$$$ 4 WAR NONE FOR DAYCARE

The US military just awarded a $10 million contract for what could be special operators' latest gadget: jet boots


Stavros Atlamazoglou
Thu, July 14, 2022

A US Army Special Forces combat diver off the coast of Washington, August 14, 2014.US Army

US special operators are investing in tech to give it an advantage against highly capable adversaries.

US Special Operations Command recently awarded a $10 million contract for jet boots to give its divers that edge.

With the US military reorienting itself for a potential conflict with a highly capable adversary, the US special-operations community is investing in capabilities and technology that would give it an advantage in such a conflict.

A recent investment is in a futuristic piece of technology that would have a lot of benefits for one of that community's toughest job: combat diver.
Jet boots
—Patriot3, Inc. (@Patriot3Inc) May 26, 2022

In April, US Special Operations Command awarded a $10 million contract to the Virginia-based company Patriot3 for the purchase and maintenance of the Jet Boots Diver Propulsion System. The contract is a "firm-fixed-price" agreement for the delivery of an indefinite number of jets boots up to 2027

Jet boots use a battery pack and a brushless motor system to propel the diver. The boots have two thrusters on the side of each leg that the operator can maneuver with their body, freeing up their hands for other tasks.

Jet boots are primarily used by the Army Special Forces combat-diver teams and Navy SEALs, and versions currently in use can move a diver at speeds up to 4 knots while allowing them to be "completely relaxed" and conserve energy.

The consensus among special operators who have used jet boots is that once you get used to them they are very easy to use and operate. For example, special operators using jet boots during visit, board, search, and seizure missions or maritime counterterrorism operations could get on target faster and be more rested once they arrive.

US Navy SEALs navigate murky waters during a combat swimmer training dive, May 18, 2006.US Navy/CPO Andrew McKaskle

The boots have benefits and drawbacks, according to John Black, a retired Green Beret warrant officer.

"Combat divers are known to and expected to be able to dive for very long periods of time and to swim for hours on end. Depending on the current of the water and the pace of the dive, this could leave the diver exhausted by the time he reaches the beach. Then the diver is expected to conduct a mission," Black told Insider.

"Diving is a means of infiltration. The combat diver cannot be exhausted just from the infiltration," Black added.

Moving through the water with such ease would be a great help to combat divers, but in some cases, there is a downside to minimizing exertion.

"In colder waters, using jet boots must be carefully planned," Black said. "A diver being motionless for an hour in cold water, while constantly breaking new water, could leave the diver hypothermic. So it must be remembered that it is a tool, not a vehicle."

An asset if used right

—Patriot3, Inc. (@Patriot3Inc) February 4, 2022

Being able to go farther faster and arriving less fatigued — and thus better prepared — would be an asset to a combat diver team and could make a difference between success and failure.

"They come with a hefty price tag, but you get amazing results. You have guys doing 5-[kilometer swims] and using barely any oxygen and more importantly being completely rested and ready to go upon hitting the beach," a retired Green Beret with extensive experience in combat diver operations told Insider.

The Army Special Forces operator spoke on the condition of anonymity because of ongoing work with the government.

A primary tenet of US special operations is that "people — not equipment — make the critical difference," and special operators familiar with the jet boots caution against relying too much on technology, as a poorly selected and trained commando won't be as effective regardless of equipment.

US special-operations forces will continue to evolve along with their mission set, Black told Insider.

"If we expect our best fighters to go anywhere and do anything, they must be equipped with the most up-to-date technology and equipment," Black said. "I do see SOF teams using these [boots] more often, however keeping their core tasks and fitness at the base of everything they do."

Stavros Atlamazoglou is a defense journalist specializing in special operations, a Hellenic Army veteran (national service with the 575th Marine Battalion and Army HQ), and a Johns Hopkins University graduate.

