‘We are in the fight of our lifetimes,’ Bernie Sanders tells union partisans at Philly rally

2022/8/20 
© The Philadelphia Inquirer

PHILADELPHIA — Decrying the power of the “oligarchy that runs this country,” 80-year-old Sen. Bernie Sanders told thousands attending a pro-labor rally on Independence Mall that “we are in the fight of our lifetimes.”

To applause from the friendly audience, in a campaign-style speech Sanders attacked the concentration of wealth in the nation, the spiraling pay of chief executives, the crushing weight of college debt, and the lack of universal health care.

“Brothers and sisters,” said Sanders. “We are in the fight of our lifetimes. We are fighting incredible wealth and incredible power. We’re going to create an economy that works for us, and not just the 1%.”

Sanders, an independent senator from Vermont who sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016 and 2020, told the crowd, gathered between Independence Hall and the National Constitution Center, that the country was saddled with the largest inequities in income and wealth in 100 years.

“You are not just a cog in a machine. You’re a human being with some rights,” Sanders said. “If we are going to save the middle class in this country, we are going to have to grow the union movement.”

The Vermont senator wore a baseball cap of the area’s Teamsters Local 107 for shade during the hot afternoon.

He was joined at the rally by two stars among labor leaders — Sean O’Brien, the insurgent who became the national president of the Teamsters in March, and Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants. Nelson urged the audience to support a unionization drive at Delta, the only major airline to have a nonunion workforce of flight attendants.

The trio are to appear at a similar rally in Boston on Sunday, and previously held one in Chicago, in June.

Their tour comes as the long-besieged labor movement has notched some wins of late.

In Philadelphia, workers at four Starbucks cafes have voted to unionize this year, part of a boomlet that has seen baristas at about 200 of the chain’s 9,000 stores vote in favor of unionization since December. Union activists have also been buoyed by a successful union drive at an Amazon warehouse in Staten Island.

Meta/Facebook flees progressive conference after protests erupt over the company's conservatism

Sarah K. Burris
August 20, 2022

(Shutterstock)

Facebook and its parent company Meta left the progressive conference Netroots Nation after protesters didn't give them the warm welcome they anticipated.

Attendees and 101.1 The Wiz radio station revealed that the Facebook Users Union organizers attacked the company's signs with their own, attacking them for collecting private and sensitive data from those seeking abortions.

There was a report earlier this month about Facebook turning over information about a teenager who had a pharmaceutical abortion after the cutoff date in Nebraska.

At the same time, Facebook has allowed fake pharmaceutical producers to offer "abortion pill reversal" drugs, Media Matters reported.

"Netroots Nation attendees entered the area around the Meta booth to the call and response chant," the Wiz reported, "When abortion rights are under attack, what do we do…stand up, fight back."

Facebook has had a long and complicated relationship with progressives after allowing former President Donald Trump to violate terms of service with posts and ads during the 2016 campaign season. Facebook also made money off of international companies that were driving wedges and stoking fears targeting races.

A 2021 analysis by The Washington Post revealed that the site gives an advantage to conservatives on the platform. Facebook says that the right-wing is just better at stoking fears and responses than progressives. The reality is that Facebook has allowed false information to stand from conservative sources. While there are supposed to be protections in place to stop fake news, it typically takes so long for the review and removal that the story has already spread across the platform. As a result, the top 25 posts on Facebook are very rarely from Democratic sources.

Late last year, a Facebook whistleblower told Congress "she studied how the social network's algorithm amplified misinformation and was exploited by foreign adversaries."

Frances Haugen told Congress that the social media site always chose to increase the user base over implementing safeguards. When there were studies that revealed the harms of the site, they intentionally hid it from the public.

"The result has been more division, more harm, more lies, more threats and more combat. In some cases, this dangerous online talk has led to actual violence that harms and even kills people," Haugen testified.

"During my time at Facebook, I came to realize a devastating truth: Almost no one outside of Facebook knows what happens inside Facebook," Haugen said. "The company intentionally hides vital information from the public, from the U.S. government, and from governments around the world."

Netroots Nation isn't merely a conference for progressive people, it's for progressive activists who seek to be better activists and organizers. The attendees are incredibly well versed in news, as Netroots Nation came out of "Yearly Kos," a gathering of bloggers. Until Meta fixes its problems with progressives, they're likely to continue seeing an angry response.

The protests took place on Friday, and by Saturday their booth was gone from the exhibit hall and a panel they intended to host had been canceled.

