It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Monday, October 02, 2023
GREENWASHING
UAE oil executive says energy companies support 2050 net-zero goal
Reuters
October 2, 2023
COP28 President Sultan Al Jaber poses for a photograph with delegates from the UAE after a news conference following his announcement that the UAE was pledging $4.5 billion dollars to develop 15 GW of clean power in Africa by 2030, on the sidelines of the Africa Climate Summit (ACS) 2023 in Nairobi, Kenya, September 6, 2023....
ABU DHABI, Oct 2 (Reuters) - A top Emirati oil executive said on Monday that more than 20 oil and gas companies were rallying around his calls to curb carbon emissions ahead of a United Nations summit on climate change.
"For too long, this industry has been viewed as part of the problem, that it's not doing enough and in some cases even blocking progress," COP28 president Sultan al-Jaber said at an oil and gas conference in Abu Dhabi.
"This is your opportunity to show the world that, in fact, you are central to the solution," he said, addressing major energy companies.
Jaber said that more than 20 oil and gas companies had positively answered calls to align around net zero by 2050, zero out methane emissions and eliminate routine flaring by 2030. He did not elaborate.
The COP28 summit is scheduled to take place in Dubai between Nov. 30 and Dec. 12.
Reporting by Maha El Dahan, Yousef Saba and Alexander Cornwell in Abu Dhabi; Writing by Nadine Awadalla; Editing by Louise Heavens
Australia PM rallies support for Indigenous referendum as early voting starts
Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks during the bilateral meeting with Indonesia's President Joko Widodo on the sidelines of the 43rd Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia, 07 September 2023.
BAGUS INDAHONO/Pool via REUTERS/File PhotoPOOL
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Monday he would focus on having one-on-one conversations with Australians to rally support for the Indigenous referendum, as early voting began in some parts of the country.
In a landmark referendum, Australians will decide on Oct. 14 whether to approve altering the constitution to enshrine an Indigenous advisory body called the "Voice to Parliament" that can give advice on matters that affect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
The proposal, backed by Albanese's Labor government, has been struggling to get majority support with recent opinion polls showing voters will reject it. Some voters who had switched their stance said the Voice was creating distraction from their top two issues - the cost of living and the cost of housing.
In a bid to mobilise support, Albanese said if Australians are focused on what the question is from the referendum amid the distractions, they will vote yes, and there is nothing to fear from this campaign.
"I sincerely think the key to the next fortnight is those one-on-one conversations with people to accept this request of the overwhelming majority of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples," he said in Melbourne where early voting began on Monday.
Early voting on the referendum in New South Wales and Australian Capital Territory will begin on Tuesday.
(Reporting by Stella Qiu; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)
Nearly 500 tenants from 5 apartment buildings in Toronto are now on rent strike
100+ tenants at 2 Toronto buildings go on a rent strike Renters say rent going up, but repairs not being done.
Abby O'Brien, CTV News Toronto Multi-Platform Writer @abbyjobrien Published Sunday, October 1, 2023
More than 100 tenants at two northwest Toronto apartment buildings will go on rent strike Sunday, joining the ranks of nearly 500 residents who have been withholding payments since early summer.
The tenants, residing at 1440 and 1442 Lawrence Avenue West, claim their landlord, Barney River Investments, has refused to address serious repairs in the building while attempting to implement above-guideline rent increases.
“Everybody is pretty frustrated with their situation,” Chiara Padovani, co-chair of the York South-Weston Tenant Union said Sunday morning. “ But today, they’re feeling pretty confident, [...] like a movement is growing.”
PHOTOS
The tenants are scheduled to publicly announce the action at 2 p.m. at the residential complex. CTV News Toronto reached out to Barney River Investments for a statement on Saturday in response to the tenants’ claims but has not received a response.
According to Padovani, the deteriorating conditions at the northwest Toronto residences, including a serious insect infestation, have gotten to the point that Canada Post has ceased mail delivery to the residences citing unsafe working conditions.
