American Dream: Ukrainian Immigrants Bring Taste of Europe to Washington
The American Dream is many things to many people. For the Savchuk family who came to the U.S. from Ukraine more than 15 years ago, achieving their dream meant opening a small business and making a decent living. VOA’s Iryna Matviichuk met with the family and saw their dream come true.
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Trump Cancels California’s Auto Pollution Rules
The state that made smog famous is losing its half-century-old authority to set air pollution rules.
President Donald Trump announced Wednesday on Twitter that the Environmental Protection Agency was withdrawing California’s authority to issue stricter vehicle efficiency rules than the federal government.
The move was the latest in the administration’s efforts to loosen regulations aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Thirteen states and the District of Columbia follow California’s standards. Together, they account for a third of auto sales in the United States.
‘Devastating consequences’California has pledged to fight the decision.
“It’s a move that could have devastating consequences for our kids’ health and the air we breathe if California were to roll over,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, said in a statement. “But we will fight this latest attempt and defend our clean car standards.”
Trump tweeted that the administration was revoking California’s air pollution prerogative “in order to produce far less expensive cars for the consumer, while at the same time making the cars substantially SAFER.”
Opponents said the action was illegal and unwise.
“It slams the brakes on technological advancement and throws a wrench into states’ ability to deal with air pollution and confront the growing risk of climate change,” Ken Kimmell, president of the Union of Concerned Scientists, said in a statement. “It’s yet another way the administration is defying science, the law and democratic norms to enable increased pollution.”
FILE – Vehicles make their way west on Interstate 80 across the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as seen from Treasure Island in San Francisco, Dec. 10, 2015.Led the way
California has set its own air pollution rules since the late 1960s. Responding to eye-watering smog in Los Angeles, the state issued the nation’s first vehicle air pollution rules in 1966. When the 1970 Clean Air Act was passed, the state was allowed to request waivers to issue stricter standards than the federal government’s.
The EPA has approved more than 100 such waivers, according to the California Air Resources Board. None has been revoked. It’s not clear if the EPA has the authority to take back a waiver once it has been issued, according to Richard Revesz, director of New York University School of Law’s Institute for Policy Integrity.
“This attempt to revoke California’s authority has no legal basis, and it is an affront to the well-established rights of California and more than a dozen other states,” he said in a statement.
Nationwide standards
Revoking California’s waiver is the first salvo in an attempt to lower vehicle efficiency standards nationwide.
During the Obama administration, the EPA required auto manufacturers’ fleets to average 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025. The Trump administration plans to lower the standard to 37 mpg for model years 2021 to 2026.
Automakers initially came to the administration asking for relief from the Obama administration’s vehicle efficiency standards. But several major manufacturers have switched sides. Ford, Volkswagen of America, Honda and BMW FILE – An electric bus produced by China’s BYD Co. is parked at the announcement of the opening of an electric bus manufacturing plant in Lancaster, Calif., May 1, 2013.Other regulations targeted
The Trump administration is working to undo climate regulations across the board. The EPA has loosened rules for carbon dioxide emissions from power plants and weakened emissions restrictions from oil and gas drilling of methane. The Department of Energy is relaxing efficiency rules for light bulbs. These rollbacks and others face court challenges.
The Trump administration is rescinding permission California received in 2013 for programs that lower vehicle greenhouse gas emissions and mandate zero-emissions vehicles.
The EPA says California does not need the waiver because these rules “address environmental problems that are not particular or unique to California.”Lower costs predicted
The administration says revoking California’s waiver will lower costs for consumers and make newer, safer cars more affordable. FILE – Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler speaks at a news conference in Washington, Sept. 12, 2019.EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler told the National Automobile Dealers Association on Tuesday that automakers have to sell more electric vehicles in order to meet the higher efficiency standards. EVs cost more to manufacture but are less popular than conventional vehicles, he said.
“One way for automakers to meet the standards is to lower the price of electric vehicles and raise the price of other, more popular vehicles, such as SUVs and trucks,” Wheeler said. “In other words, American families are paying more for SUVs and trucks so automakers can sell EVs at a cheaper price.”
Environmental and consumer groups note that drivers spend less on gas under California’s standards.
“The existing standards will save drivers money at the pump, cut hazardous air pollution and help us address climate change,” Luke Tonachel, director for clean vehicles and fuels at the Natural Resources Defense Council, said in a statement. “Cleaner, more efficient cars are cheaper to own because the fuel savings dwarf any initial expense.” Safety measure
The administration also says lowering vehicle costs will save hundreds of lives per year because it will be easier for people to buy newer, safer cars, a claim opponents question.
“Pretending that automakers cannot make cars that are both safe and efficient is ridiculous,” Tonachel said.
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First Vaping Hospitalization Reported in Canada
Canada reported its first hospitalization for severe respiratory illness linked to vaping Wednesday, following an outbreak in the U.S. that has killed seven people and sickened hundreds.
The Middlesex-London Health Unit said in a statement that “a youth has been diagnosed with severe respiratory illness that has been linked to the individual’s use of vaping products.”
Medic Christopher Mackie told a news conference that the London, Ontario, high school student, who vaped daily, was admitted to a local hospital intensive care unit but has since recovered.
“As far as we’re aware, this is the first case of vaping-related illness that’s been reported in Canada,” he said.
E-cigarettes have been available in the U.S. and Canada since 2006 and are sometimes used to aid in quitting smoking traditional tobacco products such as cigarettes.
Despite a ban in Canada on selling vaping products to youths, adolescents’ use of them has skyrocketed in recent years. More restrictions weighed
Health Minister Ginette Petitpas-Taylor said the Canadian government was looking at further banning of vaping advertising and certain flavors that may be appealing to young people.
“At the end of the day, my number one priority is protecting our youth,” she said. “We want to make sure that the regulations in place will be protecting our youth and making sure these products are not appealing to youth in any way.”
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said recently that there were more than 450 possible cases of pulmonary illness associated with vaping in the U.S.
The CDC and Health Canada have cautioned against vaping as officials investigate the precise cause of the deaths. No single substance has been found to be present in all the laboratory samples being examined.
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Green ‘Flying Taxi’ Spreads Wings on Paris’ Seine
A Parisian startup enterprise looks to ease congestion in one of the world’s densest urban transportation networks. Entrepreneurs created a green machine unlike any you have ever seen outside of Hollywood films. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi dredges this story from the river Seine.
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Researchers: AI Surveillance is Expanding Worldwide
A growing number of countries are following China’s lead in deploying artificial intelligence to track citizens, according to a research group’s report published Tuesday.The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace says at least 75 countries are actively using AI tools such as facial recognition for surveillance.
The index of countries where some form of AI surveillance is used includes liberal democracies such as the United States and France as well as more autocratic regimes.Relying on a survey of public records and media reports, the report says Chinese tech companies led by Huawei and Hikvision are supplying much of the AI surveillance technology to countries around the world. Other companies such as Japan’s NEC and U.S.-based IBM, Palantir and Cisco are also major international providers of AI surveillance tools.Hikvision declined comment Tuesday. The other companies mentioned in the report didn’t immediately return requests for comment.The report encompasses a broad range of AI tools that have some public safety component. The group’s index doesn’t distinguish between legitimate public safety tools and unlawful or harmful uses such as spying on political opponents.
