CTHULHU STUDIES
Can the nautilus survive humanity?

In Cosmos Magazine #96

A nautilus floats in the ocean / Credit: Manuae

Its spiral shape evokes the golden ratio of Fibonacci, and its name has inspired publishers, musicians, submarine makers and spacefarers. Yes, the nautilus has captured the imaginations of humans for a very, very long time.

But as Kate Evans in Cosmos Magazine #96 asks, ‘Can the Nautilus survive the Anthropocene?’

Before you jump into that question, here’s five things you need to know about this mysterious sea dweller.

Meet the family

Nautilidae is a family of cephalopods that inhabit the open ocean. Their name derives from the Greek word for sailor and consists of nearly a dozen described species, although some of these are debated. N. pompilius is perhaps the most iconic of the nautilus family thanks to its curvaceous, zebra-striped shell.

Its cousins include other cephalopods such as octopuses, squids, and cuttlefish.

From the vault: Rare nautilus spotted in the South Pacific

They eat the dead

While their relations hunt live prey, nautiluses mop up the remains of dead fish and crustaceans on the sea floor. They’re not solely scavengers though – they also eat small live fish, shrimp and crabs. Sometimes, they’ll even eat their own kind!

At first glance, it may be hard to guess where the nautilus’ mouth is. It’s disguised beneath the tentacles, sitting at the entrance to the species’ internal cavity. These tentacles retract to expose the animal’s beak, which is rather effective at tearing its prey apart.

Jet propelled

Like their fellow cephalopods, nautiluses are able to move very quickly by means of jet propulsion. But while squids and octopuses use a combination of jet-streaming and their arms for directional movement, the nautilus sucks its body into its internal cavity to pump water through this chamber. This motion creates thrust that propels it through the ocean.

Nautiluses also uses their siphuncle – a connective tissue that binds its internal cavities – to draw water into these areas, enabling it to alter its buoyancy and move up and down the ocean’s water column. Perhaps it’s this unique way of anatomical movement that inspired so many fictional and real-life submarines being named Nautilus.

They have eyes

So, can you spot it?

There it is.

Right in the middle.

A nautilus / Credit: Hans Hillewaert

That round, fleshy protrusion with a black dot at the centre of the nautilus’ body is the animal’ particularly well-camouflaged eye, and as you can see, they appear very different to those of other cephalopods.

That’s because these ‘pinhole eyes’ are relatively primitive – they don’t have a lens or cornea – so they don’t have the benefits of more advanced ocular organs developed by their muscle-armed relations.

Because of this, nautiluses have somewhat poor vision. It’s why smell is believed to play an important role in their ability to survive, as it’s likely the means by which they best detect prey.

They’re living fossils

‘Living fossil’ is the term often bestowed on organisms that have survived the end of the dinosaurs and whose evolutionary history may even predate the time these giant four-legged reptiles.

And nautiluses are among these ancients, with a very stable evolutionary history dating back 500 million years. This means they’ve survived five mass extinctions!

But will their propensity to remain the same and survive what happens on the surface be enough to withstand what’s described as the next mass extinction? The anthropocene — the human epoch — is believed to mark the planet’s sixth mass extinction, where climate change brought about by the burning of fossil fuels is already creating significant changes to the planet.

The fate of the Nautilus in Cosmos #96…

In the latest issue of Cosmos, Kate Evans asks whether the future of the nautiluses is one spiralling out of control amid the ocean-warming impacts of climate change and the international animal trade. Near Papua New Guinea’s Manus and Ndrova islands, dive into the waters of the Bismarck Sea and explore the future of these ancient, magnificent molluscs.

Supercomputer model predicts supercontinent to form in Pacific 200-300 million years from now

Earth’s continents collide to form a supercontinent every 600 million years.

A possible configuration of the next supercontinent, Amasia, 280 million years from now. Credit: Curtin University

Evrim Yazgin

4 October 2022

The world’s next supercontinent will form when the Pacific Ocean closes in 200-300 million years according to new research led by Australia’s Curtin University.

Continents and oceanic rock make up Earth’s crust, or lithosphere, which is a thin shell sitting atop thousands of kilometres of molten rock called the mantle.

Earth’s continents move very slowly over the mantle. The Australasian plate is one of the faster moving ones, creeping northward at around 7 centimetres per year.

Occasionally, the continents knock into each other, causing mountain ranges to rise – like the Himalayas, formed when the Indian subcontinent hit Asia around 40-50 million years ago. And occasionally, they all collide together to form one big supercontinent.

Using a supercomputer, geologists from Curtin in Perth, were able to simulate the formation of supercontinents. Their results show that the cooling of the Earth over billions of years causes the thickness and strength of the plates under the oceans to reduce. So, “younger” oceans like the Atlantic and Indian oceans are more resistant to continental drift than the more worn-down Pacific. The findings are published in National Science Review.

