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Bone Therapeutics, Link Health and Pregene to develop and commercialize the ALLOB allogeneic bone cell therapy platform in China and Southeast Asia -…

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Gosselies, Belgium, 5 October 2020, 7am CEST BONE THERAPEUTICS(Euronext Brussels and Paris: BOTHE), the cell therapy company addressing unmet medical needs in orthopedics and other diseases, Link Health Pharma Co., Ltd (Link Health) and Shenzhen Pregene Biopharma Company, Ltd (Pregene) today announce the signing of an exclusive license agreement for the manufacturing, clinical development and commercialization of Bone Therapeutics allogeneic, off-the-shelf, bone cell therapy platform ALLOB in China (including Hong Kong and Macau), Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea, and Thailand.

Under the agreement, Bone Therapeutics is eligible to receive up to 55 million in development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments including 10 million in upfront and milestone payments anticipated in the next 24 months. Bone Therapeutics is also entitled to receive tiered double-digit royalties on annual net sales of ALLOB. Bone Therapeutics retains development and commercialization rights to ALLOB in all other geographies outside of those covered by this agreement. As a result, Bone Therapeutics will continue to concentrate on its development and commercialization plans for ALLOB in the US and Europe and novel innovative cell-based products globally.

This collaboration between Bone Therapeutics, Link Health and Pregene expands our geographic reach and demonstrates the global commercial potential of ALLOB,said Miguel Forte, MD, PhD, Chief Executive Officer of Bone Therapeutics. We already have operational experience in Asia with the Phase III clinical trial of our lead product JTA-004 in Hong Kong. We selected Link Health and Pregene to partner with us in Asia as a result of their expertise in advanced therapeutics and cell therapies, their proven track record of development and commercial implementation in Chinese and Asian markets, and Pregenes well established cell therapy manufacturing capacity. Bone Therapeutics will continue to develop the ALLOB cell therapy platform for other markets while exploring additional partnership opportunities in the U.S. and Europe.

The agreement grants Link Health and Pregene exclusive rights to clinically develop and commercialize ALLOB for the treatment of human bone disorders in Greater China, Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea, and Thailand. All rights for China will be transferred to Pregene and Link Health will gain rights for the remaining countries Bone Therapeutics will share its patented proprietary manufacturing expertise for the expansion and differentiation of bone-forming cells and has the option to sell clinical supplies to Link Health and Pregene in preparation for their clinical development of ALLOB.

This collaboration and license agreement for Bone Therapeutics ALLOB provides a strong addition to our pipeline. ALLOB has demonstrated the potential to reduce the recovery time and stimulate bone growth for a variety of bone conditions, and to have a considerable impact on patients lives,said Yan Song, PhD, Chief Executive Officer of Link Health. It is important for Link Health to collaborate with companies that have strong therapeutic product portfolios and entrepreneurial management. This partnership with Bone Therapeutics is a direct result of our shared commitment to appreciate the enormous potential of cell therapy and regenerative medicine.

Pregene now has a flourishing portfolio of CAR-T cell therapy-based cancer treatments. Bone Therapeutics ALLOB provides anallogeneic, off-the-shelf cell therapy that expands our portfolio of cell therapies to include the sizable commercial potential of orthopedics,said Hongjian Li, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Pregene. We expect to be able to leverage our extensive international cell and gene therapy experience to develop Bone Therapeutics ALLOB platform and subsequently launch products in China and Southeast Asian markets.

ALLOB, an allogeneic and off-the-shelf cell therapy product manufactured through a proprietary, scalable production process, consists of human bone-forming cells derived from cultured bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells of healthy adult donors. In preclinical studies ALLOB has shown to reduce healing time in a delayed-union fracture model by half, and has demonstrated good tolerability and signs of efficacy in two Phase IIa studies for two separate indications. The Companys randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind Phase IIb clinical trial in patients with difficult tibial fractures has received approval from regulatory authorities in six of the seven planned European countries to date, and is expected to enroll the first patient later this year.

About Link Health Pharma Co., Ltd

Link Health is a leading Chinese pharmaceutical company based in Guangzhou, Southern China, focusing on the development of innovative drugs for unmet medical needs.

Link Health has created a highly professional team with diverse expertise in drug development, medical affairs and regulatory affairs. Leveraging deep understanding of China market, regulatory environment and strong network with global biopharmaceutical companies, Link Health is well positioned to bring innovative drugs to the market efficiently. The company has a drug development pipeline of 5 clinical stage assets and 1 under NDA reviewing in China.

The company has also established a fully owned subsidiary in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The Dutch office builds and further strengthen collaborations with global pharma/biotech partners and research institutes.

About Pregene Biopharma Co., Ltd

Shenzhen Pregene Biopharma Co. Ltd is a leading enterprise in the cell and gene therapy field with the core technology for industrialization. The companys core team comes from well-known institutions and companies including the Academy of Military Medical Sciences, the University of Toronto, and the US FDA.

Pregene has established the gene editing platform, viral vector and cell production platform, nanobody selection platform and other small to pilot trial manufacturing system, with total investment over 100 million CNY. It has the laboratories and GMP plants for cell and gene therapy of over 10,000 square meter.

The company focuses on the research and development of cell and gene therapy drugs, and participated in the drafting the national standard Considerations for CAR-T Cell Quality Study and Non-clinical Evaluation issued by the National Institutes for Food and Drug Control in June 2018. The CAR-T cell therapy for the treatment of multiple myeloma have obtained NMPA IND clearance as the Class I new drug, which is the first in China and fastest in the world using the humanized single domain antibody in CAR construct, and phase I clinical trials are now in progress. Other pipelines such as CAR-T, TCR-T and mRNA drugs for tumors, autoimmune diseases and other indications are in the development at different stages. The company has broad development prospects with the abundant backup technologies.

Looking forward to the future, the company will build the core capacity in one-stop solution for cell and gene therapy drugs, and fulfill the Express of innovative medicine development from drug discovery to clinical products.

About Bone Therapeutics

Bone Therapeutics is a leading biotech company focused on the development of innovative products to address high unmet needs in orthopedics and other diseases. The Company has a, diversified portfolio of cell and biologic therapies at different stages ranging from pre-clinical programs in immunomodulation to mid-to-late stage clinical development for orthopedic conditions, targeting markets with large unmet medical needs and limited innovation.