“I hope citizens will ask tougher questions about how this type of technology is used and what type of impacts it will have,” said the report’s author, Steven Feldstein, a Carnegie Endowment fellow and associate professor at Boise State University.Many of the projects cited in Feldstein’s report are “smart city” systems in which a municipal government installs an array of sensors, cameras and other internet-connected devices to gather information and communicate with one another. Huawei is a lead provider of such platforms, which can be used to manage traffic or save energy, but which are increasingly also used for public surveillance and security, Feldstein said.Feldstein said he was surprised by how many democratic governments in Europe and elsewhere are racing ahead to install AI surveillance such as facial recognition, automated border controls and algorithmic tools to predict when crimes might occur. The index shows that just over half of the world’s advanced democracies deploy AI surveillance systems either at the national or local level.”I thought it would be most centered in the Gulf States or countries in China’s orbit,” Feldstein said.
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Facebook Still Auto-Generating Islamic State, Al-Qaida Pages
In the face of criticism that Facebook is not doing enough to combat extremist messaging, the company likes to say that its automated systems remove the vast majority of prohibited content glorifying the Islamic State group and al-Qaida before it’s reported.But a whistleblower’s complaint shows that Facebook itself has inadvertently provided the two extremist groups with a networking and recruitment tool by producing dozens of pages in their names.
The social networking company appears to have made little progress on the issue in the four months since The Associated Press detailed how pages that Facebook auto-generates for businesses are aiding Middle East extremists and white supremacists in the United States.On Wednesday, U.S. senators on the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation will be questioning representatives from social media companies, including Monika Bickert, who heads Facebooks efforts to stem extremist messaging.The new details come from an update of a complaint to the Securities and Exchange Commission that the National Whistleblower Center plans to file this week. The filing obtained by the AP identifies almost 200 auto-generated pages, some for businesses, others for schools or other categories, that directly reference the Islamic State group and dozens more representing al-Qaida and other known groups. One page listed as a “political ideology” is titled “I love Islamic state.” It features an IS logo inside the outlines of Facebook’s famous thumbs-up icon.In response to a request for comment, a Facebook spokesperson told the AP: “Our priority is detecting and removing content posted by people that violates our policy against dangerous individuals and organizations to stay ahead of bad actors. Auto-generated pages are not like normal Facebook pages as people can’t comment or post on them and we remove any that violate our policies. While we cannot catch every one, we remain vigilant in this effort.”Facebook has a number of functions that auto-generate pages from content posted by users. The updated complaint scrutinizes one function that is meant to help business networking. It scrapes employment information from users’ pages to create pages for businesses. In this case, it may be helping the extremist groups because it allows users to like the pages, potentially providing a list of sympathizers for recruiters.The new filing also found that users’ pages promoting extremist groups remain easy to find with simple searches using their names. They uncovered one page for “Mohammed Atta” with an iconic photo of one of the al-Qaida adherents, who was a hijacker in the Sept. 11 attacks. The page lists the user’s work as “Al Qaidah” and education as “University Master Bin Laden” and “School Terrorist Afghanistan.”Facebook has been working to limit the spread of extremist material on its service, so far with mixed success. In March, it expanded its definition of prohibited content to include U.S. white nationalist and white separatist material as well as that from international extremist groups. It says it has banned 200 white supremacist organizations and 26 million pieces of content related to global extremist groups like IS and al-Qaida.
It also expanded its definition of terrorism to include not just acts of violence attended to achieve a political or ideological aim, but also attempts at violence, especially when aimed at civilians with the intent to coerce and intimidate. It’s unclear, though, how well enforcement works if the company is still having trouble ridding its platform of well-known extremist organizations’ supporters.
But as the report shows, plenty of material gets through the cracks and gets auto-generated.
The AP story in May highlighted the auto-generation problem, but the new content identified in the report suggests that Facebook has not solved it.
The report also says that researchers found that many of the pages referenced in the AP report were removed more than six weeks later on June 25, the day before Bickert was questioned for another congressional hearing.
The issue was flagged in the initial SEC complaint filed by the center’s executive director, John Kostyack, that alleges the social media company has exaggerated its success combatting extremist messaging.“Facebook would like us to believe that its magical algorithms are somehow scrubbing its website of extremist content,” Kostyack said. “Yet those very same algorithms are auto-generating pages with titles like `I Love Islamic State,’ which are ideal for terrorists to use for networking and recruiting.”
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India’s Government Approves Ban on E-Cigarettes
India’s government on Wednesday decided to ban e-cigarettes, expressing concern at the alarming rate at which vaping is becoming popular among the country’s youth and causing breathing illnesses.The ban was approved by the Cabinet. The government is expected to issue an ordinance soon prohibiting the manufacturing, import, export, transport, sale, distribution, storage and advertising related to e-cigarettes.”Its use has increased exponentially and has acquired epidemic proportions in developed countries, especially among youth and children,” a government statement said.The first offense will be punishable by up to one year in prison or a fine of up to 100,000 rupees ($1,390), or both. For a subsequent offense, the punishment will be imprisonment of up to three years and a fine of up to 500,000 rupees ($6,945).Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that e-cigarettes were promoted as a way to get people out of their smoking habits but reports have shown that many are becoming addicted to them.
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Young People Demand Urgent Action on Climate Change
Fifty-seven percent of teens say they “fear” climate change, according to a new survey by the non-profit Kaiser Family Foundation and the Washington Post. The survey comes as Greta Thunberg, a climate-change activist from Sweden, brought her well-publicized climate campaign to Washington last week. Called Fridays for Future, it has attracted young people around the world to press governments to take action, as Sahar Majid tells us more in this report narrated by Kathleen Struck.
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Noise and Pollution Free, Green ‘Flying Taxi’ Spreads Wings on Paris’ Seine
A Parisian startup enterprise looks to ease congestion in one of the world’s densest urban transportation networks. Entrepreneurs created a green machine unlike any you have ever seen outside of Hollywood films. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi dredges this story from the river Seine.