Padovani says the buildings' elevators are often out of service – an accessibility concern for residents – and that the garbage chutes have not been properly maintained.
“If you walk down the halls you can always smell a foul smell,” she said.
While the conditions have been challenging for tenants, it was an application on their landlord’s part to implement above-guideline rental increases that pushed the group into action, the co-chair explained.
“It just adds insult to injury,” Padovani said. “The landlord is not only not fixing the issues, but they're charging above-guideline rent.”
In April, the group says they presented their landlord with a petition, signed by a majority of residents, demanding improved maintenance, but that they have yet to engage with the requests.
The Lawrence Avenue residents will join the ranks of hundreds of tenants from 33 King Street, 22 John Street, and 71, 75, and 79 Thorncliffe Park Drive in Toronto who have been withholding rent payments – many since June – decrying above-guideline increases and a state of disrepair in their homes. Together, the group nears almost 500 tenants, marking the largest collective rent strike in Toronto history, Padovani said
“It's the first time that so many buildings [in Toronto] have been on rent strike for the same issue,” she explained.
WHAT'S THE LATEST AT KING, JOHN, AND THORNCLIFFE PARK?
Padovani says more and more tenants are joining the efforts over at the King and John street buildings, but that their landlord, Dream Unlimited, is still refusing to negotiate with the group.
“They’re going into their fifth month of striking,” she said.
Recently, Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow extended an invitation to both Dream Unlimited and the tenants in an effort to mediate the situation. However, the tenants said their landlord was not willing to undergo the process and has instead begun recently issuing eviction notices.
“It's pretty shocking that a landlord would rather evict hundreds of tenants than sit down and actually negotiate the very real concerns that tenants are bringing to the table,” she said.
CTV News Toronto has reached out to Dream in response to recent claims it was unwilling to participate in mediation efforts. The company previously told CTV News in a statement that it has always been open to accommodating tenants facing hardship, but it is “concerned that the tenants are getting bad advice as they are responsible to pay rent, and will need to pay rent, to stay in the buildings.”
The company also stressed that the at-issue above-guideline rent increases were inherited from the previous owner, saying it has not applied for any of those hikes since it acquired the properties in 2021.
Meanwhile, tenants at Thorncliffe Park, whose homes are owned by Starlight and PRP Investments, attended eviction hearings this week.
Amid the threat of eviction, the group is still demanding their landlord withdraw above-guideline rent increases, which, according to documents reviewed by CP24, have varied from 4.94 per cent to 5.5 per cent in 2023.
With files from CTV News Toronto’s Natalie Johnson and CP24's Joanna Lavoie.
Rare Aztec ritual offerings put on display in Mexico exhibit
Most of the pieces on display were excavated from the ruins of the Aztec’s holiest shrine, now adjacent to the site of the Mexican capital’s Templo Mayor Museum.
PHOTO: REUTERS UPDATED SEP 30, 2023,
MEXICO CITY - A museum exhibit displaying Aztec ritual offerings dug up from underneath downtown Mexico City opened on Friday in a first-ever showcase that offers new insight into pre-Hispanic art and religious practices.
The artifacts, all crafted from wood, include finely carved masks, sculpted scepters believed to have been wielded by ancient gods, and weapons that were buried with sacrificed animals dressed as deities and warriors, both male and female.
Reuters gained exclusive access to the exhibit before it opened.
Most of the pieces on display were excavated from the ruins of the Aztec’s holiest shrine, now adjacent to the site of the Mexican capital’s Templo Mayor Museum.
Many were found in sealed stone boxes, buried over five centuries ago.
“These are very fragile objects, very delicate,” said exhibit curator Maria Barajas, standing next to a lineup of small carved masks.
“(Many) of them show warriors that died in battle,” she said. “You can see their eyes are half open, even the mouth is open.”
Most wooden artifacts quickly decompose and can only withstand the test of the time with constant temperature and moisture levels, Ms Barajas said.