Read more: Australian research shows how the Mediterranean went from brine to megaflood to thriving marine ecosystem

“Over the past two billion years, Earth’s continents have collided to form a supercontinent every 600 million years, known as the supercontinent cycle,” says Dr Chuan Huang, from Curtin’s Earth Dynamics Research Group and the School of Earth and Planetary Sciences. “This means that the current continents are due to come together again in a couple of hundred of million years’ time.”

Co-author Professor Zheng-Xiang Li, also from Curtin’s School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, tells Cosmos that the “supercontinent cycle” is a mystery.

“It’s a very intriguing question. We don’t really know. Until thirty years ago, we knew of one supercontinent – Pangaea between 200 and 300 million years ago. But, with work over the last thirty years, we realised before Pangea there were two more supercontinents. And they happened in a kind of regular interval – every 600 million years. That’s the observation based on the geological record.”

Li suggests that it could be related to a convection-like rising and falling of hotter and colder molten rock respectively in Earth’s mantle.

“The resulting new supercontinent has already been named Amasia because some believe that the Pacific Ocean will close (as opposed to the Atlantic and Indian oceans) when America collides with Asia,” says Huang. “Australia is also expected to play a role in this important Earth event, first colliding with Asia and then connecting America and Asia once the Pacific Ocean closes.”

Li explains that our understanding of plate tectonics has itself been shifting.

“Twenty-five years ago, most people thought the continents were dragged by the mantle – the floating rock underneath the shell of the Earth’s crust. But now, we know it’s a combination of forces. You have the mantle dragging continents, and the oceanic slabs going into the mantle which acts like a heavy sinker also dragging the continents into the mantle.”

“By simulating how the Earth’s tectonic plates are expected to evolve using a supercomputer, we were able to show that in less than 300 million years’ time it is likely to be the Pacific Ocean that will close, allowing for the formation of Amasia, debunking some previous scientific theories,” Huang explains.

“We tried to mimic the Earth’s processes, the plate tectonic process, using the supercomputer,” Li tells Cosmos. “We filled in basic parameters like temperature gradient and the density profile. This is seen through the continental lithosphere and the oceanic lithosphere. We look at their density, strength, and viscosity.

“Out of these parameters, we tried to physically mimic as best we can Earth’s conditions. We see how continents come together or breakup in the plate tectonic process with the supercomputer. We model a 3D image for the spherical processes as they evolve through time.”

Read more: The Earth is full of diamonds

Li highlights the exciting nature of the research.

“Earth as we know it will be drastically different when Amasia forms. The sea level is expected to be lower, and the vast interior of the supercontinent will be very arid with high daily temperature ranges,” Li says.

“We are fortunate to live in a very exciting time in geological research. There was the ‘Plate Tectonics Revolution‘ 60 years ago. I believe we are now in another revolution. We are able to link what we see on the surface, the plate motion, with what is happening in the deep Earth or even in the core. In fact, the whole Earth system is either a kind of interactive system, from the core to the mantle to the crust, and then to the atmosphere and even life, the biosphere. We are starting to see the Earth system in a more holistic kind of way.”

MORE ON: CONTINENT DRIFT

The Earth began to move 2.5 billion years ago

Turbulent mantle nudges Earth’s crust

The geological state of the nation

Historic Mars Orbiter Declared Dead After Eight-Year Mission

India's space agency says the Mangalyaan orbiter has run out of fuel and is "non-recoverable."

Monisha Ravisetti
Oct. 3, 2022 

In 2013, India's space agency sent a spacecraft to enter Martian orbit. 

In 2014, it did, and on Monday, it said goodbye.

On Sept. 24, 2014, the Indian Space Research Organization made history.

A year earlier, the country's premier space agency blasted a little spacecraft toward Mars, hoping to punch the boxy probe into the red planet's orbit and hover it alongside NASA's state-of-the-art Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and ESA's inventive Mars Express.

This, at the time, was an ambitious goal.

India had yet to enter the interplanetary game, and allotted only a mere $74 million (4.5 billion rupees) to achieve what the US once did with nearly 10 times that. Even Christopher Nolan budgeted far more to produce his glorious, space-y film, Interstellar and Boeing's cheapest commercial airplane costs an extra few million.

Then came Sept. 24, 2014.

ISRO's spacecraft, known as Mangalyaan, officially entered Martian orbit as part of the Mars Orbiter Mission, making India the fourth nation to insert a robot into Mars' gravitational whirlpool -- and the first to do so on its maiden try. But, as the belabored saying goes, all good things must come to an end.

This week, India bid an inevitable farewell to Mangalyaan, which translates from Hindi to "Mars craft."

After eight incredible years of service studying the rocky world's atmosphere and testing key technologies from the sky -- a much longer lifetime than the agency expected -- Mangalyaan ran out of fuel and battery power.

