, aviation, semiconductors, and be implemented in many other useful ways.

"This news will certainly be of interest to the broader market seeking innovative solutions to reduce carbon emissions," Reshef said.

The project's completion may help companies meet their carbon neutrality targets.

Elon Musk Welcomes UAW To Come To Tesla And Try To Organize

Steven Loveday 

Musk has said in the past that the union has tried and failed, and he will not do anything to stop them from trying again.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk isn't a fan of unions, and he's made that clear many times in the past. However, his recent issues with President Joe Biden have, once again, amplified the situation. However, Musk made it clear that Tesla won't do anything to stop the UAW from holding a vote. In fact, Musk went so far as to invite the union to come to Tesla and attempt to organize.

© insideEvs.com Copyright elon musk lead

The tweet thread started when Gene Simmons, the lead singer of the rock band Kiss, quoted one of Musk's tweets. Simmons agreed with Musk, saying he makes a solid point, and steering the message toward President Biden.

The Musk tweet that Simmons quoted was originally a reply from Musk to Biden. The Tesla CEO was pointing out yet again that Tesla deserves credit where credit is due, and he specified precisely why.

Vocal Tesla fan and investor James Stephenson replied that Tesla employees already decided not to unionize. It wasn't Musk's choice, but the workers' choice.

As you can see, Musk replied about the situation surrounding jobs in the Bay Area. He also shared that he's officially inviting the UAW to hold a union vote at Tesla at its convenience.

Perhaps President Biden isn't aware that there were earlier attempts to organize Tesla, but we have no way of knowing for sure. It seems someone of his caliber in politics would be made aware, but clearly, there are many more important situations a president has to deal with.

At any rate, the interesting part here will be the aftermath. If the UAW takes Musk up on his offer, this should appease President Biden. It shows an attempt to try to unionize. However, if the attempt fails due to Tesla's employees voting it down, then what will Biden say? He can't really blame Tesla and hold it accountable for not being part of the UAW if its workers don't want to unionize.

Going along with what James tweeted above, the President can't tell those workers that their vote doesn't count or that they voted "wrong." And, the UAW can't force or coerce Tesla to unionize if its workers don't support it. You'd better bet that people will also be keeping a close eye on Tesla and Musk, since the company and its executives also can't work to "convince" employees of how they should vote.

Read These Related Tesla Stories:

Elon Musk Believes Biden's EV Policy Is "Controlled By Unions"

Tesla Giga Berlin Workers Reportedly Planning To Organize A Union

It will be even more interesting if Tesla's workers end up deciding to unionize, as that would come as a huge surprise. What say you?

Source: Elon Musk (Twitter)

Elon Musk challenges UAW to hold a union vote at Tesla's California factory

Mariella Moon 

Elon Musk says Tesla will do nothing to stop United Auto Workers (UAW) from holding a union vote at the company's Fremont, California factory. In a tweet, the company chief said Tesla's real challenge in the Bay Area is negative unemployment, so it treats and compensates its "(awesome) people well" or they'd just leave otherwise.

  

Getty Images An aerial view shows the Tesla Fremont Factory in Fremont, California on February 10, 2022. - Tesla can hardly make enough electric vehicles to meet booming demand, but behind the world's most valuable auto brand is its troubled California factory that makes most of those cars. The Fremont plant near San Francisco has seen a spate of sexual harassment lawsuits, years of racism allegations -- including a California civil rights agency complaint this week -- and even a murder last year

 (Photo by JOSH EDELSON / AFP) (Photo by JOSH EDELSON/AFP via Getty Images)

Musk posted the tweet in response to Kiss co-lead singer Gene Simmons who sided with the executive when he called out the President for not mentioning Tesla in his State of the Union Address. The President only praised Ford and General Motors for investing billions of dollars in their efforts to release electric vehicles, thereby generating thousands of jobs in the process. As Bloomberg notes, Biden is a labor union supporter and often snubs Tesla, which has a non-unionized workforce, in his speeches and interviews.

In a follow-up tweet, Musk claimed that Tesla factory workers have the highest compensation in the auto industry, posting an interview of GM CEO Mary Barra as his source. In the interview, news anchor and journalist Andrew Sorkin said Tesla's non-unionized workers were earning more than their unionized counterparts. Barra said she'd have to see more information, since one must also take benefits and not just wages into account, but that what Sorkin said wasn't the case last time she checked.



The UAW has been working to unionize Tesla for years, and Musk has criticized those efforts from the start. When a Fremont production worker claimed poor working conditions and low pay in 2017, Musk reportedly sent out a letter to employees with a point-by-point takedown while also slamming UAW. He said the union's true allegiance is to the "giant car companies, where the money they take from employees in dues is vastly more than they could ever make from Tesla."

In the same year, the National Labor Relations Board filed a complaint against the automaker after investigating complaints of unfair labor practices. According to the NLRB, workers said Tesla "coerces and intimidates" them with a confidentiality agreement that prevents them from discussing unionization. In 2018, the NLRB found that the company violated labor laws when it fired union activist Richard Ortiz and ordered it to compensate him for loss of earnings and benefits.

The labor board also ordered Musk to delete a tweet that might sound like a threat to employees. In the tweet, Musk similarly invited efforts to unionize. "Nothing stopping Tesla team at our car plant from voting union. Could do so [tomorrow] if they wanted," he wrote. However, he also said: "But why pay union dues & give up stock options for nothing?" NLRB chair Wilma Liebman explained at the time that to an employee, that may sound like they'll no longer have stock options if they vote to unionize.

 As Electrek notes, Tesla offers its stock compensation program to most of its employees, and the company's rising stock prices makes it a very valuable benefit.