Preserving them involves replacing the remaining moisture inside the wood with synthetic sugars so the artifacts do not disintegrate, a process that can take up to a year. The exhibit’s displays are also equipped with strict humidity controls.
Traces of original paint can still be seen on some of the artifacts, including a piece carved from copal resin that features wooden adornments painted in blue and depicting a mythical helper of the Aztec rain god Tlaloc. It holds a serpent scepter evoking the crack of lightning on one side, and a tiny water jug on the other.
“When they wanted to make it rain, (they) break the jars with the scepter and the water pours out,” said exhibit curator Adriana Sanroman, who is also head of restoration for the ongoing Templo Mayor excavations.
Another pair of scepters include tiny life-like hands that Sanroman says belonged to the god of death, Mictlantecuhtli.
“This is a god that’s (usually shown) in a state of partial decomposition, partially fleshless, and so he carries body parts here and there,” she said.
Along with the latest additions, the exhibit also features well-known Aztec wooden masterpieces on loan from other museums, including an exquisitely carved drum and a life-size sculpture depicting the god of pulque, the Aztecs’ favorite alcoholic drink.
An anthropomorphic wooden sculpture depicting the Aztec god of pulque is pictured as part of the exhibition "Insignia of the Gods, the wood in the Templo Mayor," at the Templo Mayor Museum in Mexico City. PHOTO: REUTERS
Even though the Aztecs were known as fierce warriors before falling to Spanish invaders and their native allies in 1521, only one original Aztec sword survives.
The sword, also on display in the exhibit, is a flat wooden club with a groove where razor-sharp obsidian - a type of volcanic glass - would have been wedged in.
Stressing the artifacts’ fragility and scarcity, museum director Patricia Ledesma said the new exhibit gives a glimpse into an ancient world where wood was routinely transformed into high art.
“This allows us to begin to realize the sheer magnitude of all the marvelous things pre-Hispanic hands could do with this material.”
Recently excavated Aztec ritual offerings carved from wood are pictured, including chest plates, scepters and ear flares, part of the exhibition "Insignia of the Gods, the wood in the Templo Mayor," at the Templo Mayor Museum in Mexico…see more
A carved copal figure depicting a tlaloque, or helper of the Aztec rain god Tlaloc, is pictured (left) along with its wooden mask, scepter and water jugs, next to a Tlaloc modeled ceramic pot (right) with similar adornments, part of the…see more
Small sculptures evoking warriors and warfare made from wood, copal and flint are pictured as part of the exhibition "Insignia of the Gods, the wood in the Templo Mayor," at the Templo Mayor Museum in Mexico City, Mexico September 27
Recently excavated Aztec ritual offerings carved from wood are pictured, including chest plates, scepters and ear flares, part of the exhibition "Insignia of the Gods, the wood in the Templo Mayor," at the Templo Mayor Museum in Mexico…see more
A carved copal figure depicting a tlaloque, or helper of the Aztec rain god Tlaloc, is pictured (left) along with its wooden mask, scepter and water jugs, next to a Tlaloc modeled ceramic pot (right) with similar adornments, part of the…see more
Small sculptures evoking warriors and warfare made from wood, copal and flint are pictured as part of the exhibition "Insignia of the Gods, the wood in the Templo Mayor," at the Templo Mayor Museum in Mexico City, Mexico September 27,…see more
Recently excavated Aztec ritual offerings carved from wood are pictured, including chest plates, scepters and ear flares, part of the exhibition "Insignia of the Gods, the wood in the Templo Mayor," at the Templo Mayor Museum in Mexico
REUTERS
Two People Killed by Grizzly Bear at Banff National Park in Canada
Park officials found the victims early Saturday morning, after receiving an alert from a satellite device hours earlier. A grizzly near the site displayed “aggressive behavior,” they said.
Park authorities in Canada said they received an alert from inside Banff National Park in Alberta, where two people were found dead.
A grizzly bear is believed to have attacked and killed two people at a national park in southwest Canada, park officials said on Sunday.
