Mendicant monk Thích Minh Tuệ offers an embarrassing contrast to Vietnam elites

Communist Party chief Nguyen Phu Trong's anti-corruption drive has damaged the party but left graft intact.

A commentary by Zachary Abuza
2024.06.19

 Illustration by Amanda Weisbrod/RFA; Images by AP, Adobe Stock

Early this month Vietnamese authorities forced an ascetic monk, Thích Minh Tuệ, who had become an internet sensation, to give up his seven-year cross-country trek. 

Authorities stressed that the barefoot mendicant monk, who attracted thousands of onlookers. was a threat to traffic safety. But his real crime was his humble lifestyle that stands in such stark contrast to the corruption scandals that have rocked Vietnam. 

Those include a $24 billion embezzlement case at Saigon Commercial Bank whose owner was sentenced to death. 

Six Politburo members, one-third of those elected at the 13th Congress in January 2021, were forced to resign between December 2022 and May 2024. These include two presidents, a deputy prime minister, the chairman of the National Assembly, and the head of the Communist Party’s day-to-day operations.

Đình Tiến Dũng has been relieved of his position as Hanoi party chief, indicating that the former minister of finance is likely to be the seventh member ousted from the Politburo.

Thích Minh Tuệ, the monk who trekked across Vietnam for years, is seen in this undated photo. (Thinh Nguyen via Facebook)

In addition, 20 of the 180 Central Committee members (11%) elected in January 2021 have also been forced out, not to mention former ministers.

The irony that the man who appears to have come out on top after all crackdowns was the one filmed eating thousand-dollar gold encrusted steaks at a celebrity chef restaurant in London after laying a wreath at the grave of Karl Marx, is lost on no one.

That could have been career ending, but for To Lam, the former Minister of Public Security, the best defense was a good offense, and he took down each rival with efficient dispatch, in a display of unprecedented personal ambition in a system that prides itself on its collective leadership.

But Lam, now the president, was only doing the bidding of Nguyen Phu Trong, the Communist Party of Vietnam’s 80-year old general secretary, who has not taken any responsibility for the campaign that has not just caused political turmoil and rattled foreign investors, but has left the CPV institutionally weaker and delegitimized in the eyes of the public. 

Trong is correct in his assessment that corruption poses a threat to the party’s legitimacy and has made the “Blazing Furnace” campaign the centerpiece of his 13-year tenure.

Endemic corruption 

Corruption is endemic, and in many ways it’s growing worse. 

For foreign investors, corruption used to be predictable. But with some $36 billion in pledged investment in 2023 alone, and $11 billion in the first quarter of 2024, everyone is trying to get their cut. Corruption is coming from all directions and at all levels. It is no longer the lubricant to get deals done, but starting to become predatory and holding back growth.

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Vietnam’s Communist Party might not attain the normalcy it seeks after reshuffle

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It’s hard to see that the investigations of the senior leadership have been effective. In many ways, the party has made a mockery out of the allegations of corruption surrounding its leaders. 

To date, all six ousted Politburo members have been given soft landings; allowed to resign with a slight reprimand and keep their status, perks and wealth. No one has been criminally investigated.

To Lam takes his oath as Vietnam's president during the National Assembly's summer session in Hanoi on May 22, 2024. (Dang Anh/AFP)

Some have already enjoyed rehabilitations of sorts. Former president Nguyen Xuan Phuc has been photographed with other party leaders ahead of key meetings paying his respects at the tomb of Ho Chi Minh. 

Politically, Trong unleashed something that he lost control of. He stood by as comrades, including heir apparent Vuong Dinh Hue, were taken down one by one.

The “Blazing Furnace” anti-corruption campaign has also caused lasting damage to the party’s image.

If anything, the campaign exposed an unwelcome truth. It’s not one or two bad apples at the top. It’s all of them. 

One by one, the public saw the exposure of senior leaders who’ve been vetted by the system as they moved up through the ranks. Each of them had gotten wealthy through kickbacks, access to land or corporate holdings held by family and friends.

Short on expertise

While Trong believes that the party’s legitimacy comes through anti-corruption campaigns, in reality, legitimacy primarily comes through performance. 

The purge of experienced technocrats, the stocking of the Politburo with a disproportionate number of personnel – five  of 18 – who emerged from the control-oriented Ministry of Public Security, and the overall dearth of economic experience, does not bother Trong. 