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for PERMANENT ARMS ECONOMY 

Academics attack Florida plan to limit transgender treatment

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A plan by Florida health officials that likely would restrict Medicaid insurance coverage for gender dysphoria treatments for transgender people lacks sound medical justification and may be politically motivated, according to a group of academics from Yale University and other schools.

The Florida Agency for Health Care Administration said puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and sex reassignment surgery have not been proven safe or effective in treating gender dysphoria. Tom Wallace, the state’s deputy director of Medicaid, signed off on the report last month.

But a group of seven scientists and a law professor from Yale and other schools said in a report last week that the Florida’s agency’s conclusions are “incorrect and scientifically unfounded.” The Florida conclusions are so flawed “that it seems clear that the report is not a serious scientific analysis but, rather, a document crafted to serve a political agenda,” according to the academics.

“Medical treatment for gender dysphoria does meet generally accepted professional medical standards and is not experimental or investigational,” the academics’ report said.

A spokesman for the Florida health agency dismissed the academics’ report as “another example of the left-wing academia propaganda machine.”

Related video: FINA restricts transgender participation in women's events
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“The Yale ‘review’ is a hodgepodge of baseless claims using ‘expert opinions’ that lack any sort of real authority or scientific credibility,” Brock Juarez, AHCA communications director, said in an email to news organizations.

Transgender medical treatment for children and teens is increasingly under attack in many states where it has been labeled a form of child abuse or subject to various bans. Critics point to the irreversible nature of many elements of gender transition treatment.

Many doctors and mental health specialists argue that medical treatment for transgender children is safe and beneficial and can improve their well-being, although rigorous long-term research on benefits and risks is lacking. Federal guidelines say gender-affirming care is crucial to the health and well-being of transgender and nonbinary children.

Last year, the American Medical Association issued a letter urging governors to block any legislation prohibiting the treatment, calling such action “a dangerous intrusion into the practice of medicine.”

Among criticisms in Florida’s ACHA report on gender dysphoria treatment, seen as a precursor to limiting Medicaid coverage in Florida of the procedures, are that studies on the benefits of the procedures are of “low quality.” That typically means they involve observational studies and not randomized controlled trials, which are considered the gold standard of medical research.

The review by the Yale-based academics says randomized trials can’t be conducted for all potential treatments or conditions, in part for ethical reasons, and that many medical recommendations have been based on observational studies. It cites as an example prescriptions for lowering cholesterol levels with statins, medicines that are given to millions of older Americans every year and are covered by Medicaid.

The Associated Press

BDS
Ben & Jerry's proposes to mediate Israel dispute with parent Unilever


FILE PHOTO: A Ben & Jerry's ice-cream delivery truck is seen at their factory in Be'er Tuvia, Israel

Thu, July 14, 2022 
By Jonathan Stempel

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Ben & Jerry's and its parent, consumer products company Unilever Plc, plan to seek mediation over the disputed sale of the ice cream maker's Israeli business to a local licensee.

In a letter dated Thursday, a lawyer for Ben & Jerry's said the companies wanted to "attempt to resolve their dispute through expedited formal mediation" instead of litigating, and would use "best efforts" to finish within two weeks.

The letter was filed just 20 minutes before a scheduled hearing on the matter in Manhattan federal court.

Lawyers for Ben & Jerry's and Unilever did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Ben & Jerry's opposes selling its products in the occupied West Bank, saying it would undermine its brand and the "social integrity" built since Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield founded the company in a renovated Vermont gas station in 1978.

It sued on July 5 to block the sale of the Israeli business to the licensee Avi Zinger, saying Unilever had guaranteed Ben & Jerry's the right to protect its brand when buying the company in 2000.

Unilever countered that it was "fully empowered" to conduct the sale, which could not be undone because it has already closed.

It also said Ben & Jerry's could not show irreparable harm, and that prolonging the impasse risked exposing both companies to further "intense public criticism."

Most countries consider Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank illegal.