Parks Canada said it learned of the attack via an alert sent around 8 p.m. on Friday from a satellite device inside Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada, according to a statement shared on the park’s Facebook page.
GPS coordinates showed the alert was sent from west of Ya Ha Tinda Ranch in the Red Deer River Valley, around 80 miles northwest of Calgary, Alberta. Bad weather hindered a response team from reaching the site by helicopter, so they instead traveled by ground overnight, officials said.
The team, which specialized in responding to wildlife attacks, arrived at 1 a.m. on Saturday to find the two dead people, as well as a grizzly bear that was displaying “aggressive behavior.” They euthanized the bear on-site “to ensure public safety,” according to the statement. The police arrived at 5 a.m. and helped transport the victims to Sundre, a town about 40 miles east.
The victims have not been named, but the CBC reported that they were a married couple. Kim Titchener, who lives in Edmonton, near Banff National Park, and who is a friend of a close relative of the couple, said their dog had also been killed in the attack. “They were in a very remote area,” Ms. Titchener, a wildlife conflict specialist, said in a phone interview on Sunday.
Parks Canada did not immediately respond to requests for further information about the victims or the attack.
An estimated 691 grizzly bears live in Alberta, 65 of them in Banff National Park, according to Parks Canada, which reminds visitors to be prepared for encounters. It advises traveling in groups, making noise and carrying bear spray. In Alberta, the grizzly bear, a largely solitary, omnivorous animal that can live as long as 30 years in the wild, is listed as “threatened.”
Bear attacks on humans are relatively rare, but they can occur when a bear is feeding, protecting its young or surprised. Attacks that kill more than one person appear to be even rarer.
Banff National Park described Friday’s attack as a “tragic incident” and expressed its condolences to the families and friends of the victims. As a safety precaution, park authorities closed the Red Deer and Panther valleys until further notice.
Parks Canada received an alert from a GPS device in the Red Deer River Valley on Friday night, indicating a bear attack. (Rick Price Photography)
A grizzly bear attacked and killed two people in Banff National Park west of Sundre, Alta., on Friday night, Parks Canada says.
The people who died were common-law partners, according to a family member of one of the deceased whose name CBC News is choosing to keep confidential until all members of the family have been notified. The couple's dog, who was with them at the time, was also killed.
"They were long-term partners who loved the outdoors and were inseparable," read a statement from the family member.
"They lived for being in the backcountry and were two of the most cautious people I know. They knew bear protocol and followed it to a tee."
Parks Canada received an alert from a GPS device in the Red Deer River Valley west of Ya Ha Tinda Ranch at about 8 p.m. on Friday indicating a bear attack, said Natalie Fay, external relations manager for the Banff field unit.
In a statement, Fay said a team specially trained in wildlife attacks was immediately mobilized, but weather hindered their response time.
"Weather conditions at the time did not allow for helicopter use, and the response team travelled through the night to the location by the ground," she said.
"The response team arrived on-site at 1 a.m. and discovered two deceased individuals."
While in the area, the response team encountered a grizzly bear displaying aggressive behaviour, Fay said, leading Parks Canada staff to destroy the animal on-site for public safety.
RCMP arrived at 5 a.m. to transport the victims to Sundre, Alta., she said.
"This is a tragic incident and Parks Canada wishes to express its sincere condolences to the families and friends of the victims," the statement read.
Fatal bear attacks rare
Only 14 per cent of grizzly bear attacks worldwide lead to fatalities, said Titchener, making this incident a rare occurrence.
"Often when people have encounters with grizzlies, usually the grizzly goes one direction and the people go in the other," said Titchener.
"So we rarely do see cases where we actually have everyone involved killed."
Titchener said that while she doesn't yet know the details of what happened, the majority of bear attacks tend to be caused by surprise run-ins. She added that the couple could have still been hiking or setting up their camp when they came in contact with the bear, and that bears do tend to be more active at dusk.