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White House Upgrade: First Lady’s Done a Lot with the Place
She’s done a lot with the place.Like anyone who has ever spruced up their home, Melania Trump will have a few new touches to showcase Friday when guests visit the White House for only the second state dinner of the Trump presidency.There’s refreshed wall fabric in the Red Room, repurposed draperies in the Green Room and restored furniture in the Blue Room. And those are just some of the home improvement projects the first lady has overseen to keep the well-trod public rooms at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. looking their museum-quality best.Some of the projects were long overdue.Sunlight streaming into the Red Room had left some of the wall fabric “so faded it was almost pink,” said Stewart McLaurin, president of the White House Historical Association, which helps finance upkeep of some rooms in the 132-room mansion. First lady Jacqueline Kennedy founded the private, nonprofit organization in 1961.”Those rooms should always look their very best and it was just very faded and really, really needed to be done,” McLaurin said.Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and his wife, Jenny, and guests for Friday’s three-course state dinner in their honor should have an opportunity to check out the spiffed-up public rooms.Repurposed draperies are seen in the Green Room of the White House in Washington, Sept. 17, 2019. They are among the improvement projects that first lady Melania Trump has overseen to keep the well-trod public rooms looking their best.In her role as caretaker, the first lady – whoever she is – meets regularly with the chief usher, the head curator and other White House staff to figure out what improvements should top the to-do list.Mrs. Trump, who keeps a relatively low profile as first lady, has put her interest in history to use overseeing the restoration projects.”Our family is grateful to live in this true symbol of our nation’s history, but we are even more honored to play a part in restoring and enhancing our country’s sacred landmark,” she said at a May reception.The first lady designed a new rug for the Diplomatic Reception Room, the main entrance off the South Lawn, after foot traffic wore a path across the old one, McLaurin said. The replacement has a border showing the flowers of the 50 states, a touch added by the first lady.The White House also refreshed draperies in the Green Room by switching material from the backside to the front, eliminating the need – and cost – of replacing the curtains entirely, McLaurin said. Only the fringe had to be replaced.Last year, Mrs. Trump returned to the Blue Room several restored pieces from a historic 53-piece furniture set known as the Bellange suite. Decor upgrades are a bit more complicated at the White House than for typical homeowners.Renovation ideas are shared with the Kennedy-created Committee for the Preservation of the White House, which provides advice on preserving the public rooms on the Ground and State floors.The committee requests funding from the historical association, whose board typically authorizes spending $1 million to $1.5 million on such projects each year.The White House serves several purposes: It’s an office for the president and his staff, a home for his family and a living museum. Approximately half a million tourists visit every year, apart from dignitaries and others who attend receptions and other events.Restored furniture is seen in the Blue Room of the White House in Washington, Sept. 17, 2019.”The White House does get a lot of wear and tear,” McLaurin said.The Bellange suite furnishings were brought to the White House in 1817 by President James Monroe, formerly the U.S. ambassador to France.But in 1860, nearly all the pieces were sold at an auction.One hundred years later, Jacqueline Kennedy arrived and was appalled to discover the White House was furnished with reproductions from a New York department store, McLaurin said. She created the historical association, the advisory committee and a curator to help the White House collect and exhibit only the best, McLaurin said.The White House has managed to reacquire 10 pieces from the original suite, made in Paris by Pierre-Antoine Bellange. The rest of the collection is “lost to history,” McLaurin said.The Bellange restoration project began during Michelle Obama’s time as first lady and was completed last year, costing the historical association more than $450,000 since 2013.The wood, brass and lighting inside an elevator that takes the president to and from the private living quarters has also been refinished.Next up? New upholstery on chairs and benches in the high-traffic Diplomatic Reception Room.Mrs. Trump also renovated a bowling alley in the White House residence that dates to the Nixon administration and was last renovated in 1994 under President Bill Clinton. The Bowling Proprietors’ Association of America paid for the renovation.During the Obama years, the red carpet in the Cross Hall, or hallway, on the State Floor was replaced.Mrs. Obama also oversaw projects with an eye on leaving her family’s mark on the White House, as is the case with every president and first lady. She replaced the rug, draperies and high-back chairs around the table in the State Dining Room.Mrs. Obama also updated the Old Family Dining Room, a smaller room adjacent to the State Dining Room, by swapping its sunny yellow walls and drapery and light-toned rug for gray walls, contrasting red draperies and a rug with a contemporary design.Four works of American abstract art also were added to the Old Family Dining Room, including a work that made Alma Thomas the first African-American female artist featured in the White House collection.
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NBCUniversal Names Streaming Service ‘Peacock,’ to Launch in 2020
Comcast’s NBCUniversal will name its upcoming streaming service “Peacock,” offering a broad slate of original content, including “Dr. Death” starring Emmy and Golden Globe winner Alec Baldwin, the company said on Tuesday.Peacock, which will also offer classic sitcoms like “The Office” and “Parks and Recreation”, is scheduled to launch in 2020, NBCUniversal said. The company owns traditional television network NBC, whose logo features a peacock.The service will compete with streaming giant Netflix and Walt Disney Co.’s upcoming Disney+ streaming service as well as other digital subscription options, as traditional media companies seek to attract online viewers.Details on pricing and distribution will be announced closer to launch, the media company said.Reuters had reported in January that an ad-free version of the NBC service will be available for about the same price as other subscription video services.Peacock will also have other shows such as a reboot of “Battlestar Galactica” and original comedy “Rutherford Falls,” the company said.
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EPA Set to End California’s Ability to Regulate Fuel Economy
The Trump administration is poised to revoke California’s authority to set auto mileage standards, asserting that only the federal government has the power to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and fuel economy.Conservative and free-market groups have been asked to attend a formal announcement of the rollback set for Wednesday afternoon at Environmental Protection Agency headquarters in Washington.Gloria Bergquist, spokeswoman for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, said Tuesday that her group was among those invited to the event featuring EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler and Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao.The move comes after the Justice Department recently opened an antitrust investigation into a deal between California and four automakers for tougher pollution and related mileage requirements than those sought by President Donald Trump. Trump also has sought to relax Obama-era federal mileage standards nationwide, weakening a key effort by his Democratic predecessor to slow climate change.Top California officials and environmental groups pledged legal action to stop the rollback.The White House declined to comment Tuesday, referring questions to EPA. EPA’s press office did not respond to a phone message and email seeking comment.Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler speaks at a news conference in Washington, Sept. 12, 2019.But EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler told the National Automobile Dealers Association on Tuesday that the Trump administration would move “in the very near future” to take steps toward establishing one nationwide set of fuel-economy standards.”We embrace federalism and the role of the states, but federalism does not mean that one state can dictate standards for the nation,” he said, adding that higher fuel economy standards would hurt consumers by increasing the average sticker price of new cars and requiring automakers to produce more electric vehicles.Word of the pending announcement came as Trump traveled to California on Tuesday for an overnight trip that includes GOP fundraising events near San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego.California’s authority to set its own, tougher emissions standards goes back to a waiver issued by Congress during passage of the Clean Air Act in 1970. The state has long pushed automakers to adopt more fuel-efficient passenger vehicles that emit less pollution. A dozen states and the District of Columbia also follow California’s fuel economy standards.California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said Tuesday that the Trump administration’s action will hurt both U.S. automakers and American families. He said California would fight the administration in federal court.”You have no basis and no authority to pull this waiver,” Becerra, a Democrat, said in a statement, referring to Trump. “We’re ready to fight for a future that you seem unable to comprehend.”FILE – California Gov. Gavin Newsom addresses a news conference in Sacramento, July 23, 2019.California Gov. Gavin Newsom said the White House “has abdicated its responsibility to the rest of the world on cutting emissions and fighting global warming.””California won’t ever wait for permission from Washington to protect the health and safety of children and families,” said Newsom, a Democrat.The deal struck in July between California and four of the world’s largest automakers — Ford, Honda, BMW and Volkswagen — bypassed the Trump administration’s plan to freeze emissions and fuel economy standards adopted under Obama at 2021 levels.The four automakers agreed with California to reduce emissions by 3.7% per year starting with the 2022 model year, through 2026. That compares with 4.7% yearly reductions through 2025 under the Obama standards. Emissions standards are closely linked with fuel economy requirements because vehicles pollute less if they burn fewer gallons of fuel.The U.S. transportation sector is the nation’s biggest single source of planet-warming greenhouse gasses.Wheeler said Tuesday: “California will be able to keep in place and enforce programs to address smog and other forms of air pollution caused by motor vehicles.” But fuel economy has been one of the key regulatory tools the state has used to reduce harmful emissions.Environmentalists condemned the Trump administration’s expected announcement, which comes as gasoline prices have crept higher following a weekend drone attack that hobbled Saudi Arabian oil output.”Everyone wins when we adopt strong clean car standards as our public policy,” said Fred Krupp, president of Environmental Defense Fund. “Strong clean car standards give us healthier air to breathe, help protect us from the urgent threat of climate change and save Americans hundreds of dollars a year in gas expenses.”
