We must vote to save, secure and advance the institutions of liberal democracy that we have Pic by Shehan Gunasekara

In terms of the issues at stake, the 5 August General Election poses the same challenges as the Presidential Election of November 2019 and more. Not necessarily because of the intervening hiatus of the coronavirus either.

November 2019 was about electing someone who in the widest public perception would get a job done in sharp contrast to the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe regime that preceded it and also the front person for the Jathika Chinthanaya based ideology of a new constitution and form of governance. It was therefore a vote for clear and decisive leadership; for law and order and stability and for legitimacy rooted in the heart of society.

This was secured with a majority of over 1.5 million votes in an election, which it must be said, the opposition in effect handed over power to Rajapaksa through its own incompetence as he indeed, won it through his overwhelming charisma and appeal.

Rajapaksa therefore has the mandate to govern as he sees fit and without the encumbrance of Parliament, in the COVID era, he has effectively given reign to his militaristic impulses and established Task Forces for a disciplined, virtuous and law-abiding society as well as for archaeological heritage in the east. Moreover, the handling of the COVID virus is in the hands of those in the military and those who were in the military a military mindset. Ironically one of the groups largely affected by the virus is the Navy! No one is asking the question as to how this has happened; the regime is certainly not telling.

This brings us therefore to the importance of Parliament and the General Election. In any functioning democracy or any society with the pretensions of being one, the three basic pillars of government must operate i.e. the executive, legislature and judiciary. One of these pillars should not have the power to lay down the law to the others in a variation of Vattels definition of the balance of power.

Moreover, the basic functions of the three pillars is that the executive would be responsible for the implementation of the laws that the legislature debates and passes these could be laws that the executive proposes in the first instance. Parliament is essentially a deliberative body and debating chamber; it is not about implementation but it is about the allocation and accountability of resources for the implementation of policies it agrees upon. The judiciary upholds the rule of law and interprets the actions of the executive within the framework of the constitution.

Since the second of March dissolution of Parliament this system could not operate. Was not allowed to. The Supreme Court held with the executive on this and from the second of June until the next parliament meets, there is really no authority for the raising and expenditure of public finance. The hallowed and if not also hackneyed adage about parliamentary authority over public finance No taxation without Representation has been thrown overboard.

Whilst the management of the COVID virus spread is being seen as a relative success, there is the economic time bomb ticking away and the increasing authoritarian majoritarianism of a regime and chief executive who arrests lawyers but does not bring them to court and pardons ex-army officers for the most horrendous of crimes for which, conviction has been handed down by the highest court in the land.

Economically we have been downgraded by the rating agencies to B- and back to lower middle-income status. It is estimated that over the next five years we will have to pay back in debt repayments approximately $ 4 billion a year. Some estimates are higher. International lenders are presumably waiting for a new Parliament to start negotiations on relief. Some money is being given to small and medium business relief and money from China has been pledged.

The Japanese have suspended discussions on debt relief. The ridiculous and it appears, deliberately misleading controversy over the Millennium Challenge Account grant of $ 480 million is further damaging. What happens when the toll of unemployment in the garment sector, the hospitality trade, migrant labour, and small and medium businesses begins to bite and bite harder?

Consolidating the dynasty

The General Election for the regime has always been about securing a two-third majority in Parliament to consolidate the dynasty. For the President, specifically, it is about the peoples mandate constitutionally sanctioned by an election to create a system of government and governance to his liking. He clearly likes the unfettered room for manoeuvre afforded by the 1978 Constitution and it will be no surprise therefore if he moves fast, two thirds granted directly to him or not, to return to it without the restrictions of the Nineteenth Amendment and what he and his supporters see, as the costly irrelevance of the Thirteenth.

This could happen against a rising tide of discontent on the economic front and the use, yet again, of the constitution for instrumental purposes defence of national security, stability and law and order a defence against those both local and international who fall on the wrong side of the patriot/traitor divide. Yet the economic consequences of the virus may outlive the euphoria of populist and authoritarian constitutional reform. It all depends in how badly it is going to hit was has so far been the Rajapaksa constituency in the population. If it is going to be bad and going to evoke a ham-fisted and heavy handed response form the regime, we will be back to fighting for basic human rights, basic civil and political rights.

There is the issue of what the voter should do in this election that is the voter who does not have a fixed partisan affiliation. It appears too that there is the disaffection with the choice of parties and candidates available and therefore a decision not to vote. In the event, if voting is decided upon, to spoil the ballot. Whilst this might appease individual consciences, this will also enable the mandate to be based on a smaller proportion of the total national vote and in order to secure fundamental rights and duties, institutions and processes of a functioning liberal democracy no one side should be so powerful as to be in a position to lay down the law to others. Checks and balances are the order of the day both institutional and procedural. We must vote to save, secure and advance the institutions of liberal democracy that we have.

Either way, inside Parliament and out, no liberal democracy is worth its salt without a strong opposition. What we are presented with is dismal on the street they say that one faction of the UNP is with the President and the other with the Prime Minister. There is therefore no real choice no real champion of a Sri Lanka founded upon the idea of Unity in Diversity and committed to protect and expand it at all costs. This leaves the section of civil society who had its heyday in October 2018 to return to the fight of explaining the importance of the constitution and democracy to the everyday life of the peoples and their country.

Were the Democrats to win the US presidency in November, there is the chance of a more human rights and democracy friendly international environment taking hold.

However, the point is simply that the design and trajectory of political, economic and constitutional developments for Sri Lanka should be the primary responsibility of Sri Lankans we are the stakeholders and the country is the site of contestation and struggle.

See more here:

The General Election of 2020 - ft.lk

Last weeks decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in McGirt v. Oklahoma was not the biggest news item out of the highest court in the land either today or this session. But conservatives should pay attention because it shows a schism between legal thinking and policy attitudes on the part of liberals that is highly relevant to todays debates over race, American history, and minority rights.

The Supreme Court just recognized, in clear and uncertain terms, the principle of Native American tribal sovereignty, and it was the liberal justices, plus Justice Neil Gorsuch, who did so. This is interesting because, in a number of policy battles in recent years, liberals have proved eager to trample on that principle to bank left-of-center policy wins.

This is true all over the policy spectrum but especially in the realm of energy development. A June 2015 Government Accountability Office study determined that under President Barack Obama, shortcomings on the part of the Bureau of Indian Affairs hindered Indian energy development. In one case, the bureau was alleged to have taken 18 months to review a wind lease, a delay that resulted in the project proving unable to move forward, resulting in a loss of revenue for the tribe.

Another case involved a delay in permitting that arose under Obama (although documents had been originally submitted to the bureau under President George W. Bush), causing a tribe to lose an estimated $95 million in revenue.

In another case, the bureau took more than three years to review and approve a utility-scale wind project. In that dynamic, fast-growing, and fast-changing sector, it should be little surprise that the delay hindered the tribes ability to turn wind into energy and profit, as liberals routinely champion the public doing.

The Obama administration, of course, also blocked tribes from mining coal on their own land. So did Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, who tried to put a hold on coal exports, which negatively affected the Crow Nation, the land of which holds up to 9 billion tons of coal. Without being able to tap that resource, the Crow Nation's unemployment has made COVID-19 jobless rates look like a walk in the park.

Liberals have also sought to negate or weaken tribal sovereignty in instances in which financial services are concerned because tribes cleverly figured out that by moving into areas such as short-term, online lending, they could fill a gap in the financial services marketplace and bring more money into tribal coffers.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, created under Obama and vigorously defended by most Democrats and especially the most liberal ones, has pursued cases against tribal lenders based on what they claim are high rates of interest attached to such loans. Tribal lenders certainly felt targeted by the Obama Justice Departments Operation Choke Point, which appeared to be engaging in very heavy-handed tactics to shut down lending operations of the type in which tribes have become involved.

Obama also designated Bears Ears as a national monument. This has been depicted by many liberals as a decision in line with Native American wishes, but that is not a universally held view among tribes in the relevant area.

Under Obama, the Bureau of Indian Affairs also blocked Washington states Chehalis tribe from distilling alcohol on their land. That ban on alcohol distilleries on tribal lands, including those belonging to the Chehalis, which emanated from an 1834 law, was only reversed through passage and signing into law of HR 5317 in 2018, when Republicans had full control of Congress and the White House.

None of this is to argue that Republicans or conservatives are better than liberals or Democrats on perhaps the most important issue to Native Americans, although Native Americans, I know, were gratified by President Trumps 2018 indication to tribal leaders that they should go ahead with energy exploration on their lands, which evidenced a recognition of tribal sovereignty at the highest level if not a deep understanding of the current federal government administrative decision-making process.

But there is great friction on this important issue, which in turn affects economic activity on tribal lands, within the Democratic Party.

Liberals are going to need to determine which takes priority: the self-determination rights of Americas first inhabitants, who virtually everyone can agree were not well-treated by our ancestors or banking policy wins in areas such as energy or financial services by wielding an anti-sovereignty federal bureaucracy and federal regulations that many Native Americans see as having effectively become tools of racist oppression.

Liz Mair is a consultant in Washington, D.C.

See the original post:

Friction between liberal ideology and tribal sovereignty comes to the fore - Washington Examiner

Last week Conter published a piece by my colleague comrade and columnist George Kerevan SNP At the Crossroads which was met with much praise. Whilst some of it presented a critique of the SNPs political limitations that are self-evident and true, other aspects of the argument seemed deeply problematic and confused.

Kerevans argument laid out important questions about strategies for the left in Scotland and beyond in times of a resurgent populist right and in the context of the oncoming economic crisis created by the cornona virus. These are predicaments faced by progressive and radical forces way beyond these shores. As Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri write in Assembly:

Today we are living in a phase of transition, which requires questioning some of our basic political assumptions. Rather than asking only how to take power we must also ask what kind of power we want and, perhaps more important, who we want to become.

First its worth acknowledging that there is much to agree with in Kerevans analysis. That there is clear evidence of a split between a conservative party hierarchy and the mass movement cant be denied. That the SNP government is enthrall to big business interests in oil, agribusiness, property, and banking is demonstrably, and tragically true. That the political leadership of the SNP being run by a married couple is deeply unhealthy is self-evident. That the SNP has grown a party bureaucracy over the years that often looks like a Mandelsonian New Labour party with its ruthless efficiency discipline and slick messaging is also true.

But things become a little bit hazy when describing the SNPs lurch to the right. Kerevan both describes Salmonds roots in the banking sector and his own reassurance to The Times in 2007, on the eve of the RBS collapse: We are pledging a light-touch regulation suitable to a Scottish financial sector with its outstanding reputation for probity and mythologises the SNP under Salmond.

He describes Salmonds promise of a low-tax Scotland and courting major business donors like Tom Farmer and Brian Souter (though he ignores Salmonds earlier courting of Donald Trump). So the misty-eyed nostalgia for earlier radical SNP seem peculiar in this context.

As a Marxist in the SNP, much of Kerevans analysis seems like someone who has gone to the Zoo and is complaining its not a Circus. It does say Zoo on the gate.

The recent round of frustration about the lack of progress towards independence, the lack of a focused campaign, and the doldrums the SNP seems to be in are all valid and real, but they have led to some truly bizarre imaginary scenarios. Most of these centre around Salmonds semi-mythical status as the new King Across the Water come to vanquish the Pretender and lead us to the Promised Land. Much of this is the harmless obsession of people living out fantasies in their social media bubble and in their sealed sub-culture. Emboldened by Kerevans writing Jason McCann writes Our best option for gaining both independence and class justice is in the formation of a list party, a party that will bolster support for independence in Holyrood and represent the working-class movement. Echoing Kerevan, McCann writes: The movement for independence of 2014, as it remains still, was predominantly a left-leaning movement led from below by individuals and local groups which were socialist almost by default.

Of course they were no such thing. This sort of vivid re-writing of history is absurd but it feeds the exceptionalism that can be found in some elements of the movement.

Kerevan himself writes: It seems unlikely that Salmond plans a return to the leadership role, though some see him as the ideal figure to lead a new, non-party umbrella body to lead the independence campaign.

Were not told who exactly thinks he would be ideal or how exactly this would work in practice.

This is quite difficult to process but it does raise significant questions for socialists and left strategists that they should advocate the return to leadership of a man very recently on trial for serious sexual assault. There are three aspects to this. The first is that its important to accept and recognise that Salmond was found Not Guilty of twelve charges of attempted rape, sexual assault and indecent assault and Not Proven on one charge of sexual assault with intent to rape. The second is that it seems incredible that there is no mention of Salmonds conduct in office in this assessment at all. It is completely glossed over as if none of it happened. As socialists surely the members of Conter have to also show some solidarity with women in this whole scenario? None is evident here. Thirdly there seems to be no recognition about how Salmonds conduct and the revelations that spilled out into the public glare plays with the wider voting public. Instead: some see him as the ideal figure to lead a new, non-party umbrella body to lead the independence campaign. Salmond was found Not Guilty but this doesnt mean that his conduct wasnt abhorrent, and the idea that he can be presented as a leader in some progressive force lacks credibility or decency.

Jacobin Tendency

There is a sort of binary simplism that runs through much of this and other analysis of the movements conflicts. Sturgeon is denounced for not attending the All Under One Banner rallies which are deemed radical because they are working class. Yet no analysis is done of what those rallies and matches amount to. These events were almost all characterised by their complete absence of any politics at all. For years they would host the same handful of speakers. In fact while important symbolically to have a presence on the streets and to bind the movement internally they were characterised by their almost total absence of politics and could have been, and could be so much more. What the purpose of these marches was, or why they were considered so important is not considered.

Kerevan is at his most nostalgic looking back to the Jacobin Tendency of the 1970s. He writes the SNP began as a movement rather than a party, and for decades focused on mass campaigning and remembers the illegal, pirate radio station (Radio Free Scotland) which ran from 1956 through to the early 1970s. Kerevan recalls: In 1981, the party conference voted by a large majority to launch a campaign of political strikes and civil disobedience on a mass scale against the Thatcher government. The campaign (dubbed the Scottish Resistance) was led by Jim Sillars, the SNPs then Vice-Chair for Policy. On 16 October 1981, Sillars led a group of SNP activists breaking into the former Royal High School in Edinburgh, which had been converted to be home for the aborted Scottish Assembly. They intended to read out a declaration on what the Scottish Assembly would have done to counter Thatcherite policies. But Sillars was arrested and later fined.

