Report

Apr 27, 2022

Chinese FDI in Europe: 2021 Update

Investments remain on downward trajectory – Focus on venture capital

Building a long-standing collaboration between Rhodium Group and MERICS, this report summarizes China's investment footprint on the EU-27 and the UK in 2021, analyzing the shifting patterns in China's FDI, as well as policy developements in Europe and China.

Key findings

• Chinese outbound investment to the rest of the world stalled in 2021. While overall global FDI rebounded strongly, Chinese outbound FDI edged up by just 3 percent to USD 114 billion (EUR 96 billion). Meanwhile, China’s global outbound M&A activity slipped in 2021 to a 14-year low, with completed M&A transactions totaling just EUR 20 billion, down 22 percent from an already weak 2020.
• China’s FDI in Europe (EU-27 and the UK) increased but remained on its multi-year downward trajectory. Last year, completed Chinese FDI in Europe increased 33 percent to EUR 10.6 billion, from EUR 7.9 billion in 2020. The increase was driven by two factors: a EUR 3.7 billion acquisition of the Philips home appliance business by Hong Kong-based private equity firm Hillhouse Capital and record high greenfield investment of EUR 3.3 billion. Still, 2021 was the second lowest year (above only 2020) for China’s investment in Europe since 2013. 
• The Netherlands received most Chinese investment, followed by Germany, France and the UK. Hillhouse Capital’s takeover of the Philips business made the Netherlands the biggest destination for Chinese investment in 2021. Germany, France and the UK accounted for another 39 percent of total Chinese investment. 
• The share of Chinese state-owned investors fell to a 20-year low in Europe. Compared with 2020, investment by state-owned enterprises (SOEs) decreased by 10 percent. Their share of total Chinese investment also reached its lowest point in 20 years, at 12 percent. SOE investment was concentrated in energy and infrastructure, particularly in southern Europe. 
• Consumer products and automotive were the top sectors. Due to the Hillhouse Capital acquisition, investment in consumer products surged to EUR 3.8 billion. Activity in automotive was driven by Chinese greenfield investments in electric vehicle (EV) batteries. Together, the two sectors accounted for 59 percent of total investment value. The next three biggest sectors were health, pharma and biotech; information and communications technology (ICT); and energy. 
• The nature of Chinese investment in Europe is changing. After years of being dominated by M&A, Chinese investment in Europe has become more focused on greenfield projects. In 2021, greenfield investment reached EUR 3.3 billion, the highest ever recorded value, making up almost a third of all Chinese FDI. 
• Chinese venture capital (VC) investment is pouring into European tech start-ups. In 2021, Chinese VC investment in Europe more than doubled to the record level of EUR 1.2 billion. It was concentrated in the UK and Germany, and focused on a handful sectors including e-commerce, fintech, gaming, AI and robotics. 
• Chinese investment in Europe is unlikely to rebound in 2022. The Chinese government is expected to stick to strict capital controls, financial deleveraging and Covid-19 restrictions. The war in Ukraine and expanding screening regimes and scrutiny of Chinese investment in the EU and the UK will create additional headwinds. 

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Chinese FDI in Europe: 2021 Update | Merics

UH OH
UAE vows 'responsible' artificial intelligence rollout

A two-seater a prototype driverless "hover taxi" flying in a "concept" flight in Dubai in 2017, seen this photograph provided by United Arab Emirates News Agency - Handout

by Dana Moukhallati
April 27, 2022 — Dubai (AFP)


The world's first minister for artificial intelligence says the United Arab Emirates isn't only looking for economic benefits as it seeks to become a leading nation in the sector.

The UAE's minister of state for AI, Omar bin Sultan al-Olama, said "quality of life" considerations were key, and also stressed the importance of a "responsible" rollout -- with impacts potentially reverberating for decades.

"We are looking at AI as a tool," he told AFP in an interview in Dubai. "It's a tool that we need to use to unleash the quality of life aspect."

The UAE also calls AI "machine intelligence", defining it as a branch of technology enabling systems to "think, learn, and make decisions like humans", which can support everything from virology to transport.

"Yes, economic gain is something that every country wants, and we want it too," Olama added. "But... we want to ensure the development and deployment and the use of AI is responsible."

Olama was just 27 when he was handed the cabinet-level position in 2017, tasked with launching the oil-rich Arab nation's strategy in a field which touches everything from speech and facial recognition to commerce and autonomous cars.

His appointment came a year after the UAE also named ministers for happiness, hoping to create a "happier society", and tolerance, mainly aimed at promoting coexistence in the Gulf country where foreigners make up the majority of the population.

The UAE's stated goal is to become one of the leading AI nations by 2031, creating new economic and business opportunities and generating up to 335 billion dirhams ($91 billion) in extra growth.

According to consultancy firm PwC Middle East, nearly 14 percent ($96 billion) of the UAE's gross domestic product will come from AI by 2030.

"The UAE was the only country that appointed someone to actually oversee this mandate seriously," Olama said.

- Driverless taxis -

The wealthy Gulf country has invested heavily in technology over the past decade as it diversifies its economy and reduces its reliance on oil.