See some of the videos and videos from the action below:

Legal expert explains why Fox will probably settle the infamous Dominion lawsuit

Sarah K. Burris
August 20, 2022

Former Judge Jeanine Pirro taking the stage at the 2017 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). Photo by Gage Skidmore.

Former federal prosecutor and now law professor Joyce Vance thinks that the Fox network will likely look to settle their lawsuit from Dominion Voting Systems over the false portrayals of them on numerous shows after the 2020 election.

Speaking to host Ayman Mohyeldin on MSNBC Saturday, Vance explained that defamation lawsuits are incredibly powerful and that it's unusual to see one that is as one-sided as Dominion's.

"One suspects that there would be a lot of pressure on the Fox defendant to settle the case short of trial," Vance explained. "Although a settlement could be painful, going to trial almost guarantees a broader exposure of these sorts of Kraken-lawyer-fever-dreams that are being spread here."

As for the First Amendment, she explained cases like this are the perfect example of drawing lines around whether people can be held liable for knowingly lying to the American public.

"One of the most really eclectic and very fitting elements of this sort of law is plaintiffs are entitled to get some form of truth-telling from defendants in the same form where lies were told," Vance continued. "As you indicated, there are beginning efforts in that area, it only gets worse as the case goes to trial."

Mohyeldin, who said he doesn't consider Fox a "news organization," has a "moral obligation" to tell the truth. However, he asked, "it's not a crime to lie, is it?"

"This is a very interesting slice of that sort of behavior," she explained. "It is not talking about criminality. It simply says in the language of the law that you committed a civil tort against me, Dominion. That you have defamed my business, that you have told lies and, in many ways, impacted my ability to earn a living, or you've impacted my profits and bottom line. So, I am entitled to compensation from you. So, the lawsuit proceeds very much in that vein along that civil liability track that punishes people, who intentionally or with gross negligence lie about people and the sorts of civil settings."

See the explanation below:

SI! AMERICA IS BILINGUAL

US, Mexico pledge half a billion dollars to fight cross-border pollution from Tijuana River sewage

2022/8/20 15:40 (EDT)
© The San Diego Union-Tribune

In this file photo, contaminated water signs are posted along the southern part of the beach in Imperial Beach, California. - Alejandro Tamayo/The San Diego Union-Tribune/TNS

SAN DIEGO — A nearly half-billion-dollar investment in new sewage treatment facilities in Tijuana could clean up perpetually polluted beaches in San Diego, U.S. and Mexican officials say.

Officials from both countries signed a treaty through the International Boundary and Water Commission that commits to funding new sanitation projects during a ceremony at the Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve in Imperial Beach on Thursday.

The agreement pledges about $350 million in U.S. spending and $144 million from the Mexican government to replace failing sewage treatment facilities in Tijuana.

The combined funding would build a treatment plant by 2027 that would halve the number of days when wastewater flows north from Mexico to Imperial Beach and other coastal San Diego communities and would reduce untreated wastewater discharged to the Pacific Ocean by 80 percent, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Cross-border pollution has plagued the Tijuana and southern San Diego region for decades, causing illnesses such as diarrhea and respiratory disease as well as environmental damage.

The problem has worsened over the past five years as aging sewage treatment facilities have deteriorated further, leaking raw sewage into the Pacific, said Rep. Scott Peters, D-Calif.

"Because their infrastructure is really decrepit and has not been maintained, the treatment plant is falling apart, so sewage is falling into the water — not through a pipe with partial treatment, but without any treatment," Peters said.

Recent health studies have found that viral contaminants in the water may be higher than previously thought. Compounding the problem is the fact that the treatment plant's capacity has declined as the amount of sewage generated by Tijuana has grown.

"They have a double problem — growing population and failing infrastructure," Peters said.

The agreement, called Minute No. 328, calls for doubling the capacity of the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant in the U.S. and building a new treatment plant in Tijuana.

The combined projects would boost sewage treatment capacity by 43 million gallons per day, according to the EPA. They would also repair or replace deteriorating sewer lines and pump stations in Tijuana to prevent sewage spills.

The U.S. funding for those projects includes $300 million that was authorized as part of the 2020 United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. That money was tied up because of legal restrictions, but last month Reps. Sara Jacobs, D-Calif., and Juan Vargas, D-Calif., introduced a legislative fix to allow the EPA to transfer the funds to the International Boundary and Water Commission for wastewater treatment.