The culprit, scientists believe, might've partly been an unfortunate back-to-back sequence of solar eclipses. Mangalyaan is solar powered and therefore couldn't charge back up without the power of the sun. Starting now, it will slowly drift toward Mars' surface in silence.

"The spacecraft is non-recoverable and attained its end-of-life," ISRO said in a statement Monday, emphasizing that "the mission will be ever-regarded as a remarkable technological and scientific feat in the history of planetary exploration."
Mangalyaan's legacy

ISRO's Martian space explorer was a trooper.

Once Mangalyaan blasted off from Earth almost a decade ago, the spacecraft's team expected to say goodbye to its muse in about six months. Yet, as ISRO notes, "despite being designed for a life span of six months as a technology demonstrator, the Mars Orbiter Mission has lived for about eight years in the Martian orbit with a gamut of significant scientific results."

Not only did Mangalyaan help scientists understand elusive Martian quirks like the planet's towering dust storms and create a detailed atlas of its icy poles, but eventually, the craft's lens transcended the Martian vicinity to shed light on other parts of our solar system too.

Mangalyaan, ISRO highlights in a sort of obituary, managed to decode secrets about our sun's corona before losing contact with ground control. And during a national meeting held last week to discuss the mission's finale, the team made sure to reminisce about the more human consequences of Mangalyaan's legacy too.

Kiran Kumar, former chairman of ISRO and key designer for India's Mars mission stands before the first ever images of Mars taken by an Indian space craft.

Getty Images

So far, the agency said, more than 7,200 users have registered to download Mangalyaan's data from ISRO's online archive, 400 of whom are international, and about 27,000 downloads of varying sizes have been carried out already.

"The mission has also contributed to human resource generation in the domain of planetary sciences," ISRO said. "It has generated several Ph.D. holders, while many of the research scholars are using the data from the mission to pursue their doctoral work."

Indian scientists and ISRO engineers monitor the Mars Orbiter Mission at the agency's tracking center in 2013.

Getty Images

A rocky road to the rocky world

It's poignant to think about Mangalyaan's everlasting imprint on space exploration because, around the time when the craft left Earth, reporters, scientists and space enthusiasts worldwide predicted a variety of directions in which that imprint could bend.

Most opinions were wide-eyed.

BBC News openly called India's Mars mission "cheap and thrilling," because the country's space program "succeeded at the first attempt where others have failed," by sending an operational mission to Martian orbit. Regarding that low cost, ISRO managed to keep things "simple," the publication stated, attempting to get the biggest bang for its buck.

India accomplished its Martian orbital endeavor with about 1/10 what it once costed the US.ISRO/NASA

For instance, Mangalyaan was armed with methane detectors meant to answer some of the most pressing questions about Mars' atmosphere, like whether methane-producing bugs might exist somewhere on the planet, thus offering proof of extraterrestrial life.

"The mission is also credited with the discovery of 'suprathermal' Argon-40 atoms in the Martian exosphere, which gave some clue on one of the potential mechanisms for the escape of atmosphere from Mars," ISRO said.

Some opinions were well-intentioned, but missed the mark.

In 2014, a New York Times sketch about Mangalyaan erupted in controversy because it teased the fact that India is soon to join the "elite space club." Many found it distasteful because the character representing India was wearing a traditional dhoti and turban as well as holding a cow on a leash while knocking on the door of a so-called "elite space club." Inside, two white men looked perplexed. One held a newspaper headlined "India's Mars Mission."

In an apology letter, a Times editor said the "intent of the cartoonist, Heng Kim Song, was to highlight how space exploration is no longer the exclusive domain of rich, Western countries," though Indian reporters still felt the graphic marred the sentiment.

On the flip side, ISRO met its fair share of criticism.

Some argue that Mangalyaan's lack of scientific publications -- after five years it'd only produced about 27 -- goes to show the agency was in a rush to hastily get the probe up there. Though as a response to that, others contend that Mangalyaan was meant to be a six-month-long technology demonstration and just so happened to outlive its expected lifetime. Maybe even those 27 publications are a superb achievement, in that case.

By trying to compete with wealthier nations' interplanetary space missions, some have also suggested the agency spent money on space exploration that could've better been leveraged for issues closer to home. Things like health care innovation, infrastructure development and food insecurity solutions that space organizations like NASA or Roscosmos don't have to consider, due to their residence in privileged countries.

As a counterargument, however, in 2013, Indian journalist Samanth Subramanian wrote in The New Yorker that "Mangalyaan's 73-million-dollar budget is a pittance compared to the 20 billion dollars that India will spend this year to provide subsidized food to two out of every three of its citizens, or the $5.3 billion that will be spent this year on a rural employment plan."

It's undoubtedly difficult to measure the benefits and costs -- particularly economic ones -- that come from a space mission. But now, at the end of it all, it'd be remiss to exclude the ultimate payoff that came from Mangalyaan's success.