Bone Therapeutics is developing an off-the-shelf next-generation improved viscosupplement, JTA-004, which is currently in phase III development for the treatment of pain in knee osteoarthritis. Consisting of a unique combination of plasma proteins, hyaluronic acid a natural component of knee synovial fluid, and a fast-acting analgesic, JTA-004 intends to provide added lubrication and protection to the cartilage of the arthritic joint and to alleviate osteoarthritic pain and inflammation. Positive phase IIb efficacy results in patients with knee osteoarthritis showed a statistically significant improvement in pain relief compared to a leading viscosupplement.

Bone Therapeutics core technology is based on its cutting-edge allogeneic cell therapy platform with differentiated bone marrow sourced Mesenchymal Stromal Cells (MSCs) which can be stored at the point of use in the hospital. Currently in pre-clinical development, BT-20, the most recent product candidate from this technology, targets inflammatory conditions, while the leading investigational medicinal product, ALLOB, represents a unique, proprietary approach to bone regeneration, which turns undifferentiated stromal cells from healthy donors into bone-forming cells. These cells are produced via the Bone Therapeutics scalable manufacturing process. Following the CTA approval by regulatory authorities in Europe, the Company is ready to start the phase IIb clinical trial with ALLOB in patients with difficult tibial fractures, using its optimized production process. ALLOB continues to be evaluated for other orthopedic indications including spinal fusion, osteotomy, maxillofacial and dental.

Bone Therapeutics cell therapy products are manufactured to the highest GMP standards and are protected by a broad IP (Intellectual Property) portfolio covering ten patent families as well as knowhow. The Company is based in the BioPark in Gosselies, Belgium. Further information is available atwww.bonetherapeutics.com.

For further information, please contact:

Bone Therapeutics SAMiguel Forte, MD, PhD, Chief Executive OfficerJean-Luc Vandebroek, Chief Financial OfficerTel: +32 (0)71 12 10 00investorrelations@bonetherapeutics.com

For Belgian Media and Investor Enquiries:BepublicCatherine HaquenneTel: +32 (0)497 75 63 56catherine@bepublic.be

International Media Enquiries:Image Box CommunicationsNeil Hunter / Michelle BoxallTel: +44 (0)20 8943 4685neil.hunter@ibcomms.agency / michelle@ibcomms.agency

For French Media and Investor Enquiries:NewCap Investor Relations & Financial CommunicationsPierre Laurent, Louis-Victor Delouvrier and Arthur RouillTel: +33 (0)1 44 71 94 94bone@newcap.eu

For US Media and Investor Enquiries:LHA Investor RelationsYvonne BriggsTel: +1 310 691 7100ybriggs@lhai.com

Certain statements, beliefs and opinions in this press release are forward-looking, which reflect the Company or, as appropriate, the Company directors current expectations and projections about future events. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties and assumptions could adversely affect the outcome and financial effects of the plans and events described herein. A multitude of factors including, but not limited to, changes in demand, competition and technology, can cause actual events, performance or results to differ significantly from any anticipated development. Forward looking statements contained in this press release regarding past trends or activities should not be taken as a representation that such trends or activities will continue in the future. As a result, the Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release any update or revisions to any forward-looking statements in this press release as a result of any change in expectations or any change in events, conditions, assumptions or circumstances on which these forward-looking statements are based. Neither the Company nor its advisers or representatives nor any of its subsidiary undertakings or any such persons officers or employees guarantees that the assumptions underlying such forward-looking statements are free from errors nor does either accept any responsibility for the future accuracy of the forward-looking statements contained in this press release or the actual occurrence of the forecasted developments. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release.

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Bone Therapeutics, Link Health and Pregene to develop and commercialize the ALLOB allogeneic bone cell therapy platform in China and Southeast Asia -...

Disruptive Technologies Are Enabling The Re-Opening Economy – Seeking Alpha

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In July, we exited the Stay-at-Home Economy phase of the COVID-19 pandemic and entered a chapter we call the Re-Opening Economy a transitional stage that seeks to balance progress toward economic normalcy with limiting the virus' spread. Many businesses and schools have since carefully welcomed back customers, employees, and students, often instituting new policies requiring social distancing and wearing personal protective equipment (PPE). However, even for the world's top medical professionals and policymakers, there exist many unknowns associated with re-opening, and the risk of resurgent outbreaks remains high. Amid this uncertainty, a handful of groundbreaking technologies like Cloud Computing, Genomics, the Internet of Things (IoT), and Telemedicine are playing critical roles in promoting safety while maintaining flexibility. Ultimately, they could prove key to advancing to the final stage of this global crisis: The New Normal Economy.

Sandwiched between the two extremes of the largely shut-down Stay-at-Home Economy and a fully opened New Normal Economy, the Re-Opening Economy is an uncertain, transitional phase. Without a widely distributed COVID-19 vaccine, future outbreaks remain a looming threat, while the economic and emotional tolls of the Stay-at-Home Economy create mounting pressure to resume in-person learning and work.

Government officials and business leaders are re-opening in phases, hoping to balance these competing forces by gradually resuming in-person interactions. Supportive policies can include enforcing mandatory mask-wearing, encouraging outdoor dining, reducing office-capacity, and alternating schedules for students' and employees' in-person attendance. Over time, these policies can loosen or tighten depending on their success.

Yet despite these efforts to prevent new outbreaks, weddings, college campuses, and Wall Street trading floors were recently responsible for a handful of localized COVID-19 outbreaks. Responses to these spreader-events are often steps backward; employees and students are sent home, while public gatherings are further reined in. Therefore, the Re-Opening Economy is not a linear path to the New Normal Economy. Policies and social norms are changing on the fly, while we adapt and learn from this deadly virus.

Navigating the tenuous environment requires an approach rooted in two critical goals: 1) Maximizing the safety of stakeholders like employees, students, and customers, and 2) Minimizing the impact future outbreaks may have on business and society by improving flexibility and resilience. We have identified multiple themes that we believe play an essential role in achieving these goals, including Cloud Computing, Genomics, the Internet of Things, and Telemedicine. In our view, the successful and widespread implementation of the technologies could accelerate our progress towards overcoming this pandemic.

Cloud Computing

Cloud Computing broadly describes the digital infrastructure that gives us access to applications, files, and data over the internet. Whereas in the past this functionality was constrained to on-premises desktops and servers, the cloud brings this information to any number of connected devices around the world. Over the past decade, many enterprises already began shifting their IT to cloud-based platforms. But ensuring business continuity amid global shutdowns brought work-from-home to the forefront, solidifying Cloud Computing as an essential pillar of the Stay-at-Home Economy.