Ben & Jerry's decision last July to end sales there and its ties with Zinger prompted some Jewish groups to accuse the company of anti-Semitism, and some investors to divest their Unilever stock.

Unilever has more than 400 brands including Dove soap, Hellmann's mayonnaise, Knorr soup and Vaseline skin lotion.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Bill Berkrot)

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M

EXPLAINER: Twitter, Musk and the Delaware Chancery Court


Thu, July 14, 2022 



DOVER, Del. (AP) — Twitter Inc.’s lawsuit to force billionaire Elon Musk to make good on his promise to buy the social media giant will be resolved in a small but powerful Delaware court that specializes in high-stakes business disputes.

Twitter has sued Musk in Delaware’s Court of Chancery in an effort to force him to complete a $44 billion takeover deal reached in April.

WHAT IS THE LAWSUIT ABOUT?

Musk, the world’s richest man, pledged to pay $54.20 a share for Twitter but now wants to back out of the agreement. He claims the company has failed to provide adequate information about the number of fake, or “spam bot,” Twitter accounts, and that it has breached its obligations under the deal by firing top managers and laying off a significant number of employees.

Twitter argues that Musk, CEO of electric car maker and solar energy company Tesla Inc., has operated in bad faith and is deliberately trying to tank the deal because market conditions have deteriorated and the acquisition no longer serves his interests. According to the lawsuit, the value of Musk’s shares in Tesla, which he was to draw upon to help finance the acquisition, has declined by more than $100 billion since November.

Either Musk or Twitter would be entitled to a $1 billion breakup fee if the other party is found responsible for the agreement failing. Twitter wants more, however, and is seeking a court order directing Musk to follow through with the deal.

WHEN DOES THE TRIAL START?

Twitter lawyers are asking the court to expedite the case. They have proposed a four-day trial starting Sept. 19.

WHAT IS THE COURT OF CHANCERY?

The Court of Chancery, established in 1792, traces its roots to the High Court of Chancery of Great Britain, which in turn evolved from an earlier institution in feudal England known as the King’s Chapel. The court, overseen by the lord chancellor as “keeper of the king’s conscience,” served as an alternative to the more rigid and inefficient common law courts. It held the power to offer remedies such as injunctions, estate administration, and, notably, “specific performance,” which can force a party to complete a transaction against its will.

The 230-year-old Court of Chancery typically handles civil cases where a plaintiff is seeking non-monetary damages. Such cases can include disputes over property boundaries and land purchases, guardianship appointments, and estates, trusts and wills.

More often than not, they involve business disputes pitting companies against disgruntled shareholders, or parties to failed mergers and acquisitions against one another.

HOW DOES THE COURT OF CHANCERY WORK TODAY?

The seven judges on the Delaware Court of Chancery exercise these powers today, making it a key venue for high-stakes business disputes. Delaware features a well-established and carefully nurtured body of corporate case law dating to 1899 and is the corporate home to more than 1 million business entities, including more than 60% of Fortune 500 companies. Many merger agreements, in fact, specify that any disputes will be heard by a Delaware Chancery Court judge.

“It’s not that they are necessarily more brilliant than judges in other states, they just have a lot of exposure to this stuff and are pretty sophisticated about it,” said Lawrence Hamermesh, executive director of the Institute for Law & Economics at the University of Pennsylvania.

HAS MUSK BEEN IN THIS COURT BEFORE?

Musk is no stranger to the Court of Chancery. Earlier this year, he emerged victorious in a shareholder lawsuit accusing him of a conflict of interest in Tesla’s 2016 acquisition of SolarCity, a struggling solar panel company in which Musk was the largest shareholder and also served as board chairman.

Hamermesh, a former professor of corporate and business law at Widener University Delaware Law School, noted that the specific performance sought by Twitter is a “pretty rare” remedy, and that it’s uncertain whether the court will force Musk to consummate the deal.