Its bets include driverless cars, with autonomous taxis already tested on the streets of the capital Abu Dhabi, while Dubai, another of the country's seven emirates, aims to have a quarter of its transport driverless by 2030.

Abu Dhabi's Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence, touted as the world's first graduate-level AI university, opened to students last year, and the country has launched a number of start-up hubs and training schemes.

However, the UAE has also drawn concern over its high levels of surveillance, and in 2019 it denied reports that a popular mobile app was being used for government spying.

Olama said a big part of his job was instilling public confidence and avoiding costly errors when AI systems are put in place.

The dangers of AI include inadvertently introducing bias against certain groups of people, which could prove damaging in areas such as public services.

"It entails that there's no controversy around the deployment," Olama said of his role. "It entails that we focus on deploying it today, but in a way that makes sure it does not impact future generations negatively."

- 'Element of fear' -

An important step in the project, he said, was to properly explain AI to senior officials, to "demystify" the technology and reduce the "element of fear".

"If you're dealing with something you don't understand, you will have an aspect or element of fear associated with it, it's human nature," he said.

"One programme... is focused on training senior government officials on understanding what AI is, understanding the ethical dilemma, understanding what good and bad deployments are, how do you remove bias.

"Today, these people are our AI army. They are the people that are deploying AI across government, and really have a very strong foundation that they can build on."

The UAE also has ambitions of becoming a major player in other areas of science and technology, sending its first astronaut into space in 2019 and launching a probe in 2020 that went into Mars' orbit the following year.

This month, the country announced a digital economy strategy -- including a council headed by Olama -- hoping the sector will contribute 20 percent of GDP within 10 years.

"I don't think in the next quarter-of-a-century there's going to be an economy in the world that is not dependent for the majority of its economic activity on the digital realm, and AI is a big component of that," said Olama.

"I also think we have not seen the true impact of AI on the economy."

Los Angeles reflects on 30th anniversary of deadly 'multi-ethnic' riots

2022/4/26 
© Agence France-Presse

Thirty years ago, Los Angeles erupted in deadly violence after four police officers were acquitted of the savage beating of Rodney King, despite graphic video footage of the attack

Los Angeles (AFP) - A multi-ethnic group of Los Angeles community leaders will gather on Friday, marking 30 years since their city was engulfed in a wave of violence following the acquittal of white police officers for the beating of Rodney King, a Black man.

The deadly 1992 Los Angeles riots inflamed deep-seated tensions across America's second largest city, as fury in the Black community at racial injustice boiled over and Korean-American and other immigrant shopkeepers bore the brunt of the carnage.

"There's nothing romantic, nothing enticing, nothing beautiful about celebrating what happened for those six days," said "J" Edgar Boyd, pastor at First AME, the city's oldest African-American church.

"But what we have agreed to do, is to take the ugliness and the disparities of those things that happened then, and own them for being reality."

Sprawling Los Angeles has long prided itself on being one of the most culturally and ethnically diverse cities on Earth.

But racial groups have often clustered in divided communities, from wealthy white Bel-Air to Black Baldwin Hills and Latino East Los Angeles -- all just a few miles apart.

On April 29, 1992, despite graphic video footage of the beating of King, the closely-watched trial of the four cops ended with verdicts of "not guilty."

That night, violence first broke out in then-predominantly Black South Los Angeles, where many mom-and-pop stores were run by Korean immigrants.

Looting gangs brought violence and arson to Koreatown itself, where gun-wielding Korean vigilantes took to shop roofs to defend their properties, in images beamed around the world.

By the end of the anarchy, around 60 people were dead, 2,000 injured and approximately $1 billion in damages had been wrought -- almost half suffered by Korean-American owners.

The violence was "America's first multi-ethnic riots," said Edward Chang, professor of ethnic studies at University of California, Riverside.
'Poor fighting the poor'

Walking through Koreatown today -- a trendy, sprawling neighborhood whose name belies the fact it is now majority Latino -- it is hard to imagine those apocalyptic scenes 30 years ago.

But in 1992, racial tensions were already simmering because of the fatal shootings of two Black customers by Korean store owners in separate incidents months earlier.

Neither of the killers of Lee Arthur Mitchell and 15-year-old Latasha Harlins spent a day in prison, broiling resentment between communities riven by stark economic and cultural divides.

"It was not necessarily an intent to go after Korean American businesses... the intent was to respond to the lack of justice that was continually perpetuated upon the Black community," said Boyd.

But for many protesters, the perception -- accurate or not -- of Koreans as "absentee shop owners" with no interest in "pouring back into the community part of what they took out" made them easy targets, said Boyd.

According to David Ryu, a teen at the time of the riots who became Los Angeles' first Korean-American councilmember, the violence was less a "Korean-Black conflict" and more "the poor fighting the poor."

Back in the 1990s, Korean-Americans were just the latest group to set up in inner-city Los Angeles, following earlier Jewish, Italian and Eastern European store owners.

Ryu's parents had sold their toy store not long before the building was torched by looters.

"Because they couldn't get mad at white America, or the powers-that-be, they got mad at the person in front of them," said Ryu, drawing a link to the city's Watts Riots of 1965.