He asks: Clearly something has altered to eliminate this Jacobin tendency. Yes, its called massive unprecedented historic electoral success.

Kerevans fondness for the rebellious days of the 1950, 60s and 70s is understandable. But absent from these memories is the fact that the SNP was a tiny marginal political force for much of this period, and if you read the political content of the SNP over this period it is hardly characterised by its radical socialism. In fact for large parts of this period Scottish nationalism was characterised by its conservatism, being wedded to the kirk and to the monarchy and to having very little political clout or clarity beyond a demand for sovereignty.

At the heart of these contradictions is the problem that some on the nationalist left are attached to a 19th C theory of change whilst also being part of a political party that seeks to hold office.

Kerevan is quite right to argue that the British state is not going to cede power without pressure exerted from all sides and that the need for bold innovation radical leadership and action is essential.

There is no doubt that there is little sign of such action from the current SNP leadership and yet they remain, stubbornly resurgent in all polling for Holyrood and Westminster and are also leading voting intention for Yes into prolonged and uncharted highs. It seems highly likely that coming out of the coronavirus crisis (assuming that we do), that campaigning for independence will re-start with a new intensity. Those within the SNP who require and demand leadership can begin to exert real pressure in the run up to the Holyrood elections and those outwith the SNP in the wider Yes movement can also begin to mobilise again. But the latter must have the intention of engaging with a wider public not navel-gazing and mythologising their own sub culture.

This the real division in the movement, between those who have long-ago given up on the task of persuading others and engaging a general public, and those who remain committed to that task. The often repeated mantra that a Section 30 Order will never be given is a convenient story told by those who have no credible alternative but allows them to indulge in a series of fantasies.

As Gerry Hassan has recently written: We must not imagine that there are easy escape routes such as gaming the Scottish Parliament electoral system, UDI or an unofficial referendum. Instead we need to think about the Scotland not yet convinced of the merits of independence and understand and respect it, while trying to win people over. This point in our collective history requires leadership from all of us. Not just from Nicola Sturgeon or in having unconditional faith and loyalty in Sturgeons leadership. Rather it is about recognising the big picture and the stakes we are playing for.

There are four elements which come together to sow confusion in Kerevans analysis; the uncritical fetishization of the working class; the romanticisation of acts of rebellion even when it has no impact; and the hangover from old socialist thinking of putting too much emphasis on The Leader, rather than build leadership from below. Finally the tendency to look forward to a single moment in the future at which point All Will Change rather than to create the conditions and shift the ground now is characteristic.

There are different tendencies and energies within the Yes movement from radical and progressive and even visionary through to liberal and even reactionary. To ignore this simple reality seems odd.

This is not to say that the creation of a self-determining Scotland will not be a huge rupture. It will lead to the disintegration of the British state and the battle to make that a radical and progressive process will continue before during and after that moment. There will have to be extra-parliamentary action, NVDA and protest to exert the pressure required to force change, but always looking up to a political party for leadership is a mistaken tactic and outlook. Pressure from within the party can have some impact and the repetition that this is somehow impossible is disingenuous. Equally a more critical reflection on the basis of the movement with energy put into protest and innovating around forms of action and radicalising the politics of the movement would be much more beneficial than wondering why social democratic tendencies werent acting out revolutionary strategies. Rather than seeing the crossroads as a choice between established paths it might be time to go off-road altogether and creating new pathways forward to independence.

That might mean shedding some baggage of ideology and being open to radical new circumstances, possibilities and realities. In fact there can (and undoubtedly should be) a return to political strikes and civil disobedience on a mass scale that Kerevan eulogises. But to achieve that would require a critical not an unquestioning reflection on the movement and the building of bridges across social movements, showing solidarity with black lives matter and the anti-racist struggles, with the peace movement, with radical housing activists and trade unionists and feminists. Radicalising and deepening the movement may be a point of unity going forward to achieve independence and self-determination.

See the rest here:

Beyond the Crossroads - bellacaledonia.org.uk

comment,

We are now approaching D-Day for West Basin and it is time to set the record straight. Walter Burley Griffin designed a lake surrounded by park lands that was finally constructed in the 1960s by Menzies' NCDC. The construction retained the Griffins' well-balanced arrangement of three central basins but adjusted the lake's delineation in several areas, including all three basins, to respect natural contours and have decent water flow. Sections of the lake and parklands were reserved for public recreation while the central basin captured the monumentality of the national capital. Landscape and vistas were critical in all of the 20th century Canberra planning until ACT self-government. Following the formation of the ACT Territory Government a development push erupted that turned the heads of both Federal and ACT politicians. Government planners followed the instructions of their politicians to sell and develop over Canberra's best and most beautifully designed lake-landscape asset. Yes Minister-style bureaucrats distorted the historic planning by the Griffins' and the NCDC, and continually besmirch heritage values with exaggerated spin. West Basin's distinctive horseshoe shape is to be changed to something akin to a fat tadpole half the size of east basin. Vistas will be lost, as well as public parkland. Lake Burley Griffin, and its parklands, have national significance. They should be protected for future generations. Yet our present governments have triumphantly accepted lake destruction in exchange for dollars in the kitty. There is now no end to this unfortunate future for the lake and the parklands. Recent reports indicate the Fyshwick Recycling Centre will accept mixed waste of unknown content and unknown origin. Apparently, after sorting and separating, the residual 80 per cent of the waste received goes to Veolia Woodlawn landfill 70km away in NSW. This is at the cost of Mugga Lane, established ACT recycling facilities, and all ACT ratepayers. The transfer terminal has the capacity to handle 400,000 tonnes of waste per year, most probably sourced from across the border. Waste to Energy incineration at Ipswich St is to be the second Environmental Impact Statement to come, as was noted in the application to government for this first one. The new Australian Made symbol, supposedly wattle with AU in the middle is not a decent representation for the country. The image looks nothing like wattle (it has been compared to a coronavirus) and AU could mean Australia or Austria. And apparently it took years and millions of dollars to come up with this unrealistic image. The stylised kangaroo used on products is known worldwide and is easily recognised as being Australian. There is no need to include "AU". The flying kangaroo on Qantas jets identifies them as Australian. If the symbol needed to be changed, which it didn't, the community should have been consulted, a competition run, and businesses that already use the stylised kangaroo asked for input. The kangaroo is Australian as they come, leave it alone. Re: "Poor uptake of government's affordable housing" (June 27, p 4). This is not at all surprising given that most of the one and two-bedroom dwellings have not been any more affordable than similar dwellings available commercially. Why on earth would you bother with the government's scheme? The best thing the government could do would be to make land more affordable than is currently the case. The prices are ridiculous in the Molonglo Valley. Families particularly are looking for three and four-bedroom homes. If land prices were more reasonable a lot of families would be using the Federal government's $25,000 and building a house. Re: "No Corona virus detected in Canberra sewage for the month of May" (canberratimes.com.au, July 6). "While June's sewage results are still pending, Dr Lal said researchers had a high degree of confidence no coronavirus would be present in samples". What great news. But is Dr Lal saying it will not detect the known case of COVID-19 in a foreign diplomat who flew into Canberra early June and was allowed to quarantine at his home in Weston Creek? If the testing picks up on this known case I will have much more confidence in this type of community virus detection. Until then I remain cautiously optimistic. Note to ACT MLAs: When you have finished bickering about what you may, and may not, put on your social media ("Liberal MLA suspended over TikTok video gaffe", July 3, p3) you might like to remind yourselves that the taxpayers of the ACT pay you handsomely to do meaningful work. An MLA's base salary is $168,492, about twice average weekly earnings. If you are short of meaningful work, on any day you have more than enough reason to repeal the unit-title surcharges and refund the moneys wrongly taken through their application. When you are finished with that there are serious problems identified in the 2012 Quinlan report on ACT taxes that remain unaddressed or have been made worse. A big thank you to the wonderful people who helped me on Monday when I smashed my head on the pavement as I fell at Hughes shops. Despite the bitter cold, people covered me with their jackets and scarves until an ambulance arrived. The hospital too, took very good care of me. Lots of tests. Head, heart and hips. All okay. I was discharged at 4pm. Thank you everybody. I hope that all states and territories are busy drafting clear communications and translating them into dozens of languages in anticipation of the many possible scenarios that this epidemic may throw up. As COVID-19 cuts a swathe through our normal lives, we cannot add to the misery of people by not communicating with them in an appropriate and timely manner. It does not surprise me that the planning authority took 503 days to make a wrong decision ("Fight, you might win," Letters, 8 July). Eight years ago it amended the Territory Plan. It claimed that it did not need to consult with the minister because it had "merely relocated provisions". The authority apparently did not realise that Ben Ponton had already placed on record, in Notifiable Instrument 2012-622, that the amendment also created new codes, and added 127 new "precinct maps". For over six years it has maintained its cover-up, consistently refusing to correct its false claim. Greg Cornwell (Letters, July 9), was shocked at pictures of the 3000-population high-rise public housing "ghettos" in Melbourne. The problems stem from a chronic under-funding of public housing over the last 50 years which has resulted in public housing progressively become welfare housing. Consideration should be given to redirecting the capital gains tax and negative gearing concessions, effectively middle-class welfare, to the construction of social housing. We have just received the latest (June 2020) edition of "Our CBR" that includes the usual "message from the Chief Minister". In it, Mr Barr states that there has been support for households which included a $150 rates rebate and the freezing of a range of Government fees and charges, which is on top of failing electricity prices due to the Government's investments in renewables. Is this the same as the failing petrol price watch in the ACT that our Chief Minister promised months ago, or were they both just "typos"? Rory McElligott (Letters, July 9, asks what has happened to the subs that were supposed to be built locally . Someone must have seen the light, as our previous experience in building the Collins class subs here proved to be an unmitigated disaster, and we ended up with submersible white elephants. Subs are the last thing Australia needs, but if we have to have them we should at least ensure that they are fit for purpose using proven technology. Once bitten, twice shy. As an older Canberran, and one whose father and grandfather were both policemen, I hope the AFP will now be permitted to scrutinize self isolation and general public compliance to the level that should have been taken. So far I have felt that the police have been muzzled by an unseen "body". I was astonished to hear Queensland police are concerned Victorian holiday makers may be smuggled across the border in the backs of trucks. Then I realised, that's where Peter Dutton lives and then it all made sense. Stop the trucks. Mate against mate, State against State. How quickly we all turn on each other during a crisis. People who think they may have COVID-19 get tested. Then they go travelling interstate anyway. Why? Come on everyone, use your commonsense. I'm looking at you, Victorians. While I have despaired about the way our Chief Minister has encouraged the systematic destruction of the ethos of our city since he came to power, I can only applaud the way he has stubbornly protected the health of the ACT community during the COVID-19 crisis. He has my full support for the way he puts the health of our citizens above all other priorities. Politicians behave too badly in Parliament to be considered essential workers. Don't let them into the ACT from Victoria. They can Zoom instead. We might get less posturing, Dorothy Dixers, and other time wasting and facetious "debate". The world is different now. Let's hope they get the memo and stay home. Since early on Wednesday morning a handsome young kangaroo, sadly deceased, lay undisturbed in a park quite near where I live. Who says the bush capital no longer exists? Where will the world find solace in the present pandemic if it loses the security blanket of being able to claim the Spanish flu outbreak was worse? The number of people expressing surprise, and complaining about lack of notice about lockdown actions, suggests many Australians must live under a stone. John Mellors (Letters, July 7) asks: "Will today's ACT Liberals ever wake up to what it takes to win an election in the ACT?" Not while the hard right, led by Senator Zed Seselja controls the party in Canberra. The government's priorities are with the wealthy. The mooted GST increase will impact food, health and education costs. The stamp duty reduction is apparently tax relief for the wealthy funded by the strugglers. Who votes for these people. Email: letters.editor@canberratimes.com.au. Send from the message field, not as an attachment. Fax: 6280 2282. Mail: Letters to the Editor, The Canberra Times, PO Box 7155, Canberra Mail Centre, ACT 2610. Keep your letter to 250 or fewer words. References to The Canberra Times reports should include date and page number. Letters may be edited. Provide phone number and full home address (suburb only published).

https://nnimgt-a.akamaihd.net/transform/v1/crop/frm/fdcx/doc79y7swyoo2drj27wl5e.jpg/r3_439_5336_3452_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg

We are now approaching D-Day for West Basin and it is time to set the record straight.

Walter Burley Griffin designed a lake surrounded by park lands that was finally constructed in the 1960s by Menzies' NCDC.

The construction retained the Griffins' well-balanced arrangement of three central basins but adjusted the lake's delineation in several areas, including all three basins, to respect natural contours and have decent water flow.

Sections of the lake and parklands were reserved for public recreation while the central basin captured the monumentality of the national capital.

Landscape and vistas were critical in all of the 20th century Canberra planning until ACT self-government.

Following the formation of the ACT Territory Government a development push erupted that turned the heads of both Federal and ACT politicians.

Government planners followed the instructions of their politicians to sell and develop over Canberra's best and most beautifully designed lake-landscape asset.

Yes Minister-style bureaucrats distorted the historic planning by the Griffins' and the NCDC, and continually besmirch heritage values with exaggerated spin.

West Basin's distinctive horseshoe shape is to be changed to something akin to a fat tadpole half the size of east basin. Vistas will be lost, as well as public parkland.

Lake Burley Griffin, and its parklands, have national significance. They should be protected for future generations.

Yet our present governments have triumphantly accepted lake destruction in exchange for dollars in the kitty.

There is now no end to this unfortunate future for the lake and the parklands.

Juliet Ramsay, Moruya, NSW

Recent reports indicate the Fyshwick Recycling Centre will accept mixed waste of unknown content and unknown origin.

Apparently, after sorting and separating, the residual 80 per cent of the waste received goes to Veolia Woodlawn landfill 70km away in NSW.

This is at the cost of Mugga Lane, established ACT recycling facilities, and all ACT ratepayers.

The transfer terminal has the capacity to handle 400,000 tonnes of waste per year, most probably sourced from across the border.

Waste to Energy incineration at Ipswich St is to be the second Environmental Impact Statement to come, as was noted in the application to government for this first one.

The new Australian Made symbol, supposedly wattle with AU in the middle is not a decent representation for the country.