There is an appalling lack of economic expertise amongst the senior leadership today; and it could be made worse once Dung is forced to resign. While newly appointed Politburo member Le Minh Hung has significant economic experience, he’s currently in charge of personnel for the Communist Party, he’ll be occupied with what is no small job ahead of the 14th Congress. 

Corruption investigations have led to a halt to much needed infrastructure spending, as mid-level bureaucrats are terrified of being investigated.

Vietnam's former President Nguyen Xuan Phuc, center, attends the opening of the National Assembly's summer session in Hanoi on May 22, 2023. (Nhac Nguyen/AFP)

Although Vietnam still enjoys enviable GDP growth, the government is missing its target for a second year in a row, at a time when regional competitors are looking more attractive.

The churn in senior leadership has completely undermined the country’s selling point to foreign investors of being politically stable and predictable. A series of corporate and banking scandals have exposed the country’s weak regulatory capacity.

Targeting a handful of leaders will do nothing to change human nature. Corruption is endemic in Vietnam because of low government salaries, soft property rights, rent-seeking behavior, and a party that puts itself above the law. Without a free press and robust civil society, the government will always be unaccountable.

Truth teller arrested

The case of Truong Huy San drives this point home.

Better known by his pen name, Huy Duc, the independent journalist and influencer was arrested in early June. While the arrest was predicted, it was still a shock to many, given his close ties to many senior leaders. 

His recent broadsides on Lam and Trong may have been the last straw. 

On May 26, Duc posted an article on Facebook, titled “A Country Cannot Develop Based on Fear,” which criticized the weaponization of anti-corruption investigations that propelled Lam to the presidency and made him a leading contender to be the next party general secretary.

The appointment of Lam’s protege, Luong Tam Quang, as minister of public security, portends the continued use of anti-corruption investigations to target rivals. 

Two days later, Duc criticized Trong’s scorched-earth campaign as being insufficient and counterproductive.  

Charged under Article 331 of the vietnam Penal Code for “abusing democratic freedoms” and “infring[ing] on the interests of the state,” Duc was getting to a truth: without institutional and legal reforms, as well as freeing the media, no counter-corruption campaign can ever be successful. 

Journalist Truong Huy San, also known as Huy Duc, is seen during a visit to Hanoi, April 10, 2021. (AFP)

Contrary to strengthening the party, Trong has helped to delegitimize it, exposing the rot across the senior leadership, while at the same time slowing economic growth. He has also stifled civil society and independent media, which tries to hold the party leadership to account. 

Trong has blamed everyone but himself, as he continues to shape the party in the months ahead of the 14th Congress in early 2026. As he calls on others to account for the damage they have done to the party, he should hold himself to the same standard.

Rather than implementing institutional reforms, Trong is targeting an ascetic monk who has garnered a mass following by simply standing in stark contrast with the national leadership that, despite their pledged socialist ethos, has lost touch with their values and become mired in corruption.

Zachary Abuza is a professor at the National War College in Washington and an adjunct at Georgetown University. The views expressed here are his own and do not reflect the position of the U.S. Department of Defense, the National War College, Georgetown University or Radio Free Asia.

Vietnam to host Putin in nod to old ties, risking ire of West

Mr Vladimir Putin is expected to arrive late on June 19 in Hanoi, fresh from a visit to Pyongyang. 

JUN 19, 2024

HANOI – Vietnam prepared on June 19 to roll out the red carpet for Mr Vladimir Putin in a visit seen as a publicity coup for the Russian President, who is accused of war crimes in Ukraine, while bringing benefits and risks for Hanoi’s communist leaders.

Mr Putin is expected to arrive late on June 19 in Hanoi, fresh from a visit to Pyongyang, where he embraced North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Although both North Korea and Russia face international isolation, Vietnam has built careful alliances with the United States and the European Union. The US has already condemned Hanoi’s hosting of the Russian leader.

That makes the Hanoi stop of Mr Putin’s tour especially important for the Russian leader, said Dr Alexander Vuving of the Hawaii-based Inouye Asia-Pacific Centre for Security Studies.

“Russia wants to send the message that it has friends everywhere in the world and that the West’s effort to isolate Russia is futile,” Dr Vuving said, adding that Hanoi has its own interests beyond the two countries’ shared communist roots.

