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VANCOUVER , April 14, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Lithium Americas Corp. (TSX: LAC) (NYSE: LAC) ("Lithium Americas" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the Company has submitted a formal application to the US Department of Energy (“ DOE ”) Loan Programs Office (“LPO”) for funding to be used at its 100%-owned Thacker Pass lithium project in Humboldt County, Nevada (“ Thacker Pass ”) through the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program (“ATVM Loan Program”). The ATVM Loan Program is designed to provide loans for facilities located in the United States for the manufacturing of advanced technology vehicles and qualifying components used in those vehicles.
" Thacker Pass is a unique, large-scale and advanced-stage lithium project representing one of the most significant opportunities to create a domestic lithium supply chain to support the production of electric vehicles in the US,” said Jonathan Evans , President and CEO. “We are pleased to submit our formal loan application and look forward to progressing through the ATVM Loan Program process to accelerate development of Thacker Pass . We are very excited to become a leading supplier of domestic critical materials to support the growth of the domestic battery and electric vehicle industry in response to increased demand and interest from US-based consumers.”
The submission is not an assurance that Lithium Americas will secure funding from the ATVM Loan Program and additional steps remain in the process.
About Lithium Americas
Lithium Americas is focused on advancing lithium projects in Argentina and the United States to production. In Argentina , Caucharí-Olaroz is advancing towards first production and Pastos Grandes represents regional growth. In the United States , Thacker Pass has received its Record of Decision and is advancing towards construction. The Company trades on both the Toronto Stock Exchange and on the New York Stock Exchange , under the ticker symbol “LAC”.
For further information contact: Investor Relations Telephone: 778-656-5820 Email: ir@lithiumamericas.com Website: www.lithiumamericas.com
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Certain statements in this release constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of applicable United States securities legislation and “forward-looking information” under applicable Canadian securities legislation (collectively, “forward-looking statements”). Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company, its projects, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such statements can be identified by the use of words such as “may”, “would”, “could”, “will”, “intend”, “expect”, “believe”, “plan”, “anticipate”, “estimate”, “scheduled”, “forecast”, “predict” and other similar terminology, or state that certain actions, events or results “may”, “could”, “would”, “might” or “will” be taken, occur or be achieved. These statements reflect the Company’s current expectations regarding future events, financial or operating performance and results, and speak only as of the date of this release. Such statements include without limitation, expectations regarding the status of development of the Company’s projects, expected potential benefits of the Thacker Pass project for creation of a battery supply chain in the United States and resulting benefits to the Company, the outcome of the Company’s loan application filed with the DOE , the completion of a feasibility study for the Thacker Pass project, ability to advance the Thacker Pass project to production and expected product quality, , plans for regional operations in Argentina and expected completion of construction of the Caucharí-Olaroz project, and plans regarding strategic alternatives to finance the Thacker Pass project.
Forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties, should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results and will not necessarily be accurate indicators of whether or not such results will be achieved. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements or information, including, but not limited to, risks associated with mining project development, achieving anticipated milestones and budgets as planned, and meeting expected timelines; results of the Company’s engineering, design and permitting program at the Thacker Pass project, including the Company meeting deadlines and receiving and maintaining permits as anticipated; timing, results and completion of a feasibility study and to make a construction decision for the Thacker Pass project including capital and operating cost estimation; successful development of the Company’s projects and ability to produce battery-grade lithium; changes to availability of loan funding, assessment criteria or government policies concerning the DOE loan application; risks associated with the novel nature of the deposit at Thacker Pass ; ability of the Company to simultaneously advance multiple lithium projects to production, and integrate newly acquired operations into its business; availability of strategic alternatives to the Company and on satisfactory terms; risks inherent in litigation that could result in additional unanticipated delays or rulings that are adverse for the Company or its projects; maintaining local community support in the regions where the Company’s projects are located; changing social perceptions and their impact on project development and litigation; ongoing global supply chain disruptions and their impact on developing the Company’s projects; availability of personnel, supplies and equipment; the impact of inflation on the Company, its projects and their economic feasibility; expectations and anticipated impact of COVID-19 on the Company and its mineral properties; unanticipated changes in market price for the Company’s shares; changes to Lithium Americas’ current and future business plans and the strategic alternatives available to Lithium Americas ; changes in government policies and priorities; stock market conditions generally; demand, supply and pricing for lithium; and general economic and political conditions in Canada , the United States , Argentina and other jurisdictions where Lithium Americas conducts business. Additional information about these assumptions and risks and uncertainties is contained in the Company’s filings with securities regulators, including the Company’s most recent annual information form and most recent management’s discussion and analysis for the Company’s most recently completed financial year and interim financial period, which are available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and EDGAR at www.sec.gov.
Although the forward-looking statements contained in this release are based upon what management of the Company believes are reasonable assumptions, there can be no assurance that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this release and are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. Subject to applicable securities laws, the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this release.
Source: Lithium Americas
This source says;
12:59 14.04.2022
32180
Ministry of Defense: the main missile armament of the Moskva cruiser was not damaged
https://ria.ru/20220414/kreyser-1783498888.html
Ministry of Defense: the main missile armament of the Moskva cruiser is not damaged, it is afloat
Missile cruiser Moscow during exercises in the Black Sea - RIA Novosti, 1920, 04/14/2022
© RIA Novosti / Press Service of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Navy
MOSCOW, April 14 - RIA Novosti. The missiles of the Moskva cruiser, which was damaged by fire the day before, were not damaged, the Defense Ministry said.
"The cruiser Moskva retains its buoyancy. The main missile armament is not damaged. The crew of the cruiser was evacuated to the ships of the Black Sea Fleet in the area," the department stressed.
The Ministry of Defense added that the source of ignition was localized, there was no open burning, and the explosions of ammunition had ceased. Now experts are working on towing the ship to the port and establishing the causes of the emergency.
Last night it became known that a fire started on the cruiser, as a result of which the ammunition detonated.
According to the press secretary of the President Dmitry Peskov, the head of state is regularly reported on all events, including on the military line about the situation with the Moskva cruiser.
Guards missile cruiser Moscow - RIA Novosti, 1920, 14.04.2022
10:40
Guards missile cruiser "Moskva"
Wealthiest Americans pay just 3.4% of income in taxes, investigation reveals
Tax records from 2014 to 2018, analysed by ProPublica, show 25 Americans collectively earned $401bn but paid just $13.6bn
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/apr/13/wealthiest-americans-tax-income-propublica-investigation
Michael Bloomberg, who earned an average of $2.05bn a year from 2013 to 2018, had 66% of his income deducted, giving him one of the lowest tax rates – 4.1%. Photograph: Alastair Grant/AP
Lauren Aratani
Wed 13 Apr 2022 13.53 EDT
Between 2014 and 2018, the 25 wealthiest Americans collectively earned $401bn, but paid just $13.6bn – about 3.4% of that – in taxes, according to a bombshell ProPublica investigation into the finances of the wealthiest Americans released on Wednesday.
The investigation is the latest in a series ProPublica started in June 2021 that looks at the tax records of the top 0.001% wealthiest Americans. This installment uses a trove of tax filings from 2013 to 2018 to dive into the wealth of the 400 richest Americans, all of whom earn more than $110m a year. It found that the wealthy benefit from lower tax rates on financial assets and deductions from charitable contributions to keep their taxes low.
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The difference in tax rates between the wealthiest Americans and the average worker comes down to two critical factors, according to the investigation: first, the wealthy have their income taxed at a lower rate because much of their wealth is accumulated through investments, like stocks; and second, the wealthy are able to use large charitable donations to get huge deductions.
Instead of the standard paycheck that most American workers get, which includes deductions for social security and Medicare taxes, the wealthiest Americans get their income through financial assets, like stocks, that are generally taxed at a lower rate. The long-term capital gains rate has been 20% since 2013.
Billionaires in tech pay the lowest tax rate, an average of 17% of their income, largely because their wealth comes from such investment income. Bill Gates, whose income from 2013 to 2018 was an average of $2.85bn a year, paid an average effective federal income tax rate of 18.4%. Lauren Powell Jobs, the widow of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, earned an average of $1.57bn and paid an average tax rate of 14.8%. Ten of the top 15 earners on the list are billionaires who made their money in tech.
In comparison, the average single worker earning $45,000 paid an average tax rate of 21%. A married couple with one child who earns $200,000 paid a rate of 26%. In 2018, the highest top rate on ordinary income, which excludes investments, was 37%, yet the average tax rate for the 400 wealthiest Americans was 22% from 2013 to 2018.
Executives and founders of private equity companies, of which there are 43 on the list, can get taxed at a lower rate through a loophole that allows them to report fees from managing clients’ money as an investment income, which is taxed at a lower rate than ordinary income.
Along with getting taxed at a lower rate through having an investment income, the wealthiest Americans can also write off huge chunks of their income by deducting large charitable donations. Michael Bloomberg, who earned an average of $2.05bn a year from 2013 to 2018, had 66% of his income deducted, giving him one of the lowest tax rates of the group – 4.1%.
ProPublica noted that when reached for comments, no one named in the story disputed figures reported in the investigation, and few provided responses. One spokesperson for Ken Griffin, chief executive of hedge fund company Citadel, said that the IRS data “significantly understate[s]” what Griffin pays because the rate was lowered by charitable contributions and does not include local and state taxes. A spokesperson for Mark Zuckerberg said, “Mark has always paid the taxes he is required to pay”, while a spokesperson for Bloomberg similarly said that he “pays the minimum tax rate on all federal, state, local and international taxable income as prescribed by law”.
The disparity between the sky-high incomes of the wealthiest Americans and their tax rates is something that has already caught the attention of lawmakers. Last month, Joe Biden proposed a new tax on households making more than $100m a year. The plan, called the “billionaire minimum income tax”, would impose a 20% minimum tax on an individual’s realized and unrealized income, which would cover investment income.
“In 2021 alone, America’s more than 700 billionaires saw their wealth increase by $1tn, yet in a typical year, billionaires like these would pay just 8% of their total realized and unrealized income in taxes. A firefighter or teacher can pay double that tax rate,” the White House said in a statement detailing the plan.
At the recent meeting of the Patriotic Millionaires, a group made up of individuals with high net worth who believe the wealthy should pay more taxes, a topic of conversation was the tidal shift over taxing the wealthy that seems to be happening.
“No one was talking about the taxing the rich when we started,” said Morris Pearl, chair of the Patriotic Millionaires and a former managing director at BlackRock. “We have seen a huge change. You have a president talking about taxing the rich, people are talking about wealth taxes – those weren’t even fringe ideas 10 years ago. I’m not saying it’s going to happen and pass into law but there are conversations at the highest levels.”
Looks like Ukraine going to need another stamp. Same guy only with the ship half sinking into the water in the background. Russia has officially stated it has been abandoned due to extreme damage from fire and ammunition blown. Of course they won't admit it got destroyed by Ukrainians.
https://tass.ru/proisshestviya/14372453?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=smm_social_share
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"??????" - ??????? ????????????? ?????, ???????? ??????? ??????? 1164 "??????". ?????? ? ???????????? ? 1983 ???? ??? ????????????? "?????". ? 1996 ???? ??????? ??????? ???? ???????? ????????. ???????? ??????? ?????????? ??????? - 16 ???????? ????????? ????? ?-1000 "??????".
MOSCOW, 14 April. /TASS/. The cruiser "Moskva" of the Black Sea Fleet was seriously damaged as a result of detonation of ammunition that occurred as a result of a fire, the crew was evacuated. This was reported in the Russian Defense Ministry.
"As a result of a fire, ammunition detonated on the Moskva missile cruiser. The ship was seriously damaged. The crew was completely evacuated," the military department said.
The ministry said the cause of the fire is under investigation.