The image looks nothing like wattle (it has been compared to a coronavirus) and AU could mean Australia or Austria. And apparently it took years and millions of dollars to come up with this unrealistic image.

The stylised kangaroo used on products is known worldwide and is easily recognised as being Australian.

There is no need to include "AU".

The flying kangaroo on Qantas jets identifies them as Australian.

If the symbol needed to be changed, which it didn't, the community should have been consulted, a competition run, and businesses that already use the stylised kangaroo asked for input.

The kangaroo is Australian as they come, leave it alone.

Alan Leitch, Austins Ferry

Re: "Poor uptake of government's affordable housing" (June 27, p 4). This is not at all surprising given that most of the one and two-bedroom dwellings have not been any more affordable than similar dwellings available commercially. Why on earth would you bother with the government's scheme? The best thing the government could do would be to make land more affordable than is currently the case. The prices are ridiculous in the Molonglo Valley. Families particularly are looking for three and four-bedroom homes. If land prices were more reasonable a lot of families would be using the Federal government's $25,000 and building a house.

Re: "No Corona virus detected in Canberra sewage for the month of May" (canberratimes.com.au, July 6). "While June's sewage results are still pending, Dr Lal said researchers had a high degree of confidence no coronavirus would be present in samples".

What great news. But is Dr Lal saying it will not detect the known case of COVID-19 in a foreign diplomat who flew into Canberra early June and was allowed to quarantine at his home in Weston Creek?

If the testing picks up on this known case I will have much more confidence in this type of community virus detection. Until then I remain cautiously optimistic.

Note to ACT MLAs: When you have finished bickering about what you may, and may not, put on your social media ("Liberal MLA suspended over TikTok video gaffe", July 3, p3) you might like to remind yourselves that the taxpayers of the ACT pay you handsomely to do meaningful work.

An MLA's base salary is $168,492, about twice average weekly earnings.

If you are short of meaningful work, on any day you have more than enough reason to repeal the unit-title surcharges and refund the moneys wrongly taken through their application. When you are finished with that there are serious problems identified in the 2012 Quinlan report on ACT taxes that remain unaddressed or have been made worse.

A big thank you to the wonderful people who helped me on Monday when I smashed my head on the pavement as I fell at Hughes shops. Despite the bitter cold, people covered me with their jackets and scarves until an ambulance arrived.

The hospital too, took very good care of me. Lots of tests. Head, heart and hips. All okay. I was discharged at 4pm. Thank you everybody.

I hope that all states and territories are busy drafting clear communications and translating them into dozens of languages in anticipation of the many possible scenarios that this epidemic may throw up.

As COVID-19 cuts a swathe through our normal lives, we cannot add to the misery of people by not communicating with them in an appropriate and timely manner.

Beatrice Barnett, Ainslie

It does not surprise me that the planning authority took 503 days to make a wrong decision ("Fight, you might win," Letters, 8 July).

Eight years ago it amended the Territory Plan. It claimed that it did not need to consult with the minister because it had "merely relocated provisions". The authority apparently did not realise that Ben Ponton had already placed on record, in Notifiable Instrument 2012-622, that the amendment also created new codes, and added 127 new "precinct maps". For over six years it has maintained its cover-up, consistently refusing to correct its false claim.

Greg Cornwell (Letters, July 9), was shocked at pictures of the 3000-population high-rise public housing "ghettos" in Melbourne. The problems stem from a chronic under-funding of public housing over the last 50 years which has resulted in public housing progressively become welfare housing.

Consideration should be given to redirecting the capital gains tax and negative gearing concessions, effectively middle-class welfare, to the construction of social housing.

We have just received the latest (June 2020) edition of "Our CBR" that includes the usual "message from the Chief Minister". In it, Mr Barr states that there has been support for households which included a $150 rates rebate and the freezing of a range of Government fees and charges, which is on top of failing electricity prices due to the Government's investments in renewables.

Is this the same as the failing petrol price watch in the ACT that our Chief Minister promised months ago, or were they both just "typos"?

Rory McElligott (Letters, July 9, asks what has happened to the subs that were supposed to be built locally . Someone must have seen the light, as our previous experience in building the Collins class subs here proved to be an unmitigated disaster, and we ended up with submersible white elephants. Subs are the last thing Australia needs, but if we have to have them we should at least ensure that they are fit for purpose using proven technology. Once bitten, twice shy.

Mario Stivala,Belconnen

As an older Canberran, and one whose father and grandfather were both policemen, I hope the AFP will now be permitted to scrutinize self isolation and general public compliance to the level that should have been taken. So far I have felt that the police have been muzzled by an unseen "body".

I was astonished to hear Queensland police are concerned Victorian holiday makers may be smuggled across the border in the backs of trucks. Then I realised, that's where Peter Dutton lives and then it all made sense. Stop the trucks. Mate against mate, State against State. How quickly we all turn on each other during a crisis.

John Panneman, Jerrabomberra, NSW

People who think they may have COVID-19 get tested. Then they go travelling interstate anyway. Why? Come on everyone, use your commonsense. I'm looking at you, Victorians.

While I have despaired about the way our Chief Minister has encouraged the systematic destruction of the ethos of our city since he came to power, I can only applaud the way he has stubbornly protected the health of the ACT community during the COVID-19 crisis. He has my full support for the way he puts the health of our citizens above all other priorities.

Politicians behave too badly in Parliament to be considered essential workers. Don't let them into the ACT from Victoria. They can Zoom instead. We might get less posturing, Dorothy Dixers, and other time wasting and facetious "debate". The world is different now. Let's hope they get the memo and stay home.

Stella Stevens, Belconnen

Since early on Wednesday morning a handsome young kangaroo, sadly deceased, lay undisturbed in a park quite near where I live. Who says the bush capital no longer exists?

Where will the world find solace in the present pandemic if it loses the security blanket of being able to claim the Spanish flu outbreak was worse?

M. F. Horton, Adelaide, SA

The number of people expressing surprise, and complaining about lack of notice about lockdown actions, suggests many Australians must live under a stone.

Roger Quarterman, Campbell

John Mellors (Letters, July 7) asks: "Will today's ACT Liberals ever wake up to what it takes to win an election in the ACT?" Not while the hard right, led by Senator Zed Seselja controls the party in Canberra.

The government's priorities are with the wealthy. The mooted GST increase will impact food, health and education costs. The stamp duty reduction is apparently tax relief for the wealthy funded by the strugglers. Who votes for these people.

Laurelle Atkinson, St Helens, Tas

Email: letters.editor@canberratimes.com.au. Send from the message field, not as an attachment. Fax: 6280 2282. Mail: Letters to the Editor, The Canberra Times, PO Box 7155, Canberra Mail Centre, ACT 2610.

Keep your letter to 250 or fewer words. References to The Canberra Times reports should include date and page number. Letters may be edited. Provide phone number and full home address (suburb only published).

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The end is now in sight for the fight to preserve west basin - The Canberra Times

By SCOTT MCKIE B.P.

ONE FEATHER STAFF

Nationwide, we are seeing statues of slave owners come down and names regarded as racist being changed, and I propose that Jackson County, North Carolina change its name to Jackson County. This proposal would change the namesake only, cost zero dollars, and lift the county up from being named after a person responsible for one of the most atrocious acts in American history to being named after the 18th Principal Chief of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI).

Principal Chief Walter S. Jackson (1923-71) (Photos courtesy of family)

I propose simply changing the namesake of the county from President Jackson to former Principal Chief Walter S. Jackson (1923-71). This change would not cost the county anything as nothing would really need to be changed such as signage, documents, decals on county vehicles, etc. The namesake would only change and, in doing so, would help further solidify the relationship between the EBCI and the county.

Jackson County was formed in 1851 from parts of Haywood and Macon counties and named after President Andrew Jackson, according to NCpedia.org. A portion of the Qualla Boundary, the main tribal land base of the EBCI, is located in Jackson County.

For those of you who might not know, President Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act of 1830 which led to the Trail of Tears for the Cherokee Nation. In an address to Congress on Dec. 6, 1830, he stated, And is it supposed that the wandering savage has a stronger attachment to his home than the settled, civilized Christian? Is it more afflicting to him to leave the graves of his fathers than it is to our brothers and children? Rightly considered, the policy of the General Government toward the red man is not only liberal, but generous. He is unwilling to submit to the laws of the States and mingle with their population. To save him from this alternative, or perhaps utter annihilation, the General Government kindly offers him a new home, and proposes to pay the whole expense of his removal and settlement.

The late, acclaimed author Robert J. Conley, a member of the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians, wrote about Chief Jackson in his book, A Cherokee Encyclopedia describing his service to the Cherokee people.

The book outlines many of Chief Jacksons accomplishments in his short life including: World War II Navy veteran, manager of the Oconaluftee Indian Village, Chief of the Cherokee Indian Police Dept., head of the Tribes community services division, Tribal Council representative for 12 years, Vice Chief for four years, and Principal Chief (elected in 1967).

Conley wrote, He was instrumental in developing the Cherokee Boys Club, improving reservation roads, re-opening the tribal rolls, securing a new gymnasium and a new elementary school, and establishing the Public Health Service hospital.

Chief Jackson died while serving in the office of Principal Chief at the age of 47.

Conley further wrote, U.S. Congressman Roy Taylor said of him (Chief Jackson), He was a warm, friendly individual whom we all looked to seeing when he came to Washington. He always seemed to have the welfare of the Cherokee Indians at heart and vigorously pursued those programs which he felt would improve their social and economic conditions. He had the ability to combine his congenial manner with serious purpose.

Just two days after his death, the Cherokee Boys Club named the third cottage of the old Cherokee Boys Club Home for Boys the Walter S. Jackson Cottage in his honor. A resolution from the Boys Club, dated April 28, 1971, states, He worked very hard for the Cherokee Reservation for for the betterment of his people. He was instrumental in getting the Cherokee Boys Club, Inc. organized in 1964, and he has helped the Club tremendously in all of its work and has served on the Clubs Advisory Committee since its beginning. The Club appreciates the fact that Chief Jackson devoted his life to the service of his people.

This proposed change would not cost Jackson County a penny, but it could pay generous rewards in improved relations and a new spirit of cooperation in this small part of western North Carolina.

Go here to see the original:

COMMENTARY: I propose changing the name of Jackson County to Jackson County - The Cherokee One Feather - Cherokee One Feather

Shooting rubber bullet grenades at protesting priests. Catastrophically botching the pandemic response, resulting in a public health and economic calamity. Tweeting white power memes. Ranting in front of empty arenas about how he navigated a slippery ramp. Being MIA while his Russian benefactors put out a hit on American soldiers in Afghanistan.

The last three months have been a political dumpster fire for President Trump, and the flames have engulfed Republicans up and down the ballot. But while pockets of Republican resistance have roasted Dear Leader, elected officials in D.C. and their Svengalis in the consultant class have remained steadfast.

These swamp creatures were never the biggest Trumpers in the first place his initial campaign team was an assortment of D-listers and golf course grunts rather than traditional GOP ad men. So why, as Trumps numbers plummet, are these establishment RINOs continuing to debase themselves to protect someone who is politically faltering and couldnt care less about them?

I reached out to nine of my former allies and rivals who still consult for Republican candidates at the highest levels of Senate and House races, some who have gone full MAGA and others for whom the president is not their cup of tea. I asked them to speak candidly, without their names attached, to learn about the real behind-the-scenes conversations about the state of affairs. How is the presidents performance impacting their candidate? Are there discussions about either storming the cockpit or gently trying to #WalkAway from Trump? And finally, why in the hell arent they more pissed at this incompetent asshole who is fucking up their lives?

What I found in their answers was one part Stockholm Syndrome, one part survival instinct. They all may not love the president, but most share his loathing for his enemies on the left, in the media, and the apostate Never Trump Republicans with a passion that engenders an alliance with the president, if not a kinship. And even among those who dont share the tribalistic hatreds, they perceive a political reality driven by base voters and the presidents shitposting that simply does not allow for dissent.

As one put it: There are two options, you can be on this hell ship or you can be in the water drowning.

So I give you the view from the U.S.S Hellship, first the political state of play, and then the psychological.

The impact of Trumps disastrous three months on down ballot candidates was best summed up in the first text message I got back.

Could you use a poop emoji for my comments?

The assessment was excreta across the board.

But in 2006, Republican candidates could strategically distance themselves from an unpopular president without facing a mutiny within the ranks. That wont work in 2020, as though Trumps numbers are plummeting with some demos they are solidifying or improving among his core support demographic. Which makes running afoul of Trump fatal in the eyes of these strategists.

There are practical realities we ran a bunch of red district primaries, and it would come back that the number one issue for 80+% of Republican primary voters was loyalty to Donald Trump. Im not making that number up, a respondent told me.

Several consultants pointed to the situation that Sen. John Cornyn faces in Texas to illustrate the problem. They indicated that internal polling shows Trump either tied or very slightly ahead in the Lone Star State. One said Cornyn should be feeling very lucky that Beto ORourke ran for president, rather than tacking slightly center and spending $90 million on a campaign to unseat the incumbent senator. Another said Cornyns quietly in trouble.

But rather than addressing this by creating some strategic separation from Trump to solidify the historically conservative Dallas and Houston suburbs where Trump is bleeding out, Cornyn has become a Mr. Trump fan girl, echoing his virus denial and defending the attack on nonviolent protestors in Lafayette Square.

Why? According to one: You have 25% of the state is rural and Trump gets like Saddam Hussein level numbers here. 87% in 25% of the state Cornyn gets 69. And so Cornyn cant find a place to break from because he could really put that in jeopardy.

And thus the polarizing nature of Trump makes it impossible for Cornyn to make a move that helps him in the swingy suburbs without risking the floor falling out from under him in West Texas.

This same calculus pervades no matter the race, no matter the district, no matter the geography: The operatives insist that the pro-Trump zealotry the presidents supporters demand makes it far more difficult for candidates to win over anyone else.

A consultant who advises a challenger in a swing house seat that Hillary Clinton carried, for example, indicated that they thought they had less ability to distance from Trump than those who are in safer, more MAGAfied districts. No dissent is tolerated [with the base], and If my candidate is going to win, its going to be by 1 or 2 percent they cant afford to lose any votes [on the pro-Trump flank].