“Russia plays a unique and critical role in Vietnam’s foreign policy,” he said, noting that Moscow has been a major arms supplier to Hanoi.

Russia was hit with US-led Western sanctions after it invaded neighbouring Ukraine in February 2022 in what Moscow calls a “special military operation”. In March 2023, the Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Mr Putin over alleged war crimes in Ukraine, charges he denies.

Neither Vietnam nor Russia are members of the ICC.

Historical ties

Vietnam will be the third country Mr Putin has visited, after China and North Korea, since he was sworn in for a fifth term in May. He has travelled abroad little since the ICC warrant was issued.

Vietnam was gearing up for a full state welcome for Mr Putin, his first visit since 2017 and his fifth in total. Police were seen deployed on dozens of Hanoi streets from the airport to the downtown area hours ahead of his expected arrival.

The countries have historical close ties and shared communist roots. Tens of thousands of cadres studied in the former Soviet Union during the Cold War, including the current head of Vietnam’s Communist Party, Mr Nguyen Phu Trong.

“President Vladimir Putin is a person who has made many contributions to Vietnam-Russia relations. He always has good feelings and concern for Vietnam and values ​​relationships with Vietnam’s senior leaders,” Ministry of Defence newspaper Quan Doi Nhan Dan said in an article.

Key partner the US, which upgraded diplomatic relations with Hanoi in 2023 and is Vietnam’s top trading partner, opposed Mr Putin’s visit.

“No country should give Mr Putin a platform to promote his war of aggression and otherwise allow him to normalise his atrocities,” a spokesperson for the US embassy in Hanoi said this week.

Embrace, cheers: Putin gets lavish welcome in North Korea with vows of support

'Bamboo diplomacy'

Still, Vietnam has its reasons to risk the ire of other diplomatic partners with the visit, said Dr Ian Storey, senior fellow at the Singapore-based ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute.

“Hanoi wants Putin to come for several reasons,” he said. “First, to demonstrate that Vietnam pursues a balanced foreign policy that does not favour any of the major powers.”

Vietnam pursues what it calls “bamboo diplomacy”, maintaining good relations with world powers, despite those powers’ animosity towards one another.

Noting that US President Joe Biden visited Vietnam, followed by Chinese President Xi Jinping a few months later, “Putin’s visit will complete leadership visits by the ‘Big Three’”, Dr Storey said.

Russia has historically been Vietnam’s major military supplier, so announcements of any arms deals will be closely watched.

Mr Putin is also expected to announce agreements in sectors such as trade, investment, technology and education, two officials told Reuters this week, although that was subject to change.

Early on June 19, Vietnam announced it wants Russian state oil firm Zarubezhneft to invest in green energy in the country. REUTERS

IRONY
Houthi Missiles Sink Ship Carrying Russian Cargo
STILL ECOCIDE


Published Jun 19, 2024
By Theo Burman
Live News Reporter

Houthi rebels have sunk a ship carrying Russian cargo, maritime authorities have said.

The militants fired three anti-ship ballistic missiles at the vessel, severely damaging the engine. The entire crew was evacuated successfully, officials confirmed.

US forces subsequently destroyed three launchers based in Yemen, as well as an unmanned aerial vehicle launched over the Red Sea.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) identified several anti-ship cruise missile launchers in Houthi-controlled regions of Yemen.

The details of the June 12 attack have come to light in a report by the UK Maritime Office, which said there were "indications that the vessel sank" a some while after the impact. No casualties were reported.

A CENTCOM report at the time of the attack said: "An uncrewed Houthi surface vehicle struck the Liberian-flagged, Greek-owned and operated merchant vessel Tutor in the Red Sea. The strike resulted in damage to the engine room."


Houthi fighters participate in a military exercise on March 17, 2024, in Sana'a, Yemen. The group fired missiles at a Greek merchant ship on June 12. HOUTHI MOVEMENT VIA GETTY IMAGES

The Houthis have frequently targeted vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, with this latest attack being part of a broader pattern of hostilities that have intensified since the Israel-Hamas war began.

The rebel movement announced another step-up to their operations at sea in May, when they launched their "fourth stage of escalation". The move, which was made in support of Gaza, included plans to attack ships in the Mediterranean, Red and Arabian Seas, and the Indian Ocean. It has resulted in attacks on commercial ships from around the world, including Chinese ships, despite a deal to avoid attacking them.