This time, "anger was displaced on the Korean-Americans," he said.
'Their American Dream'

According to Chang, viewing US race relations as an "anti-Blackness" or "Black-versus-white" issue is an "East Coast bias" that ignores Los Angeles' complex tapestry.

In 1992, Los Angeles police "decided not to protect and serve the community they were supposed to -- Koreatown was abandoned," recalled Chang.

"Korean immigrants had no choice but to defend their stores. That was their livelihood, that was their American Dream."

For some, there are parallels with recent attacks on Asian-Americans, which have risen during the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism, hate crimes against Asian-Americans rose over 300 percent last year.

This Friday, Los Angeles leaders will gather to highlight ties between their communities, including a First AME community service held in a building financed by a Korean bank.

"That's a great milestone. They did it when we could not get other (banks) -- Black or otherwise -- to do it," said Boyd.

"What we're going to do on the 29th is to show the world, and Los Angeles, that we intend to be big enough to mitigate the breaches that took place on that infamous day."

THE PEASANTS RIOTED AGAINST THE DUTCH , JEWISH, GERMAN, ETC SHOP KEEPERS IN THE MIDDLE AGES, OFTEN SUPPORTED IN THESE POGROMS BY THE LOCAL AUTHORITIES; SUCH AS VLAD TEPES OF TRANSLVANIA (HE IMPALED DUTCH SHOP KEEPERS FOR TAX AVOIDANCE)

Canada's working-age population is older than ever, StatsCan says

Peter Zimonjic - 1h ago
cbc.ca


Canada's working-age population is older than it has ever been, with more than one in five working adults now nearing retirement in a demographic shift that will create significant challenges to the Canadian workforce in the coming decade, according to new census figures released Wednesday.


© Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press

The Statistics Canada building and signs are pictured in Ottawa in July 2019. The agency said Wednesday that more than one in five working adults is now nearing retirement, which will create significant challenges for Canada's workforce.

Calling it a "date with demographic destiny," Laurent Martel, director for the centre of demography at Statistics Canada, said: "Canada is at a very special place right now" in its demographic history.

"There are very large implications of this situation and it is certainly one factor explaining the current labour shortages that Canada is experiencing."

The Canadian population now has a larger proportion of people aged 55 to 64 than it does of those aged 15 to 24, the age at which people enter the workforce.

In 1966, there were 200 people aged 15 to 24 for every 100 Canadians aged 55 to 64, but that has now been flipped on its head. In 2021, there were only 81 people aged 15 to 24 for every 100 Canadians in the 55 to 64 age group.

"There are challenges associated with an older workforce, including knowledge transfer, retaining experienced employees and workforce renewal," the agency said in its report.

Statistics Canada says that this trend can be slowed through immigration, but "an increase in immigration — even a large one — would not significantly curb this projected drop."

The 2021 census says that while declining fertility rates and an increased life expectancy are important factors, the single most significant driver of Canada's aging population trend is the ongoing retirement of baby boomers (Canadians born between 1946 and 1965 ), which began in 2011.

Despite this news, Statistics Canada says the country still has one of the youngest working-age populations in the G7 after the U.S. and the United Kingdom, with 15- to 64-year-olds making up 64.8 per cent of the population compared to Japan, where it's less than 60 per cent.

In the U.S., the slightly younger workforce is a result of a slightly higher fertility rate, while in the U.K., it is a combination of a higher fertility rate and a relatively smaller number of baby boomers, Statistics Canada said.

An aging population

It's not just Canada's workforce that is aging significantly, it's the population as a whole, Statistics Canada said.

From 2016 to 2021, the number of Canadians aged 65 and older rose 18.3 per cent to seven million, the second-largest increase in 75 years, after the increase recorded from 2011 to 2016, which was a rise of more than 20 per cent.

The seven million Canadians 65 and older make up 19 per cent of the population, up from 16.9 per cent at the time of the last census.

A closer look shows that the number of Canadians aged 85 and older rose almost 12 per cent from the time of the last census, while Canadians aged over 100 rose by more than 15 per cent.

"Over the next 30 years, the number of persons aged 85 and older could triple from 861,000 to 2.7 million," the agency said.

Statistics Canada population projections indicate that by 2051, almost one-quarter of the population could be aged 65 and older and include almost 12 million people.

CANADA

Posthaste: Emboldened workers are pushing for higher paycheques as inflation soars

A larger salary is now the No. 1 reason why employees said they'd leave their current jobs, according to EY's 2022 Work Reimagined Survey.

Victoria Wells -

Financial Post

Good morning!

Workers around the world, flexing their newfound bargaining muscle amid tight labour markets, have begun pushing for higher pay as inflation soars, new research suggests.

A larger salary is now the No. 1 reason why employees said they’d leave their current jobs, according to EY’s 2022 Work Reimagined Survey . That’s a change from last year’s research, when a desire for flexibility topped the reasons why people said they’d consider quitting.

Worldwide, 43 per cent said they are looking to change jobs in the next year and 35 per cent of those said it’s because they want to be paid more. Opportunities for career advancement are also a top want, and would spur 25 per cent to leave. But when it comes to flexibility, only 19 per cent said they’d quit their current jobs for one that offered the ability to work from home.