An additional $50 million was authorized under last year's federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Peters said.

Mexico recently made a binding commitment to invest $144 million in the project, officials said.

"It's not just a statement of intent, but it's the next level of commitment," Peters said. "This will be enforced as a treaty."

Although the new facility is slated for completion by 2027, Peters said that's a conservative timeline and officials hope to build it sooner. In the meantime, he said, sewage spills can be detained or diverted further offshore to help prevent beach pollution on both sides of the border.

"I think we all understand that we can't have these beaches closed in the summer," Peters said.

Palestinians have case dropped after video proves police attack

Video shows two Palestinian men had been attacked by Israeli police, forcing prosecutors to drop the investigation.

Israeli police were shown to have attacked the two Palestinian men, Mohammad Abu al-Hommos and Adam Masri [File: Ahmad Gharabli/AFP]

By Al Jazeera Staff
Published On 22 Aug 2022
Occupied East Jerusalem – Two Palestinian men accused of assaulting Israeli police will not be charged after video evidence showed that they had actually been the ones attacked.

One of the victims, 56-year-old Mohammad Abu al-Hommos, a political activist in occupied East Jerusalem, said 30the prosecution had closed the investigation earlier in August, although the details of the case are only now being reported by the Israeli media.

“We were surprised three months ago when they charged us,” Abu al-Hommos told Al Jazeera. “We responded within the 30-day period permitted. They were surprised when our lawyer referred to the videos proving that we were the ones who were attacked by the police, and they dropped the charges.”

Footage from the night of the incident in November 2019 showed that the two men had been heavily beaten by police during an Israeli raid on their neighbourhood, al-Issawiya, in occupied East Jerusalem.

The video shows that Abu al-Hommos and his nephew, 36-year-old Adam Masri, had asked police officers not to park in their private parking space, but were then attacked by the officers.

“We had a family celebration that night – there were many of my relatives in the area. I was filming the raid with a group of foreign and Jewish journalists,” said Abu al-Hommos.

“As soon as we told them not to park there, they began assaulting us. They arrested Adam who had marks all over his face, and another nephew of mine, and later released them. We filed complaints to authorities but to no avail,” he continued.

Masri lost consciousness during the assault, while Abu al-Hommos was hospitalised, the latter said.

The prosecution had prepared a draft indictment without viewing the videos or factoring in the testimonies provided by officers involved in the incident, which contradicted the official police report, the Israeli daily Haaretz reported on Sunday.

After potential police misconduct was raised early on in the trial proceedings, the judges handling the hearings ordered the case to be brought to the attention of the Ministry of Justice’s police misconduct unit, said Haaretz. The case against the officers was closed for insufficient evidence.

Israeli authorities only reviewed the video evidence after the lawyers for the two men sent a letter pointing out the contradictions between the video and the allegations in the charge sheet.

The draft indictment against the two men said that they had attacked the police officers and prevented them from blocking the road, going as far as saying that the men had beaten and bitten the officers.

The footage clearly showed that it was the Palestinian men who had been attacked.

“After additional consideration of the arguments in their entirety, and the evidence, it was decided not to file indictments against them and to close the file,” the prosecutor’s office said in a comment to Haaretz.

Abu al-Hommos says he has often been the target of Israeli police violence as a result of his activism in occupied East Jerusalem, and that the case was evidence of the false accusations that are levelled against Palestinians by the Israeli authorities.

“This is one of hundreds of files against Palestinian Jerusalemites that are crafted in order to always accuse the Palestinian of violence,” he said. “This time, they did not succeed.”

Iran accuses US of procrastination over nuclear deal

Washington and Europe need a deal more than Tehran, Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani says

Representatives from the EU and Iran at a meeting in Vienna to discuss

 reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. AFP


Mina Aldroubi
Aug 22, 2022

Iran has said the US has been "procrastinating" after Tehran submitted a response to the EU's draft agreement aimed at reviving the 2015 nuclear deal.

A senior European official said this month that its draft was a final offer after 16 months of indirect talks between the US and Iran.

Last week, Tehran responded to the text with "additional views and considerations" and called on Washington to show flexibility to resolve three remaining issues.

Washington said it was studying the Iranian response but has not yet released a statement.
READ MORE
Iran deal: what are the implications for the oil market?

"The Americans are procrastinating and there is inaction from the European sides ... America and Europe need an agreement more than Iran," said Nasser Kanaani, a spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry.

"Tehran wanted a sustainable deal that would preserve Tehran's legitimate rights.