The existence of this spacecraft spurred the creation of jobs, the mission's unique insights enhanced the field of astronomy, and the project's culmination exuded an evocative message.

Adventuring into space needn't solely be based on wealth, power or privilege, but also on the intrinsic human impulse to explore.

First published on Oct. 3, 2022 

SEE https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2022/10/indias-groundbreaking-mars-orbiter.html

CLOSING THE BARN DOOR....
Royal Navy frigate sent to North Sea after attacks on Nord Stream gas pipelines

The UK is acquiring two specialist ships to help guard against any future attack on cables supplying the country with gas or internet connectivity, says the defence secretary.

Tuesday 4 October 2022

Gas has been bubbling up in the Baltic Sea since the leaks were discovered. Pic: AP

A Royal Navy frigate has been sent to the North Sea after suspected sabotage last week on the Nord Stream gas pipelines.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said the ship was working with the Norwegian navy "to reassure those working near the gas pipelines".

European nations believe the damage to pipelines under the Baltic Sea could only have been caused by an attack, with Russia strongly suspected.

The Kremlin has denied it was responsible and instead pointed the finger at the West.

Russia's Gazprom said on Monday that the pipelines had now stopped leaking. The gas giant said pressure had stabilised in the damaged pipelines and that it was pumping gas out of the undamaged string B of Nord Stream 2 so that its integrity could be checked.

Methane had been bubbling up since four leaks were found on the pipelines near Denmark's Bornholm Island.

A British defence source told Sky News they were likely premeditated attacks using underwater explosives.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said on Sunday at the Tory Party conference that Russia made "no secret" of its ability to attack underwater infrastructure.

He said the damage to the pipelines - which run from Russia to Germany - showed "the Nordic states and ourselves are deeply vulnerable to people doing things on our cables and our pipelines".

Mr Wallace said the UK would acquire two specialist ships to protect the network as the country's "internet and energy are highly reliant on pipelines and cables".

"The first multi-role survey ship for seabed warfare will be purchased by the end of this year, fitted out here in the UK and then operational before the end of next year," he said.

"The second ship will be built in the UK and we will plan to make sure it covers all our vulnerabilities."



Mr Wallace met other ministers of the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) on Monday to share assessments of what the MoD called a "blatant and irresponsible" attack.

In a statement, it said the members had decided to increase their presence in the area, as well as "intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance activities" to deter future acts and reassure allies.

The JEF is focussed on security in the High North, North Atlantic and Baltic Sea region.

It includes Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and the UK.

HSBC exploring sale of Canadian arm - Sky

A report on Sky News said that HSBC's board has instructed investment bankers at JP Morgan to sound out prospective buyers of its business in the country


HSBC Holdings PLC (LSE:HSBA) is reportedly looking at a multi-billion pound sale of its businesses in Canada in what would mark a significant retreat from its presence in North America.

A report on Sky News said that HSBC's board has instructed investment bankers at JP Morgan to sound out prospective buyers of its business in the country.

Sources said a sale would represent a substantial deal - both financially and symbolically - for HSBC.

According to its website, HSBC is the seventh-largest bank in Canada, having made more than a dozen acquisitions there since the early 1980s.

One analyst suggested that the value of its Canadian subsidiary could be in the region of US$7bn (£6bn).

It comes as the London-headquartered lender is confronted by a campaign orchestrated by the Chinese insurance group Ping An for it to embark on a wholesale break-up.

Ping An, which owns more than 8% of HSBC, is thought to have told HSBC - led by chairman Mark Tucker and chief executive Noel Quinn - to split its lucrative Hong Kong business from the rest of its global empire.

Oil, religion and climate

By Dayo Sobowale 

On Sep 24, 2022

NIGERIA

The use of oil as a weapon of war by Russia against Europe in retaliation for economic sanctions against it for invading Ukraine often reminds me of the Arab oil embargo against the US and Europe , for supporting Israel especially after the 1973 Yom Kippur war in which the Egyptian Army initially had the upper hand before its army was surrounded in the Sinai desert by the Israeli army and the Arabs lost the war. Ever since that time Western Europe and the US had been looking for alternative sources of energy outside oil or fossil oil such that they would never endure the hardship and humiliation that the economic consequences of the oil embargo of the seventies inflicted direly on their economies . Global warming was therefore an obvious excuse for saying that oil and its products and bye products were the bad reason for climate change and those who see the emergence of climate mate as a political issue on this score were branded as climate denials .The fact however remains that geography is changing as it has always done . Yet most of the developed nations still think and are acting as if man through elimination of fossil fuel or energy can prevent climatic changes and calamities . I see that as a gargantuan fallacy for the simple reason that man has not been able yet , to fashion out an instrument and technology that can contain and control nature and that is the solid truth , at least for now , in this civilization we are living in .