Moskva is the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet, the lead ship of Project 1164 Atlant. It was put into operation in 1983 under the name "Glory". In 1996, the cruiser received its current name. The main strike armament of the ship is 16 P-1000 Vulkan missile launchers.
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Dwayne Haskins killed in auto accident
Published: April 9, 2022 at 1:57 p.m. ET
By Associated Press
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Dwayne Haskins plays against the Carolina Panthers during the first half of a preseason NFL football game Friday, Aug. 27, 2021, in Charlotte, N.C. Haskins was killed in an auto accident Saturday, April 9, 2022, in Florida. Haskins’ death was confirmed by the Steelers. AP/JACOB KUPFERMAN
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Dwayne Haskins was killed Saturday when he was hit by a dump truck while he was walking on a South Florida highway.
Florida Highway Patrol spokeswoman Lt. Indiana Miranda confirmed the accident on westbound Interstate 595. Haskins was pronounced dead at the scene.
Miranda didn’t say why the 24-year-old Haskins was on the highway at the time. The accident caused the highway to be shut down for several hours.
“He was just walking on the highway and got hit,” Miranda told The Associated Press.
Haskins’ death sparked an outpouring of grief from multiple corners of the NFL, particularly with his former teammates with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Washington Commanders.
“I am devastated and at a loss for words with the unfortunate passing of Dwayne Haskins,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. “He quickly became part of our Steelers family upon his arrival in Pittsburgh and was one of our hardest workers, both on the field and in our community. Dwayne was a great teammate, but even more so a tremendous friend to so many. I am truly heartbroken.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife, Kalabrya, and his entire family during this difficult time.”
Haskins was selected by Washington in the first round of the 2019 draft out of Ohio State. He started seven games as a rookie, going 2-5. He was 1-5 in six starts the next season for the team, then was released.
Washington coach Ron Rivera said he was “absolutely heartbroken” to learn of Haskins’ death.
“Dwayne was a talented young man who had a long life ahead of him,” Rivera said in a release. “This is a very sad time and I am honestly at a loss for words. I know I speak for the rest of our team in saying he will be sorely missed. Our entire team is sending our heartfelt condolences and thoughts and prayers to the Haskins family at this time.”
Ohio State posted a photo of Haskins on its Twitter feed. It read: “Leader. Legend. Forever a Buckeye.”
The Steelers gave Haskins a chance to resurrect his career in January 2021 when they signed him a month after being released by Washington. Humbled by the decision, Haskins stressed he was eager to work hard and absorb as much as he could from Ben Roethlisberger and Mason Rudolph. He made the roster as the third-stringer but only dressed once, serving as the backup in a tie with Detroit after Roethlisberger was placed into the COVID-19 protocol the night before the game.
“The world lost a great person today,” Steelers star T.J. Watt posted on Twitter. “When Dwayne first walked into the locker room I could tell he was an upbeat guy. He was always making people smile, never taking life for granted.”
Tomlin and general manager Kevin Colbert both praised Haskins for his improvement since joining the team, and the Steelers re-signed him to a one-year deal as a restricted free agent in March. He was expected to compete with Rudolph and Mitch Trubisky for a spot.
“Dwayne meant so much to so many people,” Steelers defensive lineman Cameron Heyward posted on Twitter. “His smile was infectious and he was a guy you wanted to be around. We are all in shock about losing him. We are going to miss the heck out of him as well. We lost you way too early. Luckily I got a chance to get to know you. RIP DH.”
ESPN was the first to report Haskins had died.
Haskins appeared to be working in South Florida this week with several teammates, including Trubisky, running back Najee Harris and tight end Pat Freiermuth.
“Devastated,” Rudolph said on social media.
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/pittsburgh-steelers-quarterback-dwayne-haskins-killed-in-auto-accident-01649527025?mod=mw_latestnews
State Department: WH gift records for Trump, Pence missing
BY ASSOCIATED PRESS | MATTHEW LEE - 04/09/22 8:26 AM ET
https://thehill.com/news/administration/3263104-state-department-wh-gift-records-for-trump-pence-missing/
WASHINGTON (AP) — The State Department says it is unable to compile a complete and accurate accounting of gifts presented to former President Trump and other U.S. officials by foreign governments during Trump’s final year in office, citing missing data from the White House.
In a report to be published in the Federal Register next week, the department says the Executive Office of the President did not submit information about gifts received by Trump and his family from foreign leaders in 2020. It also says the General Services Administration didn’t submit information about gifts given to former Vice President Mike Pence and White House staffers that year.
The State Department said it sought the missing information from National Archives and Records Administration and the General Services Administration, but was told that “potentially relevant records” are not available because of access restrictions related to retired records.
The State Department’s Office of Protocol reported the situation in footnotes to a partial list of gifts received by U.S. officials in 2020. The office publishes such lists annually in part to guard against potential conflicts of interest. A preview of the 2020 report was posted on the Federal Register website on Friday ahead of its formal publication on Monday.
The report notes that the lack of gift information could be related to internal oversights as the protocol office neglected to “submit the request for data to all reporting agencies prior to January 20, 2021,” when the Trump administration ended and the Biden administration began. However, it also noted that there had been a “lack of adequate recordkeeping pertaining to diplomatic gifts” between Jan. 20, 2017, when Trump took office, and his departure from the White House four years later.
The State Department report comes as House lawmakers have opened an investigation into reports that Trump had taken boxes of classified materials with him to his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida after leaving office last year. The National Archives and Records Administration has asked the Justice Department to look into the matter.
The House panel investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol, meanwhile, has identified an almost eight-hour gap in official White House records of Trump’s phone calls as the violence unfolded and his supporters stormed the building, according to two people familiar with the probe.
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Regarding the 2020 gifts, the department said it had “made attempts to collect the required data from the current authoritative sources … but it has confirmed that potentially relevant records are not available to the State Department’s Office of the Chief of Protocol under applicable access rules for retired records of the Executive Office of the President and the Office of the Vice President.”
“As a result, the data required to fully compile a complete listing for 2020 is unavailable,” it said.
Gift records for Trump administration officials such as former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, former Defense Secretary Mark Esper and former Central Intelligence Agency chief Gina Haspel are included in the limited 2020 report, as are records for other senior diplomats, Pentagon and CIA officials.
Well I guess the P Boys can always use the 150 yr old Civil War amnesty law to get them off the hook.
Another one that's cooperating;
Proud Boys leader pleads guilty to Jan. 6 conspiracy charge, agrees to cooperate
BY HARPER NEIDIG - 04/08/22 12:07 PM ET
https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/3262556-proud-boys-leader-pleads-guilty-to-jan-6-conspiracy-charge-agrees-to-cooperate/
One of the Proud Boys leaders charged with conspiracy in connection to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol pleaded guilty on Friday, agreeing to cooperate with federal prosecutors as they prepare to tackle one of the biggest criminal cases stemming from last year’s breach.
Charles Donohoe, a 34-year-old leader of the right-wing group’s North Carolina chapter, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding and one count of assaulting, resisting or impeding a law enforcement officer.
Donohoe was among a group of six Proud Boys leaders, including Enrique Tarrio, the organization’s national leader, charged with conspiracy last month.
He is the first member of the group to plead guilty and agree to cooperate with the government.
The conspiracy charge carries a maximum possible sentence of 20 years in prison. U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly told Donohoe during a hearing Friday that federal sentencing guideline calculations would recommend a sentence in the range of 70 to 87 months in prison.
Tarrio entered an initial plea of not guilty earlier this week.
Prosecutors allege the group organized and rallied Proud Boys member to descend on D.C. with an aim to prevent or delay Congress from certifying President Biden’s 2020 electoral victory.
While Tarrio was not physically present at the Capitol on Jan. 6, having been arrested days before for destroying a Black Lives Matter banner that had been hung from a D.C. church, prosecutors say he led a Proud Boys’ conspiracy.
According to charging documents, Donohoe took on an increased role in coordinating with Proud Boys leaders in the days between Tarrio’s arrest and Jan. 6.
On Jan. 4, the day of Tarrio’s arrest, prosecutors say Donohoe started a new encrypted group chat with other Proud Boys leaders, saying in a message, “Hey have been instructed and listen to me real good! There is no planning of any sorts. I need to be put into whatever new thing is created. Everything is compromised and we can be looking at Gang charges.”
Kelly recently vacated the court’s plan for trial in the case to begin on May 18 but has yet to set a new date.
There were only 5k at ask .059 left when I took them, then the ask immediately went to .1030, bid was at .048 at that time a little bit before close.
Bought my SD shares at about $14 on the dip last month. Not as good if got them in Jan or last yr, but still good enough for a decent enough entry.
This is a crazy, unjust attack’: Pink Floyd re-form to support Ukraine
David Gilmour and Nick Mason, flanked by Nitin Sawhney and Guy Pratt, who have contributed to the new Pink Floyd recording. Photograph: Sarah Lee/The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/apr/07/pink-floyd-reform-to-support-ukraine
A couple of weeks ago, Pink Floyd’s guitarist and singer David Gilmour was asked if he’d seen the Instagram feed of Andriy Khlyvnyuk, frontman of Ukrainian rock band BoomBox. Gilmour had performed live with BoomBox in 2015, at a London benefit gig for the Belarus Free Theatre – they played a brief, endearingly raw set of Pink Floyd songs and Gilmour solo tracks – but events had moved on dramatically since then: at the end of Feburary, Khlyvnyuk had abandoned BoomBox’s US tour in order to fight against the Russian invasion.
On his Instagram, Gilmour found a video of the singer in military fatigues, a rifle slung over his shoulder, standing outside Kyiv’s St Sofia Cathedral, belting out an unaccompanied version of Oh, the Red Viburnum in the Meadow, a 1914 protest song written in honour of the Sich Riflemen who fought both in the first world war and the Ukrainian war of independence. “I thought: that is pretty magical and maybe I can do something with this,” says Gilmour. “I’ve got a big platform that [Pink Floyd] have worked on for all these years. It’s a really difficult and frustrating thing to see this extraordinarily crazy, unjust attack by a major power on an independent, peaceful, democratic nation. The frustration of seeing that and thinking ‘what the fuck can I do?’ is sort of unbearable.”
The result is Hey Hey, Rise Up!, a new single by Pink Floyd that samples Khlyvnyuk’s performance, to be released at midnight on Friday with proceeds going to Ukrainian humanitarian relief.
SENATE
Senate gets deal on limiting Russia trade, oil import ban
BY JORDAIN CARNEY - 04/06/22 9:51 PM ET
https://thehill.com/news/senate/3261270-senate-gets-deal-on-limiting-russia-trade-oil-import-ban/
The Senate struck a deal on a package to end normal trade relations with Russia and codify a Russian oil ban, with the chamber expected to pass the two bills on Thursday.
The deal, announced on Wednesday night, comes after senators told The Hill earlier that they believed they were closing in on an agreement after weeks of negotiations.
“We have reached an important and crucial breakthrough,” Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said. “These proposals both have the support of the White House, and it’s a big, big deal that we are finally getting them done.”
The Russia package includes two bills. One would codify the Biden administration’s oil ban. The second would end permanent normal trade relations with Russia and reauthorize Magnitsky Act sanctions that target human rights violations and corruption with penalties such as visa bans and asset freezes.
Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), a lead negotiator, thanked Schumer on Wednesday for the weeks of negotiations, saying they had worked “carefully and long together, tireless days.”
“The legislation at issue is so important — it strikes directly at Putin and cuts off the lifeblood for his war machine and his autocracy,” Crapo said.
Both bills previously passed the House but ran into roadblocks in the Senate. Republicans blocked quick passage of the House-passed trade bill unless the oil ban bill also moved through the Senate.