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Teen Activist to Lawmakers: Try Harder on Climate Change
Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg offered a blunt message to Congress on Tuesday as she brought her campaign for urgent action on climate change to the U.S. Capitol.”I know you’re trying,” she told Democratic senators at an invitation-only forum, “but just not hard enough. Sorry.”Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey thanked the 16-year-old activist for her advice and her activism, which has gained worldwide attention by inspiring a series of protests and school strikes, including one set for Friday.Thunberg and other young activists bring “moral clarity” to the fight against global warming, Markey said.”We hear you,” he told her, vowing that lawmakers “will redouble our efforts to make sure that we inject this issue into the politics of this building and this country because time is running out.”U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) speaks at a news conference about the Green New Deal hosted by U.S. Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) on the Northeast lawn in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Sept. 17, 2019.Markey and other lawmakers hailed Thunberg as a “superpower,” noting that her activism has drawn a passionate following of children essentially challenging their elders to take action.”Save your praise,” Thunberg replied. “We don’t want it,” she added, especially if officials intend to talk about climate change “without doing anything about it.”Thunberg was in Washington ahead of a global strike planned for Friday. Activists are calling for immediate action from the world’s governments to halt global warming, reduce fossil fuel consumption and avert environmental catastrophe.Instead of listening to her and other teenagers, lawmakers should invite scientists to the Capitol to listen to their expertise on ways to slow a rise in global temperatures, Thunberg said.”This is not about us. This is not about youth activism,” she said. “We don’t want to be heard. We want the science to be heard.”Despite Thunberg’s request, lawmakers bombarded her and other youth activists with praise, saying they had sparked a global movement that is already being felt in the 2020 presidential campaign and in the halls of Congress, where lawmakers are debating proposals such as the Green New Deal.Markey is a co-sponsor of the Green New Deal, which would shift the U.S. economy away from fossil fuels such as oil and coal and replace them with renewable sources such as wind and solar power.”We need your leadership,” he told Thunberg and other activists. “It’s creating a new X-factor” to boost efforts to fight climate change.Last month, Thunberg crossed the Atlantic Ocean in a solar-powered boat, landing in New York City on Aug. 28. She’s in Washington for several days of rallies and lobbying efforts ahead of Friday’s global climate strike.Thunberg will testify before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday and address the U.N. Climate Action Summit in New York next week.
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Facebook to Name First Oversight Panel Members by Year-end
Facebook said Tuesday that it expects to name the first members of a new quasi-independent oversight board by year-end.The oversight panel is intended to rule on thorny content issues, such as when Facebook or Instagram posts constitute hate speech. It will be empowered to make binding rulings on whether posts or ads violate the company’s standards. Any other findings it makes will be considered “guidance” by Facebook.CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced plans to establish the board last November after Facebook came under intense scrutiny for failures to protect user privacy and for its inability to quickly and effectively remove disinformation, hate speech and malign influence campaigns on its platform.”Facebook should not make so many important decisions about free expression and safety on our own,” he wrote at the time.Critics call the oversight board a bid by Facebook to forestall regulation or even an eventual breakup. The company faces antitrust investigations by the Federal Trade Commission, Congress and a group of state attorneys general.”Facebook is attempting to normalize an approach to containing hate speech internally,” said Dipayan Ghosh, a former Facebook policy adviser and a fellow at Harvard’s Kennedy School. “If it can illustrate that this approach can work, it can pacify the public itch to regulate the business model behind Facebook.”The multinational board will eventually comprise 40 members, who will collectively decide a few dozen cases a year, company executives told reporters in a conference call. It will at first hear only cases initiated by Facebook but will begin hearing appeals initiated by users in the first half of 2020, the company said. It will get to work as soon as 11 members are named.Priority cases will involve content that “threatens someone else’s voice, safety, privacy, dignity or equality” and affects a large number of people, Facebook said in blog post.Experts say the panel will have a limited range for decision-making, however. Local laws or directives from repressive governments might clash with its rulings, and Facebook might heed them for business reasons.”How to deal with authoritarian regimes is a deep issue for the platform, and for the world really,” said Harvard law student Evelyn Douek, an Australian expert on content moderation.Douek says the group’s charter, also released Tuesday, should insulate board members from public pressure and Facebook’s commercial imperatives. But she believes the conditions under which members could be removed are still too vague.The first few board members will be directly chosen by Facebook; they will then choose additional members. Facebook will also name the administrators of the trust that manages the Oversight Board and pays its members’ salaries. Brent Harris, Facebook’s director of governance, told reporters the company had not yet decided how much board members would be paid. He did not respond when asked how many hours a week would be expected of them in the part-time job. Facebook expects panelists will include former judges, editors, publishers and journalists, he said.The board members’ access to Facebook data will also be limited. “The board will have access to data that’s pertinent to the case but no more,” said Harris.Oversight board members are to serve three-year terms with a maximum of three terms.They can be removed by trustees for violations of a code of conduct that has yet to be drawn up. Panels of five will convene to review individual cases and decisions will be public, though data and privacy restrictions could apply. Harris said the board will have a staff that will initially consist of Facebook employees seconded from their jobs.It’s unclear where the permanent staff will eventually be located and how often oversight board members would meet in person to decide cases.
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Second Man Arrested in Theft of Gold Toilet
Police in Britain have arrested a second man in connection with the theft of a solid-gold toilet that was part of an art exhibit at the birthplace and home of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.The 18-carat toilet, titled “America,” was created by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan. It was part of a larger exhibit of Cattelan’s work at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, England.Police said 36-year-old man, from Cheltenham, was arrested and later released pending an investigation. Police also arrested and released on bail a 66-year-old man suspected of being part of the gang responsible for the theft.The toilet was previously on display at New York’s Guggenheim Museum where “more than 100,000 people have waited patiently in line for the opportunity to commune with art and with nature” museum officials said at the time.Last year, the chief curator at the Guggenheim offered to lend the golden toilet to U.S. President Donald Trump and his wife Melania Trump when they asked to borrow a Van Gogh painting for their private White House quarters.Cattelan has said the toilet is meant to be a satirical piece on excess wealth. “Whatever you eat, a $200 lunch or a $2 hot dog, the results are the same, toilet-wise,” he has said.