Pangaea: Facts about an ancient supercontinent

Tia Ghose 

About 300 million years ago, Earth didn't have seven continents, but instead one massive supercontinent called Pangaea, which was surrounded by a single ocean called Panthalassa.

© Provided by Live Science null

The explanation for Pangaea's formation ushered in the modern theory of plate tectonics, which posits that the Earth's outer shell is broken up into several plates that slide over Earth's rocky shell, the mantle.

Over the course of the planet's 4.5 billion-year history, several supercontinents have formed and broken up, a result of churning and circulation in the Earth's mantle, which makes up 84% of the planet's volume, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. This breakup and formation of supercontinents has dramatically altered the planet's history.

"This is what's driven the entire evolution of the planet through time. This is the major backbeat of the planet," said Brendan Murphy, a geology professor at the St. Francis Xavier University, in Antigonish, Nova Scotia.
Pangaea's history

More than a century ago, the scientist Alfred Wegener proposed the notion of an ancient supercontinent, which he named Pangaea (sometimes spelled Pangea), after putting together several lines of evidence.

The first and most obvious was that the "continents fit together like a tongue and groove," something that was quite noticeable on any accurate map, Murphy said. Another telltale hint that Earth's continents were all one land mass comes from the geologic record. Coal deposits found in Pennsylvania have a similar composition to those spanning across Poland, Great Britain and Germany from the same time period. That indicates that North America and Europe must have once been a single landmass. And the orientation of magnetic minerals in geologic sediments reveals how Earth's magnetic poles migrated over geologic time, Murphy said.

In the fossil record, identical plants, such as the extinct seed fern Glossopteris, are found on now widely disparate continents. And mountain chains that now lie on different continents, such as the Appalachians in the United States and the Atlas Mountains spanning Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia were all part of the Central Pangaea Mountains, formed through the collision of the supercontinents Gondwana and Laurussia.

The word "Pangaea" comes from the Greek "pan," which means "all," and "gaia" or "Earth," according to the Online Etymology Dictionary. The supercontinent formed through a gradual process spanning a few hundred million years.

In the early Phanerozoic eon (541 million years ago to now), almost all of the continents were in the Southern Hemisphere, with Gondwana, the largest continent, spanning from the South Pole to the equator, according to a chapter in the scientific book "Ancient Supercontinents and the Paleogeography of Earth" (Elsevier, 2021). The Northern Hemisphere was largely covered by the Panthalassic Ocean. Another ocean — called Iapetus, after a mythical Greek titan — between the paleo-continents Laurentia, Baltica and Gondwana, began to close during the Ordovician period (485 million to 444 million years ago) and then disappeared during the Silurian period (444 million to 419 million years ago), when Baltica and Avalonia collided with Laurentia to form Laurussia, according to the chapter, "Phanerozoic paleogeography and Pangea."

Finally, about 320 million years ago, there was a major collision, geologically speaking, "when Gondwana, Laurussia, and intervening terranes collided to form the Pangea supercontinent," according to the chapter, written by Earth scientists Trond Torsvik, Mathew Domeier and Robin Cocks.

However, Pangaea wasn't the megalithe most people think it is. "Pangea never included all the continents at any one time," according to the chapter. For instance, "the Paleotethys Ocean to the east of Pangea remained wide throughout the Carboniferous [359 million to 299 million years ago] and presented something of a barrier between the supercontinent and a number of large, independent Asian terranes, including Tarim, North China, South China, and Annamia."

Later, during the Permian period (299 million to 251 million years ago), "many former peri-Gondwanan terranes drifted off the north-east Gondwana margin, commencing the opening of the Neotethys Ocean," according to the chapter.
When did Pangaea break apart?

Pangaea broke up in several phases between 195 million and 170 million years ago. The breakup began about 195 million years ago in the early Jurassic period, when the Central Atlantic Ocean opened, according to the chapter. The supercontinent fractured largely along previous sutures.

Gondwana (what is now Africa, South America, Antarctica, India and Australia) first split from Laurasia (Eurasia and North America). Then about 150 million years ago, Gondwana broke up. India peeled off from Antarctica, and Africa and South America rifted, according to a 1970 article in the Journal of Geophysical Research. Around 60 million years ago, North America split off from Eurasia.
Pangaea's climate

Having one massive landmass made for very different climatic cycles. For instance, the interior of the continent may have been utterly dry, as it was locked behind massive mountain chains that blocked all moisture or rainfall, Murphy said.

But the coal deposits found in the United States and Europe reveal that parts of the ancient supercontinent near the equator must have been a lush, tropical rainforest, similar to the Amazonian jungle, Murphy said. (Coal forms when dead plants and animals sink into swampy water, where pressure and water transform the material into peat, then coal.)

"The coal deposits are essentially telling us that there was plentiful life on land," Murphy told Live Science.

Climate models confirm that the continental interior of Pangaea was extremely seasonal, according to a 2016 article in the journal Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. The researchers in this study used biological and physical data from the Moradi Formation, a region of layered paleosols (fossil soils) in northern Niger, to reconstruct the ecosystem and climate during the time period when Pangaea existed. Comparable with the modern-day African Namib Desert and the Lake Eyre Basin in Australia, the climate was generally arid with short, recurring wet periods that occasionally included catastrophic flash floods.

The climate also influenced where animals lived. During the late Triassic, Reptile-like animals in the family Procolophonidae lived in one region, while mammal relatives, known as cynodonts, lived in another, a 2011 study in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found. Cynodonts inhabited one tropical area of Pangaea, where monsoon-like rains fell twice a year. Up north, procolophonids lived in temperate regions where it only rained once a year. It's likely that the cynodonts needed a water-rich area, which restricted their movements on Pangaea, the researchers said.