The shift reflects how workplaces have already adapted to employee wants since the pandemic began, EY said. The option to work remotely is now a given for many employees, after staff made it clear that’s what they expected from employers. Indeed, 80 per cent of those surveyed said they want the freedom to opt out of the office at least twice a week.

With flexibility covered, workers have now turned their attention to the climbing inflation rate. In Canada, inflation rose 6.7 per cent in March from a year earlier, the biggest gain since January 1991, Statistics Canada reported. Consumers are consequently dealing with a surge in prices at the gas pump and grocery store, highlighting why a higher paycheque is now more important than ever.

“This latest survey shows that employees around the world are feeling empowered to leave their jobs if their expectations are not met. As employers have increasingly provided flexible work approaches, higher pay is now the biggest motivation for changing jobs, particularly given rising inflation and valuable unfilled roles,” Liz Fealy, EY’s global people advisory services deputy leader and workforce advisory leader, said in a release.

Employers don’t seem ready to cave on pay expectations, however. Only 18 per cent of those surveyed said they think salary hikes can help address a rise in staff departures.

It’s a challenging time for employers looking to fill roles. Tight labour markets are impacting many countries, including Canada. The unemployment rate dropped to a record 5.3 per cent in March, Statistics Canada data showed earlier this month. That’s making it harder for employers to fill vacancies because fewer workers are available in the labour pool.

At the same time, employers are dealing with a high turnover rate as people seek greener pastures, confident they will find what they want in a new organization. Many of these emboldened workers are comprised of gen Z and millennials, EY’s survey showed. Across sectors, people with tech jobs are more likely to say they’d look for something new within the year. That could be an alarming statistic for many employers already battling to find and hold on to scarce tech talent.

Employers must listen to what staff are asking for if they want to stem losses and improve their corporate culture, EY said. Some companies have already made strides in improving staff satisfaction by focusing on hybrid work, investing in on-site technology and giving employees more freedom.

“We are seeing a top third of companies successfully navigating these divergent positions on pay, career opportunities and flexibility. They have moved from ‘resistance’ to ‘renaissance’ and that’s a win-win for their companies and their workforce,” Roselyn Feinsod, EY’s work reimagined leader, said in a release.

“Organizations have to work to retain their employees, instil trust and provide a package that takes into account total pay, career path and flexibility to balance market concerns and risks.”

The survey, conducted in January through March of this year, polled 1,500 managers and 17,000 employees across 22 countries and 26 industries.

'A Real Threat to Democracy': Musk Buys Twitter for $44 Billion

"This isn't just some corporate takeover," said one critic. "This is about a set of very specific moves that our oligarchs have been taking that have gradually concentrated economic, political, and discursive power in fewer and fewer hands."


Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who purchased Twitter for $44 billion on April 25, 2022, is seen in Grünheide near Berlin, Germany. 

(Photo: Patrick Pleul/ Pool/Getty Images)

JULIA CONLEY

April 25, 2022

Rights advocates, public health experts, and media critics were among those on Monday who warned that the purchase of Twitter by mega-billionaire Elon Musk, the world's richest person, creates a direct threat to democracy and the common good by putting the outsized power of the social media platform used by hundreds of millions worldwide into the hands of one man.

The social media company accepted Musk's offer to purchase Twitter for $44 billion, or $54.20 per share—leading some critics to note other ways the enormous sum of money could have been spent rather than on what Rep. Chuy Garcia (D-Ill.) called "a vanity project boondoggle to silence" Musk's critics.

"Tax the rich," Garcia said on Twitter.

Musk's purchase has led to concern that former President Donald Trump's Twitter account will be reinstated. Trump was banned from the platform in January 2021 after violating its rules by inciting his followers to violently attack the U.S. Capitol in an effort to stop the certification of the 2020 presidential election results.

"With control of such a massive platform comes great responsibility—and Musk hasn't shown he has the capacity to be accountable to this diverse online community."

"Musk hasn't just purchased another expensive play toy, but a global online community that includes about 330 million regular users," said Jessica Gonzalez, co-CEO of Free Press.

"With control of such a massive platform comes great responsibility—and Musk hasn't shown he has the capacity to be accountable to this diverse online community," she added, noting Musk's own history of using Twitter to "intimidate and disparage others, including journalists, elected officials, owners of competing businesses and anyone else who might challenge his views."

With Musk at the helm, said Gonzalez, Twitter must improve its content moderation practices and "stop amplifying bigotry and conspiracy theories that pollute public discourse, threaten the health and safety of users, and undermine democracy."

Musk has criticized Twitter's efforts to moderate the platform, saying early this month that he believes "it's just really important that people have the reality and the perception that they’re able to speak freely within the bounds of the law" and that "the civilizational risk is decreased the more we can increase the trust of Twitter as a public platform."

Journalist Anand Giridharadas said that by taking over Twitter and claiming he'll protect the platform as "the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated," Musk is "doing is what plutocrats have been doing... branding themselves the solution to the very problem they are."