U.S. Central Command and UK forces have repeatedly taken military action to secure merchant and civilian ships in the seas around Yemen, particularly around the Gulf of Aden, a common launching spot for Houthi missiles. Earlier this year in May, the U.S. shot down five Houthi drones over the Red Sea, stating that they posed and "imminent threat" to safety in the region, but despite these efforts, the Houthis remain a influential force, controlling much of Yemen and the capital Sanaa.

A significant portion of the Houthis' weaponry and support comes from Iran, who have backed the group in its conflict against the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, which is supported by the U.S. and the UK

British bulk carrier Tutor sinks after Houthi attack that killed one mariner

Houthi supporters attend anti-Israel and anti-U.S. protests in Sanaa, Yemen, Friday, June 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Osamah Abdulrahman) more >

By Associated Press - Tuesday, June 18, 2024

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A bulk carrier sank days after an attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels believed to have killed one mariner on board, authorities said early Wednesday, the second-such ship to be sunk in the rebel campaign.

The Tutor sank in the Red Sea, the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said in a warning to sailors in the region.

“Military authorities report maritime debris and oil sighted in the last reported location,” the UKMTO said. “The vessel is believed to have sunk.”

The Houthis did not immediately acknowledge the sinking.

The Tutor came under attack a week ago by a bomb-carrying Houthi drone boat in the Red Sea. John Kirby, a White House national security spokesman, said Monday that the attack killed “a crew member who hailed from the Philippines.”


Copyright © 2024 The Washington Times, LLC.

Houthis prove a tough fight as the U.S. military tries to secure critical waterway

Attacks continue despite allied effort to shut down rebel arsenal

Houthi supporters attend a rally in the Gaza Strip, in Sanaa, Yemen, March 8, 2024

A major deadline under the half-century-old War Powers Resolution came this week for President Joe Biden to obtain Congress’ approval to keep waging his military

By Mike Glenn - The Washington Times - Tuesday, June 18, 2024

It hardly seems a fair fight: a ragtag rebel movement in one of the world’s poorest countries, already locked in a draining civil war, taking on the world’s strongest military power and its allies that are determined to protect a waterway critical to global commerce.

Months into the clash, however, Yemen’s Houthis show no signs of going away.

The Iran-backed movement has launched almost 200 attacks against military and commercial ships passing through the Red Sea since November. The U.S. and Britain have responded with multiple retaliatory airstrikes deep into Yemen and have spent more than six months downing swarms of Houthi drones and rockets heading toward merchant vessels.

Despite the massive U.S. and international naval coalition arrayed against them, the Houthis, formally known as Ansar Allah, are continuing their barrage and creating a vast disruption in international shipping patterns. The U.S. and its allies have launched some 450 strikes against Houthi positions along the Yemeni coastline, including some of the most intensive sorties in the past few weeks. Some compare the campaign to the arcade game Whac-A-Mole.

“The Houthis have suffered some losses, but they retain the ability to obstruct maritime shipping in the Red Sea,” Thomas Juneau, an associate professor who focuses on the Middle East at the University of Ottawa Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, recently told the website Responsible Statecraft. “And perhaps more importantly, beyond the material damage they have suffered, their intent to continue obstructing shipping in the Red Sea has not wavered.”

Houthi rebels say they are acting in solidarity with Palestinian militants battling Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip. As recently as last week, they launched strikes against two commercial ships: the M/V Tutor and the M/V Verbena.

On June 12, they attacked the Liberian-flagged and Greek-owned Tutor with an uncrewed surface vessel that resulted in the ship sinking. One of the civilian mariners aboard has been missing since the strike. The crew members abandoned the ship and were rescued by the USS Philippine Sea and other vessels, U.S. officials said.

The next day, the Houthis launched two missiles at the Verbena, which sails under the flag of Palau and is owned by Ukrainians. One of the crew members had to be medically evacuated, officials said.

After two days of trying to bring the fires under control, the Verbena crew was forced to abandon the ship. U.S. officials said the Iranian naval frigate Jamaran was only 8 nautical miles away but refused to respond to the crew’s distress call.

The ship is now drifting in the Gulf of Aden.

The frustration in Washington and the region is palpable and growing.