WATCH | Bears are preparing to hibernate for winter:
One man and one woman are dead after being mauled by a grizzly bear while hiking in a remote part of Banff National Park, west of Sundre, Alta., says Parks Canada. The couple’s dog was also killed in the attack. Park officials say the bear was later located and destroyed.
"They could have surprised a bear at close range and had an encounter that led to a defensive attack. It's extremely rare to see predatory attacks by grizzly bears, but not unheard of."
According to the family member of one of the deceased, the family received a notification via inReach at 5 p.m. that the couple had camped for the night.
"They checked in every night," said the family member. "This means they were not travelling after dark and they were not setting up camp when the attack happened."
At this time of year, bears are in hyperphagia, said Titchener, a period of increased appetite as bears prepare to hibernate for the winter. While Titchener said there is no relationship between this time frame and increased bear attacks on humans, bears are indeed hungry.
"They're still trying to dig up root systems and just trying to eat what grasses are left and what berries are still around to get on those last few pounds so that they can start heading to their dens," said Titchener.
While some bears begin to den in mid-October, larger bears can stay active until December, a reminder that it is still actively bear season across the province, said Titchener.
The attack occurred in the wilderness to the west of Ya Ha Tinda Ranch in Banff National Park. (Wallis Snowdon/CBC)
A remote area
Merle Fox and his wife Laurie have managed Sunset Guiding and Outfitting west of Sundre for the last 14 years. Fox said his camp is roughly three hours west of where the attack happened by horseback.
"Well, I hate to say it, but I wasn't really surprised," Fox said in response to hearing about the attack.
"Bears are hungry at this time of the year and there are no berries or a thing out there for them this year."
Fox said a late frost in spring froze off all the berry blossoms, leading to a shortage of one of bears' main food groups. He added that faced with a vegetation shortage, grizzly bears will turn to eating deer, young elk, or wild horses instead.
"I think that's probably why these two people were attacked, is that the bear was hungry and he saw them as an easy target."
While he's not too nervous traversing the area given his experience, Fox said he and his guides often head into the backcountry armed, just in case they do encounter a bear.
He said the terrain in the area where the attack occurred is made up of steep cliffs, and is only accessible by foot or on horseback.
The fact that the bear was still in the area when the Parks Canada response team arrived on the scene is "highly unusual", said Titchener, especially if the attack was a defensive one.
"Usually the attack occurs and then the bear leaves the area," she said.
"So that of course is concerning and I'm not sure what was going on there, but of course those details will come out as they do the investigation."
Titchener added that one of the reasons Parks Canada responders would kill a bear on-the-spot is if it was behaving aggressively toward them.
"Obviously they had to take that bear's life so that they could hopefully get to those people. But unfortunately, it was too late."
Bear safety still important
Brushing up on bear safety remains a vital tool for hikers and those participating in outdoor activities, said Titchener.
She advised that travelling in groups, making noise to let animals know you're in the area and carrying bear spray, are all effective ways to prevent attacks from happening.
If people see any signs of bears while they are on a trail, including scat, diggings, claw marks or tracks, or if they see an animal carcass or birds circling, they should leave the area immediately, said Titchener.
Titchener said that if people do encounter a bear, they should stay together as a group and pull out their bear spray. She added that taking a bear safety course can help people further understand bear behaviour and determine whether a bear is acting in a defensive or predatory way.
Parks Canada said a closure order is in place around the area where the couple were attacked — including the Red Deer and Panther valleys, from Snow Creek Summit east to the National Park boundary, and north to Shale Pass — until further notice as a safety precaution.
Clarifications
A previous version of this story said the people who died were husband and wife. A family member has informed CBC News that they were common-law partners.
Oct 01, 2023 8:37 PM MT
With files from the Canadian Press, Tracy Johnson, Boshika Gupta, Julian Brown and Yvette Brend
Sunday, October 01, 2023
Detroit casino workers to vote on authorizing strikes this Friday
2023/09/28
(Reuters) - Workers who staff the majority of operations at the three casinos in Detroit will vote on Friday to authorize potential strikes, the United Auto Workers (UAW) union said.