"This isn't just some corporate takeover," said Giridharadas. "This is about a set of very specific moves that our oligarchs have been taking that have gradually concentrated economic, political, and discursive power in fewer and fewer hands."

As Media Matters reported Monday, right-wing politicians in the U.S. have been in favor of Musk's purchase since he first offered to buy the platform earlier this month. On Friday, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) led 18 House Republicans in writing to Twitter's board of directors, demanding that the board preserve all records related to Musk's bid.

"The right's propagandists had celebrated Musk's bid as a way to garner political gain by ending the company's purported political censorship," reported senior fellow Matt Gertz. "Then its elected GOP champions, responding to hesitation from and when Twitter's board, raised the prospect of a costly congressional investigation if his offer wasn't accepted."



While Twitter was a large and powerful company before Musk's takeover was announced, said Sana Saeed of Al Jazeera, the purchase "does underscore an unnerving trend—the ability of a single man to purchase something that impacts hundreds of millions (beyond users) in order to influence it in his own image."

"It's less than great when billionaires own sports teams—which bind communities together—as their playthings," said Robert Weissman, president of consumer advocacy group Public Citizen. "Having a billionaire own Twitter—a vital platform for communication and community—as his plaything is far more serious. It's a real threat to democracy."

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Progressive Twitter accounts lose followers, conservatives gain

2022/4/27 
© Agence France-Presse

Elon Musk has struck a deal to purchase Twitter for $44 billion

San Francisco (AFP) - Key figures on the American left, Barack Obama among them, have shed thousands of followers since Elon Musk's planned purchase of Twitter emerged, while numbers have soared for right-wing politicians.

Musk, the world's richest man, struck a deal Monday to buy the US-based social media platform for $44 billion.

The news was greeted with enthusiasm by fans of Musk, who calls himself a free speech absolutist, and horror by proponents of strong moderation of disinformation and hate speech.

Promises to leave the platform trended under hashtags such as #LeaveTwitter. Within hours, many appeared to be following through.

Former US president Obama, the most popular person on Twitter with more than 131 million followers, lost 300,000 of them nearly overnight, according to news outlet NBC.

Controversial Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, by contrast, gained nearly 100,000 to her official congressional Twitter account in just 24 hours.

Greene, a vocal ally of former president Donald Trump whose personal profile was banned by the platform, praised the acquisition.

"Prepare for blue check mark full scale meltdown after @elonmusk seals the deal and I should get my personal Twitter account restored," she tweeted, referencing the site's system for verifying users.

"It really is something how conservative accounts are getting massive follower increases today," Republican Representative Matt Gaetz, another Trump ally, said Tuesday.

Twitter on Tuesday told AFP that while they were monitoring the situation, the fluctuations appeared to be organic and largely due to new accounts being created and existing ones deactivated.

The exodus extended beyond political accounts.

"It's strange to see a loss of some 35,000 followers overnight," the Auschwitz Memorial account posted Tuesday. The profile, which has 1.3 million followers, tweets photos and stories of concentration camp victims.

Musk has said he wants to increase trust in Twitter, which he sees as a digital town square for free speech and debate.

Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey tweeted Monday that "Elon's goal of creating a platform that is 'maximally trusted and broadly inclusive' is the right one."

He thanked Musk and Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal "for getting the company out of an impossible situation.

"This is the right path...I believe it with all my heart."

Free speech or hate speech? Fears for Musk's Twitter

2022/4/26 
© Agence France-Presse

In this file photo taken on April 14, 2022 In this photo illustration, a phone screen displays the Twitter account of Elon Musk with a photo of him shown in the background, on April 14, 2022, in Washington, DC

New York (AFP) - Elon Musk describes himself as a "free-speech absolutist," leaving rights groups fearful that Twitter will provide a forum for hate speech and disinformation under his ownership.

The world's richest man has signaled that, following his $44 billion takeover, he intends to reform what he sees as over-zealous policing of tweets.

Civil activists are worried that means Musk, 50, will allow banned extremists back to the platform.

"The last thing we need is a Twitter that willfully turns a blind eye to violent and abusive speech against users, particularly those most disproportionately impacted, including such as women, non-binary persons, and others," Michael Kleinman, technology and human rights director at Amnesty International USA, said in a statement.

Like other social media networks, Twitter has struggled against disinformation, bullying and hate-fuelled content in recent years.

It has banned numerous users for promoting violence or threatening or attacking people based on their race, religion, gender identity or disability, among other forms of discrimination.

High-profile people removed from the platform include former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke, far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, and ex-president Donald Trump.

Twitter has also cracked down on lies about Covid-19 and removed thousands of accounts linked to the far-right "QAnon" movement, whose followers believe Trump is waging a secret war against a global liberal cult of Satan-worshipping pedophiles.

Many conspiracy theorists joined newer, far-right-friendly platforms such as Gab and Parler.

Trump, who was banned after the assault on the US Capitol by his supporters on January 6 last year as they sought to overturn the 2020 US presidential election result, vowed not to return to Twitter even if Musk reinstated him.

But conservatives, who have long complained about social media platforms being run by Silicon Valley-based liberals, are heralding libertarian Musk's deal.