"It's interesting that something as basic as how the body deals with waste can restrict the movement of an entire group," Whiteside said in a statement. In drier areas, "the reptiles had a competitive advantage over mammals," which is likely why they stayed there, Whiteside said.
Pangaea animals

Pangaea existed for more than 100 million years, and during that time many animal groups thrived. During the Permian period, insects such as beetles and dragonflies flourished, as did the predecessors of mammals: the synapsids. But the existence of Pangaea overlapped with the worst mass extinction in history, the Permian-Triassic (P-TR) extinction event. Also called the Great Dying, it occurred around 252 million years ago and caused 96% of all marine species and around 70% of terrestrial species to go extinct, according to the Geological Society of America.

The early Triassic period saw the rise of archosaurs, a group of animals that eventually gave rise to crocodiles, birds and a plethora of reptiles, including pterosaurs. And about 230 million years ago some of the earliest dinosaurs emerged on Pangaea, including theropods, largely carnivorous dinosaurs that mostly had air-filled bones and feathers similar to birds.
Cycle in history

The current configuration of continents is unlikely to be the last. Supercontinents have formed several times in Earth's history, only to be split off into new continents. Right now for instance, Australia is inching toward Asia, and the eastern portion of Africa is slowly peeling off from the rest of the continent.

Based on the emergence of other supercontinents in the Precambrian supereon (4.5 billion to 541 million years ago), it appears that supercontinents occur periodically every 750 million years, according to a 2012 study in the journal Gondwana Research.

Most scientists believe that the supercontinent cycle is largely driven by circulation dynamics in the mantle, according to a 2010 article in the Journal of Geodynamics.

Beyond that, the details get fuzzy. While the heat formed in the mantle likely comes from the radioactive decay of unstable elements, such as uranium, scientists don't agree on whether there are mini-pockets of heat flow within the mantle, or if the entire shell is one big heat conveyor belt, Murphy said.
Current research on Pangaea

Scientists have created mathematical, 3D simulations to better understand the mechanisms behind continental movement. In a 2018 article in the journal Geoscience Frontiers, Earth scientists Masaki Yoshida and M. Santosh explained how they produced simulations of large-scale continental movements since the breakup of Pangaea about 200 million years ago. The models show how tectonic plate motion and mantle convection forces worked together to break apart and move large land masses. For example, Pangaea's large mass insulated the mantle underneath, causing mantle flows that triggered the initial breakup of the supercontinent. Radioactive decay of the upper mantle also raised the temperature, causing upward mantle flows that broke off the Indian subcontinent and initiated its northern movement.

Yoshida and Santos created additional geological models to predict mantle convection and continental movement patterns 250 million years in the future. These models suggest that over millions of years, the Pacific Ocean will close as Australia, North America, Africa, and Eurasia come together in the Northern Hemisphere. Eventually, these continents will merge, forming a supercontinent called "Amasia." The two remaining continents, Antarctica and South America, are predicted to remain relatively immobile and separate from the new supercontinent.

Additional reporting by Carol Stoll, Live Science contributor
Additional resources
Enroll in the free online Cousera course "Our Earth: Its Climate, History, and Processes" offered by the University of Manchester in the U.K.
U.S. Geological Survey: This Dynamic Earth: The Story of Plate Tectonics
Check out this interactive map that shows where modern countries could have sat on the Pangaea supercontinent.
Bibliography

Live Science. "What is plate tectonics?" May 26, 2021.

U.S. Geological Survey. "The Interior of the Earth." Last modified Jan. 14, 2011.

Online Etymology Dictionary. "Pangaea."

Torsvik, T.H., et al. "Chapter 18 - Phanerozoic paleogeography and Pangea. 2021.

Robert S. Dietz,John C. Holden. Journal of Geophysical Research. 1970.

Looy, C.V. et al. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 2016.

Jun Liu and Fernando Abdala. "Early Evolutionary History of the Synapsida." Sept. 21, 2013.

Geological Society of America. "The “Great Dying." May 19, 2021.

Whiteside, J.H., et al. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 2011.

Brown University. "On Pangaea, the supercontinent, latitude and rain dictated where species lived." May 12, 2011.

Joseph G. Meert. Gondwana Research. 2012.

M. Santosh. Journal of Geodynamics. 2010.

Masaki Yoshida and M. Santosh. Geoscience Frontiers. 2018.

WHITE WAR BLACK REFUGEES

Opinion: We can't ignore the darker sides of global unity on war in Ukraine

Opinion by Peniel E. Joseph CNN

Russia's unjust invasion of Ukraine is a tragedy, and its stark consequences are being played out for the entire world. As events have unfolded, the media has rightly presented the conflict as a human rights catastrophe that inspires a unified global solidarity. But many Black and brown activists and observers, myself included, are also expressing this solidarity -- while critiquing the apparent double standard and racial bias evident in both media coverage of and social media response to images of largely White Ukrainians engaged in violent resistance against Russian forces.

© Bernat Armangue/AP African residents in Ukraine wait at the platform inside Lviv railway station, Sunday, Feb. 27, 2022, in Lviv, west Ukraine. Thousands of people massed at Lviv's main train station on Sunday, attempting to board trains that would take them out of Ukraine and into the safety of Europe as the Russian invasion of that country continued. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

© Kelvin Ma/Tufts University/Kelvin Ma/Tufts University Peniel Joseph

Western coverage of the war has highlighted how scenes of death emanating from Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine are made all the more horrifying because, "They seem just like us." One CBS news segment went viral, primarily for all the wrong reasons, after the reporter opined that the "relatively civilized, relatively European" country of Ukraine was not where one expected to see such heartbreaking chaos.