Many services-based industries, for example, saw successful rapid implementations of cloud-based solutions, resulting in surprising business resilience throughout the pandemic, despite offices widely remaining closed. Employees used videoconferencing to connect with clients, remote server connections to access data and files, internal chat platforms to communicate with team members, and specialized browser-based software to manage business operations

While re-opening efforts suggest the work-from-home trend could be reversing, both employer and employee preferences indicate its likely here to stay. On the enterprise side, many companies simply do not want to take the risk of bringing workers back into their offices before a vaccine is readily available. Major employers like Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL), Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), and Uber (BER) announced that they will not require employees to return to their corporate offices until 2021. And an even greater fundamental shift is underway at firms like Facebook (NASDAQ:FB), Twitter (NYSE:TWTR), and Square (NYSE:SQ), where employees can now opt to work from home indefinitely.1 For employees, work-from-home affords them greater flexibility, and tellingly, a recent survey found that 40% of employees indicated a preference to work from home for 3+ days a week versus just 14% prior to the pandemic.2

As we face continued re-opening uncertainties and preferences indicate a hesitation to return to the office, work-from-home increasingly appears to be a long-term trend that should benefit companies across the Cloud Computing ecosystem.

Genomics

Genomics is the study of the order, structure, and function of genetic material. It gives us information that can prove valuable in developing diagnostics, treatments, and/or cures for diseases and other afflictions. Over the last two decades, the cost of sequencing a whole human genome dropped by 99.9%, paving the way for a massive collection of genetic data across populations, organisms, and pathogens.3 But it doesn't end there: more data means more possibilities to analyze and apply it. In recent years, hundreds of genomics-derived drugs and treatments entered clinical trials in the United States. Many of these have the potential to mitigate previously incurable conditions like cancer, assorted heart, eye, lung, and liver-related ailments, and rare genetic diseases.4

Genomic sub-sciences proved essential in lessening the impact of the pandemic at its onset. Modern genomic sequencing and analysis allowed researchers to identify COVID-19 as a novel pathogen in less than 10 days, leading to the prompt development of diagnostics which today inform our mitigation strategies. For comparison, the virus behind 2003's SARS outbreak took over three months to sequence.

Extending the impact of modern sequencing, genomic data has proved invaluable in kickstarting treatment and vaccine development. There are more than 529 COVID-19 treatments and vaccines in development with 35 in clinical trials as of September 29th, 2020. Notably, one of the eight candidates in phase III trials is an RNA-based vaccine. This type of vaccine seeks to use portions of viral genomes to induce immune responses without actually injecting pathogens.5

Until there is a vaccine that is effective, widely distributed, and embraced, massive testing and diagnostics will likely remain the predominant mitigation strategy. While country-level efforts for the most part reflected this sentiment from the get-go, private organizations are increasingly embracing their testing procedures as a path to re-opening. Major League Baseball, for example, tests players and staff every two days. The league has conducted well over 140,000 tests since its season began in July, successfully preventing multiple team-specific infections from escalating to a league-wide outbreak.6 Following the success of this approach, companies and universities are likely to institute similar testing policies to protect students, employees, and the communities they reside in. Implementing testing on such a broad scale would likely entail administering millions, if not billions of tests, benefiting genomics and biotech companies with exposure to the diagnostics value chain.

Internet of Things

The internet of things refers to the growing array of internet-connected devices, including smart home appliances, autonomous vehicles, wearables, smart factories, and next-generation infrastructure. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, consumers demonstrated a growing preference for smart devices, increasingly buying TVs with internet connections and watches sophisticated enough to supplement their smartphones. But as the pandemic unfolded, technologists realized internet-connected devices could potentially help identify symptoms and enforce social distancing.

Popular wearable health trackers, like the Apple Watch or Fitbit, continually collect heart rate and blood oxygen data from their users. Researchers theorized that measuring this data across thousands of subjects, could uncover population health patterns attributable to COVID-19. Preliminary results from a Fitbit study of 100,000 participants add credence to this idea. In 50% of instances where a positive test followed, Fitbit data detected COVID-19 one day before subjects noticed symptoms.7 The study implies that wearables may help with earlier identification of infection and can therefore recommend formal testing and/or quarantine to prevent the virus from spreading more broadly.

Beyond wearables, other IoT devices can help enforce social distancing and detect symptoms. For example, temperature monitors are increasingly used in airports, schools, and other heavily-trafficked areas to identify those with elevated temperatures. The connected nature of these devices enables data to be transmitted and centralized, offering health officials greater visibility of population-level health. Additionally, proximity sensors can help monitor adherence to social distancing guidelines, while near-field communication chips can play a part in alerting individuals if they encounter infected persons.

Beyond wearables and other sensor-equipped devices, there are a handful of use-cases for internet-connected devices that could prove invaluable to the re-opening process. These include drones and robots that can also help facilitate social distancing and limit person-to-person contact.

Telemedicine

Telemedicine connects doctors and patients over the internet, enabling virtual consultations and remote monitoring of patients' health. Prior to COVID-19, these technologies saw limited adoption as deeply engrained stakeholder practices proved difficult to disrupt. Yet as the pandemic unfolded, providers, patients, and payers quickly realized the benefits of telemedicine. By connecting with doctors through videoconferencing services and mobile health applications, patients could avoid the pandemic-related dangers of in-person visits and reduce costs by $19-121 per visit.8 From February to April 2020, telemedicine usage surged more than 30x, with related medical claims soaring from 0.4% to 13%.9

We anticipate telemedicine playing a continued essential role in the Re-Opening Economy given the flexibility and safety it offers. In addition, telemedicine represents just one facet of health care's digital transformation that should see broader acceleration as health systems seek to improve patient outcomes and improve efficiency.

Though the Re-Opening Economy roughly began in July, the lack of a vaccine and continued flare-ups of COVID-19 around the world suggest that this transitional phase is likely to remain in place for an extended time frame. The new norms and policies introduced to combat the virus will force economies and societies to adapt and may have lasting impacts beyond the current pandemic. Work-from-home could become a standard option for employees. IoT implementation in buildings and public spaces could become a part of standard health and security practices. Frequent diagnostics and telemedicine could become default approaches to medicine and health care.

And while the world will recover, it will not return to the Pre-COVID Economy of yesteryear. Such potential for permanent change and disruption is why we refer to the next phase of our recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic as the "New Normal Economy." We expect that many of the themes and technologies that enabled the Stay-at-Home Economy, facilitated the Re-Opening Economy, and could feature prominently in the New Normal Economy, will play vital roles in our lives moving forward.

CLOU: The Global X Cloud Computing ETF seeks to invest in companies positioned to benefit from the increased adoption of cloud computing technology, including companies whose principal business is in offering computing Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), managed server storage space and data center real estate investment trusts, and/or cloud and edge computing infrastructure and hardware.