Negotiators then ran into a days-long hurdle with Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who had issues with the House-passed language on reauthorizing the Magnitsky Act sanctions, which is riding on the trade legislation. The House bill changed the Magnitsky Act language from targeting “gross” human rights violations to targeting “serious” human rights violations, codifying a Trump-era executive order.
The deal, according to Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), a key negotiator, would keep the original Magnitsky Act language currently in law instead of updating it. As part of a deal with Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), the Senate also passed legislation on Wednesday night to establish a land lease program for Ukraine, making it easier to send military aid to the country as it fights back against Russia’s weeks-long invasion.
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Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), who introduced the bill to establish the lendlease program with Cornyn and other senators, said that it “couldn’t be more urgent” amid the “most serious security threat to Europe and our global stability since World War II.”
“I appreciate the bipartisan support to pass our legislation in the Senate and urge the House to swiftly follow suit. As this crisis rapidly escalates and Putin bears down on Ukraine, every minute counts,” she added.
Updated: 10:18 p.m.
Quit your damn wining would ya. People like you just don't get it. It's not a matter of effectiveness or not, so quit going there. It is time to stop doing business with Putin, like anyone should stop doing business with any criminal, full stop.
But I get ya. You want to do business with criminals. You want to do business with murderers. You want the world economy to be based on business with gangs, drug lords, mafias, undemocratic countries, killers, scam artists, and the rest. You don't think anything about working and dealing with criminals, murderers, and suppressive governments, and letting them have their way with anything they want to do. Continue taking over and destroying any country they want, including holding power over the US and the rest of the world.
People like you see nothing wrong with the way Putin mutilates, starves, destroys, murders millions of people and their environment. So what if he doesn't stop, so what if Russia and China control that economy you're so in love with. Deals with the devil is just fine as long as they spoon feed the selfish needs, and there is no sacrificing on the rest of the worlds part that should be done, it's all ok. Don't dare stop the dependence on blood money feeding us. Yea, I get you, crying the blues that jail sentences, laws, sanctions just don't work to change criminal behaviors, so we should just ignore and support the Putin regime and keep things the way they are. Continue feeding ourselves their wheat, making blood $ on the destruction and suffering, and continue our demise.
Well it isn't ok, it isn't smart, it isn't moral, it isn't the way business should be done, and it's just not right. Doing business the way your wanting has got us into this mess. So you need to suck it up, or just go live in Russia or China and support their evil ways and eat their food, spend the rubles, and enjoy everything that system has to offer.
Me, I rather starve. But I know we won't, just need to tuck in the belt a little more, stop the wastefulness, stop the dealing with the devils, stop feeding ourselves with blood money and death, tone down the greed a bit, change the way Russia and China and their backers (including the ones here) are destroying democracies and getting power over the world, and change the whole geo-economic system.
Need to just separate the two different ways of business, since nothing works to change them, why continue with the charade.
Yes, there will be great sacrifices that will have to be made. The costs will be greater if we don't sacrifice now. If we continue to separate from all that business and dependence with criminals we'll see which society lives a better life and eats better in the long run.
Like I said, you can always choose which side you rather live with. And I'm sure your going to continue crying and plastering the crap that sanctions aren't working and your blood $ is disappearing from your pocket, and your steak is getting a bit smaller. Oh, the suffering, the tragedies we must endure.
Fox perpetrates an unprovoked attack upon a Democratic congressman! Capitol Police apprehend suspect.
Fox news: Capitol police catch mammal accused of attacking congressman
Victims joke about encounters as animal’s own ‘statement’ goes viral on Twitter
A fox looks out from a cage after being captured on the grounds of the US Capitol on Tuesday. Photograph: AP
Guardian staff
Tue 5 Apr 2022 20.04 EDT
US Capitol police have apprehended an “aggressive” suspect accused of attacking a congressman and perhaps others. The alleged assailant: an unusually bold fox.
Earlier in the day, police had warned of fox encounters in the area and said they were working to trap and relocate any animals.
“For your safety, please do not approach any foxes,” police tweeted.
A spokesperson for the Capitol police told NPR there had been reports of several bites and that a fox had been spotted on Monday around Senate office buildings. The spokesperson said foxes had been spotted before but described the aggressive behavior as “unusual”.
Punchbowl News later identified at least one of the bitten individuals as Ami Bera, a Democratic congressman from California.
“I expect to get attacked if I go on Fox News; I don’t expect to get attacked by a fox,” Bera told Punchbowl News.
Bera, who described the attack as “unprovoked”, told Punchbowl that the attack had occurred on Monday night. “I didn’t see it and all of a sudden I felt something lunge at the back of my leg,” the congressman said. “I jumped and got my umbrella.”
The fox, meanwhile, appears to have acquired its own publicity team. A Twitter account, @thecapitolfox, tells the animal’s side of the story, and it has released an “official statement”.
“Today, I was forcibly removed from my den by very scary and mean individuals. I am innocent of the crimes in question. This will not be the end.
“I am a work in progress,” the statement concluded, echoing the words of a film star recently embroiled in a controversy of his own.
A reporter for Politico, Ximena Bustillo, also tweeted that she had been bitten. “That feel when you get bit by a fox leaving Capitol, cause that’s of course something I expect in THE MIDDLE OF DC,” she tweeted.
On Tuesday evening, Bera tweeted to report that he was “healthy and back at work” after the encounter.
“Joking aside, animal bites are extremely serious. In the case of an encounter, please speak with a physician immediately,” he tweeted, including a link to the CDC’s website.
Vivian Ho and Matthew Cantor contributed reporting
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/apr/05/fox-news-capitol-police-catch-mammal-accused-of-attacking-congressman
It's a hard thing. We are so interconnected with everything economically. Way too much with ones that are just not nice, and shouldn't be doing business with them. But the almighty dollar has just ruined the ethical focus, when we should, could've, would've engaged in support for more virtuous progress and advancements.
This Colorado steel mill ‘built the American west,’ but its ownership has ties to Russia
https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/04/business/colorado-steel-plant-russia-military-invs/index.html
By Casey Tolan and Audrey Ash, CNN Photographs by Rachel Woolf for CNN
Updated 6:43 PM EDT, Mon April 4, 2022
CNN
—
The steel mill that looms over low-slung neighborhoods in Pueblo, Colorado, is a rare bright spot for American manufacturing. Once part of the state’s largest private employer, pumping out steel that was used to build rail lines across the Western US, it is now in the midst of a major expansion and recently became the world’s first steel plant to run almost entirely on solar power.
But in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine, the steelworkers and their city are grappling with an unpleasant reality that is no longer easy to ignore: The mill is owned by a company that has been accused of potentially supplying steel to build Russian tanks and whose largest stakeholder is a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The plant, which still ranks among the largest employers in the small city of Pueblo, was bought in 2007 by Evraz, one of Russia’s major steel-producing companies. Evraz’s biggest shareholder is the oligarch Roman Abramovich, who was sanctioned by the United Kingdom, the European Union and Canada last month.
The Evraz steel plant in Pueblo, Colorado.
The Evraz steel plant in Pueblo, Colorado.
CNN
In announcing its sanctions, the UK government alleged that Abramovich controlled Evraz and that the company was “potentially supplying steel to the Russian military which may have been used in the production of tanks.” Abramovich was involved in “destabilising Ukraine” through Evraz, the sanctions office wrote.??
Evraz, which owns several other steel plants in Oregon and Canada in addition to the Pueblo mill, has denied that it supplies the Russian military and tried to distance itself from Abramovich. But its stock fell by 90% from the beginning of the year before it was suspended from the London Stock Exchange in the wake of the invasion, and its entire board of directors quit. The company nearly defaulted on its debt last month due to a sanctions-related delay in a bond payment.
Evraz’s North American subsidiary and its employees say the steel produced in the US is not going to Russia. The North American operation doesn’t send money to the parent company, and its profits are reinvested in its US and Canadian operations, according to executives.
But in recent years, the parent company’s operations have resulted in billions of dollars in dividends that have largely gone to Abramovich and a handful of other Russian oligarchs. Advocates for Ukraine say they’re distressed that the US hasn’t followed its allies in sanctioning Abramovich, and that a figure with close ties to Putin still holds the largest stake in the company that owns the Pueblo mill.?
“There is no clean money among the oligarchs,” said Marina Dubrova, the founder of Ukrainians of Colorado, a non-profit organization that has raised funds to send medical supplies to Ukraine. Even if he were to own a “half percent, even one-tenth of a percent” in the company, she argued, “Abramovich has to be sanctioned and his portion has to go to the highest bidder.”
Marina Dubrova, founder of Ukrainians of Colorado, pictured in a Denver office on March 28.
Marina Dubrova, founder of Ukrainians of Colorado, pictured in a Denver office on March 28.
Rachel Woolf for CNN
So far, executives and local employees at the Pueblo plant say there has been no impact on their day-to-day job. But some workers are worried about whether that could change if more sanctions go into effect.?
“Just the uncertainty is scary, it’s real scary,” said Rique Lucero, a metallurgical technician who has worked at the plant for 14 years. “We wonder how the war is going to further affect us.”
The Evraz situation is an example of how Russian investment in the West could be complicating sanctions: The company employs more than 1,600 people in the US, and the need to avoid job losses could make officials more cautious about sanctioning Abramovich, sanctions experts said.?
And the company also shows that the Russian elite’s money in the US goes deeper than stereotypical luxury items – even reaching a historic icon of American industry.?
Most people think Russian “oligarchs have been putting their money primarily into these mega-mansions, these superyachts, high-end artwork, Ferraris, Maseratis,” said Casey Michel, the author of a book on foreign investment in the US. But in addition to those flashy status symbols, he said, “there are so many other significant industries that are wide-open for all this oligarchic money.”
A plant that ‘built the American West’
A worker mans the control room at the Evraz steel mill in Pueblo.
A worker mans the control room at the Evraz steel mill in Pueblo.
Rachel Woolf for CNN
Every hour, tons of recycled scrap metal are dropped into the Pueblo mill’s massive furnace, with a deafening boom and an eruption of golden sparks. The metal is heated at about 3000 degrees Fahrenheit into white-hot, molten steel, then cooled and carefully rolled into rail, wire rod, rebar or pipe.
That transformation has been taking place here, in one form or another, since the mill was founded in 1881 as the first steel plant west of the Mississippi River.?
Owned by the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company, which grew into Colorado’s largest private employer, the mill attracted workers from around the world. At one point, 40 languages were spoken at the mill and its mines. It pumped out rail that stretched around the region, speeding migration across the sparsely settled Western US.?
“This steel really built the American West,” said Nick Gradisar, Pueblo’s mayor, whose father and grandfather worked at the mill, and who worked there himself several summers during college. “It used to be that the fortunes of Pueblo rose and fell on the economics of the steel industry.”
The city experienced the downside of that relationship when the price of steel crashed in the 1980s. Thousands of workers at the plant lost their jobs over several years, local leaders say.?
Historical photos of a mining operation are displayed at the Evraz offices in Pueblo.
Historical photos of a mining operation are displayed at the Evraz offices in Pueblo.
Rachel Woolf for CNN
After the downturn, the mill went through bankruptcy and was bought by an Oregon-based company. Evraz bought the parent company in 2007 for $2.3 billion, in what was at the time the largest ever Russian investment in the US.
According to the company’s 2021 annual report, five percent of Evraz employees are in North America and about 16% of its revenue comes from its North American steel operation. Most of its other mills are in Russia and Kazakhstan.??
As of February, Abramovich, a globe-trotting owner of the Chelsea soccer team who holds citizenship in at least two other countries, owned the largest stake in Evraz, at roughly 29%, according to the company. But the UK sanctions office argued that he effectively controls the company, which is publicly traded, along with his associates: Four other Russian oligarchs control another 38% of the company.?