That correspondent, Charlie D'Agata, issued an apology, saying, "I spoke in a way I regret, and for that I am sorry," noting his words were an attempt to convey that Ukraine -- unlike other countries -- hadn't seen "this scale of war" in recent years.

On the BBC, Ukraine's Deputy Chief Prosecutor described the scenes of carnage in starkly racialized terms, explaining that, "It's very emotional for me because I see European people with blond hair and blue eyes being killed." A commentator on Al-Jazeera opined that the Ukranian refugees were not mere exiles from the Middle East or North Africa: "They look like any European family you would live next door to."

On French television, the attacks on Ukraine have been depicted as an unimaginable assault on "a European city" unworthy of such a transgression. In Britain, The Daily Telegraph interpreted the Russian invasion as nothing less than an attack on "civilisation itself." One reporter on UK television noted, "This is not a developing, third world nation; this is Europe!" as if to highlight the incongruence of events that, although apparently more routine when happening in the darker parts of the world, should not occur in areas where predominantly White populations reside.

The cumulative sum of the coverage evokes patterns of racial bias that prioritize the lives, well-being and futures of White victims of war -- too often at the expense of Black lives.

The Arab and Middle East Journalists Association (AMEJA) released a statement condemning what it called "orientalist and racist" coverage, asserting that it's been casting largely White victims of violence, death and suffering as more worthy of the world's moral empathy and political assistance than people of color around the world experiencing similar crises.

The racial framing of media coverage of the crisis in Ukraine also elides the very real plight faced by Africans and others in the war-ravaged nation.

Students, immigrants and others from Africa (or who are of African descent), India and Pakistan who have been trying to flee report being delayed, sent to the back of the line or outright rejected, primarily because of their skin color. Representatives from Kenya, Ghana and Gabon -- three African nations who belong to the United Nations Security Council -- have lodged formal complaints alleging racism at the border where Africans living in Ukraine have sought refuge.

"The mistreatment of African peoples on Europe's borders needs to cease immediately, whether to the Africans fleeing Ukraine or to those crossing the Mediterranean," Martin Kimani, the Kenyan Ambassador to the UN, said Monday. Kimani's words were echoed by the Ghanaian Deputy Ambassador to the UN, Carolyn Oppong-Ntiri who pleaded that humanitarian aid be directed equitably toward Africans affected by this crisis, "including medical care in line with the principles of humanity, neutrality and impartiality."

The "just like us" tenor of the coverage underscores the uncanny power of race to both implicitly and explicitly shape intellectual analysis, political calculations and moral judgements.

It also betrays a poor sense of history. The idea that, in contrast to Iraq and Afghanistan, which are presumably used to ceaseless conflicts, Europe is a bastion of peace and civility is absurd. Any student of 20th-century global history, especially as it relates to the carnage of the First and Second World War, will appreciate just how wrongheaded such sentiment is.

The posture of surprise over Russia's invasion of Ukraine also ignores the complicity of recent American leadership -- former President Trump's sycophantic relationship to Vladimir Putin, which in certain instances marveled at the Russian leader's autocratic tendencies as a sign of laudable strength.

There is some hope to be found in the United Nations' admission that racism has hindered access to care for African and non-White refugees. No problem can be solved without first being confronted.

The global crisis of racism, inequity and anti-immigrant xenophobia might seem secondary to the violence of the conflict in Ukraine but in truth, they are inextricable concerns. Russia's assault on Ukraine's sovereignty reflects the growing strength of autocratic leaders, such as Brazil's Jair Bolsonaro. Similarly, the treatment of African refugees in Ukraine in the context of war illustrates the xenophobia and racial intolerance that has fueled Brexit and aspects of the anti-globalization and nationalist movements that have flourished over the past decade.

One of the most important lessons of Russia's war against Ukraine is that the whole world continues to watch, respond to and take cues from not only American and Western power, but more tellingly, the power of our example. No single ethnic, racial or religious group has a greater capacity for civilization, personal dignity or citizenship than others. Now is the time to stand with all Ukrainians, immigrants and refugees seeking refuge from the storm of war.

HE WAS A LAWYER BEFORE ALL THIS
Zelenskyy's Sitcom 'Servant of the People' Sees Spike in Worldwide Sales – but U.S. Rights Up for Grabs

Katie Campione 

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's sitcom "Servant of the People" has exploded with popularity over the last week, since the comedian-turned-politician became an international war hero.

© Provided by TheWrap servant of the people zelenskyy

Major broadcasters across the globe have recently licensed the show, including Channel 4 in the UK, MBC in the Middle East, ANT 1 in Greece and PRO TV in Romania, according to Eccho Rights, which distributes the program.

The comedy series, ironically, follows Zelenskyy as Vasiliy Petrovich Goloborodko, a high school teacher who becomes president after a student's video of him denouncing corruption in Ukraine goes viral. Produced by Zelenskyy's Studio Kvartel 95, "Servant of the People" ran for three seasons beginning in 2015 and also spawned a spinoff movie.

Since Zelenskyy began defiantly leading his country through Russia's invasion, the show has seen a spike in sales, Eccho Rights managing partner Nicola Söderlund told The Associated Press.

In an interview with TheWrap, managing director Fredrik af Malmborg said the desire for broadcasters to secure the rights to the show "makes complete sense."

"I think it's the best thing any media company in the world can do to every series [he's done] as a sign of support for his work right now," he said. "Because I think it's really heroic what he's doing and so I think it's a perfect sign of support for his work, and to stand up against this atrocity."