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Cities to Step Up at UN to Push Climate Fight, Sustainable Development
As some world leaders question whether the world is facing a climate emergency, more than a dozen cities are stepping up to tackle global warming and sustainable development and will next week pledge to report their progress to the United Nations.Sixteen cities will commit to implementing global goals to end poverty, inequality and other challenges by 2030 during the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations. They will sign a voluntary declaration drafted by New York City.The set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals, unanimously approved by the 193 U.N. member nations in 2015, is a wide-ranging “to-do” list tackling such issues as conflict, hunger, land degradation, gender equality and climate change.”We are living in a time when national governments are abdicating their responsibility on urgent issues. That is why cities are stepping up,” said New York City’s International Affairs Commissioner Penny Abeywardena.U.S. President Donald Trump, who has described global warming as a hoax, dealt a blow to U.N.-led efforts to fight climate change when he pulled the United States from the landmark 2015 Paris climate accord.Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro has also expressed doubts as to whether climate change is man-made and is ambivalent about the Paris accord, though he walked back a campaign pledge to quit the pact.FILE – U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres talks to the media outside an evacuation center in Nassau, Bahamas, Sept. 13, 2019.When asked about Trump’s position on climate change, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told reporters on Friday that there was “an extraordinary commitment to climate action” in American society.”Governments have much less influence than what people can imagine,” he said during a visit to the hurricane-devastated Bahamas. “The influence is today, more and more in relation to climate change, related to what cities, businesses and communities do.”Under the Sustainable Development Goals, countries are encouraged to report annually to the United Nations on their progress. In 2018, New York became the first city to do so, submitting what it called a Voluntary Local Review (VLR).”In a time when citizens feel overwhelmed by foreign policy, the VLR allows us all to remember that action starts at home,” Abeywardena said.Cities ‘instrumental’This year New York, Bristol, Buenos Aires, Helsinki, Los Angeles, Taipei, Brazilian city Santana de Parnaiba and Mexico’s Oaxaca state all reported on sustainable development progress.”Although a nation-state level commitment, the United Nations’ Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goals are universal. They are the closest thing we have to a global contract,” said Jan Vapaavuori, mayor of Finland’s capital Helsinki.”We aim to highlight the importance of collaboration between cities and nation-states in achieving the global goals. However, where countries are unable to deliver, it is even more instrumental that cities step up,” he said.New York City, Helsinki, Buenos Aires and 13 other cities will be the first to sign a declaration next week, in which cities pledge “to use the framework of the SDGs to do our part to help end extreme poverty, fight inequality and injustice, and work to prevent the harmful effects of climate change by 2030.”Buenos Aires Mayor Horacio Rodriguez Larreta said city coordination could accelerate sustainable development.He added that even though the U.N. agenda was focused on national governments it “will also depend on the ability of cities to make them a reality, especially since they are key drivers of growth and economic and social development.”The other cities planning to sign the declaration are: Accra, Ghana; Barcelona, Spain; Bristol, Britain; Cape Town, South Africa; Freetown, Sierra Leone; Kazan, Russia; Los Angeles, United States; Malmo, Sweden; Mannheim, Germany; Montevideo, Uruguay; Prefeitura de Barcarena, Brazil; Santa Ana, Costa Rica; and Santa Fe, Argentina.
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No One Claims Ownership of Last Slave Ship ‘Clotilda’
Alabama’s state historical agency apparently will retain control of the last U.S. slave ship, the Clotilda, after no one else laid claim to the wreckage.Friday was the deadline under federal court rules for any potential owners to request control of wreckage of the wooden schooner, which was scuttled and burned near Mobile after illegally bringing about 110 captives to Alabama from west Africa in 1860.Because no one else sought the ship’s remains, the state can now move forward in federal court to take permanent possession, Andi Martin, a spokeswoman for the Alabama Historical Commission, said Monday. The agency already has temporary hold on an artifact from the wreck.Researchers identified the wreckage of the ship earlier this year north of Mobile. It’s unclear how much the remains may be worth, but they could be priceless given the ship’s historical importance.A wealthy Mobile businessman, Timothy Meaher, financed the Clotilda’s lone slave-trading trip after betting he could import Africans despite a ban enacted decades earlier, historical accounts show.Officials say they’re unsure how much of the Clotilda remains, but they believe at least some of the hull could be intact in the muddy bottom of the Mobile River near an island. It’s also unclear what might be done with the wreckage or whether it can be raised.The two-masted, 86-foot-long (26.2-meter-long) merchant ship was constructed and operated by William Foster, an antebellum captain on the coast. It was purchased before the trip to Africa by Meaher, who owned steamships, a sawmill and land in Mobile.Meaher outfitted the ship for the voyage to Africa and provided money to purchase the Africans, according to an investigative report released by the state after the ship’s discovery.The state’s report indicated Meaher used copper to sheath the wooden hull before the journey, and his son Augustine Meaher later claimed metal that remained on the ship after the scuttling was worth $100,000. Other accounts claim family members dynamited the ship’s hull for the metal as late as the 1950s.Descendants of Meaher, who remain among Mobile’s most prominent families, have not commented publicly on the discovery and did not mount a claim for the Clotilda’s wreckage.Freed after the Civil War, the Africans settled near Mobile in a community called Africatown, USA, where their descendants remain.