Evraz has been a lucrative investment for Abramovich and other oligarchs. In 2021, according to its annual report, almost half of Evraz’s profit went to paying out more than $1.5 billion in dividends to its shareholders – two-thirds of which went to the five largest Russian shareholders. Evraz’s financial performance in 2021 “made it possible to pay” such generous dividends, the company wrote in the annual report, citing numbers that included a big increase in earnings in its North American operations.
Russian businessman Roman Abramovich attends talks between delegations from Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul on March 29, 2022.
Russian businessman Roman Abramovich attends talks between delegations from Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul on March 29, 2022.
Cem Orzdel/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Abramovich also has myriad investments in the US hidden through complicated networks of shell corporations and hedge funds, The New York Times reported last month. But his shares in Evraz are in his own name, as are two mansions he owns in Colorado ski towns. A spokesperson for Abramovich declined to comment about Evraz.
While the Pueblo mill now has far fewer employees than at its peak, it still puts out about half of all rail used in North America. And while it’s no longer the biggest employer in the city, it’s still the source of some of the best-paying blue-collar jobs in the region, local leaders say.
“Just about everyone that’s a resident of Pueblo has had family that’s worked out there,” some going back four generations or more, said Jeff Shaw, president of the Pueblo Economic Development Corporation.
How Russia’s war could affect Colorado steel
An employee performs safety checks before steel is tapped at the Evraz mill in Pueblo.
An employee performs safety checks before steel is tapped at the Evraz mill in Pueblo.
Rachel Woolf for CNN
Most people in Pueblo don’t really think of the mill as Russian-owned, according to interviews with city leaders and local residents. Instead of referring to it as Evraz, locals still call it CF&I – Colorado Fuel and Iron – or just “The Mill.”?
But the new ownership became impossible to ignore over the last few weeks, when Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine.
Chuck Perko, the president of one of the two United Steelworkers unions that represent workers at the plant, said he got “dozens of phone calls” about the potential impact in the days after the invasion and after the UK and EU governments announced sanctions against Abramovich.?
“Retirees are worried, will the company continue to exist, will their pensions stay solvent?” he said. “Families want to know, is my husband or wife going to have a job tomorrow?”?
In the weeks since, however, Perko said he hasn’t seen any real impact on the Pueblo mill’s operations. “I’m worried more about the people in Ukraine than I am about my people being affected by it,” Perko added.
Chuck Perko, president of United Steelworkers Local 3267 poses on March 28, 2022 at his union hall.
Chuck Perko, president of United Steelworkers Local 3267 poses on March 28, 2022 at his union hall.
Rachel Woolf for CNN
Evraz says it’s business as usual in Pueblo. David Ferryman, the Evraz North America senior vice president who runs the Pueblo plant, said watching the war in Ukraine was “heartbreaking,” but argued that critics of Evraz were painting any connection to Russia with “a broad brush.”
“We have our own CEO, we have our own board of directors … we’re about as American a company as it gets,” said Ferryman, sitting in a room in the company’s Pueblo office with walls covered in historic photos of the plant. “Those earnings stay here in North America, and they’re invested into these facilities.”
The US government has not publicly explained why it hasn’t targeted Abramovich with sanctions like the UK, EU and Canada. But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asked President Biden in early March not to sanction Abramovich, who has acted as an unofficial go-between for Moscow and Kyiv, in order to allow him to play a role in the peace process, according to two sources with direct knowledge. The Wall Street Journal first reported Zelensky’s request.
It’s unclear how active or central Abramovich has been in the negotiations since then. A Kremlin spokesperson confirmed that Abramovich was involved in peace talks, and he was present at a meeting between the two sides in Istanbul last week.
Treasury Department officials were examining sanctions on Abramovich that would exempt Evraz’s US plants as part of a wide-ranging effort to limit economic fallout of new sanctions, the sources said. A Treasury spokesperson declined to comment about the potential of US sanctions on Abramovich, saying the department doesn’t preview sanctions.
David Ferryman, senior vice president at Evraz North America, is pictured in front of the Pueblo steel mill.
David Ferryman, senior vice president at Evraz North America, is pictured in front of the Pueblo steel mill.
Rachel Woolf for CNN
According to sanctions experts, if the US does sanction Abramovich, the Treasury Department would likely issue a license allowing the Pueblo and Portland steel mills to continue operating in order to avoid any impact on American employees.?
“If 1,000 Americans are going to lose their jobs, that could impact their decisions,” said Charlie Steele, a former Treasury Department and Department of Justice official who worked on sanctions policy.?
Even without US sanctions, the UK, EU and Canadian actions appear to have complicated Evraz’s financial picture, between its stock being suspended from the London exchange and the near-miss in its bond payment. And the broader impact of sanctions can be unpredictable, especially if financial institutions decide they want to avoid the potential stigma of working with companies linked to Russia, experts said.?
Even if banks are allowed to work with the company, Steele said, “they might say, I’m not going to get within 100 miles of that.”
Russian investment in America’s industrial heartland
Cranes tower over a construction site for a new steel mill that will produce longer segments of rail.
Cranes tower over a construction site for a new steel mill that will produce longer segments of rail.
Rachel Woolf for CNN
While many major US businesses have expanded in Russia over the last two decades – and are now cutting ties – Evraz is a rare example of investment flowing in the opposite direction.?
There are a handful of other US steel plants in the country with ties to Russian oligarchs. NLMK, one of Russia’s largest steel companies, owns plants in Pennsylvania and Indiana. And Severstal, another major Russian steel producer, bought several plants around the US, including in Mississippi and Michigan, before selling them in 2014 as tensions escalated over the invasion of Crimea.?
Meanwhile, other proposals for Russian investment in US manufacturing have fallen through over the last decade, in some cases because of past sanctions – including plans for factories in Louisiana and North Carolina.
Most notably, in 2019, Russian aluminum company Rusal announced with great fanfare a $200 million investment to build an aluminum factory in eastern Kentucky, promising hundreds of new jobs in the economically struggling region. The investment came just months after the Trump administration lifted sanctions on Rusal – which had previously been run by oligarch and Putin ally Oleg Deripaska – amid an extensive lobbying campaign by the company.?
Buttons are illuminated on a panel in a control room at the Pueblo steel mill on March 29.
Buttons are illuminated on a panel in a control room at the Pueblo steel mill on March 29.
Rachel Woolf for CNN
But the Kentucky factory plan fell apart in recent years as Rusal backed out, leaving an empty greenfield and angry state legislators trying to claw back a $15 million taxpayer investment in the project.
By all accounts, Evraz has done the opposite. Workers say that their new owners have been far easier to work with than the previous, Oregon-based management, whose contentious relations with unions led to years of strikes and labor disputes. And they’re thrilled with the new investments Evraz is making in Pueblo, which have led to a bevy of construction cranes stretching up into the sky around the plant.
“Locally, Evraz has been a great partner,” said Jerry Pacheco, the executive director of the Pueblo Urban Renewal Authority, which has helped fund the expansion.
The company is in the middle of building a new $700 million steel mill that will produce much longer segments of rail, helping them compete for contracts to build high-speed rail lines and other rail projects. The project is set to receive at least $84 million in public incentives from the city and state governments and the urban renewal authority, and potentially up to $118 million — with certain requirements including retaining jobs and paying higher property taxes in the future.
Evraz has invested more money into the Pueblo expansion in recent years than any capital project at its facilities around the world, according to the company’s annual reports.
Steel is cast at the Evraz mill in Pueblo on March 29.
Steel is cast at the Evraz mill in Pueblo on March 29.
Rachel Woolf for CNN
?Evraz also just finished a solar power project that makes it the first steel plant in the world to be powered almost exclusively with solar power – putting it on the cutting edge of green manufacturing. A sprawling field of solar panels now lies just beyond the historic mill buildings, swiveling to face the sun and stockpile the energy needed for the mill.?
The public incentives were crucial in keeping Evraz in Pueblo: The company had been exploring the possibility of moving its operation to another state before city leaders agreed to kick in the funding, and Gradisar argued that the taxpayer money was well worth it. “Good jobs for blue-collar workers, those are hard to come by in this day and age,” he said.?
Moral dilemmas at an ‘All-American’ mill?
Pueblo Mayor Nick Gradisar says the Russian connection to the Evraz mill is not a big concern for him.
Pueblo Mayor Nick Gradisar says the Russian connection to the Evraz mill is not a big concern for him.
Rachel Woolf for CNN
Like many communities across the US, Pueblo is stepping up to help Ukraine. The county sheriff donated unused body armor to the Ukrainian military. A boy scout troop held a fundraiser for Ukrainian scouts at the local Pizza Ranch. A new mural painted on the levee of the Arkansas River, which runs through the city, displays the colors of the Ukrainian flag and a sunflower, the country’s national flower.
But there’s little public consternation or debate about Pueblo’s close ties with a company accused of potentially supplying Russia’s war effort.?
“It’s not a big concern for me right now,” Gradisar, the mayor, said of the Russian connection to the mill. He said he wanted to see stability at the plant: “Those are tough operations to operate and run, and you need to know what you’re doing.”?
“I’ve had people suggest to me we should seize the mill, whatever that means,” Gradisar added. “I didn’t even respond to that.”
Cars drive through downtown Pueblo on March 29.
Cars drive through downtown Pueblo on March 29.
Rachel Woolf for CNN
Other Pueblans agree that they’re not bothered by the Russian ownership. As she waited for a lunch table at Estela’s Mill Stop Cafe, a popular Mexican joint around the corner from the Evraz offices, Carol Trujillo said she never thought of the company as Russian-owned before the latest string of headlines.
“To us, it’s All-American,” she said of the mill, listing her relatives who had worked there over the years: uncles, aunts, a brother, her grandmother. “I don’t think the ownership matters to what the people do here.”
Some officials in Canada have called on Evraz to divest from its steel mills there, to avoid any connection with the invasion of Ukraine. “That is actually the way out of this in terms of the balance between needing to support Ukraine and accepting those sanctions and protecting the employment and the … livelihood of those workers,” Sandra Masters, the mayor of Regina, Saskatchewan, which is home to a major Evraz plant, said last month.
Perko, the union president, and several other steelworkers said they would be happy to see Abramovich’s shares sold off, or the mill return to American ownership.??
“We’re fairly independent to the point that if something were to really happen, we could be ripped away from the parent company and run independently,” Perko said.?
Daniel Duran, an accounting clerk with Evraz, admits he has felt a moral dilemma for working for a company with Russian ties.
Daniel Duran, an accounting clerk with Evraz, admits he has felt a moral dilemma for working for a company with Russian ties.
Rachel Woolf for CNN
Some steelworkers said they’ve been feeling the moral dilemma of working for a company with ties to Russia. Daniel Duran, an accounting clerk who has been at the mill for five years after a string of nonunion, low-paying jobs in construction and at Walmart, said he loves working at Evraz, and credits the job for letting him give his four children a good life in Pueblo.
“Honestly, this job has afforded me everything I have today,” Duran said. “I have always thought of this place as being American hands forging US steel.”?
But when he’s turned on the news to see Ukrainian families fleeing Russian tanks, he said he’s found himself getting emotional. “I have my own kids, so it makes it tough to sit there and see all this stuff going on and try turning a blind eye,” he said.?
Sitting in his empty union hall, a 100-year-old Mission Revival-style building with long cracks running up the walls, Perko said that watching the videos from Ukraine reminded him of his own family history: his grandmother fled the Soviet army as a refugee from Yugoslavia during World War II.
“I disdain what’s going on over there,” Perko said of Ukraine. “But my company is not Abramovich’s company in my eyes – and so it helps me sleep at night to know that we’ve got so much separation from the larger picture.”?
The exterior of the steel mill in Pueblo.
The exterior of the steel mill in Pueblo.
Rachel Woolf for CNN
CNN’s Drew Griffin, Scott Bronstein and Phil Mattingly contributed to this report.