SNSR: The Global X Internet of Things ETF seeks to invest in companies that stand to potentially benefit from the broader adoption of the Internet of Things (IoT), as enabled by technologies such as WiFi, 5G telecommunications infrastructure, and fiber optics. This includes the development and manufacturing of semiconductors and sensors, integrated products and solutions, and applications serving smart grids, smart homes, connected cars, and the industrial internet.

GNOM: The Global X Genomics & Biotechnology ETF seeks to invest in companies that potentially stand to benefit from further advances in the field of genomic science, such as companies involved in gene editing, genomic sequencing, genetic medicine/therapy, computational genomics, and biotechnology.

EDOC: The Global X Telemedicine & Digital Health ETF seeks to invest in companies positioned to benefit from further advances in the field of telemedicine and digital health. This includes companies involved in Telemedicine, Health Care Analytics, Connected Health Care Devices, and Administrative Digitization.

1. Employee data from Bloomberg, accessed on 8/31/2020.

2. Iometrics, Global Workplace Analytics, Global Work From Home Experience Survey, 2020.

3. NIH, National Human Genome Research Institute, 2018.

4. NHGI, 2018.

5. Global X ETFs, Milken Institute, Aug 21, 2020

6. Major League Baseball, "Latest MLB COVID-19 Test Results," Sep 25, 2020.

7. Fitbit, "Early Findings from Fitbit COVID-19 Study Suggest Fitbit Devices Can Identify Signs of Disease at Its Earliest Stages," Aug 19, 2020.

8. The American Journal of Emergency Medicine, "On-demand synchronous audio video telemedicine visits are cost effective," Aug 7, 2018.

Investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal. There is no guarantee the strategies discussed will be successful. International investments may involve risk of capital loss from unfavorable fluctuation in currency values, from differences in generally accepted accounting principles or from economic or political instability in other nations. Emerging markets involve heightened risks related to the same factors as well as increased volatility and lower trading volume. Narrowly focused investments may be subject to higher volatility. The investable universe for thematic ETFs may be limited. The Funds are non-diversified.

Thematic companies may have limited product lines, markets, financial resources or personnel. They typically engage in significant amounts of spending on research and development, capital expenditures and mergers and acquisitions.

The risks related to investing in cloud computing companies include disruption in service caused by hardware or software failure, interruptions or delays in service by third-party data center hosting facilities and maintenance providers, security breaches involving certain private, sensitive, proprietary and confidential information managed and transmitted by cloud computing companies, and privacy concerns and laws, evolving Internet regulation and other foreign or domestic regulations that may limit or otherwise affect the operations of such companies.

Investing in securities engaged in the social media industry include disruption in service caused by hardware or software failure; interruptions or delays in service by third-parties; security breaches involving certain private, sensitive, proprietary and confidential information managed and transmitted by social media companies; and privacy concerns and laws, evolving Internet regulation and other foreign or domestic regulations that may limit or otherwise affect the operations of such companies.

Information Technology companies can be affected by rapid product obsolescence, and intense industry competition. Risks include disruption in service caused by hardware or software failure; interruptions or delays in service by third-parties; security breaches involving certain private, sensitive, proprietary and confidential information managed and transmitted; and privacy concerns and laws, evolving Internet regulation and other foreign or domestic regulations that may limit or otherwise affect the operations. Healthcare, Pharmaceutical, Biotechnology and Medical Device companies can be affected by government regulations, expiring patents, rapid product obsolescence, and intense industry competition.

Carefully consider the Funds' investment objectives, risk factors, charges, and expenses before investing. This and additional information can be found in the Funds' summary or full prospectus, which may be obtained by calling 1.888.493.8631, or by visiting globalxetfs.com. Please read the prospectus carefully before investing.

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Editor's Note: The summary bullets for this article were chosen by Seeking Alpha editors.

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Disruptive Technologies Are Enabling The Re-Opening Economy - Seeking Alpha

Amy Coney Barrett on the First Amendment – Daily Signal

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This op-ed is part of a series exploring the writings and jurisprudence of Judge Amy Coney Barrett, the presidents nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court.

Now that President Donald Trump has nominated 7th Circuit Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court, the Senate must assess her qualifications, including her legal experience and judicial philosophy.

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Although experience can be summarized on a resume, a Supreme Court nominees understanding of the power and proper role of judges can be harder to describe.

Justice Clarence Thomas described the modest judicial task as interpreting and applying written law to the facts of particular cases. Barretts judicial philosophy is how she approaches that task in all of her cases.

Here, we look for clues in her cases and scholarship involving the First Amendment.

The Senate should consider a judicial nominees record on its own merits, and in the proper context. Though common, evaluating judicial decisions by which party to a case wins or loses, or by the political interests that might be furthered, is fundamentally misguided.

As Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said during her Senate confirmation hearing in 1993, Judges in our system are bound to decide concrete cases, not abstract issues.

Although a few issues seem to attract most media or political attention, judging is about the process one uses to reach results, not the results themselves. Americans, therefore, need to know the process that a judicial nominee will use in all of her cases, whatever the issue and whoever the parties.

Most cases in the U.S. Court of Appeals are first considered by a panel of three judges. Their judgment answers the legal questions posed by a case and, most of the time, a written opinion explains that judgment. Some of these written opinions, called per curiam opinion, are not attributed to a particular judge, but rather to all of the judges as a whole.

More typically, one judge writes the majority opinion; the other two judges on the panel may join that opinion or write their own, explaining why they agree or disagree.

Barrett has written roughly 100 opinions that may provide more insight than the opinions she joined, although information about someones judicial philosophy may be gleaned from those too.

These opinions must be read with the understanding that three-judge appeals court panels are bound by precedents of both the circuit and the Supreme Court.

With that in mind, Barrett herself made a strong statement about her judicial philosophy during the Rose Garden ceremony where Trump announced her nomination.

She said: I clerked for Justice [Antonin] Scalia more than 20 years ago, but the lessons I learned still resonate.His judicial philosophy is mine too: A judge must apply the law as written.Judges are not policymakers, and they must be resolute in setting aside any policy views they might hold.

Barrett joined the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit, which covers Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin, on Nov. 2, 2017. Before taking the bench, Barrett had written about the role that a courts past decisions play in its current decisions.

In one Notre Dame Law Review article, she explained how Scalia distinguished between two kinds of precedent when interpreting and applying the First Amendment.

Regarding the freedom of speech and religion clauses (especially when the core offense of suppressing particular political speech is not at issue), Scalia relied on the accepted practices of the American people over the Supreme Courts own past decisions.