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US Military Still Buying Chinese-Made Drones Despite Spying Concerns
The Air Force and the Navy bought Chinese-manufactured drones for elite forces months after the Pentagon prohibited their use due to cybersecurity concerns, according to government documents.In each case, the services used special exemptions granted by the Pentagon’s acquisition and sustainment office “on a case by case basis, to support urgent needs,” Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Mike Andrews told VOA.FILE – Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan listens during a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, May 1, 2019.The Department of Defense issued a ban on the purchase and use of all commercial off-the-shelf drones, citing “cybersecurity vulnerabilities,” in a memo from then-Deputy Secretary of Defense Pat Shanahan dated May 23, 2018.The ban came nearly a year after the U.S. Army, the Department of Homeland Security and members of Congress warned that drone-market-leader Da Jiang Innovations (DJI) could be helping the Chinese government spy on the United States.”We know that a lot of the information is sent back to China from those, so it is not something that we can use,” Ellen Lord, Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, told reporters at the Pentagon last month.However, purchase orders completed in August and November 2018 show that the Navy spent nearly $190,000 and the Air Force spent nearly $50,000 on drones made by DJI.The Air Force bought 35 DJI Mavic Pro Platinum drones, and the Navy bought an undisclosed number of drones from DJI’s “Inspire” series.Special forces at risk?The 2018 drone purchase orders obtained by VOA via public records appear to be for some of the military’s most sensitive and secretive operators, including Air Force’s only special tactics wing and Navy Sea Air Land (SEAL) teams.VOA has confirmed through documents and sources within U.S. Special Operations Command, the Navy and the Office of the Secretary of Defense that the drone purchases were made by the Florida-based 24th Special Operations Wing and the Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division in Indiana, which provides engineering and technical support for the Navy’s electronic warfare and special warfare weapons used by the SEALs.Special tactics airmen in the 24th Special Operations Wing lead global access, precision strike and personnel recovery operations.Navy SEALs carry out military extractions and insertions to accomplish covert missions, including collecting intelligence and capturing high-value enemies.FILE – A Phantom 4, developed by major Chinese consumer-drone maker DJI, flies during its demonstration flight in Tokyo, March 3, 2016.Bradley Bowman, a former active duty officer and the senior director of the Center on Military and Political Power at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said the uncovered purchases of Chinese-produced equipment represented a “dangerous and reckless gamble” that was “ripe for additional Congressional investigation.””This is not about protectionism; this is about the ability of our troops to accomplish their missions, protect the United States, and return home safely,” Bowman told VOA.Partially-redacted copies of documents justifying the purchase of DJI drone kits for the 24th Special Operations Wing confirmed that 15 Chinese-made drones were already being fielded by eight Air Force Special Tactics Squadrons and warned that tactics, “software, and optical system development would be negatively impacted if this system was abandoned.”One document acknowledged the security concerns raised over the Chinese-made technology and claimed the military had developed a fix.Specifically, it said that “software has been developed (specific to this model) and implemented to eliminate the cyber security concerns that are inherent to the DJI Mavic Pro.”U.S. Special Operations Command confirmed to VOA that it had taken steps to mitigate cybersecurity issues.”However, for security reasons, we are not able to release specifics about cyber security software developed or implemented by 24th Special Operations Wing,” Army Major Jennifer Bocanegra, a spokesman for Special Operations Command, wrote in response to VOA’s inquiry.Naval Surface Warfare Center — Crane Division procured the drones for both “testing and operations,” Pentagon spokesman Andrews told VOA. The Navy declined multiple requests for more information about their purchase.An additional purchase of DJI equipment for a “training operation” was approved by the Pentagon as late as June 28, 2019, according to a DOD memo seen by VOA and confirmed Monday by a defense official.”The cyber vulnerabilities associated with this training event were mitigated by multiple layers of defense, allowing the critical training to be conducted on schedule,” Andrews told VOA after inquiring about the June memo, which instructed those approved to use DJI equipment to keep the equipment offline from the Defense Department’s networks.American-madeThe military’s use of waivers and work-arounds comes as the Pentagon seeks to recruit investors into manufacturing American-made small drones to provide an alternative to the Chinese models.A new Pentagon project dubbed the “Trusted Capital Marketplace” (TCM) involves hosting a series of DOD job fairs in various tech-heavy cities to meet with private capital investors in order to encourage American investment in the defense industry. The first fair is set for October.Under Secretary Lord told reporters last month that the Pentagon chose small drones as the TCM’s first investment focus because the “entire U.S. marketplace” has been “eroded” by Chinese-made drones.”DJI dumped so many low-price quadcopters [small drones propelled by four rotary blades] on the markets, and we then became dependent on them, both from the defense point of view and the commercial point of view,” she said.The Pentagon is hoping a new American drone industry partnership can eventually build something complex enough for the Pentagon but agile enough to be purchased in stores.”If we meet our defense needs, we feel that there are simpler versions that would be very, very attractive for the commercial market, as well,” Lord said.U.S. military commanders are constantly in need of additional intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platforms.The Pentagon currently buys large, technologically advanced American-made drones, which can cost tens of millions of dollars. In contrast, commercially viable, small drones would cost thousands of dollars and could potentially be produced in large numbers.Congressional concernsFILE – Democratic Senator Chris Murphy speaks during a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, July 25, 2018.Members of Congress have become so concerned with the Pentagon’s continued use of Chinese-manufactured drones that the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee included a provision in the Fiscal Year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) bill banning their use. The bill, which determines the U.S. military’s budget for the year, will be up for debate in the coming weeks.Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut who penned the provision, said the measure protects U.S. national security while also supporting U.S. manufacturing.”Congress needs to ban the use of all Chinese-made drones by Department of Defense and instead only spend taxpayer money on U.S. drone manufacturers and foster the development of a U.S.-based supply chain,” Murphy said earlier this year.DJI rebuttalIn response to the latest warning from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, DJI said that its customers have complete control over how their information is collected, stored and transmitted.Michael Oldenburg, a spokesperson for DJI’s innovation in the United States, wrote in an email to DJI customers in the United States that reports of DJI cybersecurity vulnerabilities and the memorandum of the Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement Bureau were “completely false.”DJI also has pointed to an independent research report that says its drone users have complete control over the collection, storage and transmission of data.According to a DJI statement in April 2018, San Francisco-based technology consulting firm Kivu Consulting confirmed that unless the user volunteered, DJI could not receive photos, videos and flight logs collected by its drone.
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Why the ‘Yuppie Elderly’ Aren’t Moving as Much
Older Americans aren’t moving as much as they used to. The migration rate of people over 55 has dropped steadily over the past two decades from a high of 6% in 1996, to 4.3% between 2017 and 2018, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Moving rates for Baby Boomers — those born between 1946 and 1964 — have rebounded a bit since the Great Recession of 2007-2009, but they remain slightly below pre-recession rates.
“The idea is if the economy’s not so good, they may just want to stay working for a little bit more before they retire,” says demographer William Frey of the Brookings Institution.
“Their decision is when can they retire, when is it affordable to retire? And more importantly, from the migration standpoint, does it make sense to to pick up stakes and move somewhere else? If the housing crunch is there, they’re not going to have too many bidders for their homes, so the idea of selling your house to move somewhere else is not going to be as easy.”CLICK ON GRAPHIC TO ENLARGEWhen they do retire, Baby Boomers are still heading to traditional sunny retirement haunts like Phoenix, Tampa, Riverside [California], Las Vegas and Jacksonville [Florida].
The lure of the big city isn’t calling to these older folks. The cities that experienced the biggest net loss of seniors include New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington and San Francisco.
For all ages, short-distance moves far outnumber long-distance moves, especially for seniors. Those who move a short distance might be interested in being close to their adult children and grandchildren.For more than a decade, Phoenix, Arizona, has remained the top destination for older Americans who relocate within the United States.Typically, those who move far away are attracted by the weather, lower costs and services geared toward older people. However, there may be movement to back to their kids when they get beyond the early senior years.
“I’ve got to call them the yuppie elderly, in good health and still have some disposable income, they’ll move to places where they have some amenities for older people,” Frey says. “But when things are not going so well, they may then move back to areas where they have more friends and family that can help take care of them.”