"I am hopeful that Elon Musk will help rein in Big Tech's history of censoring users that have a different viewpoint," tweeted Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn.

Derrick Johnson, CEO of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), said that while "free speech is wonderful, hate speech is unacceptable."

"Do not allow Twitter to become a petri dish for hate speech, or falsehoods that subvert our democracy. Protecting our democracy is of utmost importance, especially as the midterm elections approach," he said.
Moderation

In Brussels, the International Federation of Journalists echoed that call, expressed concern that the billionaire would damage media freedoms "by exacerbating opportunities to attack journalists" on the site.

IFJ general secretary Anthony Bellanger said Twitter, which has 400 million users, "must be duly moderated, while respecting freedom of speech."

Experts say that once at the helm, Musk may find that staying true to his free speech instincts isn't so simple.

In the European Union for example, Twitter will have to comply with the new Digital Services Act, a major piece of EU legislation ensuring tougher consequences when platforms host banned content.

"He's going to have to have some form of content moderation policy. That's going to be challenging for Musk," New York University politics and media expert Joshua Tucker told AFP.

The entrepreneur will also be wary about making too many changes that contribute to users flocking away from the site, analysts say.

"If it becomes a place of hateful content and it chases away journalists, then it loses its value," Karen North, professor of digital social media at the Annenberg journalism school in California told AFP.

Musk has not specified exactly what restrictions he intends to roll back, but stated in a tweet Tuesday that he is "against censorship that goes far beyond the law."

"If people want less free speech, they will ask government to pass laws to that effect. Therefore, going beyond the law is contrary to the will of the people," he added.

BIDEN DID NOT PARDON LEONARD PELTIER

Biden Urged to 'Do Better' After Pardoning or Commuting Sentences of Just 78 People

"This early use of clemency power is a good first step in the long road to end mass incarceration, but there is a lot more work to be done if the president is to fulfill his commitment to justice and equity."


JESSICA CORBETT

April 26, 2022

After U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday used his clemency powers for the first time—well over a year into his presidency—criminal justice reform advocates called on him to go even further to tackle mass incarceration.

"If we are to be a nation of second chances and justice for all, then the president must lead through his action—and clemency is a powerful way to lead."

Biden announced in a statement that he was pardoning three people and commuting the sentences of 75 others with nonviolent drug offenses. The president also revealed new steps his administration is taking "to support those reentering society after incarceration."

Framing Biden's pardons and commutations as "just modest steps," Inimai Chettiar, federal director of the advocacy group Justice Action Network, encouraged him "to meet the urgency of the moment."

"President Biden ran on a promise to help end mass incarceration, and he has broad public support for that promise," Chettiar told the Associated Press.

Noting that many people impacted by Biden's moves fit into categories called for by the ACLU's Redemption Campaign, an effort to free 50,000 people from U.S. prisons, Cynthia W. Roseberry, deputy director of the group's Justice Division, also welcomed the announcement while urging him to take more action.

Various polls "have shown that voters support the president using his clemency powers in a bold manner," she pointed out. "This early use of clemency power is a good first step in the long road to end mass incarceration, but there is a lot more work to be done if the president is to fulfill his commitment to justice and equity."

"In a poll soon to be released by the ACLU, there is broad support for the president to grant clemency," she continued. "Americans from all political ideologies support giving people a second chance. If we are to be a nation of second chances and justice for all, then the president must lead through his action—and clemency is a powerful way to lead."

Roseberry highlighted that the United States is responsible for "20% of the world's prison population despite comprising only 5% of the global population, with Black people 10 times more likely to be incarcerated for drug offenses than anyone else."

"At a cost of $80 billion annually, the carceral system is a behemoth albatross for justice and equality," she said. "The grant of clemency plus the initiatives announced as wraparound services is essential to returning people to their communities and to their families."

As Biden detailed Tuesday, the services include "a new collaboration between the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Labor to provide job training; new grants for workforce development programs; greater opportunities to serve in federal government; expanded access to capital for people with convictions trying to start a small business; improved reentry services for veterans; and more support for healtcare, housing, and educational opportunities."

Biden granted pardons to Abraham W. Bolden Sr., an 86-year-old former U.S. Secret Service agent; Betty Jo Bogans, a 51-year-old convicted of possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine; and Dexter Jackson, a 52-year-old convicted for using his business to facilitate the distribution of marijuana.


The president explained that he was pardoning three people "who have demonstrated their commitment to rehabilitation and are striving every day to give back and contribute to their communities."

"I am also commuting the sentences of 75 people who are serving long sentences for nonviolent drug offenses, many of whom have been serving on home confinement during the Covid pandemic—and many of whom would have received a lower sentence if they were charged with the same offense today, thanks to the bipartisan First Step Act," Biden added, referencing legislation signed into law by his predecessor.

"While today's announcement marks important progress," he said, "my administration will continue to review clemency petitions and deliver reforms that advance equity and justice, provide second chances, and enhance the well-being and safety of all Americans."
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Afghan-American Groups Challenge Illegal Seizure of Billions by US

"The seizure of funds would be a deep and grave injustice adding to the continued suffering for the Afghan people that would be felt for generations," said one rights advocate.