They are supporting Russia internally. They are not our friend, just the opposite.
Article posted on another board.
While Russian troops have battered Ukraine, officials in China have been meeting behind closed doors to study a Communist Party-produced documentary that extols President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia as a hero.
The humiliating collapse of the Soviet Union, the video says, was the result of efforts by the United States to destroy its legitimacy. With swelling music and sunny scenes of present-day Moscow, the documentary praises Mr. Putin for restoring Stalin’s standing as a great wartime leader and for renewing patriotic pride in Russia’s past.
To the world, China casts itself as a principled onlooker of the war in Ukraine, not picking sides, simply seeking peace. At home, though, the Chinese Communist Party is pushing a campaign that paints Russia as a long-suffering victim rather than an aggressor and defends China’s strong ties with Moscow as vital.
Chinese universities have organized classes to give students a “correct understanding” of the war, often highlighting Russia’s grievances with the West. Party newspapers have run series of commentaries blaming the United States for the conflict.
Bristling Against the West, China Rallies Domestic Sympathy for Russia
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/04/world/asia/china-russia-ukraine
China is definitely part of Russia's team from the start.
https://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2022/04/03/putin-next-move-ukraine-clark-nr-vpx.cnn
Russia war could further escalate auto prices and shortages
By TOM KRISHER and KELVIN CHAN
today
In this Monday, March 21, 2022, image made from video, Mark Wakefield, co-leader of AlixPartners’ global automotive unit, speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at the consulting firm’s offices in Southfield, Mich. Russia’s war on Ukraine is bringing new problems to the global auto industry. As Wakefield said: “You only need to miss one part to not be able to make a car.” (AP Photo/Mike Householder)
DETROIT (AP) — BMW has halted production at two German factories. Mercedes is slowing work at its assembly plants. Volkswagen, warning of production stoppages, is looking for alternative sources for parts.
For more than a year, the global auto industry has struggled with a disastrous shortage of computer chips and other vital parts that has shrunk production, slowed deliveries and sent prices for new and used cars soaring beyond reach for millions of consumers.
Now, a new factor — Russia’s war against Ukraine — has thrown up yet another obstacle. Critically important electrical wiring, made in Ukraine, is suddenly out of reach. With buyer demand high, materials scarce and the war causing new disruptions, vehicle prices are expected to head even higher well into next year.
The war’s damage to the auto industry has emerged first in Europe. But U.S. production will likely suffer eventually, too, if Russian exports of metals — from palladium for catalytic converters to nickel for electric vehicle batteries — are cut off.
“You only need to miss one part not to be able to make a car,” said Mark Wakefield, co-leader of consulting firm Alix Partners’ global automotive unit. “Any bump in the road becomes either a disruption of production or a vastly unplanned-for cost increase.”
Supply problems have bedeviled automakers since the pandemic erupted two years ago, at times shuttering factories and causing vehicle shortages. The robust recovery that followed the recession caused demand for autos to vastly outstrip supply — a mismatch that sent prices for new and used vehicles skyrocketing well beyond overall high inflation.
In the United States, the average price of a new vehicle is up 13% in the past year, to $45,596, according to Edmunds.com. Average used prices have surged far more: They’re up 29% to $29,646 as of February.
Before the war, S&P Global Mobility had predicted that global automakers would build 84 million vehicles this year and 91 million next year. (By comparison, they built 94 million in 2018.) Now it’s forecasting fewer than 82 million in 2022 and 88 million next year.
Mark Fulthorpe, an executive director for S&P, is among analysts who think the availability of new vehicles in North America and Europe will remain severely tight — and prices high — well into 2023. Compounding the problem, buyers who are priced out of the new-vehicle market will intensify demand for used autos and keep those prices elevated, too — prohibitively so for many households.
Eventually, high inflation across the economy — for food, gasoline, rent and other necessities — will likely leave a vast number of ordinary buyers unable to afford a new or used vehicle. Demand would then wane. And so, eventually, would prices.
“Until inflationary pressures start to really erode consumer and business capabilities,” Fulthorpe said, “it’s probably going to mean that those who have the inclination to buy a new vehicle, they’ll be prepared to pay top dollar.”
One factor behind the dimming outlook for production is the shuttering of auto plants in Russia. Last week, French automaker Renault, one of the last automakers that have continued to build in Russia, said it would suspend production in Moscow.
The transformation of Ukraine into an embattled war zone has hurt, too. Wells Fargo estimates that 10% to 15% of crucial wiring harnesses that supply vehicle production in the vast European Union were made in Ukraine. In the past decade, automakers and parts companies invested in Ukrainian factories to limit costs and gain proximity to European plants.
The wiring shortage has slowed factories in Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic and elsewhere, leading S&P to slash its forecast for worldwide auto production by 2.6 million vehicles for both this year and next. The shortages could reduce exports of German vehicles to the United States and elsewhere.
Wiring harnesses are bundles of wires and connectors that are unique to each model; they can’t be easily re-sourced to another parts maker. Despite the war, harness makers like Aptiv and Leoni have managed to reopen factories sporadically in Western Ukraine. Still Joseph Massaro, Aptiv’s chief financial officer, acknowledged that Ukraine “is not open for any type of normal commercial activity.”
Aptiv, based in Dublin, is trying to shift production to Poland, Romania, Serbia and possibly Morocco. But the process will take up to six weeks, leaving some automakers short of parts during that time.
“Long term,” Massaro told analysts, “we’ll have to assess if and when it makes sense to go back to Ukraine.”
BMW is trying to coordinate with its Ukrainian suppliers and is casting a wider net for parts. So are Mercedes and Volkswagen.
Yet finding alternative supplies may be next to impossible. Most parts plants are operating close to capacity, so new work space would have to be built. Companies would need months to hire more people and add work shifts.
“The training process to bring up to speed a new workforce — it’s not an overnight thing,” Fulthorpe said.
Fulthorpe said he foresees a further tightening supply of materials from both Ukraine and Russia. Ukraine is the world’s largest exporter of neon, a gas used in lasers that etch circuits onto computer chips. Most chip makers have a six-month supply; late in the year, they could run short. That would worsen the chip shortage, which before the war had been delaying production even more than automakers expected.
Likewise, Russia is a key supplier of such raw materials as platinum and palladium, used in pollution-reducing catalytic converters. Russia also produces 10% of the world’s nickel, an essential ingredient in EV batteries.
Mineral supplies from Russia haven’t been shut off yet. Recycling might help ease the shortage. Other countries may increase production. And some manufacturers have stockpiled the metals.
But Russia also is a big aluminum producer, and a source of pig iron, used to make steel. Nearly 70% of U.S. pig iron imports come from Russia and Ukraine, Alix Partners says, so steelmakers will need to switch to production from Brazil or use alternative materials. In the meantime, steel prices have rocketed up from $900 a ton a few weeks ago to $1,500 now.
So far, negotiations toward a cease-fire in Ukraine have gone nowhere, and the fighting has raged on. A new virus surge in China could cut into parts supplies, too. Industry analysts say they have no clear idea when parts, raw materials and auto production will flow normally.
Even if a deal is negotiated to suspend fighting, sanctions against Russian exports would remain intact until after a final agreement had been reached. Even then, supplies wouldn’t start flowing normally. Fulthorpe said there would be “further hangovers because of disruption that will take place in the widespread supply chains.”
Wakefield noted, too, that because of intense pent-up demand for vehicles across the world, even if automakers restore full production, the process of building enough vehicles will be a protracted one.
When might the world produce an ample enough supply of cars and trucks to meet demand and keep prices down?
Wakefield doesn’t profess to know.
“We’re in a raising-price environment, a (production)-constrained environment,” he said. “That’s a weird thing for the auto industry.”
___
Chan reported from London.
A little humor for the night.
A place in Joliet Mall, Joliet, IL
Unfortunately, there's a big campaign to defrond them.
What in carnation?! That's unbeleafable.
Those pro-leafers are crazy! Just this week, Police in D.C. found 5 ficuses in an anti-arborist's house!
They have to protect the unborn ficus.
Rudy G. is planning a rally/press conference out front as we speak.
But I heard that gardening is only like 3% of what they do.
Sometimes they pluck the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants right after it comes out of the ovary. And then EAT IT.
Where are the protestors?
this in a liberal state
That’s definitely one name you can chose for your plant nursery
LOL Probably more like 6 months, or the "Le Grand Hiver" of bat poop postings.
I don't know about price, but I know they have been working on them for yrs. There is flying motorcycle they were stating for $150,000 (bottom video).
These are pretty cool.
Something for anyone who missed the celebrations yesterday.
ihttps://factcheckingday.com/
A Collection of Tips for Combating Online Misinformation Like a Pro
12 Articles
https://www.snopes.com/collections/international-fact-checking/
To celebrate International Fact-Checking Day on April 2, 2022, the Snopes newsroom compiled some tools to help you navigate the internet like a pro.
by Jessica Lee
To celebrate International Fact-Checking Day on April 2, 2022, the Snopes newsroom documented some ways it scours the internet daily and determines whether viral rumors are factual or misleading.
Below, you can learn how to perform reverse image searches, analyze social media posts about purported scientific research, spot digitally manipulated photos — and more — just like our professional fact-checkers. You may also want to bookmark our “Fact-Checkers’ Toolbox” with additional tips and tricks to up your media literacy game.
What is International Fact-Checking Day? The concept of an annual observance to celebrate the important work of fact checkers surfaced in 2014 during a gathering of journalists and professional researchers at the London School of Economics, USA Today reported. That group eventually formed Poynter’s International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN), a consortium of news outlets and advocates against online misinformation.
“Fact-Checking Day is an annual celebration and rallying cry for more truth in public health, journalism, and everyday life,” Poynter said. “It is meant to be lighthearted, but practical.”
To celebrate, learn more about Snopes’ fact-checking process, including how readers’ inquiries primarily drive our efforts. Think you’ve come across a suspicious rumor while scrolling? Drop us a line. We’ll try to look into it.
1 OF 12 ARTICLES
Red Flags: How to Identify Suspicious Rumors
For International Fact-Checking Day, we look at common techniques used to identify dubious stories online.
https://www.snopes.com/articles/401830/red-flags-suspicious-rumors/?collection-id=402862
2 OF 12 ARTICLES
Media Literacy: How to Spot T-Shirts Bearing Fabricated Messages
Sometimes, misinformation wears its heart on its sleeve.
https://www.snopes.com/news/2022/03/30/t-shirt-fake-message/?collection-id=402862
3 OF 12 ARTICLES
Snopes Tips: Why Care if Research Is ‘Peer-Reviewed’?