“The continued malign and reckless behavior by the Iranian-backed Houthis threatens regional stability and endangers the lives of mariners across the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden,” U.S. Central Command officials said in a statement. “The Houthis claim to be acting on behalf of the Palestinians in Gaza and yet they are targeting and threatening the lives of third-country nationals who have nothing to do with the conflict in Gaza.”

In early December, the Houthis threatened to attack any ship they thought was heading to Israeli ports, but most of the strikes before and since have been against civilian ships with Israeli affiliations that were tenuous at best. The Yemeni group quickly expanded its target list to any ship affiliated with the U.S. or its allies, the Defense Intelligence Agency said.

 

Four killed, hundreds flee as Indonesian military battles Papuan fighters

Many tens-of-thousands of people remain displaced in the Papuan provinces from years of conflict.

Victor Mambor and Pizaro Gozali Idrus
2024.06.19
Jayapura and Jakarta, Indonesia

Some of the hundreds of villagers from Bibida District, Paniai Regency, Central Papua Province who sought refuge in the Madi Church in East Paniai District, in photo released on Jun. 18, 2024.

Handout Komando Operasi TNI “Harus Berhasil Maksimal”

Hundreds of residents in Indonesia's restive Papua region have sought shelter in a church after clashes between security forces and West Papua independence fighters left two insurgents, a soldier and a civilian dead.

Fighting flared in Paniai regency in Central Papua province after the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB), part of the Free Papua Movement (OPM), burned a public minivan and killed its driver last week, the military said in a statement.

Two-hundred-and-fifty civilians fled the latest clash, the military said, but a local human rights activist told BenarNews at least twice the number have sought refuge.

As at last October, 76,228 refugees from the ongoing conflict were displaced in the Papuan provinces, the Papua Legal Aid Institute has reported, from a total population of 5.6 million people.

The violent conflict in the western half of New Guinea island is estimated to have cost hundreds-of-thousand of mainly Papuan lives since the 1960s, with the Indonesian government and independence groups accusing each other of serious human rights abuses.

Military forces pursued the TPNPB into the Bibida district of Paniai on Friday, resulting in a deadly firefight on Monday that killed two combatants, according to military spokesperson Lt. Col. Yogi Nugroho.

Residents of Bibida district requested assistance from security forces to temporarily relocate to Madi Church in the neighboring East Paniai district, he said.

"The people of Bibida have never accepted the presence of the OPM in their area due to their arbitrary actions and cruel acts, such as forcibly taking crops, livestock, and even some young girls," Yogi told BenarNews.

TPNPB spokesperson Sebby Sambom has denied the group committed any criminal acts in Bibida that led to the displacement of residents.

"That's not true. That's the Indonesian military and police propaganda," he told BenarNews.

Papuan activists display banners during a rally in Jakarta commemorating the 61st anniversary of the failed efforts by Papuan tribal chiefs to declare independence from Dutch colonial rule in 1961, Dec. 1, 2022. [AP/Tatan Syuflana]

A human rights and church activist in Papua, Yones Douw, accused the presence of government troops in Bibida of fueling fear among Papuans and causing them to flee.

Douw also said the number of displaced residents was 574, not 250 as stated by the military.

"I asked the people of Bibida directly, and they said that it was not true. They [TPNPB] have never stolen crops, and they have never killed livestock," Douw told BenarNews, adding they usually bought local produce from residents.

"The TPNPB-OPM allowed them to evacuate because Bibida would be used as a battleground," he added.

Yogi said according to security forces’ observations, insurgents seeking to destabilize Bibida had taken positions in the forest and nearby regions.

"Therefore, if there are people moving into the Bibida forest, they can be confirmed as sympathizers or members of the OPM," he said.

Security forces on Friday retook Bibida, which had been under TPNPB-OPM control, Yogi said.

One of the slain Liberation Army members was identified as Danis Murib, a deserter from the Indonesian military who had abandoned his post in April.

"Yes, he was a former active member of the Indonesian military who joined the TPNPB four months ago," Sambom told BenarNews.

On Saturday, the TPNPB shot dead a government soldier, identified as Hendrik Fonataba, in the neighboring Puncak regency, Yogi said.

In 1963, Indonesian forces invaded Papua – like Indonesia, a former Dutch colony – and annexed the region.

Papua was incorporated into Indonesia in 1969 after a United Nations-sponsored referendum, which locals and activists have decried as a sham because it involved only about 1,000 people. However, the U.N. accepted the result endorsing Jakarta’s rule.