Today I want to use geopolitics to illustrate my point of views on the subject of the day . I also want to show the obvious connection between climatology , the production of fossil fuel and the subsequent impact of that on man’s economic race for survival and comfort which has led unwittingly to the emergence and usage of two words namely ‘ developed’ and ‘developing ‘ nations . Let me initially make some common or broad geopolitical observations on the nature of economic development , its nature and locations as well as the development and origins of religions and politics along these lines .

First , it is a fact that most of the oil in this world is located in the Middle East and Saudi Arabia , the largest oil producers and leader of OPEC is located in the Middle East and is the leading Muslim nation for Sunni Muslims . While another oil rich nation Iran leader of the world Shia Muslims is also one of the leading oil producers in the world . On the other hand during colonization and slavery western nations like France , Britain and Holland conquered colonial lands like Nigeria holding the bible in one hand and the gun in the other . At the divestiture of the now buried Queen Elizabeth 11 when the globe in her custody , one of the crown jewels since coronation, was retrieved at the altar it was revealed that she was given this as monarch to spread the word of Christ around the world which had been the goal of the defunct British Empire she once ruled over as the Commonwealth for 70 years . In Nigeria it is a hard fact of life that the North is largely arid and mostly in the Sahel and largely Muslim but Nigeria’s oil is mostly in the Niger Delta creeks mostly underdeveloped while oil money is being used to develop the North mostly at the expense of the oil locations where oil exploration has led to massive pollution and ecological disasters . It is also a grim fact of life that Fulani herdsmen are Muslims looking for water to feed their cattle not only in Nigeria but the whole of the North of ECOWAS states and that has led to anxiety of a looming jihad against coastal capitals that are the commercial heartthrob of W Africa like Lagos ,and Accra .

It is necessary to acknowledge these plain facts and home truths to be able to see the use of oil as weapon by the Arabs led by Saudi Arabia in the seventies and now by Russia in the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine .It also explains why in pursuing the elimination of fossil fuel the west shot itself in the leg when it did not have an available and ready source of energy other than fossil fuel .The UAE special envoy for climate change Sultan Al Jaber has warned that policies aimed at divesting from hydrocarbons and fossil fuel without alternatives are not only self defeating . He concluded that ‘they will undermine energy security , erode economic stability and leave less income available to invest in the energy transition ‘ Luckily Nigeria seem to be heeding this warning as we are not in any mad rush to embark on any climate change gymnastics because we will just strangle our oil based mono economy The EU nations and the US are feeling the effect of playing god with the climate especially with the Russian oil embargo against the west although they are keeping a straight face about it .

In Nigeria however the preparation for the 2023 presidential election has been overheated with the adoption of a Muslim Muslim ticket by the APC . Yet Nigeria’s problems as highlighted before are starring us in the face ,and it is suchproblems that we should ask presidential candidates of any party seeking the presidency to address instead of asking Nigerians to show hostility towards the Muslim Muslim ticket .This is because we are a nation largely composed of both Christians and Muslims . The two religions however did not happen in a vacuum . The colonial masters came to Christianise and evangelise us as the return of the Queens orb has revealed but that is impossible under King Charles 111 because Britain is now a multicultural society with Muslims , and Hindus . Even in Nigeria where they succeeded to evangelise heavily they succeeded mainly in the south and sparsely in the North . This was because they fell in love with the Northern Emirs love of horses and their grand durbar horse riding parades and forgot to tell them about the bible .Instead they taught them how to ignore geography and climate in Nigeria which made the North sparsely populated and to govern by claiming a false narrative in giving the North higher census figures than the South . Thus giving them political power in spite of geography and warning them that they would lose power and authority if true census ever took place . If you look at the huge number of horses at the Queen’s funeral in the UK recently you will understand what I am talking about with regard to the emergence of the political structure and culture that Britain bequeathed Nigeria colonially , simply because of horses! . Laughable perhaps , but geographically , climatically not to talk of history , quite correct .

Anyway , the truth is that in Nigeria both Christian and Muslim religious leaders are in the race to convert each other adherents .Evangelisation and the jihad have similar goals . In the past when there was violence we had crusades and jihads fought out in the holy lands of the Middle East which now has the largest deposits of oil being exploited by western technology owned by Christian nations . The Sokoto Caliphate had its way too in the N and NW and Northern Emirs are Fulanis while their subjects are Hausas .Either way since independence Nigerians have cohabited tremendously successfully in spite of religion . There was a time when the Nigerian soccer team the Red Devils and later Green Eagles was largely made up of Ibos , who are Christians and nobody raised an eyebrow . Now that we are about to have a president and his vise from one religion , is the time to show that even though our faith matters , it cannot and should not divide us . All we need is a level playing ground for keen political competition and may the better team that will govern Nigeria justly and wisely , prevail . Amen .

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M'S LAST CHANCE
U.S. Supreme Court rejects Platinum Partner executives' appeal of fraud convictions

Mon, October 3, 2022 
By Jody Godoy

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear an appeal by two former Platinum Partners executives of their conviction on charges that they defrauded bondholders of one of the defunct hedge fund's portfolio companies as they seek a new trial.