Before Zelenskyy began his bid for the presidency, the series streamed on Netflix, but Malmborg said the streamer's deal ended after two years. For now, the U.S. rights are still up for grabs, he told TheWrap.

Currently, episodes of the show appear to only be available in the U.S. on YouTube.

Malmborg and the rest of the Eccho Rights team have worked with Zelenskyy since 2012 when they distributed his show "Crack Them Up." In a show of solidarity with Ukraine, the company pledged 50,000 euro -- which Malmborg said is about equal to the commission the company will earn from their spike in sales -- to the Ukrainian Red Cross Society. They also vowed to remove all Russian-owned and produced series from its catalogue.

"That's the least we can do, we think," he said.

HUMANITARIAN WAR PROFITEERING

Nestle plans to reopen Ukrainian factories and warehouses to help boost food supplies

ujamal@businessinsider.com (Urooba Jamal) 

 A woman goes shopping at a supermarket in Lviv, Ukraine, Feb. 28, 2022. 

Chen Wenxian/Xinhua via Getty Images

Nestle plans to reopen facilities that it shuttered February 24, Reuters reported.
A Nestle spokesperson told Reuters that reopening parts of supply the chain was "partially possible".
Announcement comes amid reports of dwindling food supplies in some Ukrainian cities.

Swiss food giant Nestle is planning to restarting some operations in Ukraine in order to support the delivery of essential food and beverage supplies.

The company shut down its factories and warehouses in Ukraine on February 24 after Russia ordered its troops into the country, according to Reuters, which first reported the group's plan to reopen.

"We are trying to reopen parts of the supply chain and distribute to retailers where it is safe to do so. The latest information is this was partially possible," a Nestle spokesperson told the news agency.

Nestle did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

With fierce fighting continuing a week after Russian troops advanced into Ukraine, supermarkets are starting to run low on food stocks in the capital of Kyiv and other cities in the country, according to reports. Images show empty bread shelves and a shortage of fruit and vegetables.

Earlier this week, Ukraine's interior ministry said around 40,000 people have limited access to food and water in eastern parts of the country, i News reported.

Nestle says it plans to reopen facilities in central and west Ukraine, Reuters reported. The firm operates three factories and has about 5,500 employees in the country, according to the company's website. Those facilities manufacture items including confectionery and coffee, food sauces, and cooking products.

The group told Reuters that, while the bulk of its products are produced locally, some raw materials like coffee and cocoa have to be imported.

A commodity trader who spoke with the agency said that shipping lines aren't currently transporting goods to Ukraine, and the coffee that he had destined for the country has had to be redirected.

Coca-Cola and Danish brewer Carlsberg are among other international brands that have shuttered operations in Ukraine following the outbreak of the conflict, Fortune reported.
Read the original article on Business Insider

Lies, damn lies and propaganda wars: Russia's 'other' campaign

Anja Karadeglija 

Canada and a coalition of 33 other countries have denounced Russia’s “continued onslaught of disinformation” around its invasion of Ukraine, a day after the Russian embassy in Canada issued a statement accusing Western countries of Nazi-like propaganda.

© Provided by National Post A man walks past a residential building, which locals said was damaged by recent shelling, in the separatist-controlled town of Horlivka (Gorlovka) in the Donetsk region, Ukraine March 2, 2022. 

REUTERS/ Alexander Ermochenko

“We are witnessing an unprecedented wave of lies, fake news, distorted and fabricated facts aimed at discrediting our actions. Goebbels-style Western propaganda was predictable,” the Russian embassy said.

The statement comes as Russia has cracked down on the small amount of independent news outlets that remain in the country, with both the liberal Echo Moskvy radio station and the online TV channel Rain closing this week.

Russia has also restricted or blocked access to Facebook and Twitter. The Russian authorities have threatened to fine or block 10 Russian independent outlets, accusing them of publishing false information about the war, including referring to the conflict in Ukraine as “an attack,” “invasion,” or “declaration of war.”

Western countries have taken aim at Russian-backed outlets RT and Sputik. Both have been officially banned in the European Union, and YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok have all blocked RT and Sputnik from sharing content on the platforms. In Canada, major TV service providers have said they would drop RT from their TV offerings, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he would ask the CRTC to review RT’s “presence on Canadian airwaves.”

On Monday, he said on Twitter that “we cannot allow falsehoods, propaganda, and disinformation about Russia’s war to continue spreading in Canada.”

The Freedom Online Coalition of countries, currently chaired by Canada, said in a statement Wednesday that Russia’s “coordinated disinformation campaign has conjured false and misleading narratives intended to corrupt the information environment.”

The statement, endorsed by countries including the United States and the United Kingdom, called for “the cessation of the conducting and sponsoring of disinformation campaigns.”

It called for “the end of Internet shutdowns and the blocking or filtering of services,” and for Russia to “refrain from content restrictions on the Internet that violate international human rights laws.” The coalition also called for social media platforms to “keep taking every step possible to counter state-sponsored disinformation, including that propagated by Russia Today and Sputnik channels online,” while respecting freedom of expression.

A statement by the Russian embassy in Canada issued Tuesday evening insisted that Russia is undertaking a “special military operation” to “demilitarize and denazify Ukraine.” It said the Russian army is not occupying Ukrainian territory, and is taking “all measures to preserve the lives and safety of civilians.” Instead, it put the responsibility for the deaths of civilians on the Ukrainian side.

“The Armed Forces of Ukraine, nationalist and neo-Nazi groups use civilian infrastructure and population as human shields,” the Russian embassy said. “The Ukrainian authorities and its Western patrons are committing monstrous and inhuman provocations in order to put all the blame on Russia.”