The union, in a release on Thursday, said workers staffing operations such as slots and table games, as well as restaurants at MGM Grand Detroit, MotorCity Casino and Hollywood at Greektown, will cast ballots on whether to authorize strikes as they negotiate for a new contract.
The announcement comes as labor unions are taking advantage of low unemployment to push for higher pay and better working conditions in their talks for new labor agreements.
About 18,300 UAW members working at the Detroit Three automakers are already on strike, which has led to the shutdown of one assembly plant at each of the three carmakers and 38 parts distribution centers at General Motors and Chrysler parent Stellantis.
Should casino workers authorize a strike in Friday's vote, the Detroit Casino Council, the negotiating committee for workers, could call for strikes as soon as mid-October when contracts expire, according to the union.
(Reporting by Shivansh Tiwary in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)
Amazon has deep bench of defense lawyers to fight US FTC lawsuit
2023/09/27
By Andrew Goudsward and Mike Scarcella
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s monopoly lawsuit against Amazon.com filed on Tuesday poses perhaps the biggest legal test so far for the platoons of lawyers who have defended the technology giant for years against allegations of antitrust and consumer protection violations.
The long-awaited FTC case against Amazon, joined by 17 state attorneys general, accuses the company of abusing its dominance as an online retailer to thwart competitors and harm sellers and customers that rely on its platform. The company vowed to fight the lawsuit, saying its practices have spurred competition and innovation.
Kevin Hodges, a partner at law firm Williams & Connolly, was the first member of Amazon's defense team identified in a court document in the case. His partner Heidi Hubbard will lead the team, which also includes attorneys from law firm Covington & Burling, according to a person familiar with the hires.
Hubbard and Hodges, who is a former managing partner of the Washington-headquartered firm, are also representing Amazon in an ongoing antitrust lawsuit by California's attorney general accusing the company of forcing artificially high prices on consumers.
Williams & Connolly, known for its focus on litigation, in April successfully defeated a separate private lawsuit accusing the company of curbing competition for shipping and fulfillment services.
Hodges represented state attorneys general who joined the U.S. Justice Department's historic antitrust case against Microsoft in the 1990s and defended BP in lawsuits following the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, according to court records and his firm's website. He did not respond to a request for comment.
Williams & Connolly is also a lead defense firm in another major antitrust case targeting Big Tech. Partner John Schmidtlein heads a team comprised of several big law firms defending Alphabet's Google in an ongoing landmark trial over the company’s alleged monopoly power in online search.
An Amazon spokesperson did not immediately respond to questions about its legal team. The company is likely to rely on multiple law firms to defend the FTC case.
Amazon General Counsel David Zapolsky, a 24-year veteran of the company's legal department, can turn to a stable of top outside law firms that already represent it.
Covington & Burling, another major Washington firm, worked with Williams & Connolly in 2021 in an unsuccessful attempt to force FTC Chair Lina Khan, a vocal critic of Amazon, to recuse from matters involving the company. Thomas Barnett, co-chair of the firm’s antitrust practice and a former senior Justice Department official, was involved in the effort.
Covington is also representing Amazon in another pending lawsuit brought by the FTC accusing the company of enrolling customers into its paid Amazon Prime service without their consent and making it difficult for them to cancel. The company has denied the allegations.
Covington advised Amazon in two consumer privacy settlements with the FTC in May related to the company’s Alexa voice assistant and Ring home security service.
A Covington spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment on whether the firm is defending Amazon in the FTC antitrust case.
Amazon has also turned to U.S. law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison to navigate government scrutiny. Paul Weiss secured the dismissal of an antitrust lawsuit brought by Washington, D.C.’s attorney general. An appeal remains pending.
The firm joined Covington in negotiating a $25 million Alexa child privacy settlement with the FTC.