The justices, on the first day of their new term, turned away an appeal by Platinum co-founder Mark Nordlicht and co-chief investment officer David Levy of a lower court ruling that reversed the trial judge's decision to overturn their convictions after jurors found them guilty.

Nordlicht and Levy were convicted in 2019 of securities fraud and conspiracy for cheating bondholders at the Platinum-controlled Black Elk Energy Offshore Operations LLC to limit Platinum's losses if Black Elk went bankrupt. They are scheduled to be sentenced in November.

Prosecutors said the scheme involved diverting tens of millions of dollars from sales in 2014 of Black Elk oil fields after rigging a bondholder vote to ensure that Platinum and not bondholders would be paid first. Black Elk creditors filed an involuntary bankruptcy petition against that company in August 2015.

In 2019, U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan overturned the convictions.

The judge ordered a new trial for Nordlicht, saying it would be "manifest injustice" to uphold his conviction after Nordlicht went to "great lengths" during the vote to follow rules governing a Platinum affiliate. Cogan granted Levy acquittal or alternatively a new trial, saying prosecutors had not proven he had criminal intent.

The New York-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2021 reversed the rulings, finding that jurors had seen sufficient evidence to convict the two men. Nordlicht and Levy have argued that the 2nd Circuit's decision set too high a bar for courts to review verdicts.

Nordlicht and Levy petitioned the Supreme Court to undo the 2nd Circuit decision, arguing that it deepened a disagreement among U.S. appeals courts over whether a judge considering a request for a new trial may "reweigh" evidence heard by a jury.

Prosecutors said the appeal mischaracterized the 2nd Circuit ruling, which they said did not conflict with other courts.

(Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Will Dunham)

COACHING IS ABUSE

Investigation finds 'systemic,' 'heartbreaking' abuse in women's soccer, and failures at highest level of sport

Henry Bushnell

Mon, October 3, 2022 

Sally Yates' investigation revealed new allegations against Christy Holly, who was fired for cause by NWSL club Racing Louisville. (Photo by Joe Robbins/ISI Photos/Getty Images)

A U.S. Soccer-commissioned investigation into abuse throughout the National Women's Soccer League unearthed new allegations of verbal, emotional and sexual misconduct at the highest levels of the sport, and found that coaches, executives, the NWSL and the federation itself "failed" countless players.

U.S. Soccer on Monday released the results of the yearlong investigation, which was led by former U.S. Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates.

"Our investigation has revealed a league in which abuse and misconduct-verbal and emotional abuse and sexual misconduct-had become systemic, spanning multiple teams, coaches, and victims," Yates wrote in a 319-page report. "Abuse in the NWSL is rooted in a deeper culture in women's soccer, beginning in youth leagues, that normalizes verbally abusive coaching and blurs boundaries between coaches and players."

U.S. Soccer tabbed Yates to lead the investigation after allegations of sexual harassment and coercion against longtime NWSL coach Paul Riley led to a league-wide reckoning. Other alarming allegations against then-Chicago Red Stars coach Rory Dames later emerged. Yates' report includes yet more allegations that were previously unreported, including allegations of sexual misconduct against then-Racing Louisville head coach Christy Holly, who was abruptly fired for cause last year.

Holly, who is male, called a player, Erin Simon, in for a film session and told her that he'd touch her “for every pass [she] f***ed up,” according to Yates' report. He proceeded to “push his hands down her pants and up her shirt.” Simon, after the session ended, "broke down crying."

Yates and her investigative team interviewed over 200 people in total, and wrote that they "heard report after report of relentless, degrading tirades; manipulation that was about power, not improving performance; and retaliation against those who attempted to come forward.

"Even more disturbing were the stories of sexual misconduct. Players described a pattern of sexually charged comments, unwanted sexual advances and sexual touching, and coercive sexual intercourse."

The investigation found that NWSL teams, the league and U.S. Soccer, the sport's national governing body, which previously ran the NWSL, "not only repeatedly failed to respond appropriately when confronted with player reports and evidence of abuse, they also failed to institute basic measures to prevent and address it, even as some leaders privately acknowledged the need for workplace protections.

"As a result, abusive coaches moved from team to team, laundered by press releases thanking them for their service, and positive references from teams that minimized or even concealed misconduct. Those at the NWSL and USSF in a position to correct the record stayed silent. And no one at the teams, the league, or the federation demanded better of coaches."

Yates, in conclusion, outlined 12 recommendations "aimed at preventing abuse in the future, holding wrongdoers accountable, enhancing transparency, and fostering a professional environment where players are treated with respect."

Those recommendations include that teams should be required to "accurately disclose misconduct to the NWSL and USSF"; that U.S. Soccer "should require meaningful vetting of coaches" and timely investigations of allegations; and that the "NWSL should determine whether discipline is warranted in light of these findings."