"Until we agree on all issues, we cannot say that we have reached a complete agreement."

He said a prisoner swap deal with Washington was not linked to the nuclear negotiations.

The EU and US last week said they were studying Iran's response to the proposal to revive the deal, under which curbs were put on Iran's nuclear programme in return for economic sanctions relief.

The US, UK, France and Germany discussed efforts to revive the deal on Sunday night.

"They discussed ongoing negotiations over Iran’s nuclear programme, the need to strengthen support for partners in the Middle East region, and joint efforts to deter and constrain Iran’s destabilising regional activities," the White House said.

The talks involved US President Joe Biden, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Concerns have been raised that a failure to agree on a deal could increase the risk of conflict.

Israel has threatened military action against Iran if diplomacy fails to prevent Tehran from developing the ability to make a nuclear weapon.

Former US president Donald Trump pulled out of the nuclear deal in 2018 and reimposed sanctions. Tehran responded by breaching limits on uranium enrichment outlined in the deal.

TRY COOPERATING

Poland hits out at German 'fake news' over mystery fish deaths in river

Discovery of at least 136 tonnes of dead fish in the Oder river has mystified authorities on both sides

Volunteers gather dead fish and snails along the eastern bank of the Oder in Poland. Getty

Tim Stickings
Aug 22, 2022

The mystery deaths of thousands of fish in the River Oder that separates Germany from Poland has led to allegations of “fake news” flying across the border as authorities in both countries search for answers.

Polish Environment Minister Anna Moskwa hit back at suggestions from Germany that a high level of pesticides in the water might be to blame for poisoning the 866-kilometre river.

Her counterparts in Germany said it was up to Poland, where most of the upstream river lies, to explain how at least 136 tonnes of fish found themselves in unsafe waters.

READ MORE
Striking images of what has been revealed by droughts across the globe

Some activities such as bathing and fishing have been banned on the river while authorities investigate whether there is any danger to humans.

The wider ecosystem in the Oder, including mussels, molluscs, algae and bacteria, is thought to be threatened by whatever has been killing the fish.


Ms Moskwa said Poland was not responsible for any poisoning or release of dangerous chemicals. “More fake news being circulated in Germany … in Poland, the substances were tested and found to be below the detection limit, so with no effects on fish or other animals,” she said.

A panel of experts from both countries was expected to meet on Monday after scientific studies into the fish deaths.

An institute in Berlin reported that toxins released by certain kinds of algae had been detected in the river, suggesting the cause was man-made because those species would not normally be found in the Oder.

“To occur in large numbers in this area, the species is dependent on salinity levels that can only be produced by industrial discharges,” said researchers at the Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries.

The environment ministry in Brandenburg said it might well be able to establish how the fish died, but that how and why the river was polluted “can only be cleared up by the Polish side”.

The death of thousands of fish has led to a swimming and fishing ban while authorities investigate. Getty

One laboratory in Brandenburg found high levels of pesticide between August 7 and 9, around the time the fish deaths were first noticed, leading to Ms Moskwa's rebuttal.

Germany said its own early warning system was in working order but that it had not received an alert from the Polish authorities until August 11, which did not include information about the possible cause of the deaths.

Some activities such as bathing and fishing have been banned on the river while authorities investigate whether there is any danger to humans.

The wider ecosystem in the Oder, including mussels, molluscs, algae and bacteria, is thought to be threatened by whatever has been killing the fish.

Things are little better in western Germany, where the country's longest river, the Rhine, has fallen to critically low water levels because of Europe's summer heatwave and drought.

Freight traffic has been affected along the vital inland shipping lane, deepening Germany's economic woes as energy providers struggle to get coal to power stations.

Europe's waterways hit by heatwave and drought - in pictures
















Dried mud and old trees at Colliford Lake in Cornwall, England, where water levels have severely dropped exposing the unseen trees and rocks in Cornwall's largest lake and reservoir. PA
Updated: August 22, 2022, 4:31 AM

LGBTQ Singaporeans welcome sex law repeal, decry marriage exclusion

By AFP
Published August 22, 2022

Gay rights campaigners have long said the law runs counter to the affluent city-state's vibrant culture and have unsuccessfully challenged the law in court - Copyright AFP Roslan RAHMAN

Singapore’s LGBTQ community on Monday welcomed the government’s plan to decriminalise gay sex but warned that upholding the traditional definition of marriage would only promote further inequality.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced on Sunday that the city-state would repeal the colonial-era law, but said the definition of marriage as being between a man and a woman will be kept to allay fears of “a drastic shift in our societal norms”.