In fact, some candidates in competitive House seats are going the other direction because of what it takes to win a primary. A different consultant said: My candidate didnt vote for Trump. But were running ads right now about being a big Trump supporter, because in that district drap[ing] yourself in Trump is still a good decision.

This view is so widespread that when asked, all of the consultants but two said that they havent even had a conversation about the possibility of distancing from Trump with any of their candidates or campaign teams. Another put it this way: The idea of distancing, if its discussed, its discussed very quietly; its discussed one-on-one. You wouldnt talk about it on a conference call maybe someone would, but lets just say it hasnt happened yet and Im on a lot of those calls.

Sit with that for a second. The idea of separating from Trump is so verboten in GOP circles that the best consultants wont even talk about talking about doing it in mixed company, for fear of being stigmatized, and thus losing potential client work on other campaigns.

Some offered that the calculus might change in the fall, when their backs are against the wall. Well probably get to Labor Day before any chess pieces are moved on the board. But for now, they are paralyzed by the experiences of 2016, when Trump rose from the dead several times, only to make those who challenged him weaker politically. So if anyone is expecting the rats to start jumping off the sinking ship, they better be patient.

In the meantime, these strategists are left with the same strategy theyve spent three years honing: Hope & Hiding.

But if we get to fall and unemployment is in single digits and Dow over 30k hes going to get reelected, one said. Thats why you dont want to jump out right now and separate yourself because in the Fall the whole world will be different.

Per another consultant: Maybe if we dont talk about Trump and we run on issues and we talk about constituent service and we continue the antagonism on the libs maybe we eek this thing out by a couple of points.

Suggestions that maybe, just maybe, in the face of these headwinds, that they should try to win back some of the suburban vote and claim their own destiny rather than grabbing a middle seat on Trump Airlines and hope for the best, are met with derision. Trump sucks the oxygen out of the room from every other candidate to such a degree that you cant run independent of him, as one put it.

Another put it more succinctly: The press and the twitteratithey dont know a fuckin thing.

To a person, they professed that the only option they have is to go hard negative on their opponent and run a campaign on niche issues and accomplishments theyve had while in office in the hopes that some slice of the electorate will be able to distinguish their candidate from Trump even if the candidate themselves is unwilling to do it.

And maybe these guys are right, and those of us sitting in the cheap seats are wrong to think its worth a shot to try to get out from under an incompetent, overmatched, pathetic, racist, deteriorating president. Maybe Trumps Hussein-like numbers with the MAGA crowd is such that anyone who dares cross him automatically is snuffed out the way Jeff Flake and Kelly Ayotte and Dean Heller were in 2016 and 18.

Maybe. But its interesting that at a time when the numbers are as bad as it gets, the notion of trying to separate from Trump is not even being contemplated. Maybe there is something more to it.

Its a natural human trait to tell someone what they want to hear. So as an avowed Never Trumper, Im used to these hushed conversations with my former colleagues where they commiserate over how bad Trump is, and how they wish they didnt have to do what they are doing but circumstance has left no choice but sticking with Trump or quitting and becoming a goat farmer.

We havent worked for anybody who seriously thinks the guy has it all together, said one consultant.

While at some level, Im sure thats true. Im sure some, if not most, Republican consultants and candidates snicker at Trump from time to time. In private. At the bar. Very quietly. Off the record.

Im also sure that in many cases their acknowledgment of the policy wins are in earnest. The more ideological among them expressed genuine excitement at some of the victories that they dont believe wouldve occurred under other administrations.

But what I found was that, underneath that surface level eye-rolling at Trump and hat-tipping to the record on judges, there was an emotional alliance with the president that is deeper than they might let on in mixed company. A compartmentalization of the badness of the orange man, set aside in favor of a deep and visceral hatred of the presidents enemies.

That compartmentalization is reflected in the emotional valence that comes when discussing the things about our terrible political moment that really anger them. From my vantage point, the anger should be directed at Trump. After all, in most every way besides financial Trump has tarnished their daily lives. One admitted to not being able to discuss his job with his wife any longer. Another lamented being called racist and evil. All expressed exasperation that Trump encompasses everything they talk about. Some felt deeply internally conflicted about work that used to make them proud. They all felt Trump had left them with no other options. Only a couple seemed to be having much fun.

So shouldnt they be pissed at this egomaniacal racist who is making their lives miserable, bringing down their candidates, and affecting their home lives and friendships simply because he cant for a single hour control his outbursts? Shouldnt they be clamoring to tell him to fuck off and act like a damn adult and stop putting them in these terrible situations?

When asked, almost to a person, the answer was no. For some, he was simply a frustration, a circumstance to deal with, a challenge, a problem to solve. For one, there was a silver (or just green) lining in a Trump loss.

If you actually think about this very selfishly If [Trump] loses, I make more money, one said. He loses, we go back to a semi-normal Republican party that leans more populist that I think a lot of people would like. We get to run all these challenger races and probably take back the house in two years, maybe even gains on the state level because of the extremist Democrat administration. I make more money. So thats a very selfish view and people have talked about that.

But for several others, Trump was someone they related to, a shadow side who was an emotional outlet for their anger.

They are mad (rightly) at people like Ben Sasse who act like they take the moral high ground only to hide under the hay bales until their primary is over. They are mad at people like Jeff Flake who moralized while angling for a new job in corporate America.

They are mad at the Lincoln Project for attacking innocent GOP Senators (Theres no coming back for these Lincoln Project motherfuckers, it doesnt matter what next. They are madder at those people than [at] Trump for sure).

They are mad at the media. (There is so much hyperbole around Trump and around these events. And it goes so thermonuclear outrage every fuckin 3 or 4 days. The scar tissue built up on what is a big thing anymore.)

Really, really mad at the media. (Theres not a moment where they are not in your face. Its not bullshit that they are a leftist institution. The mask is off.)

They are mad at the left. (Im not going to bow to every liberal altar on this).

Really, really mad at the left. (Woke culture has created no other lane for you but to support him on the one or two things that you like and then you have to countenance all the rest of the bullshit).

And so they remain passengers on a hell ship with no control over where it takes them. Emotionally tied to a man who shares their enemies, convinced that his ills are outweighed by theirs. Politically chained to a president who has the key to voters they need. Unable and unwilling to attempt to do much of anything about it. And resigned to that fate.

Is this some sort of death bed, like ohh look back at my life I wish I had fought Trump? Im not there.

And the hell ship sails on.

More:

What 9 GOP Campaign Consultants Really Think About Republicans Chances in November - Rolling Stone

E pluribus unum. Out of many, one. This motto is not only engraved in the Great Seal of the United States, but also in the spirit of the country. For decades, the U.S. has prided itself in being a land built by immigrants; in being a land where individuals from a wide variety of backgrounds have been able to unite and work together towards greatness. The nations status as a cultural melting pot has not only been praised as an asset, but has also been seen as a defining characteristic.

This is Americaa brilliant diversity spread like stars, like a thousand points of light in a broad and peaceful sky, affirmed former President George H.W. Bush in a speech at the Republican National Convention.

Yet this idealized version of the United States differs from its reality. From racist incidents and rhetoric against Asian-Americans amidst the COVID-19 pandemic to Hispanic immigrant deaths and human rights abuses in ICE custody, the U.S. has long distanced itself from valuing the diversity that is so integral to its society. Racial tensions have challenged the notion of American unity.

Most notably, the Black Lives Matter movement and recent events of racial violence against Black Americans have elucidated upon what has always been the case: that the U.S. has been a land of opportunity for some, but a land of oppression for others.

The United States is a land built by immigrants. But many of these immigrants did not come to the nation willingly.

As a result of the Atlantic Slave Trade, which lasted approximately from 1526 to 1867, more than 12.5 million African people were forceably enslaved and transported to the American continent. More than two million did not survive the journey. The majority of those who did were brought to the Caribbean and South America; however, by 1825, a quarter of all Black people in the New World lived in the U.S.

Though the United States has made significant strides towards greater racial equality over the yearsand slavery has now been abolisheddiscrimination and hostility towards minorities remainsespecially for those of African descent.

In this environment, the perspective of African students in the United States is interesting, and they face a unique situation. By pursuing higher education in America, many will no longer belong to the majority population of their home countries, and will instead be categorized as being part of a minorityone that is extremely vulnerable and under attack.

These students are exposed to both the best and the worst parts of the United States. Through their education, extracurriculars and other opportunities for development, they are able to further flourish in their personal, intellectual, and professional pursuits. Yet as African international students they will also face many challenges, especially regarding their race and identity.

***

In an article titled A Dual Degree from Oxford. A Medical Degree From Harvard. Neither Protected Me From Racism, Dr. Tafadzwa Muguwe spoke about the constant discrimination he has experienced in many facets of his life. He first arrived in the U.S. to pursue his undergraduate education at Swarthmore College. After finishing two graduate degrees in England, he returned to the United States to practice medicine. Despite his extraordinary credentialswhich include a prestigious Rhodes ScholarshipMuguwe, who is from Zimbabwe, described in the piece how many in the U.S. have frequently looked down upon him for his race and undermined his potential over the years.

Muguwe stated that far from being isolated, [his] experiences revealed deeply held assumptions and attitudes about [him] as a Black person. These attitudes constitute the scaffolding that is structural racism, which manifests daily in the lived realities of Black people in the United States.

In his book The Great American University: Its Rise to Preeminence, Its Indispensable National Role, Why It Must Be Protected, American sociologist and Columbia University professor Jonathan R. Cole affirmed that what has made [American] universities so distinguished is not the quality of [their] undergraduate education, which may vary between institutions, but their structure and what they embody.

Cole added that U.S. universities have a system of higher learning that fosters creativity and discovery, and that allows knowledge to be transferred and developed by new industries. These properties attract extraordinarily talented young people from around the world who seek opportunities at American universities. The systems of higher learning in other nations have not been able to put these elements together in a way that rivals what has been achieved in the United States.

Awuor Onguru 24 would agree.

Onguru, who is from Kenya, is one of the 2,304 students who were accepted into Yales Class of 2024 out of an application pool of more than 35,000. She was also offered a place at the prestigious University of Oxford in England, but chose instead to study in the United States.

I am fascinated by that idea of stewardship in learning, and students taking their own learning experience into their own hands, Onguru told The Politic. In the U.S.especially at Yaleuniversities foster that environment: [one] where I will be able to ask questions, talk to people, or bring in a new perspective. The U.S. style of learning [allows for] a wider approach to my degree than the U.K. or Kenyan system.

In an interview with The Politic, Thembisile Gausi 24, who is from both Zimbabwe and Malawi, expressed similar views: The U.S. has a more rounded experience when it comes to university. In the U.K., once you go to university, you just focus on your course. When you go to the U.S., [universities] focus more on a holistic school experience. You have so much you can also achieve outside the classroom.

Gausi added that a particular aspect that appealed to her about U.S. higher education was the leeway that comes with a liberal arts education. You can declare your major after your second year. In the U.K., there is nothing like that. If you apply as an engineer, you leave as an engineer. I felt it was the opposite with the U.S. where I could come in as an engineer and leave as a lawyer!

Lukas Nel 24, from South Africa, also expressed excitement about this aspect of the U.S. higher education system. Though he plans to major in Electrical Engineering, Nel told The Politic that the U.S. liberal arts scene would allow me to look at all my interests, including economics and history, while in the U.K. and South Africa you choose a subject and just do it. Its much more specialized.

***

As a result of colonialism, the education systems of many African nations are modeled after those of their former colonizers. The British Empire was the largest in human history, and left a significant linguistic and educational legacy in the continent. Many African students are not only very familiar with U.K. high school systems, such as the Cambridge Assessment International Education style, but also with those of U.K. higher education. In the 2017-2018 school year, almost 28,000 African students attended universities in the U.K.

Yet information about the U.S. education system, which is very different from that of the U.K., is not widespread in the continent. For some who wish to study in the United States, this can lead to challenges in the application process, months before even stepping on campus.

This was initially the case for Gausi, who studied in a private Zimbabwean school that had two examination boards: Zimsec (Zimbabwe School Examinations Council) and Cambridge. Gausi chose the latter examination track, and like students in the United Kingdom, took exams such as the IGCSEs and A Levels.

For [my school], most people go to the U.K. for university or to South Africa. [When it comes to applying to U.S. colleges], there is very limited knowledge, Gausi shared about her application experience. Its only when you find the correct people that you are exposed to so much information. At first, I was stranded[but] once you start learning, you start being connected with the right people.

Nel also affirmed that his U.S. application process required much personal initiative and independence. Nel went to a local South African school, where much of the content was taught in Afrikaans.

Nobody applied [to the U.S.] from my school, Nel said, though he mentioned some classmates were recruited athletically. My school counselors didnt really know how the application process worked. I had to explain and go step-by-step with them. I watched lots of tutorials from YouTube to better understand what I was supposed to do in the system because Id never used it before.

In an interview with The Politic, Phyllis Mugadza 21, who is majoring in Mechanical Engineering and also pursuing a Masters degree in Public Health, mentioned that in the years leading up to her last year of high school: Everything was new to me completely. Before 2015, I had no idea what the Common Application even was, what I even had to look at when applying to U.S. colleges. The academic systems were so different. I was ready to go to the U.K. or South Africa.

Like Gausi, Mugadza had also studied in a private Zimbabwean school that operated under a British system, and had chosen the Cambridge examination track.

In previous years, nobody at my high school had applied to Yale, Mugadza said. Yet she mentioned that after 2015, she was much more prepared. I [became] familiar with applying to Yale through summer camps offered beforehand. I did Yale Young African Scholars and Yale Young Global Scholarsthose programs were geared towards helping students with that American application process.

***

Definitely, Mugadza said when asked whether the liberal arts education system in the U.S. had appealed to her when applying. I knew I wanted to be an engineer, but I didnt just want to be an engineer. I wanted to be able to be put in a room with an expert from any other field and be able to hold a conversation with them.

Mugadza noted that in the academics [in the U.S.]especially moving from a very structured British curriculum to the liberal artsthere is a lot of freedom and you are given an opportunity to explore.

She added that it was this system that also allowed her to explore her interest in problem-solving and passion for entrepreneurship. Mugadza is currently establishing her own startup, developing a product to relieve menstrual cramps. For these complex problems, you need knowledge from a variety of different things and subject areas. I thought the liberal arts was a perfect starting point to experience these different academic environments, learn from them, and apply my perspective to them.