U.S. Soccer, NWSL respond to 'heartbreaking' findings

In a statement alongside the release of Yates' report, U.S. Soccer president Cindy Parlow Cone said: “This investigation’s findings are heartbreaking and deeply troubling. The abuse described is inexcusable and has no place on any playing field, in any training facility or workplace."

On a video call with reporters Monday afternoon, an emotional Cone added that the findings were "infuriating," "maddening" and "shocking."

Cone said that the federation is "taking the immediate action that we can today, and will convene leaders in soccer at all levels across the country to collaborate on the recommendations so we can create meaningful, long-lasting change throughout the soccer ecosystem.”

U.S. Soccer said that in the immediate term, it would "establish a new Office of Participant Safety to oversee U.S. Soccer’s conduct policies and reporting mechanisms"; publish records from SafeSport’s database "to publicly identify individuals in our sport who have been disciplined, suspended or banned"; and "mandate a uniform minimum standard for background checks for all U.S. Soccer members at every level of the game, including youth soccer."

The NWSL — whose own investigation, which has been jointly commissioned with the NWSL Players Association, is ongoing — said in a statement that it would "immediately review the Yates Report," and that it has "asked the Joint Investigative Team to consider the recommendations set forth in the Yates Report when making their recommendations to the NWSL. Moreover, we have asked the Joint Investigative Team to review – and investigate as necessary – the findings in the Yates Report when concluding their report."

"We greatly appreciate our players, staff and stakeholders’ cooperation with both investigations, especially during the ongoing season," the league said. "We recognize the anxiety and mental strain that these pending investigations have caused and the trauma that many – including players and staff – are having to relive. We continue to admire their courage in coming forward to share their stories and influence all the changes necessary to keep moving our league forward."

NWSL teams resist investigative process

In the process of her investigation, Yates encountered the same attitudes that kept abusive coaches in power in the first place. The Portland Thorns — who employed Riley when he allegedly sexually pursued and coerced two players, Mana Shim and Sinead Farrelly — "interfered with our access to relevant witnesses and raised specious legal arguments in an attempt to impede our use of relevant documents," Yates wrote.

The Thorns investigated Riley at the time, and parted ways with him, but failed to prevent him from going on to work for other NWSL teams.

The report also accuses Racing Louisville of refusing "to produce documents concerning Christy Holly," and refusing to allow "witnesses (even former employees) to answer relevant questions regarding Holly’s tenure."

And the Red Stars, who employed Dames for 10 years, "unnecessarily delayed the production of relevant documents over the course of nearly nine months."

It's unclear if those teams have cooperated more fully with the NWSL-NWSLPA joint investigation.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

CRIMINAL CRYPTO CAPITALI$M

Fraud, scam cases increasing on Zelle, Senate report finds

KEN SWEET
Mon, October 3, 2022 

NEW YORK (AP) — Incidents of fraud and scams are occurring more often on the popular peer-to-peer payment service Zelle, according to a report issued Monday by the office of Sen. Elizabeth Warren, giving the public its first glimpse into the growing problems at Zelle.

The report also found that the large banks that partly own Zelle have been reluctant to compensate customers who have been victims of fraud or scams. For instance, less than half of the money customers reported being sent via Zelle without authorization was being reimbursed.

Warren, D-Massachusetts, a long-time critic of the big banks, requested data on fraud and scams on Zelle from seven banks starting in April. The report cites data from four banks that tallied 192,878 cases worth collectively $213.8 million in 2021 and the first half of 2022 where a customer claimed they had been fraudulently tricked into making a payment. In only roughly 3,500 cases did those banks reimburse the customer, the report found.

Further, in the cases where it's clear funds had been taken out of customers' account without authorization, only 47% of those dollars were ever reimbursed.

Since being launched in June 2017, Zelle has become a popular way for bank customers to send money to friends and family. Almost $500 billion in funds were sent via Zelle in 2021, according to Early Warning Systems, the company that operates Zelle.

Zelle is the banking industry’s answer to the growing popularity of peer-to-peer payment services like PayPal, Venmo and the Cash App. The service allows a bank customer to instantaneously send money to a person via their email or phone number, and it will go from one bank account to another. More than 1,700 banks and credit unions offer the service. But the service has also grown more popular with scammers and criminals. Once money is sent via Zelle, it requires a bank's intervention to attempt to get that money back.

The cases of growing fraud and scams at Zelle have been highlighted in previous news reports, including two by The New York Times. But those stories cited mostly anecdotal evidence. Early Warning Systems has previously said that 99.9% of all transactions happen without complaints of fraud or scams. A group of Democratic senators asked for usage data on Zelle after the Times' report.