(Reporting by Andrew Goudsward and Mike Scarcella in Washington; Editing by David Bario, Matthew Lewis and Marguerita Choy)
Analysis-US crypto industry comes to Washington, but faces uphill struggle
2023/09/27
By Hannah Lang
(Reuters) - Crypto companies are descending on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, but their push to advance industry-friendly laws is likely to be overshadowed by a fight over the federal budget and a Senate crackdown on the use of crypto for money laundering.
Dozens of executives from digital asset companies are meeting with lawmakers and their staff on Wednesday as part of a grassroots advocacy campaign organized by Coinbase, the biggest U.S. crypto exchange, and Stand With Crypto, a non-profit it founded.
The House Financial Services Committee in July passed two major bills that would help provide clarity over which existing financial rules apply to the industry, and crypto lobbyists hope they can convince lawmakers to advance those through Congress.
But with lawmakers focused on averting a government shutdown and other competing bills that must pass this year, including the Farm Bill and National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the industry may struggle to be heard.
"There's a mind-boggling number of competing areas but ... we need to keep pounding the table," said Katherine Dowling, general counsel and chief compliance officer at Bitwise, a crypto investment manager. The company is one of several pushing for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to approve a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund.
Crypto companies have been expanding in Washington to combat growing regulatory scrutiny, especially from the SEC which says the industry has been flouting its rules. Lobbying escalated after the SEC sued Coinbase and its rival Binance in June for allegedly failing to register tokens, claims they deny.
The industry spent nearly $13 million on federal lobbying in the first half of 2023, putting it on track for another record year after spending $21.6 million in 2022, new data provided by OpenSecrets to Reuters showed. Coinbase led the pack at $1.4 million.
The crypto delegation on Wednesday includes Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, who is meeting with Democrats and Republicans from both chambers of Congress, a spokesperson said. It also includes an executive from OpenSea, the top non-fungible token marketplace.
"Everybody wants to make sure that what they're doing isn't going to be erased by the government," said Kara Calvert, head of U.S. policy at Coinbase, referring to the crypto industry.
An OpenSea spokesperson said the company was excited that policymakers have taken an interest in NFTs, and "hope(s) that a collaborative approach" to regulation will foster innovation and protect users.
Coinbase also this month launched a media campaign which will include advertisements in Washington and calls-to-action on its own platform for crypto users to urge their members of Congress to pass crypto legislation.
The outcome is uncertain, said Mark Hays, senior policy analyst at Americans for Financial Reform and Demand Progress.
"It's not clear to me whether the industry's efforts to bootstrap a crypto grassroots campaign out of nowhere is going to translate into something that's politically impactful."
'LAST THING WE NEED'
The July bills would define when a cryptocurrency is a security or a commodity, curtailing the SEC's authority. Another bill would create federal rules for stablecoins, tokens pegged to a traditional asset.
The next step is consideration by the full House, or for the bills to be introduced in the Senate. A House vote before year-end is possible, but the outlook is dimmer in the Senate, where industry-friendly crypto bills have failed to gain traction.
Instead, both sides of the aisle are focused on curbing the use of crypto in money laundering and terrorist financing. The Senate in July passed its version of the NDAA, which included an amendment increasing scrutiny of anonymous crypto transactions.
And Senate Banking Committee Chair Sherrod Brown of Ohio has shown little interest in making it a priority to advance the House bills.
"The last thing we need is for the crypto industry to write their own rulebook — too many Ohioans have been burned by fraud and scams," said Brown in a statement to Reuters.
"We need a framework of rules for crypto that protects our economy and protects Ohioans' hard-earned money."
Still, Coinbase is stepping up its efforts in Ohio, where Brown is facing re-election next year, with grassroots events raising awareness of the industry's role in the local economy.
Without Brown's support, industry-backed crypto legislation in the near-term remains unlikely, said Ian Katz, managing director of policy research firm Capital Alpha Partners. "If it doesn't seem urgent, and the chairman of the relevant committee isn't that into it, it's hard to see it happening."