“There are a lot OF? instances where a judge could say, ‘Buyer, you’re in breach,’ but the remedy is a termination fee,” he said. “Given what I have seen so far, my gut instinct is that Twitter’s got the upper hand legally. Whether they’ll get the full specific performance or just the breakup fee is a little harder to say.”

HOW HAS THE COURT ACTED IN THE PAST?

If the court does force Musk to close the deal, it would not be without precedent.

In 2001, poultry giant Tyson Foods Inc. was ordered to complete its $3.2 billion acquisition of meatpacker IBP Inc. when a judge granted IBP’s claim for specific performance.

More recently, a Chancery judge last year ordered private equity firm Kohlberg & Co. to close its $550 million purchase of DecoPac Holdings Inc., which sells cake decorations and technology to supermarkets for in-store bakeries. Vice Chancellor Kathaleen St. Jude McCormick said Kohlberg had failed to demonstrate that a decline in DecoPac sales amid the coronavirus pandemic constituted a “material adverse effect” allowing the buyers to walk away. McCormick, who was sworn in as Chancellor, or head judge of the court, just one week after her ruling, described it as “a victory for deal certainty.”

On the flip side, Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster declared in 2018 that a pharmaceutical company targeted for a merger had experienced such a decline in its financial condition that it amounted to a material adverse effect, allowing the proposed buyer to terminate the deal. The ruling marked the first time the court found the existence of a material adverse effect, or MAE, in a business transaction. It allowed German health care company Fresenius Kabi AG to walk away from its planned $4.3 billion acquisition of U.S. generic drugmaker Akorn Inc.

Randall Chase, The Associated Press

Elections Canada fines 14 candidates for violations during 2019 election

Thu, July 14, 2022 



OTTAWA — Elections Canada has issued 14 fines related to campaign fundraising and finances during the 2019 federal election.

Independent candidate Archie MacKinnon's official agent, Martin Pickup, was fined $500 for two separate violations, including accepting cash contributions over $20 and accepting a donation over the $1,600 maximum any individual can give to a candidate.

Pickup was also found to have deposited a $14,900 cheque from Elections Canada into a personal account instead of the campaign account.

A dozen people were fined between $300 and $500 for failing to submit financial returns detailing the expenses and financing of their campaigns on time, or at all.

Of those, three were candidates for the People's Party of Canada candidates, one for the Green party, one Independent and one for Canada's Fourth Front party.

The other six people fined were contestants in Liberal party nominations in their ridings.

Elections Canada requires that campaign returns be submitted within four months of polling day, or four months after the selection of a candidate in a nomination race.

The fines issued Thursday are in addition to 10 fines handed out in May, all dating back to the 2019 race.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 14, 2022.

The Canadian Press

NWSL will consider reproductive rights in expansion

Thu, July 14, 2022 

National Women's Soccer League Commissioner Jessica Berman said reproductive rights will be considered when the league looks at locations for possible expansion teams.

The league, which currently has 12 teams, is looking to add two more in 2024.

A U.S. Supreme Court ruling last month removed constitutional protections for abortion, which is likely to lead to abortion bans in roughly half the states. There are concerns some states could also move to limit some birth control options and procedures like in-vitro fertilization.

“It’s one of the things that we’re actually currently analyzing, which is looking even at our current markets to see where we have some differentiation between our values and what we stand behind relative to where we have teams located, and what are the solutions we can put in place that we feel comfortable we can commit to and execute on," she said. "Certainly in the context of expansion that would be part of the analysis.”

The NWSL’s board of governors met this week to look at the state of the league and discuss changes. Among the items discussed was the intention to expand the league to 14 teams.

The league has teams in Texas, where abortion is effectively banned, and in Kentucky, where a ban has been challenged in court. It also has a team in Florida, which has banned abortions after 15 weeks.

The board also committed to develop and improve league officiating, including the use of a video assisted referee, or VAR, for matches starting in 2023.