Heidi Tworek, an associate professor at the University of British Columbia, said the statement “mostly repeats” what Russian President Vladimir Putin “has already said, which historians and others have wholly debunked.” She added that at the UN General Assembly, 141 countries voted Wednesday to condemn the invasion.

“Only five countries voted against. This is not just the West,” she said.

Katharina Niemeyer, a professor at the Université du Québec à Montréal, said the examples of the two statements are an indication of a “communications war.”

“Disinformation has always been part of wars. It has always been a powerful tool,” she said.

She said the vocabulary around the Nazi regime that Russia is using for Ukraine “is really an abuse of history, when people know what happened during the Holocaust.”

Niemeyer said that “when you see these two statements, they show that for the Russian government, there’s only one truth. Nothing else is accepted.”

Human rights organizations are among those who have criticized Russia’s media crackdown. Human Rights Watch’s Europe and Central Asia director Hugh Williamson said in a statement Monday that for “the past decade, Russian authorities have used a web of vague laws and flimsy pretexts to intimidate and harass independent and dissenting voices.”

“Now they are bluntly imposing censorship combined with a false narrative that they demand everyone must parrot.”

-with additional reporting from the Daily Telegraph, Bloomberg

Unproven claims of US-funded Ukraine bioweapons labs spread online


Rob Lever, AFP USA
Wed, March 2, 2022

Online articles and social media posts claim US-funded labs in Ukraine are developing biological warfare weapons, saying this is part of the justification for the Russian attack on its eastern European neighbor. But former US officials and non-proliferation experts say the labs are working to detect and prevent the spread of bioweapons, and have also helped in containing disease outbreaks.

"Bioweapons laboratories in Ukrainian cities including Kharkiv, Luhansk, Dnipropetrovsk, and the capital Kyiv, among others locations, have been targeted by Russian troops operating under Putin’s direct orders," says an online article dated February 26, 2022.

Screenshot of an online article taken February 28, 2022

Similar posts appeared on Twitter and on Facebook. One post on the latter site said: "Someone send PUTIN a thank you card. These labs were funded by the USA folks. The most dangerous bioweapons were in those labs." A separate one claimed that the labs "were making injectable bioweapons."

The US government as well as former officials and non-proliferation experts say the claims appear to be based on long-running Russian disinformation efforts and that Washington has for decades been working to prevent the use of bioweapons.

A US embassy statement from April 2020 took aim at what it called "Russian disinformation regarding the strong US-Ukrainian partnership to reduce biological threats."

"The US Department of Defense's Biological Threat Reduction Program works with the Ukrainian government to consolidate and secure pathogens and toxins of security concern in Ukrainian government facilities, while allowing for peaceful research and vaccine development," the statement said.

"We also work with our Ukrainian partners to ensure Ukraine can detect and report outbreaks caused by dangerous pathogens before they pose security or stability threats," it added.

Andrew Weber, a former assistant secretary for nuclear, chemical, and biological defense programs who is now a senior fellow at the Council on Strategic Risks and a member of the Arms Control Association board of directors, told AFP that the US Defense Department "has never had a biological laboratory in Ukraine."

Weber noted that a 2005 treaty aimed "to improve public health laboratories whose mission is analogous to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. These laboratories have recently played an important role in stopping the spread of Covid-19."

In 1969, then-president Richard Nixon renounced the use of biological weapons and the United States joined most UN member states in a global Biological Weapons Convention that entered into force in 1975.

Vickie Sutton, director of the Center for Biodefense, Law & Public Policy at Texas Tech University, said the US has for decades worked with other countries to curb biological weapons and advance research to neutralize any pathogens.

"There is a common misperception that America creates bioweapons," Sutton said, adding that Washington has worked with a number of former Soviet republics to neutralize bioweapons.

"The Soviet Union had the largest biological weapons program ever created," which explains the US presence in facilities to help respond to a bioweapons outbreak, she said.

"They (US experts) are there to help research so they can respond immediately" to an outbreak, Sutton added, noting that the bioweapons treaty does not have an inspection or verification mechanism but that countries submit reports voluntarily known as "confidence building measures."

Some researchers have said that the Soviet Union continued to expand its biological weapons despite having ratified the Biological Weapons Convention, and that the United States worked with former Soviet republics to destroy or eliminate much of the stockpile.

Filippa Lentzos, a bioweapons researcher and faculty member at King's College of London who has consulted for the United Nations and the World Health Organization, said the claims about Ukraine are the latest in a string of reports about the laboratories in these countries.

Lentzos, one of several experts who has visited a former Soviet research lab in the Republic of Georgia, said all indications from independent bioweapons researchers and officials show the United States supporting deactivation of biological agents, and that work at such centers is aimed at preventing disease outbreaks.

"These are public health labs like those of the (US) CDC or the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control," Lentzos said.

Ukrainians say hackers used local government sites to spread fake 'capitulation' news

By Raphael Satter

© Reuters/Kacper Pempel FILE PHOTO: Russian flag is seen on the laptop screen in front of a computer screen on which cyber code is displayed, in this illustration picture

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Ukrainian officials say hackers have broken into local government websites to spread false reports that Kyiv had capitulated and signed a peace treaty with Moscow.

In a message https://twitter.com/dsszzi/status/1499421451253911556 posted to Twitter, Ukraine's State Service of Special Communication and Information Protection said that an undisclosed number of official websites of "regional authorities and local governments" had been hijacked and used to spread "lies" about a deal to end the fighting prompted by Russia's invasion.