In email correspondence with The Politic, Wanjiku Mwangi 22, a prospective Environmental Engineering and African Studies double major, also expressed her appreciation for the liberal arts system in U.S. higher education, stating that it had appealed to her because it would allow [her] to explore many different subjects before settling on a core area.

However, Mwangi added that this flexible application-based style of academics had initially felt so foreign to her that it had proven to be a challenge to get adjusted to when she began her university studies in the United States.

Mwangi had attended a public secondary school in Kenya that followed a rigorous 8-4-4 system of educationwhich is unique to the countryand like her peers, had taken the KCSE (Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education) exam.

Because the Kenyan system of education highly capitalizes on memorization skills rather than applying what was learnt, transitioning into the American education system was particularly hard at first. It was harder for Math and Science classes I took because I felt like I had to relearn things I already knew, Mwangi stated. Humanities classes I took were somewhat easier for me because I was essentially taught how to retain large amounts of information in a limited time for years on end. So once I learnt how to synthesize and apply informationstudying at Yale became much easier.

Academically, Mugadza expressed that her transition was not very challenging, but that there were some nuanced differences that she had to get accustomed to.

The first thing I noticed was that the terminology was different, even in maths and science. Of course, [I also had to] change my keyboard to American English, said Mugadza. She added that at Yale, as is the case with many other institutions, there were many resources that helped facilitate her transition, such as her classes. In English 114, I learned all about the different types of formatting such as MLA[the class] was definitely a great way to get adjusted to the American style of writing.

***

There is one thing that I thought I understood pretty well being from the continent that became more complicated when I came to the U.S., Mugadza told The Politic, and that had to be my Blackness.

Mugadza noticed that the most significant transitions to American college life have come in the areas of culture and her identity. She said, I did come to [the United States] having identified as just Black or African. And I did also identify myself in my own way back home, but [in the U.S.], I just fell into this category of African-American. Just within Blackness itself, there were all these categories that [I was now] having to fit myself into that I wasnt aware of before.

This is something that Mwangi has also experienced.

Coming from a majority Black country, I was never actively conscious [of] my race. Soon enough, it became very apparent that my race made me stand out in a lot of places at Yale such as engineering classes, some extracurriculars, and even social scenes, she said.

Mwangi added that when she first came to the U.S., she, much like Mugadza, had to become accustomed to new categorizations. She stated: Istarted to realize that as a Black person in America, Im automatically associated with African-Americans whose history I knew so little about, especially post-slavery.

However, this was something that incoming freshman Gausi had already expected. She told The Politic: When I go [to the United States], I know that I will be classified as African-American, even though there is African and there is African-American. It will just be one group. Gausi added that she also had concerns about the current racial tensions in the U.S., and that it is really sad to see how [African-Americans] are treated.

This sentiment was also expressed by Onguru. When asked whether she had worries of her own about the situation in the United States, especially as an incoming first year student, Ongurus response was swift: I have a lot of fears about that.

Onguru recalled a recent conversation with her brother, a Black boy. Look at what they are doing to people like me in America, he told her. I dont want you to go there. Im afraid that the same thing will happen to you.

There was something Onguru found to be particularly alarming. To an extent, I had been a little ignorant about the whole situation until recently. I am a huge advocate for Black rights. Black rights matter[but] because I am going to Yale, part of me was like, this is not going to happen to me. Because I am going to an Ivy League school. There is no way people are racist in the Ivy Leagues, she said.

Unfortunately, this has not been the case. Students in institutions across the United States have all had exposure to racism. Yales community has been no exception, and many recent incidents confirm this. In 2018, an African Yale graduate student had the police called on her by a white peer for simply having fallen asleep in her common room. On Wednesday, June 3, an employee at Good Nature Market a favorite shop/restaurant/haunt of Yale studentsdenied entry to four African-American men, but provided service to other non-Black customers.

What? At Yale? I thought there was no racial discrimination. I thought we were smarter than this, Onguru said, describing the moment she heard about the GHeav incident. She has been forced to come to terms with a realization. No matter where I go in the United States, [racism] is still a prominent thing I will have to grapple with. Even in the place where I thought that I would be most safe.

Similarly, Mugadza told The Politic that there are many times she has experienced racism on campus, though mainly in the form of microaggressions.

When I am walking around and just happen to be wearing a hoodie, Ive seen white girls walking past me and hiding their phones. People can also say very insensitive things. There is a lot of ignorance that you face, she said.

Mwangi shared: I havent experienced any form of direct racism. Ive experienced forms of microaggressions, which are mostly insensitive actions and ignorant comments just because Im Black. She also noted that the Black friend defense isan interesting thing Ive picked up on [where] some white acquaintances would mention a Black friend they have just to prove theyre not racist when confronted despite clearly insensitive comments they would make occasionally. But also based on some friends experiences, most of the time overt underlying racism tends to be disguised in microaggressions.

I dont think racial discrimination is getting significantly worse in the U.S; its just that more of it is getting filmed and being put on mainstream media. And I think this is a good thing because people are becoming more aware of how deep-rooted racism is, Mwangi said about the current situation. The U.S is built on systems of racism that were designed to automatically benefit white people right from birth and that is one thing incoming African students have to understand.

***

Both Mugadza and Mwangi are very active in the Yale African community, which they described as warm, vibrant, active and welcoming. For instance, last school year, they both served in Board positions for the Yale Association for African Peace and Development. Mugadza was Director of Development, and Mwangi was Director of Publicity, but was recently elected Vice President.

They both stated that Yale has been very committed to allowing people of color to flourish in a safe environment. Mugadza and Mwangi spoke about the vast variety of opportunities to connect with and promote African identity that are available on campus. Some of the many Yale groups they spoke of were: the Afro-American Cultural Center (which houses many other organizations), YASA, BSAY, National Society for Black Engineers, and YAAPD. They also encourage incoming African students to become immersed in other mediums of learning such as research, events (one of Yales most prominent being Africa Week), and courses.

I took classes on U.S history, and two classes on slavery and its legacies. Knowing more about the Black struggle in America in the last couple of centuries significantly helped me understand why race relations are so sensitive in the U.S and what I can do about it, mentioned Mwangi.

Though the amount of resources may vary between institutions, most college campuses have become increasingly committed to protecting their BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) students. People have become more outspoken about combating discrimination, and the Black Lives Matter movement has even transformed into a global one.

At the end of the day, though, Mugadza would advise incoming African students to not be very concerned about facing any challenges, especially when taking into account how positive and life-changing their university experience will be overall.

This isnt going to be the last time you will hear about [racism], but youre certainly not going to be the first people having to experience it, and you are not going to be the only people experiencing this, Mugadza stated. You will find people who will stand with you. There are all these groups where you can find people who look like you, who are like-minded, who are there to support you and understand the struggles you are going through. Know you will be protected. You will have people walking with you and standing with you in solidarity through anything you may go through.

She added: I definitely appreciate [this university] experience because it has empowered me. I have been empowered by my Blackness. It is something I am proud of.

Mwangi added that: The African community has been crucial to my personal and professional development at Yale. The African community is honestly like my family in the U.S and I always look forward to regular dinners we have with each other. Id [] like to advise incoming first years to start building their networks with African upperclassmen as soon as they can. It really helps with regard to professional development especially after the upperclassmen graduatethey always have great advice.

Generally, excitement is the most prominent emotion shown by incoming African students.

I hope I can find a community at Yale in both international and African students so that we can navigate this together, Onguru stated. Its going to be hardbecause I am a minority. But I dont want that to stop me from seizing this amazing opportunity, this amazing education!

And being far from home, many Arican international students are also eager to find ways to remain connected and express their pride for their cultures in the U.S.

Onguru, who is interested in majoring in English and African Studies, commented that one of the things she looks forward to doing at Yale is learning more about African history.

I realized that even though I am Kenyan, I dont know much about the history of Africawhich, when you do begin to look into, is very colorful and rich, filled with amazing stories, Onguru said. She also mentioned her interest in exploring African literature, and how to create new stories of a new continent with countries trying to reinvent themselves with their own standards.

Gausiinterested in majoring in Mechanical Engineeringis passionate about both aviation and renewable energy. She also hopes to apply her knowledge to give back to the continent, and explained that she was fascinated by ways Africa could maximize its use of renewable energies like solar energy. Likewise, Nelwho describes himself as proudly South African born and raisedmentioned that he was interested in several STEM areas such as engineering and programming. He hopes to eventually contribute to the improvement of South Africas manufacturing industry, and help diminish the socioeconomic inequality in his country.

University is truly what one makes of it. It is not possible to generalize the higher education experience of a demographic. African students face a unique situation in the United States, a country that is currently more divided than ever along racial, cultural and ideological lines. They will most likely face many obstacles while transitioning to life in the United States. Yet the African community in the U.S. continues to thrive, enrich and inspire. Their experiences are insightful, and highlight the beauty of diversity.

Dont be afraid to try anything new. Explore. Venture out. Apply. Apply. Apply! Apply to as many opportunities as you can. Take advantage of your own journey, Mugadza would advise incoming African international students. Decolonize your mind.

Read the rest here:

Navigating the Self: African Student Experiences in U.S. Higher Education - The Yale Politic

When the Opposition Leader, Mr Howard, opposed recognition of the flag, therefore, he identified himself on this issue with a school of thought that is increasingly irrelevant to most Australians. In a multicultural society, the Aboriginal flag can be recognised officially without in any way diminishing the status of the national flag.

The flag is also an important symbol of Aboriginal aspirations for self-determination and land rights: it first flew over the Aboriginal tent embassy outside Parliament House in Canberra in 1972. Aboriginal people's rights to land and to self-determination are now widely accepted. Such old controversies have now lost most of their fire, as a new generation of Government policy makers and Aboriginal community leaders sit down together to negotiate the details of legislation to implement these rights.

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To argue, as Mr Howard did, that recognising the Aboriginal flag would be divisive could hardly be further from the truth. Ms Freeman's lap of honor has helped to heal the painful old divisions between black and white Australians. The only new divisions were those provoked in the first instance by Mr Tunstall and in the second by Mr Howard's objections.

It is ironic that Mr Howard should have seized on this issue, once again demonstrating his unease on matters multicultural to the point where his tent is pitched dangerously close to the Arthur Tunstall camp. Already, his remarks have been disputed by Mr Ian Viner, QC, a former Liberal Cabinet minister who now serves on the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation. It would be surprising if Mr Viner's views are not supported by many, if not most, of Mr Howard's parliamentary party members.

Caution is a political virtue and, in his leadership so far, Mr Howard has exercised it well. He needs to, if he is to reconcile successfully the political and philosophical differences within his own party over matters such as this.

Read this article:

From the Archives, 1995: Flagging reconciliation - The Age

More than 200 homes could be built on the edge of Gloucester but residents have vowed to fight the proposals.

A planning application has been submitted to Gloucester City Council by Gladman Developments for 245 homes to be built in Hempsted Lane, Gloucester.

However, residents in the area and councillors are dead against the idea and have made their thoughts very clear to the city council.

The proposal would see 245 houses, the size of which is not yet known, built on a 12.22 hectare site to the south-west of the city centre. The site would have access from Hempsted Lane, and extend as far as Rea Lane and Secunda Way on each side.

Of the 245 homes, 40 would be affordable and 196 built at market rate.

Linny Jordan, chair of Hempsted Residents Association, said: The Council has already assessed the suitability of the site for residential development through its Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment and concluded it was unsuitable for a number of reasons.

Importantly, this conclusion was endorsed by a joint panel including representatives of the development industry.

Whilst there is a clearly identified need for new housing in Gloucester and nationally, this does not mean that unsuitable sites should be released for development.

Dozens of residents have already submitted objections to the planning application.

'Enough is enough'

Dr Rebecca Trimnell, from Hempsted and Westgate Liberal Democrats, has also submitted an objection to Gloucester City Councils planning department.

She said: We will fight any attempt to build hundreds of new houses at Hill Farm.

It is in the cordon sanitaire and the visual impact upon the village of Hempsted would forever be tarnished.

I am also personally concerned about the impact upon local wildlife, including possible badger setts, the presence of newts and foraging bats.

There has already been considerable recent development in the Hempsted area. We shouldnt build on every piece of green open space. Enough is enough.

Hempsted is the last village in Gloucester and we should protect it.

The developers point to various benefits in their plans, including 221 construction jobs over six years, and new residents bringing 8million a year to the city.

Gladman Developments said in their planning statement: It is clear there are significant material considerations, including the identified housing shortfall in the Gloucester City area and the contestable nature of Gloucesters current housing land supply, meaning that any areas of conflict with the development plan and this proposal should only be given limited weight.

This development is poised to deliver much needed housing for Gloucester and can demonstrate technical soundness and a lack of harm for the wider area.

The application should therefore be approved without delay

Go here to read the rest:

245 homes could be built on greenbelt land in the 'last village in Gloucester' - Gloucestershire Live

This is the first part of Carbon Cache, an ongoing series about nature-based climate solutions.

Well, its 2020 now and the techno-fixes are, rather unfortunately, not in.

No promise to geoengineer the skies or seed the ocean with iron or suck carbon out of the atmosphere has really come to fruition.

Yet, all along, Canadas seaweed, dirt and trees have managed to do something thats seemed impossible for the worlds most advanced technocratic nations: provide a legitimate, ongoing and cost-effective climate solution.

Its with no irony that the worlds foremost scientific institutions are now recommending that to save nature what needs to be done is, well, save nature.

Perhaps the biggest boost to the idea of these so-called nature-based climate solutions came in late 2017 when a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that the simple act of preserving wetlands, forests and grasslands could provide more than one-third of the emissions reductions needed to stabilize global temperature increases below 2 C by 2030 under the Paris Accord.

For countries looking to make quick climate gains, the idea of these nature-based climate fixes created quite the buzz.

Those findings also thrust Canada home to 25 per cent of Earths wetlands and boreal forests, as well as endangered prairie grasslands and the worlds longest coastline into playing a vital role in the global fight against climate change.

In early 2020, before the pandemic hit, hundreds of people from across the country gathered in Ottawa to discuss what a pivot to nature-based climate solutions in Canada might entail.