“Based on the data and everything that I’ve learned over the last two and a half months, it’s clear that instituting and implementing VAR is probably the single-most important thing that we could do to improve the consistency and the quality of the officiating," Berman said.

The NWSL is also discussing the league's schedule, which Berman called one of the NWSL's “pain points.” Because the league plays from spring to fall, many players miss games for tournaments including the World Cup — and teams are left without some of their biggest stars.

Anne M. Peterson, The Associated Press

TREATING THE HOMELESS LIKE G20 PROTESTERS

Toronto relies on 'outdated,' inconsistent protocol for responding to encampments: Ombudsman



CBC, Thu, July 14, 2022 

Police officers on horses are seen as occupants and supporters of an encampment in Trinity Bellwoods Park are evicted in June, 2021. (Evan Mitsui/CBC - image credit)

City of Toronto staff rely on an outdated and inconsistent approach when it comes to dealing with unhoused people in public parks, according to an investigation into the city's controversial clearing of encampments last year.

Toronto Ombudsman Kwame Addo released an interim report on Thursday that found a key protocol intended to guide staff in their interactions and treatment of people living in encampments has not been formally updated since 2005.

Addo similarly found that the city's Encampment Office, created in the summer of 2020, is under-resourced and lacks a focused mandate.

"Clearing encampments is extremely disruptive and in some cases traumatizing to the people living in them. The city owes a particularly high duty of fairness to those residents, who are among the most vulnerable in Toronto," the report said.

"The city's response to encampments, including its enforcement action, must be done in a consistent and coordinated way, following a process that is well-established, transparent, and understood by all — city staff and encampment residents alike."

The report ultimately includes eight recommendations to help the city develop a "clearer, transparent, and consistent" way to deal with encampments. The city said as of July 13 there are 121 known encampments.

Evan Mitsui/CBC

The Ombudsman's office began its investigation in September 2021, after fielding more than 50 complaints from the public about how encampments in Trinity Bellwoods Park, Lamport Stadium Park, and Alexandra Park were cleared earlier that summer.

The high-profile incidents included violent standoffs between Toronto police and encampment supporters who tried to stop city staff from evicting those living in the parks. Dozens of people were arrested as the city moved in.

The scenes drew widespread condemnation from some members of the public and advocacy groups.

"We heard broad concerns that the city's treatment of people living in encampments had eroded the public's trust in their municipal government, and we saw evidence that the city's actions have hurt its work with community organizations on other important city initiatives," Addo said in the report.

"Community groups told us that the clearings have increased the vulnerability, isolation, and trauma of people who have lived in encampments."

Evan Mitsui/CBC

The partial report also notes that investigators heard from members of the public who supported the city's actions and also expressed concerns about their ability to use public parks where encampments had formed.

Larger report in the works

Thursday's interim report has a narrow focus on several elements of how the city approaches those living in encampments. Addo said a wider report will be tabled to city council as soon as possible, but that he felt it was important to provide an update on the sweeping investigation as the city continues to clear encampments in other parks.

One of the key parts of the interim report is a document called the Interdepartmental Service Protocol for Homeless People Camping in Public Spaces, or IDP. The IDP was first adopted in 2005 and is described as a "primary document outlining [the city's] approach to responding to encampments."

In its investigation, the Ombudsman's office found that the IDP is "outdated and not consistently followed by city staff.

"Although the city knew that the IDP needed to be updated, it does not have a detailed plan or timeline to guide this work. We believe this is unreasonable," the report said.

It added that all of the city workers who spoke to investigators agreed that the IDP needs to be revised to "reflect the current social and human rights issues associated with responding to encampments."

A common theme in conversations with city staff was how complex it is to effectively and humanely deal with vulnerable people living in encampments, the report noted. The effort requires co-ordination across many city departments. To that point, the 37 city staffers who did interviews with the Ombudsman's office came from 10 different divisions.