The agency said "the enemy" was responsible for the hacking spree.

The agency didn't immediately return a message seeking further details and it wasn't immediately clear which websites it was referring to. Authorities in Kyiv have repeatedly moved quickly to debunk what they describe as Russian fabrications about the conflict.

Russia denies using hackers to go after its foes, but the Kremlin's use of cyber spies in information operations is widely documented.

Hacking official news sites or government accounts to spread misinformation has been done before. Over the past several years, researchers have tracked a hacking group dubbed "Ghostwriter" which is accused of breaking into news sites to make false claims.

Researchers and the Ukrainian government have previously linked hackers to Belarus, which has offered its territory as springboard for Russia's invasion.

(Reporting by Raphael Satter; Editing by Alexandra Hudson)

Fact check: Photo of children saluting Ukrainian troops is from 2016

Emiliano Tahui Gómez, 

USA TODAY

Tue, March 1, 2022

The claim: A photo shows children saluting Ukrainian troops

Amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine, posts on social media have revived a photo of a young boy and girl saluting Ukrainian soldiers.

The image shows the two standing hand in hand, bundled in winter attire, watching troops on armored vehicles. Smoke and Ukrainian flags appear in the background.

“This photo brought tears to my eyes. Two young Ukranian children sending off soldiers to fight the Russians,” reads the caption of a Feb. 26 Facebook post. “This picture speaks a thousand words.”

That post amassed more than 600 shares in three days. Similar posts have also found a large audience.

Follow us on Facebook! Like our page to get updates throughout the day on our latest debunks

But the photo is not from the recent Russian invasion, as the posts make it seem. It first emerged online in 2016, two years after/ the Russian annexation of Crimea.

USA TODAY reached out to the Facebook user who shared the image for comment.

Photo from 2016

The photo in the post predates Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

As reported by Reuters, Ukrainian photographer Dmitry Muravsky took the photo. His watermark is visible in the bottom-left corner of the image.

Refugees arrive from Ukraine at the railway station in the Hungarian-Ukrainian border town of Zahony on March 1, 2022.

Muravsky posted the image in a Facebook photo album titled “Children of War” in March 2016. That album included more than a dozen images of children in war zones or interacting with troops.

Muravsky previously worked as an official volunteer for the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence. The agency published his image of the children greeting Ukrainian soldiers in March 2016, as Reuters reported.

The Ministry of Defence dismissed Muravsky in August 2016 after the authenticity of his work came into question, The Washington Post reported.

Fact check roundup: What's true and what's false about the Russian invasion of Ukraine

"The Ministry of Defence recognizes the work of Dmytro Muravskiy," the agency said in a statement. "Defense Agency has received a lot of his high quality and artistic design photos that were never considered by the Ministry as documentary or real war photos."

USA TODAY reached out to Muravsky for comment.

Our rating: Missing context

Based on our research, we rate the claim that a photo shows children saluting Ukrainian troops MISSING CONTEXT, because without additional information it may be misleading. The photo was published in March 2016 by a Ukrainian photographer with former ties to the Ukraine Ministry of Defence. It is unrelated to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Our fact-check sources:

• Dmitry Muravsky, accessed Feb. 28, Facebook page

• Google Translate, accessed Feb. 28

• Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, Aug. 16, 2018, Volunteer photographer Dmytro Muravskiy dismissed from the position of the Volunteer Adviser to the Minister of Defence of Ukraine

• Reuters, Feb. 26, Fact Check-Photo of children saluting Ukrainian tanks dates back to 2016

• Tineye, accessed Feb. 28

• The Washington Post, Aug. 29, 2016, Photographer of controversial Ukrainian combat photo ‘dismissed’ from duties

• USA TODAY, March 1, Russia's 40-mile convoy appears to have bogged down en route to Kyiv; shells pound Ukrainian city of Kharkiv. Live updates

Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or electronic newspaper replica here.

Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: Photo of children saluting Ukrainian troops is from 2016

Putin blames Ukraine civilian casualties on ‘neo-Nazis’ using ‘human shields’

Max Seddon in Moscow

A billboard in Crimea supporting Russian president Vladimir Putin © AFP via Getty Images

Vladimir Putin held a moment of silence for Russia’s casualties in the war in Ukraine on Thursday and blamed civilian casualties on “neo-Nazis” he accused of using “human shields”.

In an address to an online meeting of his security council that was broadcast on state television, Russia’s president said he would “never give up my conviction that Russians and Ukrainians are one people” and said Russia’s troops were fighting “heroically”.

The speech marked the first time Putin had addressed the human toll of the week-long war, after Russia’s defence ministry had insisted it was carrying out high-precision strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure while avoiding civilian targets.

Russia said on Wednesday that 498 of its soldiers had been killed and more than 1,500 wounded; Ukraine claims Russia has suffered more than 5,500 casualties.

Russian and Ukrainian military claims cannot be independently verified.

Putin said the families of Russian soldiers who died in battle would receive up to Rbs7.4mn ($65,000) in compensation.

In an apparent response to the criticism of Russia’s increasingly brutal campaign, which has included sustained barrages on civilian areas in cities such as Kyiv and Kharkiv, Putin said: “The way the battle is going shows we are fighting neo-Nazis.”

Presenting no evidence for his claims, Putin said the “neo-Nazis” had placed heavy artillery in residential neighbourhoods and were fighting alongside “foreign mercenaries, including from the Middle East”.

He also accused the “neo-Nazis” of “holding hostage” Indian and Chinese students in Kharkiv after criticism from those countries’ leaders.