In a cavernous, bright conference room booked and rebooked several times as numbers expanded from dozens to more than 400 attendees Environment and Climate Change Minister Jonathan Wilkinson delivered the keynote address.

Nature-based solutions give us the opportunity to tackle the challenges of climate change and biodiversity at the same time, Wilkinson said to the more than 400 attendees.

In addition to its global climate commitments, the federal government has also set a goal of protecting 30 per cent of lands and oceans by 2030.

As part of its 2019 election platform, the federal Liberal Party pledged to spend $3 billion on nature-based climate solutions, including the planting of 2 billion trees and other land-use projects that naturally sequester carbon.

But at the conference another voice emerged to urge Canadians to think beyond the terms of land-use when it comes to natures role in the battle against climate change.

Land relationship planning, Steven Nitah, Dene leader and former Northwest Territories MLA, pitched to the crowd.

Think of the phrase land-use planning, he challenged the audience. Land use how we use the land. That doesnt talk about land relationship planning.

Nitah was the chief negotiator for utsel Ke Dene First Nations during the creation of Canadas newest national park, the Thaidene Nn National Park Reserve. The protected area, which covers 26,525 square kilometres of lakes, old-growth boreal forests, rivers and wildlife habitat, was uniquely designed with Indigenous land management in mind.

Steven Nitah, the Lutsel Ke Dene First Nation lead negotiator for Thaidene Nene National Park. Photo: Pat Kane

Nitah argued the concept of land relationship planning should enter the collective vocabularies of Canadians as the country imagines pathways forward for nature-based climate solutions.

Its a phrase that got stuck on the tongues of the crowd for the rest of the conference as various experts pooled around tables and in the halls to discuss Indigenous protected areas and undervalued grasslands and how farmers are reimagining their relationship with soil to be better carbon stewards.

For climate solutions in particular, reimagining the relationship between humans and the land has never been more urgent.

Earth has regulated its own carbon cycle for eons, and it has only taken humanity 150 years to throw that cycle out of whack. Fortunately, the systems that balanced carbon in the atmosphere, in soil and the oceans, in living beings and inert rocks, still exist and still have the potential to recover. But doing that requires space.

The capacity for nature to bounce back is incredible, said Lara Ellis said of ALUS Canada, a national charity that works with farmers on projects that restore and benefit the natural landscapes, such as wetlands or good habitat for pollinators.

Protecting a forest is easier than recreating an entire forest, which itself is easier than building a machine to suck an equivalent amount of carbon from the air and store it. But the result, less carbon in the atmosphere, is the same.

The same holds for wetlands: artificial, built wetlands are both 150 per cent more expensive and significantly worse at storing carbon than simply protecting a wetland to begin with.

As climate change intensifies, many of the opportunities to harness natures own climate regulation systems are dimming.

Canadas forests have begun to emit more carbon than they store as wildfires, droughts, pests and diseases rage within them. Coastal wetlands are shrinking and flooding, while inland ones are facing droughts and fires.

A map created by WWF-Canada for its 2019 wildlife protection assessment indicates the levels of forest biomass across Canada. Map: WWF-Canada

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates that as many as 30 per cent of the planets species could be at risk even in an optimistic 1.5 C temperature rise scenario.

Because of the urgency of the climate emergency, it is necessary to rethink conservation efforts not just under the banner of preservation but of restoration.

The United Nations has already declared the years between 2021 and 2030 as the decade on ecosystem restoration in the fight against climate and the growing threats to human survival.

There is still time to work with nature, not against it, said Patricia Fuller, Canadas ambassador for climate change, standing before the Ottawa conference.

But the window to do so is shrinking rapidly.

In that shrinking window, scientists, Indigenous leaders, experts and policy advisors have begun identifying the most critical regions in Canada for the implementation of nature-based climate solutions.

The concentration of carbon in the soil follows the boreal forest almost perfectly as it swoops across Canada, dipping from northern Yukon east around Hudson Bay and spilling out to cover much of Quebec, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador. Its a globally significant store of carbon that holds almost twice the carbon of the planets tropical forests.

A map created by WWIF-Canada for its 2019 wildlife protection assessment indicates the levels of soil carbon across Canada. Map: WWF-Canada

But with that storage comes the potential for release when the land changes: as much as 15 per cent of global carbon emissions come from deforestation. Destruction of peatlands accounts for 10 per cent as well, while farming accounts for another 10 per cent.

The boreal forest is one of the largest intact forests in the world, James Snider, the vice-president of science, research and innovation for World Wildlife Fund Canada, told The Narwhal.

That establishes us in an important place to be leading the charge to show how nature-based climate solutions ought to be implemented. But the boreals effectiveness at storing carbon has to do with whats happening to its landscapes logging, climate change and wildfires have all emerged as threats to the boreal and its carbon storage potential.

Canadas boreal forest is a globally significant store of carbon that holds almost twice the carbon of the planets tropical forests. Photo: Stand.earth

Protecting those lands delivers other benefits to humans too. Forests purify the air, stabilize soil and provide places for recreation.

Wetlands are exceptional water filtration systems that also provide habitat for birds and amphibians, while absorbing excess water, thereby protecting land from floods.

Grasslands are home to the pollinators that keep agriculture alive. As an added bonus, the places that hold the most carbon are often the places that support the most biodiversity.

Protecting an area isnt always enough, if climate change and its impacts are coming for the landscape and its wildlife regardless.

The solution, Snider says, is to make sure those ecosystems have the protection they need to be more resilient. He points to the Hudson and James Bay Lowlands, an area five times the size of New Brunswick on the southern edge of Hudson Bay. On a map of the richest areas of carbon storage in Canada, the Hudson and James Bay Lowlands is clearly outlined in the deepest possible shade.

Thats an area thats accumulated carbon over thousands of years, Snider says. How do we avoid that becoming future emissions?

Canada is home to the worlds largest peatland carbon stores, with peatlands covering about 12 per cent of Canadas total land area. The area is also mineral rich and being eyed for future mining projects.

A big part of the protection required for Canadas carbon-rich landscapes is likely to come from Indigenous protected and conserved areas, something the Cree Nation is working toward establishing.

To date, the nation has protected 15 per cent of its territory in northern Quebec, which is home to vast tracts of boreal forest, and isseeking to reach 30 per cent. Such big protected areas create resilience by having interconnected systems that protect one another.

Looking for opportunities to work with communities on the landscapes they already inhabit is key to coming up with practical, workable nature-based climate solutions, Graham Saul, executive director of Nature Canada, said in a webinar months after the Ottawa conference.

We can ground people who care about climate change in their own landscapes, he says, adding that efforts to build buffers against climate change can actually restore peoples relationship to the land.

This has become all the more important in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic devastation, Saul says.

A poll, released Tuesday and conducted by Pollara Strategic Insights for the International Boreal Conservation Campaign, found 70 per cent of 3,019 respondents across Canada want to see conservation of nature included as part of the economic recovery. The poll also found 72 per cent of respondents believe the government should invest in Indigenous stewardship as part of the economic recovery.

Inspired by the Great Depression-era Civilian Conservation Corps in the U.S., some are asking for the establishment of a corps of workers dedicated to nature-based climate projects as part of federally funded relief programs.

Others are calling for Indigenous-led conservation efforts to be recognized as part of coronavirus resilience and recovery efforts.

How do we ensure that nature is part of the recovery process? Saul asks.

In the coming weeks, The Narwhal will look at the role of Canadas natural landscapes in the fight against climate change. This Carbon Cache series is funded by Metcalf Foundation. As per The Narwhals editorial independence policy, the foundation has no editorial input into the articles.

Saving a quarter of the earths wetlands and boreal forests could be a huge win for the climate. Is Canada up for the task? This photo was taken in Ontario's northern peatlands, home to a tremendous amount of carbon as well as mineral deposits that have attracted the interest of miners. Photo: Garth Lenz

Read more here:

One key solution to the world's climate woes? Canada's natural landscapes - The Narwhal

A momentous Supreme Court term is over. The last strokes of the pen were devoted to repudiating President Trump's claim that he is categorically immune from state grand jury and congressional subpoenas.

But the term also featured just about every flashpoint in American law including abortion, religion, immigration and much more.

Here are six takeaways:

1. John Roberts may be the most powerful chief justice since the 1930s. He is the first justice since then to be both the controlling vote and the chief justice. That means that when he is in the majority, he has the important power to assign who will write an opinion, and that choice may well determine whether the decision is written broadly or narrowly. This term, Roberts was in the majority an astounding 97% of the time; he assigned the opinion in all but two cases.

2. Probably the most historic opinions he wrote were those rejecting President Trump's claim that he is categorically immune from state grand jury and congressional subpoenas for his pre-presidential financial records.

But in an election year, Roberts also wrote a variety of decisions that for now will likely keep the court out of the political maelstrom. His signature immigration decision prevented Trump from immediately getting rid of the program that offers protections for people who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children, known as "DREAMers." But it left ample room for conservative actions down the road.

Roberts also cast the deciding vote in a major abortion case that preserved the status quo, for now, but left plenty of leeway for the court to chip away at abortion rights in the future.

And he likely wrote the court's unsigned opinion, dismissing as moot the first major gun rights case heard by the court in a decade. That too leaves room for gun rights proponents to come back attacking gun regulations in the future.

3. Religion is the one area where social conservative won consistent victories this term. In three separate decisions, the court made clear that the high wall of separation between church and state, a doctrine that prevailed for much of the 20th century, is now a relic of the past. It has been replaced by a heavy emphasis on the free exercise of religion and an accommodation between church and state.

Roberts wrote the court's 5-to-4 decision gutting provisions is most state constitutions than have long barred using taxpayer funds for religious schools.

In another case, the court ruled that under the Constitution, lay teachers at parochial schools may not be protected by the nation's fair employment laws.

And in a third case, the court ruled that under the Affordable Care Act, employers with religious or moral objections may opt out of providing free birth control coverage in their employee insurance plans.

4. While conservatives have a clear five-justice majority, they can't seem to work together. Perhaps for reasons of either ego or frustration, conservatives wrote way more separate concurring and dissenting opinions a total of 60 compared to the liberals, who wrote far fewer concurring opinions and almost always dissented as a group.

The liberals seem to know they are playing defense. When they can get a fifth vote to prevail, they don't go off on their own in a way that could diminish their impact.

The four most conservative justices write many more separate opinions and are much more long-winded their separate opinions total 734 pages.

When you drill down to the 20 cases that were decided by 5-to-4 or 6-to-3 votes, the numbers are even starker. Conservatives wrote 14 of 17 concurring opinions, meaning that they signed on to the outcome of the ruling but not on to all or sometimes any of the reasoning behind it. And they wrote eight of the nine solo dissents and eight of the 11 solo concurrences, writing for themselves alone.

The only time Chief Justice Roberts wrote a concurring opinion for himself alone was in the abortion case, presenting a Louisiana law identical a Texas law struck down four years ago.

Roberts, who dissented from the Texas decision, nonetheless cast the deciding fifth vote to invalidate the same law from Louisiana, citing the duty to adhere to precedent. But he did not join the liberals' reasoning, and in fact seemed to invite future cases that could undermine abortion rights.

5. Of the two Trump appointees to the court, Neil Gorsuch has been at once the most predictable and unpredictable this term. Predictable because in most cases he has turned out to be every bit as conservative as his political supporters hoped, and liberal detractors feared. But in two major majority opinions that he wrote, he completely defied early predictions.

The most headline-grabbing was his decision for a six-justice majority declaring that LGBTQ employees are protected by the 1964 law barring employment discrimination based on sex.

In another decision, on Thursday, he delivered to Native Americans their first major Supreme Court victory in many decades. Writing for himself and the court's four liberals, Gorsuch declared that much of eastern Oklahoma, including the state's second largest city of Tulsa, falls within Indian lands belonging to the Creek Nation.

Gorsuch's decision invoked the mistreatment and broken promises inflicted on Native American tribes over the course of U.S. history, and concluded that the land in eastern Oklahoma still belongs to the Creek Nation because Congress never revoked the treaties under which the land was designated as, in the words of the opinion, "Indian Country."

To hold otherwise, wrote Gorsuch, would "elevate the most brazen and longstanding injustices ... rewarding wrong and failing those in the right."

Although the decision could have major consequences, state and tribal officials immediately said that they could reach an amicable compromise to resolve those issues. That said, the fact is that the court's ruling has provided Native Americans the kind of leverage in negotiations that they have not had before.

6. Headline cases buried other personal court news. On June 21, Chief Justice Roberts fell while walking at a Maryland country club near his home, hitting his head hard enough to require stitches and an overnight stay in the hospital. The court did not disclose the incident when it occurred, but confirmed it on July 7, after the Washington Post first reported the incident.

Court press officer Kathy Arberg said in a statement, "The Chief Justice was treated at a hospital on June 21 for an injury to his forehead sustained in a fall while walking for exercise near his home. The injury required sutures, and out of an abundance of caution, he stayed in the hospital overnight and was discharged the next morning."

Arberg said doctors had had ruled out a seizure (he suffered a seizure in 1993 and another one in 2007). She said doctors believe the fall last month "was likely due to light-headedness caused by dehydration."

On a different note, Ginni Thomas, an outspoken conservative activist and wife of Justice Clarence Thomas, wrote to protest an overhead banner on Main Street in the tiny town of Clifton, Va., population 300. The banner reads, "Welcome to Clifton, where Black Lives Matter."

Thomas is white; her husband is the Supreme Court's only black justice. "BLM is a bit of a dangerous Trojan Horse and they are catching well-meaning people into the dangerous posturing that can invite mob rule and property looting," Ginni Thomas wrote, according to the Washington Post. "Let's not be tricked into joining cause with radical extremists seeking to foment a cultural revolution because they hate America."

Continued here:

A Powerful Chief And Unexpected Splits: 6 Takeaways From The Supreme Court Term - HPPR

Driving west from Sedgwick County on state Highway 160, the scenery is what youd probably expect on a Kansas road trip: farmland, a few rolling hills and the horizon stretching out in all directions.

Listen to this segment of Hidden Kansas, part of KMUW's weekly program The Range.

But just southwest of Medicine Lodge, theres a dramatic change. Ken Brunson, the Red Hills project coordinator for the Kansas Nature Conservancy, calls it the best-kept secret in the state.