Chris Young/The Canadian Press

Investigators also heard from city staff that the Encampment Office, which ostensibly exists to play a central, coordinating role on the file, lacks clearly defined responsibilities and is chronically understaffed.

The eight recommendations in the report include the city should develop a detailed plan outlining how and when it will update its encampment response protocol, hold consultations with the public to inform that update and clearly outline the role and mandate of the Encampment Office.

According to Addo, the city has agreed to implement all of the recommendations, though a firm timeline has not been established.

The city confirmed that in a news release Thursday morning. It said the City of Toronto: "remains committed to strengthening its housing first approach to street and encampment outreach and providing wrap-around, client-centred case management supports to people living outdoors, constructively and in a non-confrontational way."

While the role of Toronto police in last year's clearings was a central point of concern for many, Addo noted in the report that it is outside his office's authority to review the force's actions.

Wildfire near Yellowknife created its own weather and spawned a stormcloud that sent smoke 10 km into the air

CBC, Thu, July 14, 2022 

A tower of clouds, ringed with wildfire smoke, ascended above the Yellowknife area on Tuesday night, driven by a wildfire on the North Arm of Great Slave Lake.

 (Photo submitted by Chelsea Nickerson - image credit)

Believe it or not, the colossal clouds that towered over Yellowknife Tuesday evening were pretty average-sized — for a wildfire-generated thunderstorm.

But make no mistake, experts say: such storms are an extreme weather event that carry serious dangers, often sweeping embers into unburnt areas, flaring up new fires and dragging smoke high into the atmosphere where it can have far-reaching and long-lasting impacts on weather.

"To get this, not only do you need a large and intense wildfire, but you also need a certain type of weather conditions that support the thunderstorm to develop over the fire," explained Dr. David Peterson, a meteorologist with the U.S. Naval Research Lab who studies these storms.

"When this process develops, it basically sets up a giant chimney effect where you have this large, very tall thunderstorm updraft over a fire that is pulling smoke up into it."

They're called pyrocumulonimbus clouds — or pyro-Cbs, for short — and the ones that loomed over the North Arm of Great Slave Lake this week reached 10 to 11 kilometres up into the atmosphere, said Peterson, who was watching the phenomenon by satellite.

Tuesday's clouds rained white ash down on Yellowknife but were still 30 to 40 kilometres away from the city. They were anchored to a 32,567-hectare fire south of Yellowknife across Great Slave Lake, dubbed ZF009-22 by N.W.T. Fire. That lightning-caused fire has been burning since June 19 and is considered out of control, but is being monitored.

These fires can generate their own weather, raining down lightning or hail and causing new fires to start. They create dangerous, erratic winds and make it difficult for aircraft to fly nearby. They can also release smoke at and above the altitude of jet aircraft, creating a visibility hazard at all levels of the atmosphere.

"There's been some research in recent years showing that the updraft speeds in some of these larger pyro-Cbs can actually rival what you see in a supercell thunderstorm, say, on the Great Plains in the United States — the storms that produce tornadoes," Peterson said.

As the fire generates these storms, the storms can then pull air in through the fire, creating more intense wildfire behaviour.

Peterson said Tuesday's storm was the 15th of its kind in Canada so far this year, and not a first for the N.W.T.

Mike Flannigan, a professor of wildland fire at Thompson Rivers University in B.C., said he saw another one develop on satellite over Great Bear Lake a few nights ago. He also pointed to a gigantic wildfire back in 2014 that burned near Highway 3 and created large pyro-Cbs.

"As our climate warms, we're seeing more intense fires, which leads to these pyro-Cbs," Flannigan said. "This is just a sign of the times ... The new reality is that we're on a trajectory of more and more fire, more and more smoke, and more and more fire-generated thunderstorms."

Submitted by Mike Flannigan

And while Tuesday's cloud was an average-sized pyro-Cb, Flannigan said the importance of the event shouldn't be diminished.