Russian MPs call for antiwar protesters to face military service in Ukraine

Polina Ivanova in Moscow

Two Russian MPs have submitted a draft law to parliament that would call up for military service in Ukraine any Russians detained for participating in antiwar protests.

The bill, submitted for consideration to the Duma lower house of parliament, proposed to “send for military service in the territory of the Donetsk and Luhansk people’s republics all persons brought to responsibility for participation in unauthorised public events against the use of the armed forces”, the draft law said.

The bill would need to pass through both houses of parliament and be signed by Russian president Vladimir Putin to become law. It was proposed by MPs Andrei Lugovoi and Yaroslav Nilov.

Thousands of Russians have been detained in recent days in antiwar marches across the country. Demonstrations that do not receive prior approval from authorities are illegal in Russia; only one-person picketing is permitted.

“There are people in our country right now who do not agree with the military operation and are willing to break the law in order to stop it,” the draft law said. Such people, it said, should be sent on military service to eastern Ukraine to “see with their own eyes”.

WARMONGER

Russia space agency head says satellite hacking would justify war -report


Director General of Roscosmos Dmitry Rogozin takes part in a report ceremony for the International Space Station (ISS) crew at the Baikonur Cosmodrome


Wed, March 2, 2022

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia will treat any hacking of its satellites as a justification for war, the head of the country's space agency was quoted as saying in a news report on Wednesday.

Roscosmos head Dmitry Rogozin denied media reports that Russian satellite control centres have already been hacked amid Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, while warning against any attempts to do so, Interfax news agency reported.

"Offlining the satellites of any country is actually a casus belli, a cause for war," Interfax quoted him as saying.

Rogozin also said his agency wanted British-based tech firm OneWeb to provide guarantees that its satellites are not going to be used against Russia, Interfax added.

Without these, Rogozin said Russia will cancel the planned March 4 launch of 36 OneWeb satellites from the Baikonur cosmodrome, which Russia rents from Kazakhstan, without compensating OneWeb, the Russian news agency reported.

(Reporting by Moscow bureau; Editing by Alexander Smith)

Nearly 20,000 Russian artists are demanding a withdrawal from Ukraine

REUTERS/FABRIZIO BENSCH Voicing out.

By Anne Quito
Design and architecture reporter
Published March 2, 2022

Russian artists, including many stars of the classical music scene, are speaking out against the invasion of Ukraine.

Here’s a partial list:

Semyon Bychkov, conductor: The musical director of the Czech Philharmonic issued a statement encouraging Russians to speak out. “Silence in the face of evil becomes its accomplice and ends up becoming its equal,” he wrote. “To remain silent today is to betray our conscience and our values, and ultimately what defines the nobility of human nature.”

Evgeny Kissin, pianist: In a solemn video titled Note of Protest, the sought-after soloist described Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine as a crime that cannot be justified.

Alexander Melnikov, pianist: The 48-year old pianist expressed shame over his government’s actions. Addressing the audience during a Feb. 24 concert in Bochum, Germany, Melnikov said “I’m furious with [Putin’s government] for making me feel guilty about being Russian—a feeling that has been with me for as long as I can remember.”

Kirill Petrenko, conductor, The Berliner Philharmonic’s Russian-Austrian maestro didn’t mince words in his criticism of the Russian attack. “Putin’s insidious attack on Ukraine, which violates international law, is a knife in the back of the entire peaceful world. It is also an attack on the arts, which, as we know, unite across all borders,” he wrote in a Feb. 25 statement.

Natalia Pschenitschnikova, soprano, flutist, and composer: Speaking to the classical musical journal Van, Pschenitschnikova lamented how the violence affects generations: “I want to scream on behalf of the Ukrainian mothers whose children have died in shelling. On behalf of the Russian mothers whose children have been made into invaders and murderers. But I scream on my own behalf: Russia, stop this war! I don’t want this shameful and traitorous war!”

Polina Osetinskaya, pianist: The renowned pianist expressed solidarity with Ukraine. “I ask Ukrainians and the whole world to remember that a lot of Russians do not want and did not want this fratricidal war,” she said in a statement to Van magazine.

Daniil Trifonov, pianist and composer: The virtuoso pianist expressed his sadness over the war’s toll. Trifonov wrote on Instagram: “Every war is a tragedy. As a musician, I wish to bring solace and peace in these difficult times.”

The cultural sector appeals to Putin

Over 17,000 Russian culture sector workers have signed a petition imploring their government to “stop hostilities and withdraw Russian troops.” In the letter posted on the arts blog Spectate, culture workers declared their solidarity with Ukraine and outlined the invasion’s economic ramifications:

Everything that has been done culturally over the past 30 years is now at risk: all international ties will be severed, cultural private or state institutions will be mothballed, partnerships with other countries will be suspended. All this will destroy the already fragile economy of Russian culture and significantly reduce its significance both for Russian society and for the international community as a whole. It will be almost impossible to engage in culture and art in such conditions.

To their point, major cultural institutions are already taking a hard stance. Earlier this week, the Munich Philharmonic sacked its chief conductor Valery Gergiev for refusing to publicly denounce Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. And New York’s Metropolitan Opera announced it will no longer work with any performer or institution which support Putin’s policies and promptly ended its standing partnership with Moscow’s Bolshoi Theatre.

REUTERS/ALESSANDRO GAROFALORussian opera singer Anna Netrebko in Milan’s La Scala in 2019.

Russian soprano Anna Netrebko, who is slated to star in the Met’s production of Giacomo Puccini’s Turandot in April, denounced the war but argued that “forcing artists, or any public figure, to voice their political opinions in public and to denounce their homeland is not right.” For now, she remains on the Met’s cast, but her performances in Milan and Zurich have since been cancelled.