A how-to guide to reading scientific research.
https://www.snopes.com/news/2022/03/30/snopes-tips-why-care-if-research-is-peer-reviewed/?collection-id=402862
4 OF 12 ARTICLES
A Guide To Performing Reverse Image Searches
Knowing how to perform a reverse image search is vital for social media users.
https://www.snopes.com/articles/400681/how-to-perform-reverse-image-searches/?collection-id=402862
5 OF 12 ARTICLES
Snopes-ing 101: Spotting Misleading Captions and Missing Context
When sharing posts containing images on social media, be mindful that sometimes, older images can be repurposed by simply changing a caption.
https://www.snopes.com/news/2022/03/31/snopes-ing-101-spotting-misleading-captions-and-missing-context/?collection-id=402862
6 OF 12 ARTICLES
This Headline Doesn’t Tell You Everything You Need
Neither does this slightly smaller text known as a "subhead."
https://www.snopes.com/articles/401035/headlines-articles-context/?collection-id=402862
7 OF 12 ARTICLES
How Snopes Monitors ‘Virtue Signaling’ on Social Media
Feb. 1 marks the beginning of Black History Month — and likely a flood of posts recognizing the celebration. But what are authors' motivations?
ihttps://www.snopes.com/articles/392361/virtue-signaling/?collection-id=402862
8 OF 12 ARTICLES
Snopesing 101: How Snopes Fact Checks Racial Propaganda
And how you, the reader, can do the same ...
https://www.snopes.com/articles/390059/how-snopes-checks-racial-rumors/?collection-id=402862
9 OF 12 ARTICLES
Snopes Tips: How To Detect and Avoid Online Scams
There are countless "exclusive reward," "free coupon," and "free product" scams on social media. Here's how to recognize them and avoid trouble.
ihttps://www.snopes.com/articles/396428/how-to-detect-avoid-online-scams/?collection-id=402862
10 OF 12 ARTICLES
Snopes Tips: How to Spot Coordinated Inauthentic Behavior
People and groups sometimes hide their identities on social media in order to mislead and/or influence people for political or financial ends.
https://www.snopes.com/articles/385721/coordinated-inauthentic-behavior-2/?collection-id=402862
11 OF 12 ARTICLES
Snopes Tips: How To Avoid Ad Arbitrage Clickbait
"Ad arbitrage" is when website owners create stories that are broken up into multiple pages, place ads on them, and reap profits off the ads that appear on the many pages.
https://www.snopes.com/articles/387913/avoid-ad-arbitrage-clickbait/?collection-id=402862
12 OF 12 ARTICLES
Snopes Tips: Honing Your Search Skills
How to harness the power of search engines to find the information you want.
https://www.snopes.com/articles/384588/honing-your-search-skills/?collection-id=402862
Where Snopes rate on Media Bias Chart. Type in name in search on the interactive chart here
Something for anyone who missed the celebrations yesterday.
ihttps://factcheckingday.com/
A Collection of Tips for Combating Online Misinformation Like a Pro
12 Articles
https://www.snopes.com/collections/international-fact-checking/
To celebrate International Fact-Checking Day on April 2, 2022, the Snopes newsroom compiled some tools to help you navigate the internet like a pro.
by Jessica Lee
To celebrate International Fact-Checking Day on April 2, 2022, the Snopes newsroom documented some ways it scours the internet daily and determines whether viral rumors are factual or misleading.
Below, you can learn how to perform reverse image searches, analyze social media posts about purported scientific research, spot digitally manipulated photos — and more — just like our professional fact-checkers. You may also want to bookmark our “Fact-Checkers’ Toolbox” with additional tips and tricks to up your media literacy game.
What is International Fact-Checking Day? The concept of an annual observance to celebrate the important work of fact checkers surfaced in 2014 during a gathering of journalists and professional researchers at the London School of Economics, USA Today reported. That group eventually formed Poynter’s International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN), a consortium of news outlets and advocates against online misinformation.
“Fact-Checking Day is an annual celebration and rallying cry for more truth in public health, journalism, and everyday life,” Poynter said. “It is meant to be lighthearted, but practical.”
To celebrate, learn more about Snopes’ fact-checking process, including how readers’ inquiries primarily drive our efforts. Think you’ve come across a suspicious rumor while scrolling? Drop us a line. We’ll try to look into it.
1 OF 12 ARTICLES
Red Flags: How to Identify Suspicious Rumors
For International Fact-Checking Day, we look at common techniques used to identify dubious stories online.
https://www.snopes.com/articles/401830/red-flags-suspicious-rumors/?collection-id=402862
2 OF 12 ARTICLES
Media Literacy: How to Spot T-Shirts Bearing Fabricated Messages
Sometimes, misinformation wears its heart on its sleeve.
https://www.snopes.com/news/2022/03/30/t-shirt-fake-message/?collection-id=402862
3 OF 12 ARTICLES
Snopes Tips: Why Care if Research Is ‘Peer-Reviewed’?
A how-to guide to reading scientific research.
https://www.snopes.com/news/2022/03/30/snopes-tips-why-care-if-research-is-peer-reviewed/?collection-id=402862
4 OF 12 ARTICLES
A Guide To Performing Reverse Image Searches
Knowing how to perform a reverse image search is vital for social media users.
https://www.snopes.com/articles/400681/how-to-perform-reverse-image-searches/?collection-id=402862
5 OF 12 ARTICLES
Snopes-ing 101: Spotting Misleading Captions and Missing Context
When sharing posts containing images on social media, be mindful that sometimes, older images can be repurposed by simply changing a caption.
https://www.snopes.com/news/2022/03/31/snopes-ing-101-spotting-misleading-captions-and-missing-context/?collection-id=402862
6 OF 12 ARTICLES
This Headline Doesn’t Tell You Everything You Need
Neither does this slightly smaller text known as a "subhead."
https://www.snopes.com/articles/401035/headlines-articles-context/?collection-id=402862
7 OF 12 ARTICLES
How Snopes Monitors ‘Virtue Signaling’ on Social Media
Feb. 1 marks the beginning of Black History Month — and likely a flood of posts recognizing the celebration. But what are authors' motivations?
ihttps://www.snopes.com/articles/392361/virtue-signaling/?collection-id=402862
8 OF 12 ARTICLES
Snopesing 101: How Snopes Fact Checks Racial Propaganda
And how you, the reader, can do the same ...
https://www.snopes.com/articles/390059/how-snopes-checks-racial-rumors/?collection-id=402862
9 OF 12 ARTICLES
Snopes Tips: How To Detect and Avoid Online Scams
There are countless "exclusive reward," "free coupon," and "free product" scams on social media. Here's how to recognize them and avoid trouble.
ihttps://www.snopes.com/articles/396428/how-to-detect-avoid-online-scams/?collection-id=402862
10 OF 12 ARTICLES
Snopes Tips: How to Spot Coordinated Inauthentic Behavior
People and groups sometimes hide their identities on social media in order to mislead and/or influence people for political or financial ends.
https://www.snopes.com/articles/385721/coordinated-inauthentic-behavior-2/?collection-id=402862
11 OF 12 ARTICLES
Snopes Tips: How To Avoid Ad Arbitrage Clickbait
"Ad arbitrage" is when website owners create stories that are broken up into multiple pages, place ads on them, and reap profits off the ads that appear on the many pages.
https://www.snopes.com/articles/387913/avoid-ad-arbitrage-clickbait/?collection-id=402862
12 OF 12 ARTICLES
Snopes Tips: Honing Your Search Skills
How to harness the power of search engines to find the information you want.
https://www.snopes.com/articles/384588/honing-your-search-skills/?collection-id=402862
Where Snopes rate on Media Bias Chart. Type in name in search on the interactive chart here
Something for anyone who missed the celebrations yesterday.
ihttps://factcheckingday.com/
A Collection of Tips for Combating Online Misinformation Like a Pro
12 Articles
https://www.snopes.com/collections/international-fact-checking/
To celebrate International Fact-Checking Day on April 2, 2022, the Snopes newsroom compiled some tools to help you navigate the internet like a pro.
by Jessica Lee
To celebrate International Fact-Checking Day on April 2, 2022, the Snopes newsroom documented some ways it scours the internet daily and determines whether viral rumors are factual or misleading.
Below, you can learn how to perform reverse image searches, analyze social media posts about purported scientific research, spot digitally manipulated photos — and more — just like our professional fact-checkers. You may also want to bookmark our “Fact-Checkers’ Toolbox” with additional tips and tricks to up your media literacy game.
What is International Fact-Checking Day? The concept of an annual observance to celebrate the important work of fact checkers surfaced in 2014 during a gathering of journalists and professional researchers at the London School of Economics, USA Today reported. That group eventually formed Poynter’s International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN), a consortium of news outlets and advocates against online misinformation.
“Fact-Checking Day is an annual celebration and rallying cry for more truth in public health, journalism, and everyday life,” Poynter said. “It is meant to be lighthearted, but practical.”
To celebrate, learn more about Snopes’ fact-checking process, including how readers’ inquiries primarily drive our efforts. Think you’ve come across a suspicious rumor while scrolling? Drop us a line. We’ll try to look into it.
1 OF 12 ARTICLES
Red Flags: How to Identify Suspicious Rumors
For International Fact-Checking Day, we look at common techniques used to identify dubious stories online.
https://www.snopes.com/articles/401830/red-flags-suspicious-rumors/?collection-id=402862
2 OF 12 ARTICLES
Media Literacy: How to Spot T-Shirts Bearing Fabricated Messages
Sometimes, misinformation wears its heart on its sleeve.
https://www.snopes.com/news/2022/03/30/t-shirt-fake-message/?collection-id=402862
3 OF 12 ARTICLES
Snopes Tips: Why Care if Research Is ‘Peer-Reviewed’?
A how-to guide to reading scientific research.
https://www.snopes.com/news/2022/03/30/snopes-tips-why-care-if-research-is-peer-reviewed/?collection-id=402862
4 OF 12 ARTICLES
A Guide To Performing Reverse Image Searches
Knowing how to perform a reverse image search is vital for social media users.
https://www.snopes.com/articles/400681/how-to-perform-reverse-image-searches/?collection-id=402862
5 OF 12 ARTICLES
Snopes-ing 101: Spotting Misleading Captions and Missing Context
When sharing posts containing images on social media, be mindful that sometimes, older images can be repurposed by simply changing a caption.
https://www.snopes.com/news/2022/03/31/snopes-ing-101-spotting-misleading-captions-and-missing-context/?collection-id=402862
6 OF 12 ARTICLES
This Headline Doesn’t Tell You Everything You Need
Neither does this slightly smaller text known as a "subhead."
https://www.snopes.com/articles/401035/headlines-articles-context/?collection-id=402862
7 OF 12 ARTICLES
How Snopes Monitors ‘Virtue Signaling’ on Social Media
Feb. 1 marks the beginning of Black History Month — and likely a flood of posts recognizing the celebration. But what are authors' motivations?
ihttps://www.snopes.com/articles/392361/virtue-signaling/?collection-id=402862
8 OF 12 ARTICLES
Snopesing 101: How Snopes Fact Checks Racial Propaganda
And how you, the reader, can do the same ...
https://www.snopes.com/articles/390059/how-snopes-checks-racial-rumors/?collection-id=402862
9 OF 12 ARTICLES
Snopes Tips: How To Detect and Avoid Online Scams
There are countless "exclusive reward," "free coupon," and "free product" scams on social media. Here's how to recognize them and avoid trouble.
ihttps://www.snopes.com/articles/396428/how-to-detect-avoid-online-scams/?collection-id=402862
10 OF 12 ARTICLES
Snopes Tips: How to Spot Coordinated Inauthentic Behavior
People and groups sometimes hide their identities on social media in order to mislead and/or influence people for political or financial ends.
https://www.snopes.com/articles/385721/coordinated-inauthentic-behavior-2/?collection-id=402862
11 OF 12 ARTICLES
Snopes Tips: How To Avoid Ad Arbitrage Clickbait
"Ad arbitrage" is when website owners create stories that are broken up into multiple pages, place ads on them, and reap profits off the ads that appear on the many pages.
https://www.snopes.com/articles/387913/avoid-ad-arbitrage-clickbait/?collection-id=402862
12 OF 12 ARTICLES
Snopes Tips: Honing Your Search Skills
How to harness the power of search engines to find the information you want.
https://www.snopes.com/articles/384588/honing-your-search-skills/?collection-id=402862
Where Snopes rate on Media Bias Chart. Type in name in search on the interactive chart here
Decades for the material stuff, generations for the rest.
It's sad that one with help of a few can create such havoc and destruction to a society. We have had some of that here in the US with tRump and his ilk and has literally killed, maimed, and destroyed 100s of thousand of lives, and created havoc upon our society.
Even though Putin helped to a great extent with that, he's done much worse with his abuse of Ukraine and the Russian people. It's only created the dilemma of the "Trolley Problem" with Ukraine being a third of the population of Russia alone, Europe five times the population of Russia, and then the count of everyone else that will get effected by Putin's aggression and criminality.