"This is still a very dangerous fire, and situation. Fortunately, it wasn't on your side of the lake, or things would be potentially very threatening for the community," he said.

Peterson said Canada in general appears to be a "sweet spot" for pyro-Cbs, with fires generally happening during a time of year when the weather can create these storms. This year, the storms have been developing across Alaska, the Yukon and the N.W.T. due to the large number of active wildfires.

The country has been home to some of the largest pyro-Cbs on record, including one in B.C. in 2017 that sent "volcanic" levels of smoke into the atmosphere. The smoke travelled around the globe and stayed up there for months. It also brought up a new set of questions for the scientific community around what that might mean for the climate.

"It's this extreme aspect of the pyro-Cb that's gained a lot of attention in recent years," he said.

"If we're going to get more wildfires, [we might] see more of these larger pyro-Cb outbreaks that sort of mirror the volcanic eruption effect."

Read more climate stories on our Climate and Environment page.

Union announces another major UK rail strike in late July


Thu, July 14, 2022 



LONDON (AP) — Train drivers at eight British rail companies will go on strike later this month in the second large-scale industrial action set to affect commuters in July.

The Aslef train drivers' union said Thursday its members will walk out for 24 hours on July 30 over pay disputes. The disruptions, which come during the busy summer holidays, are expected to affect sports fans attending the Commonwealth Games, which kick off in Birmingham on July 28, and the opening weekend of the English Football League.

The announcement came after the Rail, Maritime and Transport union said workers will strike on July 27.

Union leaders want a pay rise to combat soaring inflation — currently at 9.1% — and a deepening cost-of-living crisis as energy and food bills climb.

Last month tens of thousands of railway workers staged three days of strikes, paralyzing the country's train network in the biggest transit strike for three decades.

The government says the country's rail network is in dire need of modernization, and train companies are seeking to cut costs and staffing because passenger numbers have dwindled after the coronavirus pandemic.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said the new strike announcement was “incredibly disappointing."

“By seemingly co-ordinating strike dates around the Commonwealth Games, it’s clear union bosses are determined to cause as much misery as possible and derail an event the whole country is looking forward to," he said.

The Associated Press

UK police open inquiry into Farah trafficking revelations

Thu, July 14, 2022



LONDON (AP) — London’s Metropolitan Police Service has opened an investigation into four-time Olympic champion Mo Farah’s revelation that he was trafficked to the U.K. as a child.

The inquiry comes after Farah, 39, said in a documentary that a woman he didn’t know brought him to the U.K. when he was about 8 years old and forced him to care for her children. He said he wasn’t allowed to go to school until he was 12.

In the documentary, produced by the BBC and Red Bull Studios, Farah said his real name is Hussein Abdi Kahin. He said he was brought to Britain using fake travel documents that included his picture alongside the name Mohammed Farah, the name under which he won four Olympic gold medals and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II.

“We are aware of reports in the media concerning Sir Mo Farah. No reports have been made to the MPS at this time,’’ the police department said in a statement. “Specialist officers have opened an investigation and are currently assessing the available information.”

Farah previously said he moved to Britain with his parents as a refugee from Somalia. But in the documentary, he said his parents never came to the U.K.

His father was killed by gunfire during unrest in Somalia when Farah was 4, according to the film. His mother and two brothers live on the family farm in Somaliland, a breakaway region of Somalia that is not internationally recognized.

Farah said in the documentary that physical education teacher Alan Watkinson helped him obtain U.K. citizenship under the name Mohamed Farah.

The British government has said it won’t take action against Farah for any potential violation of immigration laws.

Farah said he was proud to have represented Britain as an athlete but that his “proudest achievement will always be being a husband and father to my amazing family.″

“I did this documentary for them, so they could understand more about the experiences that led us to becoming the family we are today,″ he said in a social media post. “Not every child will have the easiest start in life, but that doesn’t mean they can’t go on to achieve their dreams.″

Danica Kirka, The Associated Press