(Reporting by Hannah Lang in Washington; Editing by Michelle Price and Richard Chang)
Polish opposition holds massive Warsaw rally ahead of tight election
2023/10/01
By Justyna Pawlak
WARSAW (Reuters) - Hundreds of thousands of people held an opposition rally in Warsaw on Sunday, two weeks ahead of an election that the liberal Civic Platform (PO) says may decide Poland's future in the European Union and its democratic standing.
Opinion polls suggest the nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) government could win the vote but may struggle to form a majority amid discontent among some over rising living costs and concern over an erosion of democratic checks and balances.
Warsaw city authorities said about a million people attended in the capital's biggest rally on record. Public broadcaster TVP, which independent media observers say has become a government mouthpiece under PiS rule, quoted police saying about 100,000 people had joined.
Online news channel onet.pl said that according to its calculations some 600,000-800,000 people attended the rally.
Some carried banners saying "PiSexit" or "The cat can stay", referring to the pet animal of PiS leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski.
The opposition is hoping the march galvanises voters to participate in the election, giving it a chance to come ahead.
"Big change is coming. This is a sign of Poland's rebirth," PO leader Donald Tusk told crowds gathered in a central Warsaw square, many people waving Polish and EU flags.
Tusk, a former European Council president, has said PiS could aim to take Poland out of the EU, something the party denies, and has framed the election as crucial for minority and women's rights.
PiS, in power since 2015, has campaigned on a pledge to keep migrants out of Poland, saying that was key for national security, and to continue funnelling money towards families and the elderly.
"I want to be free, be in the EU, I want to have a say, I want to have free courts," said Hanna Chaciewicz, a 59-year-old dentist from Otwock, a town outside of Warsaw.
PiS denies western criticism that it has subverted democratic norms and says its reforms of the judiciary are aimed at making the country fairer and free of vestiges of communism, while its changes to public media rid it of foreign influence.
But it has yet to gain access to billions of euros in EU COVID recovery funds which Brussels has withheld over the Polish court reforms.
"Everybody is investing in jobs, in fighting the climate catastrophe. And we have been denied this money because someone has decided to destroy democracy in Poland," Warsaw mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, a senior PO member, told those at the rally.
(Reporting by Justyna Pawlak, Marek Strzelecki and Kuba Stezycki; Editing by Hugh Lawson, William Maclean)
Climate change means New York City's flooding is 'new normal,' governor says
THEN QUIT RENTING BASEMENTS OUT
2023/09/30
By Kanishka Singh and Joseph Ax
(Reuters) -Torrential downpours that caused flash flooding in New York City on Friday reflect a "new normal" due to the effects of climate change, New York Governor Kathy Hochul warned on Saturday, as the city began drying out after one of its wettest days ever.
Almost eight inches (20 cm) of rain fell in some parts of the most populous U.S. city, enough to enable a sea lion at the Central Park Zoo to swim briefly out of the confines of her pool enclosure.
While the risk of flooding in the city had receded by midday Saturday, a municipal hospital in the borough of Brooklyn said it would evacuate all patients and staff following a power failure on Friday.
NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull had switched to backup power after Friday's neighborhood outage, but repairs will require the power to be shut off entirely for several days, hospital officials said. The facility was transferring its 120 patients to other hospitals on Saturday, a process expected to take eight hours.
The intense rainfall turned some streets into rivers, stranding buses and cars for hours, and forced some subway and commuter rail lines to shut down. Flights were delayed or canceled, and one terminal at LaGuardia Airport was evacuated.
"This is unfortunately what we have to expect as the new normal," Hochul said.
A state of emergency, which allows faster allocation of resources to deal with a crisis, will remain in effect for the next six days, Hochul said. No fatalities were reported as a result of the storm.
President Joe Biden was briefed on the flooding on Friday and Saturday, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency was prepared to assist if needed, according to the White House.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington and Joseph Ax in Princeton, New Jersey; Additional reporting by Joel Schectman; Editing by Andrea Ricci and Leslie Adler)