Banks are required under the Electronic Fund Transfer Act to repay customers when funds are illegally taken out of their account without authorization. Banks have argued that in cases of fraud — meaning a customer's account becomes compromised somehow and they send an unauthorized payment — they do reimburse customers. Banks are more reluctant to reimburse customers who claim to be scammed, arguing that customers would make such claims more often and it would be hard to tell whether the customer is telling the truth.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has also been looking into Zelle and other payment platforms, and is expected to issue regulations that could require banks to reimburse customers for a wider array of scams and fraud.

The banking industry, aware of Washington's increased scrutiny of Zelle, has been on a campaign to show Zelle is a safe way to send money. The industry typically likes to point out that fraud and scam claims occur more often on the non-bank payment platforms like Venmo or the Cash App.

The data for individual banks shows the increase in fraud and scams. PNC Bank had 8,848 cases on Zelle in 2020, and is on pace to have roughly 12,300 cases this year. US Bank had 14,886 cases in 2020 and had 27,702 cases in 2021. Truist had 9,455 cases of fraud and scams on Zelle in 2020, which ballooned to 22,045 last year.

Warren made fireworks at a Congressional hearing last month involving most of the CEOs of the big Wall Street banks that use and partly own Zelle, where she pushed each of the CEOs to release fraud and scam incident data at their banks. The seven are: JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, PNC Financial, Truist, Bank of America, Capital One and U.S. Bank.

The hearing featured a exchange where Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JPMorgan Chase, apologized to Warren for not getting her the data she requested and promised she would have it at the end of that day.

Warren's office says ultimately JPMorgan's data on Zelle did not provide the data they were looking for, so data from JPMorgan is not included in the report. The other banks that did not provide data to Warren's office were Wells Fargo and Capital One. JPMorgan and Early Warning System have not returned a request for comment.

Elizabeth Warren slams Republicans' efforts to block Biden's student-loan forgiveness, saying 'it won't work' and prioritizes 'the profits of corporate loan servicers'

Ayelet Sheffey

Mon, October 3, 2022 

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).Win McNamee/Getty Images

• Lawsuits from Republicans are mounting on Biden's student-loan forgiveness plan.

• Elizabeth Warren said it "won't work" and is an attempt to bring profits to student-loan companies.

• Biden maintains he has the authority to enact the relief and told Republicans to "bring it on."

Democrats are continuing to push back on conservative efforts to stop President Joe Biden's student-loan forgiveness plan in its tracks.

After Biden announced up to $20,000 in federal debt relief for borrowers making under $125,000 a year at the end of August, Republicans were quick to criticize the plan, calling it costly, unfair, and illegal — and some of them turned those comments into legal action. Over the past few weeks, a number of lawsuits have arisen from GOP state attorneys general and conservative borrowers. While any of them have yet to prevail, Democratic lawmakers, and even Biden himself, have slammed those efforts.

"Republican officials are so angry about @JoeBiden helping working people that they're suing to stop student debt cancellation," Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren wrote on Twitter on Monday. "It won't work, but it shows their priorities: putting the profits of corporate loan servicers over relief for working-class & middle-class Americans."

This came after remarks from Biden over the weekend to the Congressional Black Caucus when speaking of his administration's accomplishments.

"I know I'm being banged up by the Republicans, but bring it on," Biden said. "We can afford to cancel $10,000 in student debt and 20,000 bucks if you had a Pell Grant for Americans making under 125 grand."

"It's a gamechanger," Biden added. "And I don't want to hear a word from those members of Congress, if you notice, whose families got tens of thousands of dollars and several million dollars in pandemic relief loan forgiveness. The same ones criticizing. Give me a break. Come on. They voted for that."

Biden was referring to the GOP lawmakers who had loans forgiven through the Paycheck Protection Program, which was created during the pandemic to give small business owners financial relief. As Insider previously reported, many of those members had criticized Biden's debt relief, which some Democrats and the White House called hypocritical.

It's unclear how the lawsuits will progress. Last week, a group of six GOP-led states filed a lawsuit against the relief, Arizona later filed its own suit, and a federal judge declined to block Biden's loan forgiveness following a suit filed by an Indiana lawyer who argued he would be harmed by the debt relief. Biden's administration maintains it has the authority to carry out this relief under the HEROES Act of 2003, which gives the Education Secretary the ability to modify or waive student-loan balances in connection with a national emergency, like the pandemic.

Those criticizing the relief have argued it's overstepping that authority, countering Democrats' claims that the loan forgiveness is well within the law. Republicans have also taken the legislative route to block debt relief — GOP Sen. Rick Scott, for example, introduced legislation that would require Congress to approve any blanket debt relief, and Warren called it a "shameless attempt" to block the plan.

"Sen. Scott's bill is just one of Republicans' desperate efforts to block cancellation for millions of Americans," Warren said. "Now, Republicans are happy to pass out tax breaks and regulatory loopholes for billionaires and giant corporations, but they are fighting tooth and nail to keep working families from getting a penny of relief."