The Indonesian Defense Ministry said last month it had requested a bigger budget to buy high-tech weapons that can “detect or retaliate” against Papuan groups who know the region’s terrain better. 

Human rights activists criticized the ministry proposal, arguing it would escalate violence and lead to more civilians being caught in the crossfire in the mineral-rich but underdeveloped region.

Contagious Coups in Africa? 

History of Civil–Military Imbalance


By Nina Wilén 

(19 June 2024)

Africa has seen 16 coup attempts in less than 4 years, 9 of which have been successful. This implies an increase in both the number of coup attempts and their success rate, leading to discussions a boutan ‘epidemic of coups’ or ‘contagious coups’, with ‘coups within coups’, being exemplified in no fewer than three states. The new coup wave represents a break with the previous two decades which saw fewer but more effective coup attempts. The majority of the recent coups have taken place in the Sahel region, which has seen an expansion of jihadist groups during the past decade. The definition of a coup attempt is an event in which there is an illegal and overt attempt by the military or other elites within the state apparatus to unseat the sitting executive. This intervention can take various forms, including assassination or detention of the head of state by the coup perpetrators, the suspension of the constitutional order and can be explicitly or implicitly violent. To be considered a successful coup, the coup leaders must hold power for a consecutive week.

The rest of this article can be found on Oxford Academic African Affairs website.

Roger Stone Secret Recording Sparks Fury

NIXON'S DIRTY TRICKSTER

Published Jun 19, 2024
By Ewan Palmer
News Reporter
FOLLOW

Veteran Republican political consultant Roger Stone has been widely criticized over an audio clip that's emerged of him discussing potential measures the party could take to ensure Donald Trump wins the next election.

The clip, secretly recorded by progressive filmmaker Laura Windsor while posing as a fan, reveals that Stone and other Trump allies are prepared to use "lawyers, judges, technology" to challenge the results of November's race if need be. During a "Catholics for Catholics" event held at Mar-a-Lago on March 19, Stone was heard saying that steps need to be taken to stop President Joe Biden beating Trump as the "election can be stolen again" from the Republican.

It isn't the first time Stone has been recorded discussing plans to help Trump win a presidential election. In August 2023, footage obtained by MSNBC showed Stone dictating to an associate a plan to install a group of fake electors who could "accurately reflect" that Trump had beaten Biden in 2020 in states where the results had been "illegally" denied to him "through fraud."

Stone was also a key part of the so-called "Brooks Brothers Riot," which shut down a recount of Florida's 2000 election ballots. Republican George W. Bush was eventually declared the winner in Florida over Al Gore, thus clinching the presidential race overall, by a margin of just over 500 votes.

Roger Stone addresses the "Turning Points: The People's Convention" on June 15 at Huntington Place Convention Center in Detroit, Michigan. Stone was heard on secretly recorded audio discussing plans to challenge to the 2024 election... More JEFF KOWALSKY / AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Stone has dismissed the outcry over the latest recordings, describing the reports as a "nothing-burger story attacking me in [a] desperate bid for clicks," on X, formerly Twitter. "Why do leftists so fear a free, fair, honest, transparent 2024 election?" he added.

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While speaking to Windsor at Mar-a-Lago, Stone said: "We're working on that," when asked how to ensure Trump beats Biden in November.

"Lawyers, judges, technology," Stone adds.

In another conversation with Windsor's colleague, Ally Sammarco, Stone reiterated plans to challenge the 2024 election results if necessary.

"At least this time when they do it, you have a lawyer and a judge—his home phone number standing by—so you can stop it," Stone said. "We made no preparations last time, none.

"There are technical, legal steps that we have to take to try and have a more honest election. We're not there yet, but there's things that can be done."



While sharing the clip of Stone's remarks, Democratic Texas state rep. Gene Wu posted: "That's fine. We're good as long as he's not trying to get actual voters to vote in order to win elections."

James Reyes, chair of the Democratic Party of Denver, said: "These people cannot be allowed power and we can stop them by overwhelming turnout at the ballot box."

Alex Aronson, executive director of Court Accountability, wrote: "Roger Stone is working on 'lawyers, judges, technology' to 'use every lever we can' to deliver this election for Trump. We need to be clear-eyed *now* about SCOTUS's central role in their scheme. It's already evident in the insurrection case."