Although we cant know definitely how Barrett will decide certain issues if confirmed to the Supreme Court, heres a look at several opinions she authored or joined that address First Amendment issues.

The case of Acevedo v. Cook County Officers Electoral Board (2019) involved a challenge to the requirement by Cook County, Illinois, that to appear on the ballot, a candidate for local office must collect signatures equal to 0.5% of the qualified voters of the candidates party who voted in the most recent general election in Cook County.

The plaintiff argued that this threshold violated the First Amendment because it was higher than the signature requirement to run for statewide office. Barrett wrote the opinion for the court, which found no First Amendment violation.

Barrett wrote that the tough legal standard under the First Amendment is triggered when the challenged regulation imposes a severe burden, not by the existence of a less burdensome restriction. Because Cook Countys signature requirement was not severe, it did not run afoul of the First Amendment.

In another case, Lett v. City of Chicago (2020), the plaintiff, an investigator for the office handling complaints of police misconduct in Chicago, claimed retaliation for exercising his First Amendment rights in refusing to write one of his reports in a particular way.

The court disagreed that his First Amendment rights had been violated, with Barrett writing that because the investigator spoke pursuant to his official duties and not as a private citizen when he refused to alter the report, the First Amendment does not apply.

Grussgott v. Milwaukee Jewish Day School Inc. (2018) was an employment dispute in which a teacher sued under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Barrett joined a per curiam (unsigned) opinion holding that the First Amendment allowed the Milwaukee Jewish Day School to make such personnel decisions without interference.

The court applied the Supreme Courts Hosanna-Tabor decision, which recognized a ministerial exception to employment discrimination suits against religious institutions. The 7th Circuit panel read the Supreme Courts decisions as requiring, in essence, a totality-of-the-circumstances test to determine whether the ministerial exception applies.

As Barrett noted in her recently submitted Senate Judiciary Questionnaire: The Supreme Court later vindicated our approach in Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru, 140 S. Ct. 2049 (2020).

In Smadi v. True, federal prison inmate Hosam Smadi sought an injunction and damages, alleging that prison officials violated the First Amendment by interfering in his communications with various parties and refusing him religious meals. The district court had dismissed the first claim, severing it from the second.

Barrett joined the opinion concluding that the record was insufficient to dismiss the claim of interference. Although a recent Supreme Court decision limited the kind of relief sought in this case, the 7th Circuit said that the best approach is for the district court to recruit counsel for Smadi and receive adversarial briefs on the First Amendment claims.

In Adams v. Board of Education, a school board declined to extend the school superintendents employment contract and, during her final year, blocked her email and tried to pretend that she did not exist.

This treatment followed the superintendents demands for an audit of the school districts finances and negative interactions with individual board members, one of which resulted in her contacting the police.

The superintendent took medical leave and sued for damages. A jury awarded her $400,000 after concluding that the school board had violated her First Amendment rights.

The board argued that the First Amendment did not apply because the police report involved a private or personal grievance rather than expression involving a matter of public concern.

Barrett joined Judge Frank Easterbrooks opinion concluding that the incidents reported to the police involved public officials and their official duties.

The suggestion that an audit was necessary, questions about the superintendents tenure, and the school districts treatment of her before her tenure ended are all subjects of public interest, the opinion said. Rejecting the boards other feeble arguments, the court affirmed the award in the superintendents favor.

In Republican Party of Illinois v. Pritzker, the Illinois Republican Party challenged one of Gov. J.B. Pritzkers executive orders issued to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

Executive Order 43, issued June 26, exempted religious organizations and houses of worship from a 50-person cap on in-person gatherings, encouraging them to follow the recommended practices and guidelines from the Illinois Department of Public Health.

The states Republican Party argued that the Democratic governors exemption violated the First Amendment because more than 50 people could gather in a church to worship but the same number could not gather elsewhere to discuss politics.

Barrett joined the opinion by Judge Diane Wood concluding that the speech that accompanies religious exercise has a privileged position under the First Amendment.

The Supreme Court has upheld legislation that gives religions a preferred position and held that the Establishment Clause permits accommodations designed to allow free exercise of religion. In this case, all that the Governor did was to limit to a certain degree the burden on religious exercise imposed by the limitation on gatherings.

These decisions paid close attention to the facts of each case, consistently followed precedent, and avoided unnecessarily addressing constitutional issues. By properly framing the issue in light of the facts in both Acevedo and Pritzker, for example, the 7th Circuit was able to decide the cases without unnecessarily opining about plaintiffs First Amendment interests.

In each of these cases, Barrett gave a glimpse of the thoughtful, serious way she would address her modest judicial task as an associate justice on the United States Supreme Court.

More here:

Amy Coney Barrett on the First Amendment - Daily Signal

Mask Mandate Doesn’t Violate the First Amendment – Reason

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Yesterday's Minnesota Voters Alliance v. Walz, decided by Judge Patrick J. Schiltz (D. Minn.), correctly rejects the argument that the Minnesota mask mandate "violates the First Amendment because it does not permit them to enter indoor public spaces without face coverings as a way to protest the requirement that they wear face coverings when they enter indoor public spaces":

The Supreme Court has recognized that expressive conduct may be entitled to a measure of First Amendment protection. In general, courts evaluate the validity of a law that regulates expressive conduct under the standard articulated in United States v. O'Brien (1968). This does not mean, however, that every law regulating conduct is subject to scrutiny under O'Brien whenever an individual decides to violate the law for the purpose of sending a message.

If combining speech and conduct were enough to create expressive conduct, a regulated party could always transform conduct into "speech" simply by talking about it. For instance, if an individual announces that he intends to express his disapproval of the Internal Revenue Service by refusing to pay his income taxes, we would have to apply O'Brien to determine whether the Tax Code violates the First Amendment. Neither O'Brien nor its progeny supports such a result.

To merit First Amendment protection under O'Brien, then, the conduct regulated by the challenged law must be "inherently expressive." Here, the conduct at issue is not inherently expressive. [A]n observer would have no idea why someone is not wearing a face covering. Absent explanation, the observer would not know whether the person is exempt from EO 20-81, or simply forgot to bring a face covering, or is trying to convey a political message. That fact takes the conduct outside of the First Amendment protection afforded by O'Brien.

Even if wearing or not wearing a face covering was inherently expressive, EO 20-81 is clearly constitutional, whether analyzed under O'Brien or Jacobson. Under O'Brien,

a government regulation is sufficiently justified if it is within the constitutional power of the Government; if it furthers an important or substantial governmental interest; if the governmental interest is unrelated to the suppression of free expression; and if the incidental restriction on alleged First Amendment freedoms is no greater than is essential to the furtherance of that interest.