Section 377A of Singapore’s penal code penalises sex between men with up to two years in jail.

Gay rights campaigners have long said the law runs counter to the affluent city-state’s vibrant culture and have unsuccessfully challenged the law in court.

“I am elated and relieved for Singapore’s LGBT community,” said Roy Tan, one of several people who had unsuccessfully challenged the law in court.

Describing the repeal as the result of an “arduous” struggle, Tan said “we can progressively dismantle the impediments to the visibility and progress of queer citizens”.

While the law remained on the books, no one had been arrested or charged under Article 377A in Singapore for more than a decade, activists say.

Sunday’s announcement also put barriers on the path to full marriage equality.

Lee said national policies such as those covering access to subsidised public housing and adoption rules will continue to be based on the traditional definition of marriage.

As it stands, people can still challenge the constitutionality of the definition. Lee, however, said that doing so would risk the court stepping into policy-making.

“Judges interpret and apply the law… They have neither the expertise nor the mandate to settle political questions, nor rule on social norms and values,” Lee said.

Reactions to Lee’s Facebook post on repealing the law were mixed, with some lauding the move as a “bold step” while others said they were “saddened” by the decision.

– Barriers to marriage equality –

The constitution would need to be amended to shield the definition of marriage from further constitutional challenges, Lee said, a move that is likely to sail through parliament if undertaken as the ruling People’s Action Party has a more than two-thirds majority.

It was unclear what the amendments would look like but the challenges to 377A largely revolved around a constitutional provision which guarantees citizens equality and equal protection under the law.

The LGBTQ community said the repeal “is the first step on a long road towards full equality”.

But they opposed any further laws and constitutional changes to protect the traditional definition of marriage as they would promote unequal treatment.

“We urge the government not to heed recent calls from religious conservatives to enshrine the definition of marriage into the constitution,” more than 20 LGBTQ groups said in a joint statement late Sunday.

“Such a decision will undermine the secular character of our constitution, codify further discrimination into supreme law, and tie the hands of future parliaments.”

Tan, the activist, said: “I look forward to a future where we can hold our heads up high as equals in the eyes of the law instead of living as marginalised, second-class citizens in our own country.”

Maria Sjodin, executive director at US-based LGBTQ rights campaigner OutRight Action International, said the repeal would “hopefully also inspire the continued struggle across the world to remove the laws that hinder equality and respect for LGBTQ people everywhere”.

According to a 2020 report by the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA), homosexuality is prohibited in 69 countries, including 11 where it is punishable by death.

A glimpse into future at World Robot Conference in China

Online News EditorAugust 19, 2022

 

By Alvaro Alfaro

Beijing, Aug 19 (EFE).- Robots that care for the elderly, conduct PCR tests, and deliver packages are some of the highlights of the 2022 World Robot Conference underway in Beijing.

The event, organized between Aug.18 to 21, brings together more than 130 companies that showcase the latest advances in robotics in China, where the sector had a turnover of 83 billion yuan ($12.23 billion) in 2021.

The participants display how robots can contribute to different sectors, including the restaurant industry, medicine, elderly care, agriculture, and manufacturing.

One of the main event attractions is the robots that carry out PCR tests.

After a series of coronavirus outbreaks in the country in spring, the inhabitants of large cities undergo several weekly PCR tests to gain entry into public places, including stores, parks, and even the conference.

The authorities of the Chinese megalopolises have fixed a target of setting up testing booths so every resident can find one within a 15-minute walk.

It has led to thousands of such booths on the country’s streets.

The robotic cabin developed by a laboratory affiliated with Tsinghua University promises to test a sample in 35 seconds with a 99.9 percent effectiveness.

With the push of a button, a mechanical arm comes out of the cabin and places a stick of cotton in the mouth of the person being tested.

Owing to their ability to work for many hours at a time, these robots could help ease the long queues outside testing booths in high populated areas.

Healthcare robotics occupies a prominent place in the event with robots that perform dental procedures, high-precision surgeries, and vaccinations.

Companies are also displaying their creations in the elderly care sector, which is expected to grow considerably in the future as the Chinese population ages.

The robot developed by Robint is equipped with a camera and is capable of moving around an elderly person’s house, keeping track of the medicines they have taken, and alerting if any have been skipped.