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Vegetarian Diets not Always the Most Climate-friendly, Researchers Say
It may be possible to help tackle climate change while still munching on the occasional bacon sandwich or slurping a few oysters, a new study suggested on Tuesday.Scientists found that diets in which meat, fish or dairy products were consumed only once a day would leave less of a footprint on climate change and water supplies than a vegetarian diet including milk and eggs, in 95% of countries they analysed.That is partly because raising dairy cows for milk, butter and cheese requires large amounts of energy and land, as well as fertilisers and pesticides to grow fodder, emitting greenhouse gases that are heating up the planet, the study said.Diets that contain insects, small fish and molluscs, meanwhile, have as similarly small an environmental impact as plant-based vegan diets but are generally more nutritious, said researchers at the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future.They calculated greenhouse gas emissions and freshwater use for nine different diets – ranging from one meatless day a week and no red meat, to pescatarian and vegan – in 140 countries.Many climate activists and scientists have called for a shift to plant-based diets to keep climate change in check and reduce deforestation, since producing red meat requires a lot of land for grazing and growing feed.Agriculture, forestry and other land use activities accounted for nearly a quarter of man-made greenhouse gas emissions from 2007-2016, the U.N. climate science panel said in a flagship report last month.But there is no one-size-fits-all solution, said Keeve Nachman, assistant professor at the Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, who led the study on diets.US Experts Reviewing Low-Carb, Other Diets for GuidelinesSome followers of low-carb eating are hoping for a nod of approval in the upcoming U.S. dietary guidelines that advise Americans on what to eat.It may seem minor, but backers say low-carb’s inclusion could influence nutrition advice that doctors give and help shape government food programs like school lunches.
Current guidelines cite the Mediterranean, vegetarian and other diets as examples of healthy eating.
U.S. In low- and middle-income countries such as Indonesia, citizens on average need to eat more animal protein for adequate nutrition, he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.That means diet-related heat-trapping emissions and water use in poorer countries would need to rise to reduce hunger and malnutrition, while high-income countries should reduce their consumption of meat, dairy and eggs, the study said.On average, producing a serving of beef emits 316 times more greenhouse gases – including methane – than pulses, 115 times more than nuts, and 40 times more than soy, it added.According to the World Resources Institute, a U.S.-based think-tank, diners in North and South America, Europe and the former Soviet Union make up only a quarter of the global population but ate more than half of the world’s meat from ruminants – such as cattle, sheep and goats – in 2010.The latest study also found that producing a pound of beef in Paraguay contributes nearly 17 times more greenhouse gases than in Denmark, partly because in Latin America, it often involves cutting down forests to clear land for cattle grazing.A typical diet in Niger has the highest water footprint, researchers noted, mainly due to millet production and crop residues that cannot be consumed.
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Nettles With Regal Roots Hit The London Catwalks
Fashion models wearing dresses made from nettles harvested at Prince Charles’s country estate in southwest England will feature at London Fashion Week on Tuesday, in one of this year’s most unusual offerings.The quirky eco-friendly attire stems from an unexpected collaboration between the heir to the British throne, who is passionate about ecology, and the sustainable fashion pioneers Vin + Omi.The designer duo met the Prince of Wales last year and the conversation quickly turned to horticulture and its place in their fashion-focused research and development.”We were looking at nettles, cow parsley and horseradish,” Vin, the British half of the pair, told AFP ahead of their show.”We discussed it with Prince Charles and he said: ‘I’ve got a lot of nettles in Highgrove, why don’t you come and get them?” he added, referring to the monarch’s private residence in rural Gloucestershire.And so began the unlikely union between two self-described “very punk” stylists and the upper echelons of Britain’s royal family. “It is a very odd marriage,” conceded Vin.For Omi, who hails from Singapore, Prince Charles’s green ethos was “mind-blowing”.”You wouldn’t think that someone like the future king of England would (think) about that,” he said, noting “proper conversations about (the) environment” clearly captivate him.’Very time-consuming’The fruits of this shared interest will be unveiled Tuesday night at the Savoy Hotel in central London.Among the creations hitting the catwalk: an elegant beige coat, resembling wool but in fact crafted from several thousand nettle plants, which would not look out of place on Prince Charles’s wife Camilla.The plants were collected and cleared of leaves by a team of students from Oxford Brookes University.Vin + Omi have developed a technique to recover the fibres from each nettle stalk, which are then bleached with environmentally-friendly natural products.”Nettles are a very archaic way of making garments,” said Vin, noting the process remains “laborious” and “very time-consuming”.They were historically the source of fabrics for “the landless”, he added.The duo have continued to work with the head gardener at Highgrove examining what other elements of the organic gardens — including discarded items such as sacks or flower pots — could be creatively recycled.They have already reclaimed wood from the grounds and turned into jewelry that will adorn the models on Tuesday.Other creations by the pair from beyond Highgrove include a shirt woven from recycled paint tubes and clothing made from recycled plastic collected from rivers and oceans.The V&A, London’s museum of art and design, plans to acquire some of the clothes to enrich its permanent collection dedicated to sustainable fashion.’Hippies’ -Vin + Omi’s eco-conscious designs appear to be in tune with rising public alarm at climate change. However, that was not always the case.”When we graduated 20 years ago, everybody called us hippies,” recalled Omi. “We predicted that sustainable fashion would be a big thing.”The 43-year-old is encouraged by increasing activism around environmental concerns, praising the Extinction Rebellion pressure group — which has repeatedly targeted Fashion Week and the broader industry — as “brilliant”.”I think that they are doing exactly the right thing by creating more pressure on institutions,” he said.The duo is working on around 40 projects worldwide, from Britain to China to the United States.In New York, they are transforming plastic collected from the Hudson River into locally-sold t-shirts.Elsewhere, they are exploring the potential of various natural materials, such as making leather from chestnuts or mushrooms.But Omi is sceptical of the industry’s overall efforts, which he sees as largely so-called “greenwashing” — taking superficial environmental action simply to make people feel better.
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Nigerian Boxing Mixes ‘Bloodsport’ with Mixed Martial Arts while Generating Income for Fighters
Some tough athletes are competing in traditional Nigerian boxing called “Dambe,” a fierce, no-holds-barred form of fighting. Now thanks to online fundraising these fighters are getting paid. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi takes us behind the scenes.