The sacrifices are many for the savior of most, all caused by just a few. A true tragedy.
Dire warning on climate change ‘is being ignored’ amid war and economic turmoil
The third segment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report is being overshadowed, just like the previous one
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/apr/03/dire-warning-on-climate-change-is-being-ignored-amid-war-and-economic-turmoil
Scientists fear that their last-ditch climate warnings are going unheeded amid international turmoil caused by the war in Ukraine, and soaring energy prices.
The third segment of the landmark scientific report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – which could be the last comprehensive assessment of climate science to be published while there is still time to avoid the worst ravages of climate breakdown – will be published on Monday, warning that the world is not shifting quickly enough to a low-carbon economy.
But the previous instalment of the vast report – known as working group 2 of the IPCC – was published a month ago, just as Russia invaded Ukraine, and received only muted attention, despite warning of catastrophic and irreversible upheavals that can only narrowly be avoided by urgent action now. Scientists told the Observer that Monday’s fresh scientific warning must spur governments to belated action.
Deborah Brosnan, adjunct professor of biology at Virginia Tech University in the US and a scientific consultant, told the Observer: “That [working group 2] report was widely anticipated, but completely ignored. Eclipsed mostly by the war in Ukraine, and domestic issues such as inflation, most major media have barely reported let alone analysed the findings.”
She said people were shocked by the Ukraine war, and concerned about soaring prices, but that the climate crisis also needed urgent attention. “The war in Ukraine is a terrible tragedy playing out before our eyes, and families rightly fear being pushed into poverty by inflation. Yet we seem blind to the fact that an even larger and existential crisis is already unfolding today – one that will result in a global humanitarian crisis and on a scale never seen before.”
Daniela Schmidt, professor at Bristol University and one of the lead authors of the working group 2 report, said the world’s current upheavals show how vulnerable we are to the impacts of the climate crisis, already being felt. Policymakers should consider where their resources are allocated, she advised. “Due to the geopolitical challenges, little political capacity is spent on climate action, and vast amounts of funding are allocated to defence,” she told the Observer.
“[But] the current situation also clearly shows people’s widespread vulnerability to climate change.”
An earlier report is streamed to a press conference of the Swiss Academy of Sciences in Bern last August.
An earlier report is streamed to a press conference of the Swiss Academy of Sciences in Bern last August. Photograph: Alessandro Della Valle/EPA
Governments have at least been waking up to the problem behind the scenes, said Bob Ward, policy director at the Grantham Institute on Climate Change at the London School of Economics.
“The IPCC report did struggle to gain attention. But while public discussion may have been muted, governments around the world are now studying the details of the report, and particularly its findings about how to make countries, companies and communities more resilient to those consequences of climate change that cannot now be avoided,” Ward said.
The report, due to be published ,Monday’s will deal with ways governments and the public can reduce greenhouse gas emissions, including greater use of renewable energy, growing trees and cutting-edge technology to suck carbon from the air. But its warnings – that the world is failing to deploy these methods at the scale required to limit global heating to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels – will be muted by the bureaucracy of the IPCC’s processes.
The report itself – part 3 of the sixth comprehensive assessment of climate science to be published by the IPCC since its foundation in 1988 – is based on thousands of scientific papers from the last seven years. But the key document published on Monday, the summary for policymakers, could be as short as 20 to 30 pages, consisting of a series of short messages and data.
These messages are subject to intense wrangling by both scientists and governments. Under the IPCC methods, all governments have the right to make changes to the final summary – and some are exercising those rights by toning down findings and vetoing some of the strongest statements.
Saudi Arabia, India, China and a few other countries have sought to make changes that would weaken the final warnings, the Observer understands. Some governments are anxious to avoid policy advice such as cutting subsidies to fossil fuels, even though these are widely espoused by leading authorities.This process of refinement – which has also been a complaint in the previous chapters of the IPCC assessment – is defended by some, as producing a document that all governments must “own”, as they have all had input. But many scientists are growing increasingly frustrated, as it produces a conservative and sometimes watered down document that many feel does not reflect the urgency and shocking nature of the threat.
This is kind of funny and besides the lawsuits, I sort of half expected things like this to happen. Careful what one wishes for I guess.
The law;
Following the law;
Attention Parents! 🚨
— Moms for Liberty (@Moms4Liberty) April 1, 2022
A teacher in Palm Beach County, FL shared this template with us. It is being shared among teachers to use for grades K-3.
How do you feel about this? What will you do when this arrives home in your child’s backpack?
Time to take a Stand. pic.twitter.com/Zo39SrxoJc
California snowpack is critically low, signaling another year of devastating drought
By Stephanie Elam, CNN
https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/01/us/california-snowpack-drought-climate/index.html
Updated 4:29 PM ET, Fri April 1, 2022
Sean de Guzman, manager of the California Department of Water Resources Snow Surveys Program, stands on dry ground with Director Karla Neme (right) and California Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot (center) while conducting the April 1 snowpack survey in Twin Bridges, California.
Sean de Guzman, manager of the California Department of Water Resources Snow Surveys Program, stands on dry ground with Director Karla Neme (right) and California Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot (center) while conducting the April 1 snowpack survey in Twin Bridges, California.
Twin Bridges, California (CNN)Snowpack in the California Sierra this winter is just 38% of normal, California water officials said Friday, in the latest sign the state's drought is growing more devastating by the month.
South of Lake Tahoe at Phillips Station, where officials set out Friday to conduct the annual end-of-winter snowpack measurement, the snow depth was just 2.5 inches. The average April 1 snow depth is 66.5 inches at this location, officials said.
More importantly, that 2.5 inches of snow only contained the equivalent of 1 inch of water -- a scant 4% of average for April 1, according to Sean de Guzman, an engineer with the California Department of Water Resources.
Incredible before and after photos show just how much this critical reservoir has dried up https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/30/us/lake-powell-drought-before-after-climate/index.html
Snow typically builds up in the Sierra Nevada throughout the winter, storing precious water that later melts and drains into reservoirs in the spring. California snowpack provides 30% of the state's water, according to the Department of Water Resources.
Earlier on Friday, the National Weather Service reported an alarming statistic: the January-March period this year was the driest such period "by a huge margin" in 101 years of record-keeping at three key observing stations in California.
"During that period, California's only received about half the amount of rainfall recorded in comparison to 2013, which ended up turning into the driest calendar year on record," de Guzman said.
It's a huge nosedive from how this winter started on the West Coast.
Climatologists were elated in December as they watched the snow pile up that month. More than 17 feet of snow fell near Donner Pass in the Sierra Nevada, breaking decades-old records.
Then, starting in January, precipitation "flatlined." Statewide snowpack, which -- at 6.5 feet -- was above average in December, sank to 90% of normal. Just 9 inches of snow fell at Donner Pass in January.
Severe drought and mandatory water cuts are pitting communities against each other in Arizona
Severe drought and mandatory water cuts are pitting communities against each other in Arizona
State officials are preparing for water shortages this summer. California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order Monday calling on local water agencies to implement their conservation plans and urging residents to self-monitor water use. He directed the State Water Resources Board to consider a ban on watering decorative grass at businesses and institutions, according to a release from his office, but would not include residential lawns or green areas in schools and parks.
"While we have made historic investments to protect our communities, economy and ecosystems from the worsening drought across the West, it is clear we need to do more," Newsom said.
And on March 18, the Department of Water Resources announced it was reducing the amount of water shared with municipalities by 10% as the state goes into its third year of drought.
The state had originally intended to give the different regions 15% of the water requested through the State Water Project, but will now lower that to 5%. The State Water Project is a state-owned "multi-purpose water storage and delivery system" that shares water supplies to different cities and counties, according to its website.
"We are experiencing climate change whiplash in real time with extreme swings between wet and dry conditions," department director Karla Nemeth said in a statement at the time. "We are continuing with a series of actions to balance the needs of endangered species, water supply conservation, and water deliveries for millions of Californians."
CNN's Stella Chan and Rachel Ramirez contributed to this report.
Lol. There's a group of the population that believe what you thought you saw WAS really flying saucers from other planets. I guess there is always a slim chance that at least a few of them were. Maybe that's it, the people over there were looking the other way watching for flying saucers, had to go on a beer run, and missed an attack.
I have no doubt that it was done by helicopters, I was just suspicious to the statement "nobody got a good look" or some form of awareness of a border crossing by the enemy. Still, like I said, it could be by Putin's creations and Ukraine is denying it. But again, there are no rules being followed in this deadly game. Only the "fog of war".
That is what really makes me suspicious. What, did he send everybody and ever thing to the Russian front, nobody standing guard or watching or no defense to expected conditions? Is the quality of Russia's army really that bad. It seems all Putin has is missiles that work to any large degree. The rest seems to be one big folly.
Maybe they aught to just give Putin Ukraine and go occupy Russia if this is all he's got.
Well it is a war with full responsibility on the Russian aggressor. Defense from that would have to include offensive moves and should definitely be expected. It is a necessity of the beast. Threatening so called "talks" is a joke (a really horrible one). There are no reasonable "talks" that can be had, all it's ever going to be is a futile exercise of theater and a waste of time. Unless for some miraculous demise of Putin himself and a more reasonable character emerges, that's just going to be the way it is.
Saying that, it's quite possible the whole thing could be Putin's own creation and not the Ukrainians at all. He's very capable of killing his own people or doing a little damage for show or use for his own purposes. He's done that many times before. "False flag" anyone. The only confirmation that I've read is that some missile shot and hit the oil storage. I haven't read that there was confirmation on who actually shot it or that it was even a Ukrainian helicopter, and even if there was, Putin is very capable of having an Ukrainian aircraft, am I'm sure does for his manipulation of the story line. One can not trust ANYTHING that comes from that side. So who knows, I hope it was Ukraine, but I suspect it might not be.
From that article
Ukraine's Danilov retorted: "He says it doesn't help talks, but does it help talks when they kill our children, our women - these outrages they commit on our land? These people are kind of sick."
Security camera footage of the depot, from a location verified by Reuters, showed a flash of light from what appeared to be a missile fired from low altitude in the sky, followed by an explosion on the ground.
This is what the GOP packing of the courts has done. It's regrettable to say the least that the US Supreme Court, and many state SC now is nothing but a right wing tool of the Republican Party. There is no more "blind justice" and no longer a separate third branch of our republic. Not sure how it can be fixed when big money pays for our leadership, 10's of millions of dollars paid for just the last three justices mostly by the fossil fuel industry. But the demise has been done for years before those three by the GOP.
The US supreme court’s assault on voting rights hits a new low
Ruling throws out Wisconsin’s redrawn electoral map, which included a new district to account for Black population growth
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/mar/31/supreme-court-assault-voting-rights-new-low
More than 70 people gathered at a rally in January, calling for an end to partisan redistricting and gerrymandering in Wisconsin.
Photograph: Mark Hertzberg/Zuma/Rex/Shutterstock
The fight to vote is supported by
guardian.org
About this content
Sam Levine in New York
Thu 31 Mar 2022 01.00 EDT
Even for experts who closely follow the US supreme court, there was something stunning about an emergency decision from the justices on Wednesday.
In an unexpected move, the court decided to throw out new districts for the state legislature in Wisconsin that had been picked by the state supreme court. But what was even more surprising was that the court’s conservative majority seemed to go out of its way to attack the Voting Rights Act, one of the most important civil rights laws designed to prevent discrimination in US elections. “Extra headspinning,” was how Michael Li, a redistricting expert at the Brennan Center for Justice, described it. “Bizarre,” observed Richard Hasen, an election law expert at the University of California, Irvine. David Wasserman, a redistricting expert at the non-partisan Cook Political Report, tweeted that the supreme court had entered “uncharted territory”.