It also has a thermometer and a blood pressure monitor with data synchronized to monitor the patient’s health.

“In China, there are more than 260 million elderly people,” a company representative told EFE.

“If only a small percentage of them buy these products, we would already be talking about a huge market.”

By 2035, people over 60 are expected to constitute more than 30 percent of the Chinese population compared to the current 18 percent.

Two Chinese digital giants, the JD e-commerce platform and the Meituan food delivery firm, were also present at the event.

For years, these companies have been at the forefront of developing logistics robots to save millions of dollars in wages for their delivery personnel.

What will humanoid robots be used for in the future?

2022/8/18 12:48 (EDT)
© Agence France-Presse
Photo Courtesy of Xiaomi



While waiting for other players to enter the fray, the humanoid robot war is already raging between the United States' Tesla and China's Xiaomi. From assembly line work to personal services, these robots could have very practical uses once they're made operational.

While waiting for other players to enter the fray, the humanoid robot war is already raging between the United States' Tesla and China's Xiaomi. From assembly line work to personal services, these robots could have very practical uses once they're made operational.

Whether the Tesla Optimus or the Xiaomi CyberOne, these robots are the size (between 1m70 and 1m80 or 5 ft 6 inches to 5 ft 9 inches) and the weight (about 50 kilos or 110 pounds) of an average human, and can walk and move like a person. The more elaborate of the two, Xiaomi's CyberOne, is also capable of perceiving space in 3D as well as recognizing individuals as well as their gestures, their expressions and their emotions. Artificial intelligence gives it the capability of interacting with humans, such as comforting someone who is unhappy. Meanwhile, Tesla's Elon Musk has long spoken of his dream of grafting an artificial intelligence that surpasses human intelligence onto his robots. A first prototype of the Optimus robot is set to be revealed before the end of the year.

The potential of such robots seems nearly limitless. However, it's within an industry setting that these robots will first need to demonstrate their worth. As Elon Musk himself announced, this type of robot would be perfect for alleviating humans of "repetitive, boring and dangerous tasks." In the factory, they could work on a production line, carry heavy loads or screw in bolts. In everyday life, they could do errands like mowing the lawn or walking the dog.

Once their operations have become more elaborate and "intelligent," these humanoid robots could very well be used to assist elderly or dependent people. But to start with there's more chance of seeing them on a production line than in a nursing home or in a regular home setting.

 

Mystery of Ecuador’s Guano mummy deepens

Online News EditorAugust 5, 2022

 

By Susana Madera

Guano, Ecuador, Aug 5 (EFE).- The mystery of the Guano mummy, a naturally mummified body discovered here 73 years ago has deepened in the wake of a scientific analysis indicating that the remains are not those of a 16th-century Spanish friar on a mission to evangelize the indigenous people of present-day central Ecuador.

Measuring 156 cm (61.4 in) and encased in a jar, the body was found following the earthquake that rocked Guano on Aug. 5, 1949, which caused one of the walls of the colonial-era church to collapse.

It was long thought that the mummy corresponded to Fray Lazaro de Santofimia, a guardian of the Church of the Assumption and the adjoining Franciscan monastery.

The accepted account held that Fray Lazaro was buried in the walls of the church after dying of natural causes, the director of research for Ecuador’s National Institute of Cultural Heritage (INPC), Maria Ordoñez, told Efe.

Three years ago, Ordoñez and French scientist Philippe Charlier started a new study of the mummy building on earlier efforts by the team from National Geographic who took X-rays of the body and by researchers at Quito’s San Francisco University, where the remains underwent a CT scan.

The latest analysis has identified the cause of death as rheumatoid polyarthritis, an autoimmune disease common in the Americas but rare in Europe and Asia prior to the European conquest of the New World.

In the case of the mummy, the disease appears to have arisen from an abscess in the jaw.

Carbon-14 dating shows that the remains are from the period between 1735 and 1802 and according to Ordoñez, who earned a doctorate in archaeology at Leiden University in the Netherlands, the clothing points to an origin later than the 16th century.

Some of the garments were machine-made in a “period when a textile industry was already starting,” she said.

Moreover, the DNA extracted from the remains indicates that the subject was of mixed European and indigenous heritage, which makes it “most probable” the remains are not those of Fray Lazaro, she said.

Though the man’s identity remains a question mark, the dating of the remains has allowed scientists to rule out the possibility that the body represented the missing link in the spread of rheumatoid polyarthritis to Europe, Ordoñez told Efe. EFE sm/dr