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Locals Protest Construction of Russia’s Massive Landfill
Who would want what’s possibly Europe’s largest landfill in their own backyard? That question lies at the center of a protest against construction of a massive garbage dump in northern Russia — an environmental issue that has come to symbolize growing frustration towards Moscow’s sway over Russia’s far-flung regions. The fight over Shiyes — a remote railway outpost in Russia’s Arkhangelsk province that is to play host to the landfill — first erupted a little over a year ago after local hunters came across a secret construction site in the region’s swamp-filled forests. It didn’t take long for locals to learned of the dig’s true purpose: to house a 52-square-kilometer storage area for refuse shipped in from Moscow, some 1126 kilometers away. Government officials say Shiyes was chosen based on its remote location — with the new ‘Ecotechnopark’ a cutting edge example of innovative waste storage. They also point to cash and incentives — such as a computer lab, annual New Year’s gifts, and healthcare access to top Moscow hospitals for nearby locals — as a smart investment for regional development. But anger over the landfill has united a diverse swath of citizens across northern Russia — with many saying they see it as a threat to natural resources that define a way of life in extreme climate.In this photo taken on Friday, April 20, 2018, garbage trucks unload the trash at the Volovichi landfill near Kolomna, Russia. Thousands of people are protesting the noxious fumes coming from overcrowded landfills surrounding Moscow.“Of course we’re against it,” says Antokha, a construction worker who travelled some 800 kilometers away to join the camp from the city of Arkhangelisk.“The area’s swamps feed rivers that extend throughout the region and feed into the White Sea. Poison Shiyes with garbage and you poison the entire north,” he added, while declining to provide his last name. Welcome to the Resistance Antokha is just one of many Russian northerners who have joined a hundreds-strong protest movement that spent the past year locked in a standoff with authorities over construction of the landfill. In that time, ‘The Republic of Shiyes’ has emerged — a tent commune just outside the dig site with its own anthem, flag, infirmary, as well as a makeshift kitchen and bathhouse. While ‘The Republic’ even has a stage for concerts and announcements, this is no Woodstock. Among the camp’s strictest rules? No drugs or alcohol.Yet Shiyes has attracted the eclectic mix of an ‘anything goes’ event: liberals share soup casually with nationalists, peaceniks with military vets, small business owners alongside eco-activists. All have committed to rotating shifts into the camp — through a frigid winter and mosquito-infested summer — in an effort to keep the protest going. “This really is a war,” says Anna Shakalova, a shopkeeper from nearby who’s emerged as one of the leaders of the movement. “And if we stay together, it’s a war we win.”Growing Resentments Beyond the immediate environmental concerns, the battle over Shiyes has also exposed simmering resentments about a top-down system of governance that centralizes power and critical regional revenues in Moscow’s hands. There’s widespread feeling that Russia’s regions give their resources to the capital while getting little — or, even worse, garbage — in return. “It’s an example of Moscow chauvinism against the rest of the country,” says Ksenia Dmitrieva, 33, who grew up swimming in the area’s rivers as a child. “Moscow thinks just because they have the money they can put their trash where they want. They’re not better than us.”The Shiyes strike continues amid a year of growing discontent with Russia’s government — with complaints about a sagging economy affecting the regions disproportionately. Recent elections saw whole swaths of territory — such as the Khabarovsk Province in the Far East — send stinging defeats to the United Party in local races. The public has also condemned the government response to the spread of massive wildfires across wide swaths of Siberia. Meanwhile, smaller cities surrounding Moscow have long complained about the overflowing dumpsites poisoning air and water quality. But more alarming for the Kremlin? President Vladimir Putin is no longer immune.Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Russia, Sept. 5, 2019.After years of sky-high ratings, Putin’s support numbers have fallen in the wake of unpopular pension reforms and falling living standards. Recent polls show trust in Putin has fallen to just over 30%. Meanwhile, a majority now think the country is on the wrong track. “They ask: ‘why wasn’t that done?’ And when they don’t find an answer of course they become opponents of Putin” says Ilya Kirianov, an engineer who traveled to Shiyes from Severodvinsk — where the public was still reeling from a mysterious explosion that released radiation into the air this past July. “You see people who just a year ago voted for Putin are now some of his harshest critics,” he added.Count Liliya Zobova, a business owner, is among those who’ve lost patience with the Russian leader. “I loved Putin and voted for him,” she says. That changed after seeing Putin weigh in — briefly in an answer in May 2019 — to say authorities should take public opinion into account.The result? Construction paused — but only briefly. “It means Putin supports it,” says Zobova. “I don’t know who to believe anymore.” Helicopters and BlockadesFor now, protesters have blockaded old logging roads that provide the only access for equipment to the build site. Even getting to the camp involves a hike through dense sticky swamplands. In turn, authorities have started using helicopters to ferry in diesel and supplies for a force of masked private security contractors and regional police who guard the site.In a show of force against the Shiyes camp, several protesters have been arrested and face the prospect of criminal prosecution. Police regularly post signs warning a raid is imminent. It’s natural to be afraid,” says Irina Leontova, a 28-year-old filmmaker from Syktyvkar, a 3 hour drive away. “Anything can happen — arrests, fines — but still people keep coming.” Surveying the camp, Vera Goncherinka, a retired accountant from the nearby town of Urdoma, marveled at how life had changed since she got involved in the Shiyes uprising a year ago. “I should be on my couch at home but look at me now,” she said —- adding that her experiences in Shiyes had convinced her that something was stirring in Russia’s regions. “How do we know something like Shiyes isn’t happening somewhere else in Russia? Have you ever heard them talk about us on television?” With that, a passing train blew its whistle in support — and the protesters waved back. A sign that news — like the region’s water — always finds a way out of the swamp.
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France’s Canal+ Pairs Up with Netflix in Pay-TV Shift
Vivendi’s Canal+ has agreed a deal to add Netflix subscriptions to TV bundles in France and elsewhere, the French broadcaster said on Monday, in the latest such alliance to counter pressure from streaming giants.The new Canal+ bundles integrating Netflix would be available in France from Oct. 15 and later expanded to other European markets.Pay-TV groups have been squeezed globally as viewers switch to online video platforms that often offer cheaper packages and churn out original productions. Netflix, with a string of hit shows such as “The Crown” and “Stranger Things,” has been leader of the streaming pack.Some have responded by striking deals with Netflix and other platforms to add content and keep clients from switching off, including Comcast’s Sky in Britain, even if it allows streaming companies to make further inroads in their market.”People have already subscribed to Netflix, it’s unavoidable,” said Francois Godard, European media and telecoms analyst at Enders Analysis.Canal+ has suffered after losing some soccer broadcasting rights in recent years and is still losing subscribers despite producing critically acclaimed series such as “The New Pope” alongside Sky and HBO.It has been overtaken by Netflix’s 6 million subscribers in France and it reported falling first-half revenue.Netflix’s deal with Canal+ is the first of its kind in France, though the U.S. group’s films and shows are already distributed via deals on internet service providers such as French telecoms group Orange.FILE – The Netflix logo is seen on a tablet, in North Andover, Massachusetts, Jan. 17, 2017.Yet Netflix, too, is under pressure, with Apple launching its own streaming service in November and Walt Disney joining the fray with Disney Plus.”(Netflix) is stepping things up to occupy this space as much as possible before others show up,” said Philippe Bailly, of French digital consultancy NPA Conseil.Canal+ Chief Executive Maxime Saada told reporters the group is also “in discussions” with Disney but declined to provide details. Canal+ distributes some Disney films.It is still unclear how much pay-TV groups will succeed in winning back clients as a result of such deals. Netflix has about 10 million subscribers in the United Kingdom, roughly the same as Sky, Enders’ Godard said.The Canal+/Netflix bundles will initially cost 35 euros a month, including the Canal+ subscription fee. Netflix offers its services in France for a monthly subscription of between 7.99 euros and 15.99 euros.Pay-TV groups are betting consumers will prefer to have a one-stop shop.”It is going to be very expensive for customers to buy everything,” Saada said.
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ePUMB skype chat