Severely malnourished Afghan children fill the therapeutic feeding wards at the Indira Ghandi Institute of Child Health, a state hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan, on January 18, 2022.

 (Photo: Scott Peterson/Getty Images)

JULIA CONLEY

April 26, 2022

Condemning the Biden administration's seizure of U.S.-held Afghanistan Central Bank funds as "a deep and grave injustice" that will worsen the humanitarian crisis already being suffered by millions of Afghans, several civil society groups have filed official statements in federal court demanding President Joe Biden's executive order regarding the funds be overturned.

"Releasing these funds back to the Afghan people is a critical step in addressing the conditions imposed on Afghans."

As Afghans For A Better Tomorrow (AFBT) said in a statement released Monday, the group joined Project ANAR, Afghan-American Community Organization (AACO), and Global Advocates for Afghanistan (GAA) in filing an amicus brief in the Southern District of New York last week, demanding the U.S. government release $3.5 billion in Central Bank reserves so they can be used to alleviate hunger and poverty for Afghan households.

"The Afghan people have suffered injustice after injustice—including having to endure brutal Taliban oppression and the seizure of Afghan reserves, leading to the world's worst humanitarian disaster," said Arash Azizzada, co-director for AFBT. "The seizure of funds would be a deep and grave injustice adding to the continued suffering for the Afghan people that would be felt for generations."



Last year after the U.S. withdrew from Afghanistan and the Taliban quickly took control of the country, the Biden administration froze $7.1 billion that the previous Afghan government had placed in the New York Federal Reserve.

In February, Biden signed an executive order allocating half of the money for humanitarian relief in Afghanistan but seizing the other half and holding it for families who lost loved ones on September 11 and have brought cases against the Taliban.

"It would be both unlawful and profoundly unjust to turn over assets belonging to the Afghan people to satisfy judgments against a terrorist-designated group."

The remaining $3.5 billion must go to supporting the people of Afghanistan, said the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), which is representing the Afghan civil society groups in federal court.

"The 9/11 families should be able to enforce their judgments—against the Taliban, with the Taliban's funds," said Katherine Gallagher, senior staff attorney at CCR. "It would be both unlawful and profoundly unjust to turn over assets belonging to the Afghan people to satisfy judgments against a terrorist-designated group."

The seizure of the funds is worsening a humanitarian emergency "in a country where U.S. and European sanctions are compounding suffering caused by decades of war and misrule," said CCR.

Instead of holding the Taliban accountable, the groups said, the U.S. seizure of the funds has only exacerbated Afghanistan's economic crisis and plunged millions of people into a humanitarian catastrophe. Last month, the United Nations reported that half of Afghanistan's nearly 39 million people are facing acute hunger, "including nine million in a state of emergency food insecurity—the highest number in the world."

GAA reported last week that "Afghan parents are selling their organs in order to secure the next meal for their families."

"Subjecting the entire population of Afghanistan to further suffering by taking Afghan resources can and must be avoided," said Sadaf Doost, co-founder of the group.

By the second half of 2022, 97% of Afghans are expected to be living "well below the poverty line," according to the International Rescue Committee.

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"Every day, we speak to clients who are still in Afghanistan and their situation grows more dire by the moment," said Laila Ayub, co-director of Project ANAR. "Releasing these funds back to the Afghan people is a critical step in addressing the conditions imposed on Afghans."

Separately last week, September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows also filed an amicus brief opposing the Biden administration's seizure of the $3.5 billion.

"This money does not belong to the Taliban or to 9/11 families," said the group in February. "The money belongs to the people of Afghanistan. Cut off from the world financial system and deprived of its central bank funds by the U.S. and its allies, the Afghan economy is being crippled. The freezing of these funds means that wages aren't being paid, money is not flowing, and the economy is in free-fall."

Turning the $3.5 billion over the 9/11 families would also elevate the status of the Taliban, which is not internationally recognized as the government of Afghanistan, said CCR.

"It would implicitly recognize them as the owner of sovereign assets, granting them a status that not only contravenes U.S. foreign policy but harms the [Afghan civil society] organizations and the millions of other Afghans who are suffering a humanitarian and human rights crisis under the Taliban," said the group.
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Brazil Court Deals Blow to Massive Amazon Gold Mine Project

One prosecutor called the ruling "another victory for the Indigenous and riverine people of Volta Grande do Xingu," who "know that a mining project can have devastating impacts on the region."

An Indigenous Brazilian man holds a sign reading "Take mining out of the forest urgently" during the March 9, 2022 #AtoPelaTerra (Stand Up for Earth) protest in Brasília, Brazil. 

(Photo: Sergio Lima/AFP via Getty Images)

BRETT WILKINS

April 26, 2022

Environmental and Indigenous rights defenders on Tuesday welcomed a Brazilian court ruling that will continue to block a Canadian company from building what would be the South American nation's largest open-pit gold mine in the Amazon rainforest.

"Belo Monte already has had a major impact on the Xingu. A second project could mean the death of the local peoples."