There is no question that Minnesota has the constitutional authority to enact measures to protect the health and safety of its citizens. Likewise, there is no question that EO 20-81 furthers the substantial government interest in controlling the spread of a deadly and highly contagious disease. As discussed above, federal health officials recommend face coverings as an effective way to slow the spread of COVID-19, and this recommendation finds support in recent studies.

Finally, EO 20-81 is unrelated to the suppression of free expression and has at most an incidental effect on First Amendment freedoms that is no greater than necessary; plaintiffs are free to express their opinions about EO 20-81 in every conceivable way except by violating its provisions and putting at risk the lives and health of their fellow citizens.

Likewise, EO 20-81 is constitutional under the standard established in Jacobson v. Massachusetts (1905), which requires courts to examine whether a measure adopted to address a public-health crisis has a "real or substantial relation" to the crisis and, assuming that it has such a relation, whether it is "beyond all question, a plain, palpable invasion" of a constitutional right.

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Mask Mandate Doesn't Violate the First Amendment - Reason

Los Angeles Ordered To Pay NRA $150000 Over First Amendment Ordinance Violation – California Globe

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On Thursday, U.S. District Court Judge Stephen Wilson ordered the City of Los Angeles to pay the National Rifle Association (NRA) close to $150,000 over a 2019 ruling on a city ordinance aimed at negatively affecting some city workers who are members of the NRA.

City Ordinance 186000 specifically requires that any prospective contractor with the city must disclose all contracts or sponsorships with the NRA. The ordinance noted several mass shootings, including the Sandy Hook School shooting in 2012, the Las Vegas Mandalay Bay shooting of 2017, and both the Pittsburgh and Thousand Oaks shootings of 2018, and tried to tie them to the NRA by showing how their support for less strict gun laws led to those incidents. The ordinance also noted how many of those cities would later enact greater gun control methods.

It concluded that since Los Angeles enacted ordinances and position in favor of greater gun control, it would make sure city funds wouldnt go those with ties to the organization and would halt city contractor business with NRA members and supporters.

The Citys residents deserve to know if the Citys public funds are spent on contractors that have contractual or sponsorship ties with the NRA, read the ordinance. Public funds to such contractors undermines the Citys efforts to legislate and promote gun safety.

The NRA immediately sued Los Angeles after the ordinance went into effect in April 2019. While the city, as well as ordinance sponsors Mayor Eric Garcetti and Councilman Mitch OFarrell, had expected to win, the NRA made a hard case for the ordinance being in violation of First Amendment rights, mainly freedom of speech.

In December, Judge Wilson agreed with the NRA and ruled against Los Angeles, halting the ordinance for good and allowing contractors who are members of the NRA to once again be freely allowed to get contracts with the city.

The text of the ordinance, the ordinances legislative history, and the concurrent public statements made by the ordinances primary legislative sponsor evince a strong intent to suppress the speech of the NRA, Judge Wilson wrote in his ruling. Even though the Ordinance only forces disclosure of activity that may not be expressive, the clear purpose of the disclosure is to undermine the NRAs explicitly political speech.

The City has no interest in the suppression of political advocacy regardless of how distasteful it finds the content. The Ordinance is therefore incompatible with the Constitution, and Plaintiffs are likely to be successful on the merits of their First Amendment speech claims.

Los Angeles stayed quiet after the ruling, neither giving a statement on the ruling nor attempting to pass an altered ruling in 2020.

Free speech advocates, affected contractors, and the NRA had the opposite reaction and celebrated the ruling.

It was essentially a blacklisting for believing in a constitutional amendment, Charles Rogers, an NRA supporter and contractor with several cities in Southern California, told the Globe. I didnt even attempt anything in Los Angeles last year.

But its my belief and Im with a group that shares that belief. I shouldnt be shunned for it. But the city really did do it. Thank God for that lawsuit.

The NRA also responded: This is an important win for the NRA, our members, and all who believe in Americas constitutional freedoms. The ruling sends a powerful message to those government officials who would take any actions that are adverse to the NRA because they dislike its political speech.

However, a question lingered throughout much of 2020 over the matter of the NRAs legal fees, which came in close to $150,000.

Los Angeles, which is currently going through a fiscal emergency due to COVID-19 closings and the economic downturn, had long avoided paying the NRA, going as far as saying that the NRA had to pay it themselves.

But earlier this week Judge Wilson sided with the NRA again, ordering the city to give the NRA all money owed and finally closing the last remnant of the case for good.

I know the city is hurting, but its good to see a First and Second Amendment victory like this in a big city like LA, added Rogers. And that court ordered payment the other day? It will make them think twice about doing something like this in the future.

Evan V. Symon is the Senior Editor for the California Globe. Prior to the Globe, he reported for the Pasadena Independent, the Cleveland Plain Dealer, and was head of the Personal Experiences section at Cracked. He can be reached at evan@californiaglobe.com.

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Los Angeles Ordered To Pay NRA $150000 Over First Amendment Ordinance Violation - California Globe

Letter: ‘Civility’ is not mentioned in the First Amendment – Whidbey News-Times

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Editor,

I find myself writing another letter to our community newspaper. No, Im not mad, angry, nor riding a high horse pushing a candidate for elective public office. Believe it or not, it is because of a small, square white sticker tag attached to front of my Saturday newspaper.

For simplicity, Ill refer to it as the civility tag. Yes, a call for civility in the wild, one could say. That being wilderness of discontent we find ourselves in today, I presume. Asking for or suggesting the signing of a civility pledge of a local group promoting civility.

Yes, I believe the tag, as well as the group, are well intentioned.

Freedom of speech, as granted in our Constitution with few if any restrictions on ways of expression, does not include civility as a stipulation or requirement. Civility is an ambiguous term anyway. Meaningful in different ways to different folks.

Speaking for myself, I found it to be a Trojan horse of censorship.

This time of discontent we find ourselves in a period of history in the making and, I believe, most exercises of our inherited freedoms have been reasonably presented.

I understand others may disagree, but there is the value in freedom of speech, discussion and debate.

Thomas Strang

Coupeville

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Letter: 'Civility' is not mentioned in the First Amendment - Whidbey News-Times

Litigation fellow joins – Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press

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In September, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press welcomed Emily Brown as a litigation fellow. In her new role, Emily conducts legal research, drafts friend-of-the-court briefs and completes other assignments to support the Reporters Committees litigation efforts.