The court’s decision in the Wisconsin case was the latest in a series of rulings that have left little pretense of how aggressively it is trying to weaken section 2 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA), the most powerful provision of the law, which outlaws racially discriminatory voting practices. The court is not hiding its skepticism of the use of race in redistricting, even when it’s used to protect minority voters, and is making it harder for litigants to justify considering race when district lines are redrawn.
“The supermajority of the conservative justices on the supreme court has become pretty emboldened. They’ve got a narrow vision of the scope of the Voting Rights Act. And they are not being shy about enforcing that as quickly as they can,” Hasen said in an interview. “The court is increasingly aggressive, and as a body is increasingly willingly to go out on a limb to fully implement the justices’ legal and political preferences without it being tempered by concern about perceptions and legitimacy.”
The court’s hostility towards the Voting Rights Act comes at a moment when Republican legislatures across the US are passing a wave of new voting restrictions that many see as thinly veiled efforts to make it harder for Black and Latinx Americans to vote. Voting rights groups have fewer and fewer tools to challenge those restrictions. This is the first redistricting cycle since 1965 that states with a history of voting discrimination don’t have to get their maps pre-approved before they go into effect, under a provision of the Voting Rights Act.
When the supreme court gutted that provision in 2013, Chief Justice John Roberts pointed to section 2 as a powerful tool litigants could use to challenge discriminatory voting laws. The court is now making it harder to win cases under that provision.
The court has recently used a docket of emergency cases – called the shadow docket – to issue consequential voting rights rulings for two other cases with little reasoning or briefing – sometimes both. Last month, the court blocked a lower court’s ruling that would have required Alabama to implement an additional Black-majority congressional district. In another shadow docket ruling this month, three of the court’s justices embraced a fringe legal theory that courts cannot second-guess state legislatures on election matters.
“It is a sign that many of the brakes have come off,” said Stephen Vladeck, a law professor at the University of Texas at Austin who studies the shadow docket. “It’s a sign that the court is increasingly willing to do whatever the court wants to do, procedural constraints and sort of awkward timing notwithstanding.”
The Wisconsin case arrived at the supreme court after an unusual set of circumstances and was not really set up to be a consequential voting rights dispute. “It is the most disturbing aspect of this,” said Deuel Ross, an attorney at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund who frequently litigates section 2 redistricting cases.
After the state’s Democratic governor and Republican legislature could not agree on a map, the state supreme court picked one that added an additional Black state assembly district near Milwaukee to account for Black population growth. The Republican legislature objected to the use of race in drawing that district and made an emergency request to the US supreme court to block the map from going into effect.
The supreme court had options. It could have granted that request and requested further briefing and oral argument. It could have rejected the request and waited for a full challenge to the new district to work its way through lower courts, where there would have been extensive evidence submitted about whether the additional district was needed.
Instead, it issued an unsigned seven-page order telling the Wisconsin supreme court what was needed to justify drawing an additional district. “The question that our VRA precedents ask and the court failed to answer is whether a race-neutral alternative that did not add a seventh majority-black district would deny black voters equal political opportunity,” the court wrote.
“It’s just really a signal that they don’t like the VRA and they wanted to say something about the VRA,” Li said. “It’s not even well hidden now. It’s like they’re gunning for the VRA.
“This is a court that’s not comfortable sorting voters into districts based on race and wants to know why you’re doing that,” he added. “The real question is whether they reformulate the test in a way that makes it practically impossible to ever win a section 2 case or whether there’s some reasonable universe of cases that survives.”
Another reason the Wisconsin decision was so notable was its timing. The supreme court has embraced a general idea recently, called the Purcell principle, that courts should not intervene in election disputes when an election is close.
Candidates are set to begin circulating petitions for office in just a few weeks and Wisconsin’s primary is set for 9 August. The Wisconsin Elections Commission, which oversees elections in the state, told the US supreme court any decision later than 15 March would “increase the risk of errors”. The supreme court issued its ruling sending Wisconsin back to the map drawing board eight days after that deadline.
That timing raised eyebrows because of a decision written by Justices Kavanaugh and Alito in the Alabama case. Writing in early February, the two conservative justices said it was too close to Alabama’s 24 May election to justify imposing new maps. But in a different redistricting case in North Carolina in early March, Alito wrote a ruling, joined by Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas, saying it was not too close to North Carolina’s 17 March primary to overturn maps that were being challenged there.
“The obvious cynical explanation is that when the Purcell principle helps Republicans, apply it. And don’t when it hurts them,” Hasen said.
Ross, the LDF attorney, said the supreme court’s ruling underscored the need to look elsewhere to protect voting rights.
“It’s been a long time since the courts were the saviors of our democracy,” he said. “As the courts become less and less responsive to these kinds of claims, it becomes more important that people are engaged not just at the national level … but what’s happening at the local level of what’s happening at your city council, school commission.
“All of that becomes more important, the less the court is responsive to voters of color under the Voting Rights Act.”
I do admit though that the weekly chart shows promise and room to grow and can't discount $50 or above for a high in the next month. It could be possible depending on all the local and world events going on, leading up to the earnings and maybe after earnings next month.
Going after that will depend on what LAC has done and will be forward projecting. We'll have to see what happens and can't discount the inflation, recession, market forces, world supply and demand problems, and how it effects any and all investments. I think everyone should remain cautious at least with any over exuberant expectations.
On the other side with Faux news for example, they are pounding the table with not the increased employment numbers, but hiding them with plastered news about the red states complaining about the lack of people taking their jobs and are putting in policies reducing the time and amounts of unemployment to force more people to work for some unlivable wage and increased poverty rate. Of course blaming Biden for all their problems.
I assume you mean holding above $40, we had a high of 40.14 yesterday and still need to beat the 41.56 high. But we sure are a long way of the 52wk low. I would suspect at some point here to retrace to somewhere lower before continuing to the $60's where I personally project the value will be. Not this year for 50s, 60s, but good solid mid 40's lows could definitely be valid. There will probably be some sort of spin off and separation of company for policies of battery material supply procurement and will be interesting to see how that's going to play out with it all. But still combined values should easily reach the 60's and beyond within a couple of yrs.
For me anyways, it's nice to play all the dips and valleys along the way while my long positions are playing out.
Trumpty doesn't care to know what any agreement or treaty means, whether it is or was good or bad, what might need worked on, or left alone, or even how to go about understanding anything but what would benefit him and his ilk.
I don't think Biden or other world leaders on the West side has any illusions about the goals that need to happen or the difficulty in reaching those goals. Expectations of too many aren't even on the same page or in the same book. Nothing is going to stop Putin in doing what he does or how he controls the mind set of his people, just his successes in it. Like any other murderous criminal, can't rehabilitate or change their ways, we just lock them up and put them away from polite society, we don't continue doing business with them. Russia needs to be that jail, locked and put away from the rest of world, no longer having any business dealing with them. Unfortunately people die and suffer before it's done, but we still can't give up until it is done. No half ass like we've always done in the past, but full bore and never quit. Got to get rid of the control and influence that really bad people and systems have over the rest of the world and our dependencies to those things.
A total shift has to happen and there will be a lot of dying and suffering before it succeeds. There is no reasoning with a mass murderous criminal and no point in trying. We need to follow through and get even tougher and more extreme in our efforts and this will take years of focus and definitely can't expect substantial results in a few short months or even a year in which some are expecting or envisioning.
That's some pretty lazy writing there, surprised it came from the NYT. I'm surprised at you for using it as a premise for your arguments, I think your better than that. I guess it serves as some filler to a small space, but that's about it.
I would argue that your emotions are getting the best of you, and maybe you need to take your own good advice, and take a few more steps back, zoom out, and look at the larger picture here. More macro, less micro I think would help a lot. This isn't about "winning" in Ukraine, or the singular goals that your describing, or the singular examples that your giving as comparisons, it's so much more larger and involved. There is no simple easy way out.
Nobody ever really wins in war I agree, and there never is any good solutions, only the better of the multiple evils. There is a lot of innocent having to pay the price and there is a lot of should've, could've, would've here, but here's where we are now having to deal with it. Some mistakes will be made, and it's going to be one major pain for quite some time, but hopefully the world can evolve into something more workable than what we've been doing for so long. That will be the only "winning" that we can look forward to.
There are unprecedented multinational, intelligent, non emotional (as much a humanly possible) things happening right now. It's just scratching the beginning, and many are just not grasping the magnitude of it's goals and effects that it's having now and will have in the future. A MAJOR shift and change in the worlds geo-political and geo-economic systems is starting to happen. This war and the resulting mayhem, will change the world as we know it forever, will change Putin as we know him, and change how every person in every country evolves into the future. Some things will stay the same, but a major part won't.
But back to the article, number one and foremost, there is no such thing as an "independent pollster" in Russia. Especially one that is supposedly labeled a "foreign agent" that can run around freely and say anything but what the state wants them to say that a minuscule 1,600 out of 150-200 million (shrinking) feels about things. Like that amount of "polled" can have any "accuracy" labeled as a statistic at all. Independent poll, what garbage. Can't even use the word independent as an adjective in a valid way when discussing information from Russia for factual discussion.
So the whole premise in which your views rely on and the article is derived from is terribly flawed. Making the conclusions from it also terribly flawed. Now I admit I'm no attorney, but I don't think it really takes one to see that.
Now the author does goes on to say the following, but even then there's some problems with some of his descriptive words and can be misleading. Things like "Many"; some obscure subjective meaning that maybe should be 99% if not all to hardly any, depending on what ever thought process is trying to be projected. Doesn't really matter though, the whole thing started out with an irresponsible beginning.
But don't discount the successes that can be had or the successes we're having with the current processes. It's going to be a tough job, I don't envy the ones that are involved in getting through this. Besides armchair quarterbacking is so much easier.
Many Russians live in a world, as presented by state-run media, where there is no war with Ukraine. Instead, their country is carrying out “a special military operation” to uproot far-right extremists in a brotherly country that went off track and has been pushed by Western countries to turn against Moscow.
The Kremlin has moved to silence most independent media in Russia, forcing some to flee or suspend operations, and others to self-censor. Russia has blocked access to social media platforms, including Facebook, and major foreign news outlets, and enacted a law to punish anyone spreading “false information” about its Ukraine invasion with up to 15 years in prison. Thousands have been arrested in recent weeks at antiwar protests, according to human rights activists.
The poll by Levada — which has been declared a “foreign agent” in Russia — was conducted among more than 1,600 people across the country, with the margin of error not exceeding 3.4 percentage points.
Not sure, sold mine a couple a months ago and have just been watching waiting to see how it all plays out with the chip shortages. The entire auto industry is in reduction mode.
This today with Ford
Ford Motor Co. will pause production next week at a Michigan plant that produces Mustangs due to the ongoing chip shortage.
"The global semiconductor shortage continues to affect Ford 's North American plants," the auto maker said in a statement Thursday. "Behind the scenes, we have teams working on how to maximize production, with a continued commitment to building every high-demand vehicle for our customers with the quality they expect. All of our North American plants will run the week of April 4 , except Flat Rock Assembly Plant ."
The Flat Rock, Mich. , facility started producing the 2022 Ford Mustang in January, but production has been halted multipletimes this year due to supply-chain constraints. Ford plants in Ohio and Kentucky have also halted production at times this year.
In February, Ford warned in its fourth-quarter earnings report that its production would likely see a "low double- digit net decline in the first quarter," citing "persistent supply-chain disruptions." Still, Ford said it expected 10% to 15% full-year wholesale gains in 2022.
Ford shares (F) fell 2% Thursday and are down nearly 19% year to date, but are up 39% over the past year, compared to the S&P 500's 5% decline in 2022 and 13% gain over the past 12 months.
- Mike Murphy
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
03-31-22 1919ET
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