Anthony Davis, host on the liberal news network MeidasTouch, added: "Do not discount the rigged electoral college system and the MAGA plan to undermine the judiciary from the inside to change the outcome of the election. It's going to be very messy. They want to cause chaos, so voters don't know who to believe."

In a statement to Rolling Stone, Stone said: "All of the election integrity provisions that I suggested are perfectly legal and should be part of any ballot security effort."

Stone was contacted for further comment via email outside of normal working hours.

Elsewhere during his conversation with Sammarco, Stone predicted that Judge Aileen Cannon, who is overseeing Trump's classified documents case, would throw out the charges altogether.

"We are beating them," Stone said, while discussing the former president's legal issues. "[Trump's] trial in Georgia is falling apart. I think the judge is on the verge of dismissing the charges against him in Florida.

"[Democrats] want to try him, suck up his money, suck up his time, and create the reason why their theft is plausible, believable," Stone added.

The remarks were made before Trump went on trial in New York accused of 34 counts of falsifying business records. Trump was convicted by a jury on all counts in the historic hush money trial.


"He [Stone] really begs the question: How does he know Aileen Cannon is 'on the verge of dismissing the charges against Trump?" Sammarco posted on X.

"Also, the obvious question: What judges does he have on speed dial?"

Lily Gladstone tackles 'epidemic' of missing Indigenous people

AP

"Fancy Dance" with Lily Gladstone balances heartbreak, humor in story of  missing Indigenous women. #LilyGladstone #indigenouswomen #MMIW

Microplastics found in penises for first time, researchers say - raising questions over impact on sexual health

Scientists raise questions about the impact of microplastics on male sexual health in a new study. The size of pollutants varied, but most can come from everyday products.


Wednesday 19 June 2024 11:58, UK



Microplastics have been found in penises for the first time, with scientists raising questions about their impact on sexual health.

A study, published in science journal Nature, assessed the tissue from six men who had undergone surgery treating erectile dysfunction.

In 80% of the samples, seven types of microplastics were identified, with some as small as two micrometres - or two thousandths of a millimetre.

"The detection of microplastics in penile tissue raises inquiries on the ramifications of environmental pollutants on sexual health," scientists said in the study.

Almost half of the microplastics found were polyethylene terephthalate, commonly used to make clothes and food and drink packaging.

Polypropylene - a harder microplastic also used in packaging - formed 34.7% of the substances.

Some were as large as half a millimetre, according to researchers.

"Our study presents a ground-breaking investigation into the presence of microplastics in penile tissue," researchers said.

"By shedding light on the presence of microplastics in human tissues, our research adds a crucial dimension to the ongoing discourse about the effects of environmental pollutants on human health, with a specific focus on male sexual health."

Dr Ranjith Ramasamy, who led the research, told Sky News more studies are needed to investigate if microplastics cause erectile dysfunction.

"Since we know it lingers in the penis, we need to now focus on research that could explain mechanism," he said.

"We were not surprised by the findings because of previous studies demonstrating presence of microplastics in the heart and blood vessels."

Microplastics can enter the human body through the food we eat, water we drink, air we breathe or simply through touch.

They were found in blood for the first time in 2022 and more recent research links their contamination to more severe conditions.

A study published in March this year found patients with microplastics in their blood vessels were more likely to suffer a stroke, early death or heart attack.

The researchers identified plastic in the blood vessels of almost three in five (58%) of the 304 patients enrolled in the study in Italy.

Those findings do not prove the plastic particles caused the heart attacks and strokes, as the patients could have been exposed to other risk factors.

But they chime with other research that found microplastics harm human cells, released by Hull York Medical School and the University of Hull in 2021.

Microplastics found in UK tap water

Microplastics may even contribute to climate change, with researchers finding contaminants in clouds surrounding Japan's Mount Fuji.

The research published on Wednesday was authored by experts from the University of Miami, University of Colorado, San Rafaele University in Milan and German research institute Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon.

Wildfire rages outside Athens fanned by strong winds

19 June 2024 - 

BY REUTERS

Tourists look at Athens from atop Lycabettus hill, as Saharan dust blankets the city in the background during a heatwave in Greece, June 13, 2024.
Image: Alkis Konstantinidis/REUTERS

Greek firefighters and aircraft battled a blaze in the town of Koropi 30km south of Athens on Wednesday, as strong winds fanned the flames and forced residents to flee their homes and businesses.