In a 3-0 decision, the Federal Regional Court of Brasília on Monday upheld the suspension of an environmental license for Belo Sun Mining Corp., affirming a 2017 ruling that found the company failed to adequately consult with Indigenous peoples on the social and environmental impacts of an $800 million project located in the Volta Grande do Xingu region in the state of Pará.

"My community wasn't consulted about the Belo Sun project," Lorena Curuaia, a leader from Iawa village, told the Associated Press.

Referring to the world's third-largest hydroelectric dam—located just 12 miles from the proposed mine site—Curuaia added: "Belo Monte already has had a major impact on the Xingu. A second project could mean the death of the local peoples."



Federal prosecutor Felício de Araújo Pontes Jr. called the ruling "another victory for the Indigenous and riverine people of Volta Grande do Xingu," who "know that a mining project can have devastating impacts on the region."

"The judgment shows the resilience of this population," he told the AP.

Advocacy groups warn that Indigenous peoples—including Juruna, Arara, Kuruaya, Xipaia, and others—would suffer serious direct impacts from the Volta Grande project.

As the Interamerican Association for Environmental Defense (AIDA) detailed:

According to experts, the Belo Sun mining project in Volta Grande do Xingu has serious structural flaws which were not clearly presented to the impacted communities during the consultation process. Environmental impact studies carried out by the mining company disregard both the potential seismic impacts on the tailings dam that needs to be built and the cumulative impacts it would cause along with the dam of the Belo Monte plant.

The dam designed for the mine would be similar in size to the Vale dam that collapsed in Mariana in 2015, causing Brazil's biggest environmental disaster. A report by an expert in geology and mining, Dr. Steven H. Emerman, claims that at least nine million cubic meters of toxic mining waste could reach the Xingu River and travel more than 40 kilometers in two hours, causing irreversible damage. These tailings could contain highly toxic metals, such as cyanide, arsenic, and mercury, which could lead to ecocide of the Xingu River.

"Other studies point to impacts such as changes in the reproductive cycle of fauna, deforestation and/or burning, pollution of water resources, and soil contamination," AIDA added.

The court ruling came as a series of bills backed by Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil's right-wing president and self-described "Captain Chainsaw," advance through the National Congress. If passed, critics say the so-called "package of destruction" would allow mining on Indigenous lands, relax restrictions on the use of pesticides, and encourage illegal logging and land seizures.

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House Dems Back Marijuana Industry Workers in Unionizing Push

"Workers need economic security and fair treatment in the workplace, and cannabis workers are no different," said one union representative recently.


A customer makes a purchase at Sunnyside Cannabis Dispensary on January 1, 2020 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo: Kamil Krzaczynsi/AFP via Getty Images)


JULIA CONLEY

April 26, 2022

Workers in the marijuana industry joined union representatives and Democratic lawmakers Tuesday for a round table discussion about a growing push to organize workplaces in the sector and about federal legislation to protect workers' rights in all industries.

Reps. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) and Donald Norcross (D-N.J.). met with employees from marijuana businesses in New Jersey, where legal sales for recreational use began last week.

Recreational use of marijuana has now been legalized in at least 18 states, with the pace of decriminalization picking up in recent years.

At the same time, workers at Amazon, Starbucks, John Deere, and other workplaces have garnered national attention for forming labor unions and staging strikes to demand fair pay, stronger safety protections, and a say in decision-making.

"I think that one of the things we look at is the cannabis industry really is prime for organizing right now—just like you're seeing with Starbucks, just like you're seeing with Amazon," Pocan told Marijuana Moment ahead of the round table.

Hourly workers in cultivation and retail in the industry earn $15 per hour on average, according to a 2021 survey.

"We're here to basically talk from the perspectives of those workers, budtenders... who are trying to make a career out of it, trying to earn a livable wage, get earned time off that coincides with the amount of time that they spend at the facility, " said one worker named Emilio who attended the round table discussion.

"The cannabis industry really is prime for organizing right now—just like you're seeing with Starbucks, just like you're seeing with Amazon."

Cannabis workers in St. Louis and Manistee, Michigan have voted this month to join the United Food & Commercial Workers, becoming the first dispensary employees in each state to unionize.

At Root 66 in St. Louis, the eight budtenders who voted to unionize had concerns about a lack of consistent company policies and policy changes, no paid time off for sick leave or vacation, and low wages.

"Cannabis workers across the country are voting to join a union because they know it's the best way to secure good wages and benefits on the job," said UFCW Local 655 President Dave Cook after the vote in St. Louis on April 4. "Workers need economic security and fair treatment in the workplace, and cannabis workers are no different."

Pocan and Norcross, both union members themselves, have advocated for passage of the PRO Act, which the U.S. House passed in 2020 but which has been held up in the Senate due to right-wing opposition and the legislative filibuster.

The legislation "will help all sectors and make it easier for people who want to have an election actually be able to get an election and be able to form a union,” Pocan told Marijuana Moment.

"I think you have potential to see that with the cannabis industry, and that's a good thing," he said. "When people are organized, depending on the position, it's like $3,000 to $8,000 more they can make simply by being a member of a unionized business in cannabis."

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