I went to law school because I was interested in First Amendment issues and free speech issues, Emily said. Its been my prevailing area of interest my whole life, so this is really a manifestation of all of that ambition.

Emily said she decided she wanted to become a lawyer when she was in middle school when she joined the debate team, winning a competition argument that the school newspaper should not be censored by the principal.

For her undergraduate degree, Emily attended Haverford College, a private liberal arts college in Pennsylvania, and majored in political science, with a minor in music. After graduating in 2013, Emily worked at a clean energy start-up before joining the Peace Corps in Lesotho, a country in Southern Africa, for three years.

In 2017, after returning from the Peace Corps, Emily attended the University of Virginia School of Law. During law school, Emily completed internships with a federal magistrate judge in the Eastern District of New York and the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts. She also did pro bono work for Mobilization for Justice, a legal services organization in New York City. During her final fall semester, she completed a full-time externship with the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund in Washington, D.C.

Emily graduated from law school in May 2020 and spent the summer studying for the bar exam before joining the Reporters Committee.

Emily Brown is not admitted to practice law.

The Reporters Committee regularly files friend-of-the-court briefs and its attorneys represent journalists and news organizations pro bono in court cases that involve First Amendment freedoms, the newsgathering rights of journalists and access to public information. Stay up-to-date on our work by signing up for our monthly newsletter and following us on Twitter or Instagram.

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Texas grand jury indicts Netflix for promotion of ‘Cuties’ – Martinsville Bulletin

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The film, which won an award at the Sundance Film Festival, is about an 11-year-old Senegalese immigrant who joins a dance group. The films writer and director, Mamouna Doucour, has said Cuties is a critique of the hypersexualization of young girls.

Tyler County District Attorney Lucas Babin, said in a Tuesday press release that the county opted to indict Netflix for promoting the film there. Texas Rangers served a summons to Netflix last week, he added.

Lucas Babin is the son of U.S. Rep. Brian Babin, who has called the film child pornography.

After hearing about the movie Cuties and watching it, I knew there was probable cause to believe it was criminal, Lucas Babin said in the release. If such material is distributed on a grand scale, isnt the need to prosecute more, not less?

Thomas Leatherbury, director of the First Amendment clinic at Southern Methodist University, called the indictment an unusual test case and said its troubling when there is a criminal charge related to First Amendment activity, particularly expressive activity, like a movie.

In Texas, a company convicted of a felony can be fined up to $20,000, according to the penal code. If the court finds that the company benefited financially from a crime, penalties can increase to twice the amount earned.

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Walking Toward God | Notre Dame Magazine | University of Notre Dame – ND Newswire

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Above my home in Boise, Idaho, a steep trail called Rock Garden rises hundreds of feet through boulders left behind when a prehistoric lake collapsed and rushed off to the Pacific two million years ago. Its many-colored rocks, lichen and moss, waterworn shapes and sparse desert vegetation are, for me, an everfascinating sculpture garden. Ive climbed it nearly every day while otherwise sheltering in place.

North of the trail lies one of the largest wildernesses in the Lower 48, stretching 300 miles with but a single intervening road. Together with the Teton Range near where I grew up, this mighty landscape formed my family, formed me and is still thrilling. Now, however, instead of grand adventure at altitude or in rivers, I walk trails slowly, taking it all in, remembering.

I seem to have reverted to childhood on cue. On my bedroom dresser is arrayed the abandoned nest of a tiny bird; a little ball of fur and bones that an owl left behind after eating a mouse; and an old spike from the quarry where prisoners chiseled out rock to build their own prison, which now sits empty below the trail. I collect rocks, like the one next to me as I write this, covered in four colors of lichen, and Im still disappointed when rocks bright in last weeks rain are dull when dried, just as when I brought them home to my mother 75 years ago.

Arriving at Notre Dame in 1954, I fully expected to be a middling student, coming as I had from an empty state and modest schools, but for freshman composition I drew Richard Sullivan 30, an acclaimed novelist and a kind man. For him I wrote of my life outdoors back home: skiing in deep powder; sinking into soft cold soil on early October mornings when schools closed and every child was turned out to pick spuds; of simply looking as summer clouds rolled above our apple trees. I wrote of bringing irrigation water down from a canal built by my great-grandfather; of plugging the gopher holes along the way; of how killdeer faked broken wings to distract us from their nests.

Sullivan liked all that, encouraged me and sent me on my way. I think of him as I walk the trail.

I also remember John Kirsch.

During the Great Depression, Kirsch was one of those teenagers from back east who was rescued by the Civilian Conservation Corps and sent into the woods out west, never to return. After a wartime spent in India, he took up ranching near Cody and Bozeman, then got a masters degree in wildlife management before joining the Montana Department of Fish and Game.

At 50, Kirsch became a Catholic priest. While a professor and chaplain at Montana State University and Carroll College he created a course called Eco-Theo to explore a subject with deep but contentious roots in Christianity: the relationship between creation and the divine, nature and spirituality. He was teaching not only theology but also ecology and direct experience from nature.

To help visitors Find the Spirit in Nature, Kirsch also founded the Living Water Contemplative Center in West Yellowstone, Montana, just north of my hometown. Thats why, 20 years ago, I was in Yellowstone National Park with him looking at a single, large rock for what seemed a very long time. Just looking. What do you experience, he asked after many minutes passed. What is sacred here? Can you experience Spirit?

I could not. Maybe water, but rock?

For Kirsch, rock, water and wood were not only a reminder, an inspiration or even a path to God. They were holy in themselves. Everything is holy. All matter is divine.

I was charmed by Kirsch but the whiff of pantheism was more than my conventional Christianity could accept. I was not going to choose the Church of the Great Outdoors over the real thing. Yet two decades later I cannot get enough of rocks. And I have moved toward his spirituality.

Kirsch died in 2002, an obscure follower of St. Francis of Assisi. Today, however, he would be among those reviving a Christian theology critical to mankinds future: a love for the natural world so clear and fierce as to save mankind from slow suicide.

Kirschs Theo would be consistent with that of the priest-paleontologist Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, with Thomas Berry, another priest published by the Sierra Club, and with all those reviving Celtic spirituality, like the late, dear John ODonohue or John Philip Newell of the Church of Scotland.

Beginning in the fifth century, Patrick and those who followed him in Ireland, Scotland and Wales built a fully Christian theology on the foundation of druidic paganism, in which women were among the spiritual leaders. Irish Christians looked on creation as a second scripture, akin to and of equal merit with the Gospel. For them, God was immanent and near, not removed and elsewhere just as Native Americans would tell us today. The Celts brought this spirituality to Europe for a few centuries before being diminished by Rome.