"It's a beautiful, iconic country of buttes and mesas and grasslands and the red dirt and the gypsum outcrops," Brunson said. "Its the only place in Kansas where youll find that combination."

Brunson has worked in the Gypsum Hills or Gyp Hills for nine years.

The Nature Conservancys goals are to protect the land and streams, the wildlife, and the gypsum formations that give the area its unusual topography. This is ranch country, wild and windy and mostly too rough to farm.

There are dozens of ranches, ranging from a few thousand acres to Ted Turners massive Z-Bar Ranch, which covers nearly 43,000 acres sprawling west into Comanche County.

"They have ranches that have been passed down for generations," Brunson said. "They take great pride in the land and being able to make a living off the cattle industry here."

Most of this area is private land, but you can drive through it. Highway 160 west of Medicine Lodge is a designated scenic byway.

Another scenic drive heads south from 160; there are small back county roads barely wide enough for one car.

The smaller roads can be a bit rough in spots and definitely not meant for cars that are low to the ground. But its worth it. The craggy hills and canyons mingle with surprising bursts of color; green grasslands, red earth and carpets of wildflowers. (Purple poppy mallow)

In places, yellow sweet clover lines the roads, providing an irresistible photo op.

The Gyp Hills and the Red Hills just to the west contain the second largest intact grassland in the state, where cattle, bison and other wildlife come to graze.

Brunson will be retiring at the end of this year, and says he has mixed feelings at the thought of leaving it all.

"I love this beautiful land. Ill miss it and the wonderful people who live here and work it."

"I do refer to this country as 'the Enchanted Land,' stealing it from New Mexico," he said. "But there are some similarities [to New Mexico] with all the outcrops and hills and canyons. Its a different view from what a lot of people think of as Kansas."

As summer stretches on and the coronavirus shows no sign of letting up, people are being urged to use caution when traveling. That trip to the beach or mountains may be out this year. But the Gyp Hills have a rugged beauty that's different than what you usually see in south-central Kansas.

Its an easy day trip from Wichita but make sure you gas up before leaving Medicine Lodge. And you definitely want to bring a map.

Hidden Kansas explores intriguing spots across our state. Listen for a new segment each month on KMUW's The Range.

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Musk's Quarter-End Email

Electrek is reporting on a leaked email from Elon Musk to all Tesla employees on Monday afternoon as Tesla approaches the end of their second quarter on June 30th.

For many reasons, a great deal of Tesla execution worldwide is packed intothe final week of the quarter. It is very important that we go all out throughend of June 30 to ensure a good outcome. Wouldnt bring this up if not veryimportant.

Thanks Elon [sic] - Elon Musk

The more bullish faction of Tesla observers seem to believe Musk's email points to efforts to post a positive GAAP profit in Q2, the last remaining hurdle to Tesla's eligibility for inclusion in the S&P 500. However, Musk has recently expressed his belief that TSLA's stock price is too high, so investor excitement over potential share price upside as a result of S&P 500 inclusion is likely not all that important to Musk. If Tesla does not meet the requirements with their second quarter results, they are likely to qualify after Q3. Nevertheless, GAAP profitability in a quarter containing a global pandemic and lengthy factory downtime would be a significant and highly-motivating achievement to pursue regardless of the S&P 500 implications.

Before assuming Musk's email is bullish, it's also important to consider previously leaked quarter-end emails. InQ1 of 2019, a leaked Musk emaildiscussing quarter-end execution preceded tough delivery and production numbers, poor earnings, and a significant decline in TSLA's share price.

For the last ten days of the quarter, please consider your primary priority to be helping with vehicle deliveries. This applies to everyone. As challenges go, this is a good one to have, as we've built the cars and people have bought the cars, so we just need to get the cars to their new owners! - Elon Musk, Q1-2019

Though Tesla did face unprecedented delivery challenges with the international rollout of the Model 3 that quarter, deliveries were not the only pain point at the time. Teslas production in Q1 of 2019 was down roughly 9,400 vehicles compared to the prior quarter. Historically, Tesla's production has grown quarter-over-quarter with the previous largest quarter-over-quarter production decline being just ~1,600 vehicles back in Q3 of 2014.

That's not to say the email is necessarily a bearish signal. Leaked Musk emails have preceded plenty of strong quarterly results. Both points of view are important to consider for TSLA investors or, more precisely, traders.

Firmware 2020.24.6 Rollout

Tesla firmware version 2020.24.6 has begun rolling out as an over-the-air update. With the update,Tesla's "Traffic Light and Stop Sign Control" functionality no longer requires driver confirmation to continue straight through intersections with a green light, as long as there is the presence of a lead vehicle.

Teslascope has shared the full release noteswhich include "Traffic Light and Stop Sign Control" for Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Additionally, some variants of Model S/X vehicles will have their maximum charging rate increased to 225 kW.

Significant updates to camera functionality are included in this update as well. Drivers can now view the side repeater cameras on screen in addition to the rear-view camera for added scope of visibility. Interestingly, Tesla has also finally enabled some functionality from the interior cabin camera on Model 3 and Model Y vehicles.

Help Tesla continue to develop safer vehicles by sharing camera data from your vehicle. This update will allow you to enable the built-in cabin camera above the rearview mirror. If enabled, Tesla will automatically capture images and a short video clip just prior to a collision or safety event to help engineers develop safety features and enhancements in the future. As usual, you can adjust your data sharing preferences by tapping Controls > Safety & Security > DATA SHARING > Allow Cabin Camera Analytics. Note: Cabin camera images and video clips will not be associated with your VIN to protect your privacy. - Tesla

The primary purpose of this camera is to allow monitoring for a future Tesla Network robotaxi scenario, but Tesla has decided to put the camera to use in the meantime to help improve the safety of their vehicles.

Progress on Texas Gigafactory Proposal

Travis County held a hearing today with Tesla representatives, local officials, and the general public to discuss Tesla's factory and tax break proposal. Tesla explained their request for property tax relief was due to Texas including equipment in their property tax calculations. As a vehicle manufacturer, Tesla's equipment is some of the most expensive in the world, and Tesla feels the taxes on that equipment would be prohibitive to operating successfully in the Texas location. Tesla pointed more significant incentive offers from other states, but expressed their interest in Travis County for three main reasons.

As should be expected, public feedback was mixed with varying levels of enthusiasm. Another hearing is scheduled for next week and will be followed by further deliberation.

Writing assistance by Pranshu Agarwal

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Leaked Elon Musk Email, Plus Tesla Firmware 2020.24.6 and Texas Gigafactory Hearing - TheStreet

SpaceXsuccessfully launched two NASA astronautsinto orbit for the first time on May 30 and in doing so, CEO Elon Musk reached a milestone inhuman spaceflightandis one step closer to achievinghis Mars ambitions.

Six of the SpaceX software team members who helped "develop and deploy software that flew Dragon," aka the Crew Dragon capsule used to launch the astronauts,held a Reddit"Ask Me Anything" sessionon June 6.

"We are here to answer any questions you might have about Dragon, software and working at SpaceX," the team wrote on Reddit.

The job of each team member varied from managing software development for the Crew Dragon Demo-2 launch torunning flight software and cybersecurity and each shared a bit of advice on how to get a job at SpaceX.

Here are the team's best tips on getting a software job at SpaceX.

During the AMA, a Reddit user who identified as a high school student asked, "What can I do if I want to get a software job at SpaceX sometime in the future?"

"Get your CS [computer science] degree or something similar" to "really make sure you know how things work,"Jeff Dexter, who runs flight software and cybersecurity at SpaceX, said.

"[E]ngineers who do well at SpaceX are meticulous in their understanding of how their code works, how the network works, how Linux works, how the hardware works, etc.," he explained.

Plus, many of theopenengineeringandsoftware job listingsat SpaceXinclude a bachelor's degree or higher education as a basic requirement.

In addition to a degree, "get real world experience building things and solving hard problems, either through hobby projects or in internships (at SpaceX!)," Dexter advised.

For instance, SpaceX has "noticed particularly good crossover between video game development and what we do,"John Dietrick, leader of the software development effort for Demo-2, said on Reddit."There are a lot of similar math-heavy and performance-centric problems in the two spaces."

In fact, Musk has said his own love of video games inspired him to start programming when he was 12, hecoded a video game called "Blastar," which he latersold for $500to trade publication PC and Office Technology magazine.

While a degree or experience can help, neither is the end all, be all.

"Having different people with different backgrounds (education, experience, and culturally) is a big plus on the team," Matt Monson, who used to work on Dragon and now leads Starlink software, said. "Not much of the team, for example, comes from an aerospace background. Different points of view help us see problems from different angles, and that quite often helps us see solutions we wouldn't have otherwise seen."

When it comes down to it, "we're really looking for a couple things: talent (potential) and the right attitude (desire for self improvement, serving the team over being selfish)," Monson says. "These are more important than specific experience, and we expect to be investing in people to help them grow."

As Musk himself tweetedin February, in order to work at SpaceX, "A super hardcore work ethic, talent for building things, common sense & trustworthiness are required, the rest we can train."

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Elon Musk Is Attempting to Revolutionize HVAC Systems | 2020-06-19 | ACHR News This website requires certain cookies to work and uses other cookies to help you have the best experience. By visiting this website, certain cookies have already been set, which you may delete and block. By closing this message or continuing to use our site, you agree to the use of cookies. Visit our updated privacy and cookie policy to learn more. This Website Uses CookiesBy closing this message or continuing to use our site, you agree to our cookie policy. Learn MoreThis website requires certain cookies to work and uses other cookies to help you have the best experience. By visiting this website, certain cookies have already been set, which you may delete and block. By closing this message or continuing to use our site, you agree to the use of cookies. Visit our updated privacy and cookie policy to learn more.

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Elon Musk Is Attempting to Revolutionize HVAC Systems - ACHR NEWS

By: Trends Desk | New Delhi | Updated: June 18, 2020 11:44:43 am The artistic interpretation of Elon Musks tweets has been turned into a colouring book for all. (Source: @_ill_ink/Twitter)

SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk loves Twitter and has posted everything from cryptic tweets to memes, that have created buzz and controversy. One woman has now come up with artistic interpretations of these tweets and theyre part of a colouring book that costs $30 (Rs 2284).

Titled The Illuminated Tweets of Elon Musk, the 52-page colouring book has sketches based on the billionaire entrepreneurs tweets from July 2016 to May 2020. Colorado-based artist Salina Gomez, who is popularly known as Ill Ink online, has come up with the sketches that are arranged in a chronological order in the book. This is expected to allow people to understand the changes in Musks vision and development.

Musks Twitter feed, once I had found it, brought me a lot of joy, Gomez wrote on her Kickstarter page. I decided to take on the role of a gonzo editorial cartoonist reading the Musk Twitter Headlines, subjectively interpreting them in a whimsical, positive manner, all the while immersing myself in the Twitterverse experience.

I wanted to keep the book light-hearted. There is a page dedicated to a Jupiter is big tweet, which is literally just a huge drawing of Jupiter. Another image show group of people sitting around a huge table, with the planets sketched at the foreground based on Musks poll for Make the Mars technocracy real where over 92 per cent people voted for yes.

Another picture captures the excitement of Musks tweet which mentioned the first private passenger for a voyage around the moon, Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa.

Saying that mostly editorial cartoons focus on societal ills and corruption, the young illustrator said she wanted to set herself apart.

I wanted (and needed) to counterbalance the worlds problems with positive and hopeful content. Not only was Elon Musk the perfect person to focus the projects energy on, I wouldnt have even come up with the project if it werent for him. Musk is a once in a lifetime entrepreneur, engineer and visionary and I think it is right to say that this book is a byproduct of his profound determination to dream big, she added.

The crowdfunding campaign has created some buzz online already and the artist said she was overwhelmed with support.

(Source: illink/kickstarter)Promising rewards to fellow Musk followers, the artist has also created a special poster just for a campaign. Based on one of her favourite pages, the Cyborg Dragon poster is basically a whimsically coloured version of the April 2018 tweet: Oh btw Im building a cyborg dragon.

People who have backed the project and pledged to buy the book will receive their orders in time for Christmas. Gomez said she planned to send out 200 signed copies of her book starting October.

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Artist turns Elon Musks viral tweets into illustrations that are now part of a colouring book - The Indian Express

Bitcoin giveaway scams have been around for more than two years, but a new twist in tactics has helped scammers make more than $2 million over the past two months from Elon Musk's name.

The new trick involves the use of Bitcoin vanity addresses in order to give the scam more credibility in the eyes of a suspicious user.

Vanity addresses are Bitcoin addresses that incorporate a custom word in the address itself -- such as "1MuskPsV7BnuvMuHGWmmXUyXKjxp3vLZX6" or "1ELonMUsKZzpVr5Xok8abiXhhqGbdrnK5C."

Over the past month, Justin Lister, CEO of cyber-security firm Adaptiv, has been tracking the use of Bitcoin vanity addresses abusing Elon Musk's name in giveaway scams.

Lister has been collecting the addresses with the help of BitcoinAbuse, a website where users can report Bitcoin addresses abused in ransomware, extortions, cybercrime, and online scams.

In a spreadsheet shared with ZDNet earlier this week, the Adaptiv CEO said he tracked down 66 addresses that have been reported by scammed users on BitcoinAbuse.

Lister said the 66 addresses received more than 201 in Bitcoin since being created in late April 2020.

Since receiving the spreadsheet from Lister earlier this week, a 67th Elon Musk vanity address was also submitted to the BitcoinAbuse website. This vanity address held an additional 13.9 Bitcoin, which brought the total to 214 Bitcoin, a sum that now stands over $2 million at today's exchange rate.

The $2 million sum is enormous if we take into consideration the low effort required to run one of these scams.

Because BitcoinAbuse also requires users to add a short description of where they encountered the Bitcoin address, this made investigating the source of some of these scams much easier.

Based on ZDNet's review, most of the Bitcoin vanity URLs had been shared with the help of YouTube live streams.

Hackers hijacked high follower-count YouTube accounts, changed the account name and its graphics to mimic the account of a celebrity or a trusted brand, and then launched a live stream to broadcast their scam.

The scam relied on tricking users into sending Bitcoin to the scammers' address, on the promise of doubling their profits, part of the giveaway -- usually organized on the occasion of an important event in the celebrity/brand's history.