Traffic was suspended along a main highway connecting Koropi to Athens suburbs. A storage facility was on fire and flames crept into a boat dry dock and across fields of dry grass and olive trees, images on local TV showed.


There were no reports of deaths or injuries, a fire service official said. Civil protection and authorities evacuated two nearby villages.

It was not immediately clear what caused the blaze. Four firefighting planes, six helicopters, dozens of fire engines and more than 50 firefighters were dispatched to the scene, the fire service official said.

Much of the Athens area has had no rain for weeks, leaving large areas bone dry.

“I saved my home at the last moment. It all happened so fast,” a resident whose face was blackened by smoke told local Skai TV channel.

Wildfires are common in the Mediterranean nation but they have become more devastating in recent years amid hotter and drier summers that scientists relate to climate change.

After forest fires last year forced 19,000 people to flee the island of Rhodes and killed 20 in the northern mainland, Greece has scaled up its preparations this year by hiring more staff and stepping up training.

Reuters

Heat waves linked to higher mortality rates, especially in cities with more renters

Statistics Canada study spanning 2 decades lays out risks of extreme heat as climate warms

Benjamin Shingler · CBC News · Posted: Jun 19, 2024 10:25 AM MDT | Last Updated: 1 minute ago

A Torontonian navigates the first heat wave of the summer on Monday. (Evan Mitsui/CBC)

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As heat warnings spread across North America this week, new Canadian research is shedding light on the health risks from exposure to unusually warm temperatures — particularly in cities with more renters.

The study, released Wednesday by Statistics Canada, found higher-than-average risk of death during extreme heat event days in the majority of Canada's largest cities over the past two decades. 

"The risk of dying tends to increase during days defined as extreme heat events compared to days that are not extreme heat events," said Matthew Quick, the author of the study and a research analyst at Statistics Canada.

Between 2000 and 2020, roughly 670 more deaths than usual were recorded in the country's 12 largest cities during periods of extreme heat that lasted two days or longer. The criteria for what is defined as a period of extreme heat varies by region and is defined by Environment and Climate Change Canada.

The increase in mortality rates was largely among people 65 and over, according to the study.

Cities where extreme heat events are less common saw a greater spike in deaths when the temperature shot up.

"That might point to acclimatization, so your body's ability to deal with heat might also point to the degree to which adaptation measures are in place," Quick said.

The study also found higher mortality rates during heat waves in cities where there are more renters. He said this may be because renters are less likely to have air conditioning than homeowners, as he showed in a previous study.

Wednesday's study adds to a growing body of research showing the effects of extreme heat on vulnerable populations. 

Longer heat waves carry greater health risk

A report on the week-long heat dome in British Columbia in 2021 found that most people who died were elderly, had a disability, lived in poorer neighbourhoods or lived alone. During that week, which fell outside the time period for the Statistics Canada study, more than 600 deaths were identified as being heat-related.

Dr. Matthew Bennett, a cardiologist in Vancouver, said he felt the strain on the health system during that exceptionally hot period. Research suggests that longer heat waves, such as the one in B.C., carry greater health risk.

"The ambulance attendants saw it first, then the emergency rooms saw it," he said. 

• Extreme heat days are overheating schools more often — and experts say it needs our attention

"It's always difficult to ascertain a specific cause of death, but there is really good evidence of why people die or how they could die because of cardiovascular causes."

Bennett suggested everyone should have a plan for how to stay cool during periods of prolonged heat, either at home or at another location with air conditioning. 

"Everybody who is not at risk should also think of the family members who could be at risk, friends who can be at risk, and check in on them," he said. 

The results come amid heat warnings affecting millions in parts of Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada, and large swaths of the United States.

Research shows heat waves are becoming increasingly extreme as the climate warms. A report last month by Climate Central, along with World Weather Attribution and the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre, examined 76 extreme heat waves across 90 countries over a 12-month period starting in May 2023.

• Is this weather normal? Track climate trends in your community

The report says that in that period, 6.3 billion people — roughly 78 per cent of the population — experienced at least 31 days of extreme heat that were "made at least two times more likely due to human-caused climate change."

Environment and Climate Change Canada is forecasting higher-than-normal temperatures throughout most of Canada this summer, after the hottest year on record.