In our investigation, we found that hackers had either renamed the channels to Elon Musk's name, the SpaceX brand, or news outlets such as Euronews, seeking credibility.

The Bitcoin address was usually embedded either in the live stream itself, and users had to scan it with a QR code reader, or users were asked to visit a dedicated "giveaway" website.

But we're not reporting on something new here, with multiple of these fake Elon Musk giveaway live streams making the news this month alone [1, 2].

Bitcoin giveaway scams abusing the Elon Musk and SpaceX names have been going on all month, ever since SpaceX and Musk made the news last month for the company's first successful rocket launch carrying a live NASA astronaut crew.

Bitcoin and Ethereum giveaway scams have been around since at least February 2018, when the first such case was reported. Since then, the trick has gotten old and users have gotten better at spotting the scammers.

The role of the Bitcoin vanity address was to give more credibility to the scam and make it look authentic, similar to how "verified profiles" give more authenticity to accounts on social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

The Bitcoin network doesn't have a way to "verify" addresses, so vanity addresses, which are hard to come by, are the closest thing to a "verified" Bitcoin address.

The trick of using Elon Musk vanity addresses was, obviously, successful, helping crooks net more than $2 million, but it wasn't the only one.

ZDNet also found other vanity addresses submitted to the BitcoinAbuse database and reported as being abused in similar YouTube-based giveaway scams.

We similarly found vanity addresses for SpaceX and Bill Gates. Both have been used in similar YouTube-hosted giveaway scams, with the Gates-themed addresses holding more than $100,000 in stolen funds.

In addition, we also found another Bitcoin vanity address that was not available on the BitcoinAbuse website. This one had been used for a giveaway scam that tried to take advantage of the recent launch of the Play Station 5 gaming console. Luckily, no user fell victim to such a scam.

Similar scams abusing Linus Torvald and Mark Zuckerberg's names have also been reported, along with brands like Facebook, Twitter, and even the UN.

As long as these scams have a giant return-on-investment and crooks make more than they spend setting up the scam, the "giveaway" scourge will continue to haunt cryptocurrency owners.

Users should be wary as these scams aren't limited to YouTube live streams only, and have been also spotted on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and more recently on TikTok -- similarly by hacking into high-follower profiles and broadcasting the scam for a short period.

In most cases, these scams are powered by hacked accounts sold on hacking forums for prices going from $5 to thousands, depending on the follower count. Taking into account that some scammers are making as much as $180,000 a day, the scams are most likely to go on for years, or until users stop falling for the scams.

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Love them or hate them, Elon Musk and Steve Jobsare known astwo of the most brilliant minds the business world has ever seen.

Yet, despite their ability to process information, think critically, and identify key insights--many of which helped Tesla and Apple reach valuations into the billions of dollars--both men became known foran unexpectedhabit:

They've embraced the rule of awkward silence.

The rule of awkward silence is simple: When faced with a challenging question, instead of answering, you pause and think deeply about how you want to answer.

But make no mistake, this is no short pause. You might go five, 10, or even 15 seconds before offering a response. Which, if you're not used to doing it, will feel very awkward--at first.

Garrett Reisman, an engineer and former astronaut who left NASA to join SpaceX, described how Musk uses this technique ina recent interview.

"If you pose to [Elon] a serious question," says Reisman, "he'll consider it. And he'll kind of go into this, almost like a trance--he'll stare off into space and you can see the wheels turning. And he's focusing all of his intellect, which is considerable, on this one question."

You can actually see this happen almost anytime Musk himself gives an interview. In fact, it's not uncommon for Musk to take from between five to even 15seconds to think before giving an answer. (Just check out the 20:00 mark of this interview.)

Apple co-founder Jobs was known to do the same. In fact, there's a perfect example captured on video over 20 years ago.

It was 1997, and Jobs had just returned to Apple after being ousted from the company over a decade earlier. He was conducting a Q&A at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference when an audience member took a shot at him, telling Jobs, "You don't know what you're talking about" and sarcastically asking what the famous founder had been working on for the past seven years.

He takes a sip of water ... and sits.

After making a short joke, he pauses again.

This time for eight seconds.

What follows, after Jobs reflects on the question and contemplates the criticism, inwhat amounts to20 seconds of awkward silence, isa masterful demonstration of how to respond to an insult. (Ibroke down Jobs's entire response here,if you're interested.)

As these examples illustrate, the rule of awkward silence is a great tool of critical thinking. It can help you to give deeper, more analytical, more thoughtful answers. It can help you get to root problems more effectively, which leads to greater understanding.

But the rule of awkward silence offers another major advantage, and it has muchto do with the way our brains process emotions.

Emotional intelligence is the ability to identify, understand, and manage emotions--and the rule of awkward silence is a great way to show it.

When it comes to calm and rational thought, we typically engage a part of our brain known as the prefrontal cortex. But when we feel attacked or under pressure, we engage another part of our brain known as the amygdala, which tends to take over in a type of "emotional hijack."

That's not always bad, as our emotions can help us get out of difficult situations.

The problem comes when those emotions go unchecked, and we say or do things that we later regret.

Think back to the example of Steve Jobsresponding to the insult. This was one of Jobs's first major appearances after rejoining Apple. By the time he left many years previous, he had built a reputation as being arrogantand unable to work well with others. With the wrong response,he could have lost the confidence of his company, investors, and the public before his turnaround plans got underway.

Instead, by embracing the rule of awkward silence, he was able to keep his emotions under control and deliver a perfect response.

Think also about Musk's interview style, and the lessons we learn from it.

When it comes to answering challenging questions, you might be tempted to just spit out anything, even if doesn't make much sense. Or, you might say what you think the other person wants to hear instead of what you truly believe.

But is that what you really want? Or would you prefer to take some seconds to pause, to think things through, and then to respond in a way you're proud of later?

So, the next time someone asks you a challenging question, try to take your time before giving an answer. In doing so, you will:

The more you practice, the awkward pause won't feel so awkward anymore--andthe more you will be able tomake emotions work for you, instead of against you.

The opinions expressed here by Inc.com columnists are their own, not those of Inc.com.

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Why Intelligent Minds Like Elon Musk and Steve Jobs Embrace the Rule of Awkward Silence - Inc.

Elon Musk has denied allegations that he was involved in an alleged three-way affair with his ex Amber Heard and model Cara Delevingne.

The Tesla billionaire gave an exclusive statement to Page Six after astonishing new claims were made in depositions in the defamation case between Heard and her ex-husband Johnny Depp.

It was claimed in legal depositions that Heard, Musk and Delevingne were allegedly involved in a secret three-way relationship in 2016. It was also alleged that Heards affair with SpaceX entrepreneur Musk started before she split with Depp in May of that year.

But the Tesla billionaire exclusively told Page Six of the threesome allegations with the model and actress, Cara and I are friends, but weve never been intimate. She would confirm this.

Also, I wish to confirm again that Amber and I only started going out about a month after her divorce filing. I dont think I was ever even in the vicinity of Amber during their marriage!

Musk continued to Page Six, referring to Depps dogged legal pursuit of Heard following their 2017 divorce, Regarding this lawsuit, I would recommend that everyone involved bury the hatchet and move on.

Life is too short for such extended negativity. Nobody is going to say, after its all over, that they wished the court battle had lasted longer!

Depp filed a $50 million defamation suit against Heard in Virginia in 2019 after she wrote a Washington Post op-ed describing her experience as the victim of domestic violence, without naming him. He is also suing a London newspaper that called him a wife-beater in an opinion piece.

Depp strongly denies any violence against Heard, alleging that her claims are a hoax and he was instead victimized by her.

The Virginia filing describes the couples rocky 15-month marriage, and states that one month after their marriage, Heard was spending time in a new relationship with Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk.

Then on Wednesday, a deposition in the case emerged in which it was claimed that Heard had an alleged three-way affair with Musk and Delevingne.

Josh Drew the ex-husband of Raquel Rocky Pennington, Heards best friend contended in a deposition led by Depps attorney, Benjamin Chew, that Musk, 48, slept with Heard and Delevingne at Depps Los Angeles penthouse in late 2016 following Heard and Depps split.

In a leaked video of Drews deposition, Chew asks, Did Rocky tell you Amber Heard was having an affair with Carla Delevingne while she was still married to Johnny Depp? Drew responds, Yes.

Did she ever tell you in words or substance while Amber was still married to Johnny Depp that the three of them, Amber Heard, Elon Musk and Carla Delevingne, spent the night together? Chew asks, and Drew responds, Yes, adding he cant remember the specific date of the alleged mnage--trois.

The lawyer then contends, So they were having a three-way affair, correct? Drew replies, My understanding, yes.

Delevingne has said she identifies as pansexual. Heard, who has dated both men and women, when asked if she identified as bisexual, responded, I dont identify as anything I like who I like.

A source close to Heard said that she and model Delevingne are longtime friends and it wasnt unusual for them to spend time together.

Reps for Heard declined comment, and a spokesperson for Delevingne didnt get back to us.

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Elon Musk denies threesome with Amber Heard and Cara Delevingne - Page Six

LONDON (Reuters) - The unpredictable Elon Musk strikes again.

FILE PHOTO: Tesla Inc CEO Elon Musk speaks onstage during a delivery event for Tesla China-made Model 3 cars at its factory in Shanghai, China January 7, 2020. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo

Just when his electric vehicle (EV) company Tesla seemed to be pivoting away from using cobalt in its batteries, it signs a long-term supply deal for the controversial metal with Glencore.

This from the man who has vowed to eliminate cobalt from the Tesla product mix because of its financial cost and the reputational cost of a metal associated with child labour and poor safety conditions at artisanal mining operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the worlds dominant producer.

Teslas not the first auto company to lock in future cobalt supplies with a miner. BMW did the same last year, also with Glencore as well as with the Bou-Azzer mine in Morocco.

But Tesla is the standard-bearer for the EV revolution and its deal with Glencore has strategic significance for the global battery raw materials supply chain.

Its a boost for cobalts prospects, both in terms of physical demand and, more importantly, in the apparent admission that cobalt isnt going away as a battery material any time soon.

Its also a warning to other auto companies that if they want cobalt, theyre going to have to take control over their own supply chain.

Tesla and its battery partner Panasonic have until now largely used a nickel-cobalt-aluminium (NCA) formula in their lithium-ion batteries.

Other automotive companies targeting the passenger vehicle market have adopted nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) technology.

Everyone has been trying to reduce the amount of cobalt in the metallic mix. Cobalt is expensive, currently trading around $33,000 per tonne on the London Metal Exchange. It has a history of volatility both in terms of price and supply, which is dominated by production, both official-sector and artisanal, in the Congo.

The human cost of artisanal mining also weighs heavy on an industry that is driving towards a green and socially responsible future.

Teslas desire to shift away from cobalt usage seemed to be borne out by the revelation its new Chinese plant would use cobalt-free batteries.

Lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) batteries have been around a long time, are cheaper than cobalt-containing batteries, but lack energy density. The biggest market is China, where they are used in vehicles that dont need extensive range or high performance, such as municipal garbage trucks.

However, it seems that Chinese LFP battery makers such as Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd (CATL) have been quietly improving the technology to the point that Tesla is now interested in using it in its Model 3 cars in China.

But its also clear from the Glencore deal that Tesla, however reluctantly, is going to continue using cobalt in other markets.

Teslas willingness to consider a range of battery types is testament that the EV revolution is going to be characterised by multiple chemistries depending on vehicle type and geographic market.

And some of them at least are going to use cobalt.

GRAPHIC: Tesla's reluctant commitment to cobalt a warning to others - here

Teslas deal to buy 6,000 tonnes per year of cobalt from Glencores Congo operations is a double boost for the market, representing a long-term affirmation of demand and a short-term way of clearing excess stocks.

The cobalt market has yet to recover from the crash that followed the price boom of 2017-2018 as too much supply, particularly from the Congos artisanal sector, swamped demand.

Glencore last year placed its Mutanda mine in the Congo on two-year care and maintenance, while its Katanga mine was carrying stocks of almost 13,000 tonnes at the end of 2019.

Those stocks have weighed heavily on the price. Fastmarkets assessment of standard-grade cobalt currently sits at an 11-month low of $14.75 per kilogram ($30,250 per tonne)

However, Glencore has recently concluded a flurry of supply deals with battery-makers and now with Tesla, signalling the company has placed a strategic focus on forward selling its built-up hydroxide stocks, according to analysts at Roskill.

The research house estimates that Glencore has now locked in sales representing around 82% of production at Katanga. That, combined with Mutanda on care and maintenance, significantly reduces the volumes of cobalt available in the open market.

That may translate into an accelerated price recovery when the next EV-led demand surge happens.

It also means theres potentially less around for everyone else. There are several new cobalt mines in the planning or development stage but the Congo and its artisanal miners are going to remain the dominant supplier for the foreseeable future.

That simple fact explains why Tesla has moved directly to ensure its own supply with the largest non-Chinese producer in the country.

Other automotive makers may well take heed.

Teslas move directly to take responsibility for its cobalt supply isnt without risk.

Glencore may be a London-listed multinational, but its not immune to the negative headlines that go with doing business in the Congo.

It is under intense regulatory scrutiny; the Swiss Attorney Generals Office (OAG) last week joining the list of ongoing investigations into its conduct in the country.

Last year saw the death of 43 illegal miners on Glencores Kamoto concession, a human tragedy that was compounded by the governments decision to send in the army to forcibly clear the area.

Tesla, though, has evidently decided the risk of not getting enough future cobalt outweighs the potential reputational risks of taking supply directly from the Congo.

Such direct mine sourcing is not the norm for auto companies. They dont, for example, directly buy the iron ore that goes into the steel they use. Or the bauxite that makes the aluminium.

But cobalt is different. Theres not much around and too much of what is around comes from the Congo.

The EV revolution may have been stalled by COVID-19, but the build-out of battery manufacturing capacity has continued uninterrupted.

And with the European Union in particular focusing its industrial stimulus package on green technology, the next EV wave may already be building.

Teslas reluctant commitment to cobalt is a warning sign for other automakers they may have to do the same if they want to be sure theyve got enough of the stuff to meet that coming demand surge.

(The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters.)

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Column: Tesla's reluctant commitment to cobalt a warning to others - Andy Home - Reuters