Five years ago, in Laudato Si, Pope Francis tried to rouse the world into action over climate change, particularly on behalf of the poor who will suffer even more in the future than they suffer today most severely from the pandemic. Tragically, the popes message was not taken seriously, if what has come from Idaho pulpits is any example, yet he carries on, pleading most recently for protection of the Amazon.

As he soldiers on, I grieve for him. In a way, he walks with me on Rock Garden Trail and I with him.

So, again, how might I consider the rocks on my trail? Have I become a pantheist?

Ive run through a lot of books in the last 20 years as my grip on the faith I grew up with has come and gone and come. My constant handhold on this slippery rock has been Father Richard Rohr, the Franciscan founder of the Center for Action and Contemplation in Albuquerque, New Mexico, who is considered heretical by some. In his latest book, The Universal Christ, Rohr writes that Christ is not Jesuss last name. Instead Christ denotes Gods first gift the first Bible, the first incarnation which is the universe itself, and the Love of which it is made.

The word Rohr chose for this indwelling of God is panentheism. God is the soul of the universe, extended beyond space and time, yet present, pervading and interpenetrating everything Every Thing including my rocks.

Wildly incomplete as it is, thats quite enough Eco-Theo for today. Im going to take a hike.

JerryBradywas publisher of the Idaho Falls Post Register for 25 years and twice was the Democratic candidate for governor of Idaho. In the summer of 1958, he accompanied Father Theodore Hesburgh, CSC, on a two-month trip through Africa.

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Walking Toward God | Notre Dame Magazine | University of Notre Dame - ND Newswire

Inmarsat offshore comms service extended to the Gulf of Mexico – Offshore Oil and Gas Magazine

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Offshore staff

LONDON Inmarsat is extending its three-in-one Fleet LTE coverage for offshore service vessels to the Gulf of Mexico.

This follows successful trials at the start of this year in the North Sea with ship/crew management company V.Ships Offshore, based in Aberdeen, and Inmarsat service provider One Net.

The program delivered hybrid connectivity via 4G cellular and satellite coverage on VSAT Ka-band and L-band.

Inmarsats new Gulf of Mexico coverage is additional to an existing agreement with subsea fiber and offshore LTE network operator, Tampnet, following the launch of the Fleet LTE North Sea service last November.

According to Scott Bryce, vessel manager at V.Ships Offshore, the automatic and seamless switching between networks, proven during the North Sea trials, helped remove the risk of any disconnection in service that would normally affect the companys day-to-day activities.

The service plan flexibility has also given us the ability to move up and down plans when needed, to support our changing bandwidth demands, and there are no hidden admin fees to worry about.

The Fleet LTE service expansion means users in the North Sea and Gulf of Mexico can now access high-speed 4G, Fleet Xpress maritime VSAT Ka-band and continuous L-band connectivity within a single, fully managed hybrid package, Inmarsat added.

Inmarsat Fleet LTE is available in various service bands with data speeds of up to 40 Mbps and a round-trip delay of around 35-40ms. When LTE is not available, services switch automatically to Ka-band Fleet Xpress information rates, with continuous back-up from L-band FleetBroadband.

10/07/2020

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Inmarsat offshore comms service extended to the Gulf of Mexico - Offshore Oil and Gas Magazine

SSE chief calls on UK to address offshore barriers – reNEWS

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Following UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson pledge to support development of the country's offshore supply chain, SSE Renewables managing director Jim Smith says now is the time to act to address key barriers.

Johnson committed his government to deploying 40GW of offshore wind energy by 2030, backed up by a 160m investment in ports and factories.

Smith said that hurdles such as resolvingconsenting challenges, developing the grid, as well as the reform of the electricity market, would put the UK on a course to delivering these targets.

He said: "A public commitment to much-needed multi-million-pound investments in infrastructure is important because it should have a real impact on creating jobs and supporting companies in regions all across the UK, including Scotland where were building the countrys largest offshore wind farm and Northern England where were building the worlds largest offshore site.

"Its an investment commitment many of us in the industry have long been calling for, and echoes calls made by SSE Renewables to build an investable, globally competitive UK supply chain for the offshore wind sector.

"Thats why this announcement should be widely welcomed.

"But revolutions, even green ones, are not built on announcements alone.

"From today, all of us involved in the delivery of offshore wind, from government to industry, need to come together to maintain the push behind our efforts and take the enabling steps needed to allow this revolution to succeed.

"Yesterdays announcement of strategic investment to support UK supply chain development is one such key action, but there are still others to address, ranging from consenting challenges to developing the grid, as well as reform of the electricity market to ensure the UK remains the best place to invest in the long term.

"As an industry we need to continue to work collaboratively with government to overcome these barriers. But we can overcome them.

"In doing so, we can put the UK on a course to delivering 40GW by 2030 as part of a green recovery."

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SSE chief calls on UK to address offshore barriers - reNEWS

Rise and Rise of Offshore Wind and the Opportunities for the Subsea Industry – SubTel Forum

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By Shashank KrishnaSeptember 21, 2020

THE OFFSHORE WIND OPPORTUNITY

BPs decision in September 2020 to enter the offshore wind marks another significant win for the offshore wind industry. While the global renewable energy investments have been remarkably resilient in 2020 despite the pandemic and the attendant economic disruption, the offshore wind sector has been a standout area for the renewables.

According to the latest research from BloombergNEF[1] (BNEF), the Offshore wind financings in the first half of 2020 totalled approx. $35 billion, up 319% year-on-year, well above 2019s record full-year figure of $31.9 billion, making it one of the busiest 1H ever for offshore wind.

According to the International Energy Agencys (IEA) Offshore Wind Outlook 2019[2], offshore wind is set to expand strongly into a $1 trillion business over the next two decades growing by 13% / year. This is on the back of an impressive growth of 30% / year between 2010 and 2018. There are nearly 150 new offshore wind projects in development around the world.

The future for offshore winds looks even more promising.

According to the IEA, under the current plans and scenarios, the offshore wind sector is expected to see investments in the range of $840 billion to $1.2 trillion over the next two decades.

The IEAs technical analysis suggests that offshore winds technical potential is 36 000 TWh / year for near-shore installations. Global electricity demand is currently 23 000 TWh. If the offshore wind installations move further away from the shores into deeper waters as is presently underway, floating turbines could unlock enough energy to meet the worlds total electricity demand 11 times over by 2040. This means that offshore wind can become the mainstay of future electricity systems in the key markets an important reason why the offshore wind industry is attracting increasing investor interest, including from the likes of oil & gas supermajors and financial institutions.

[1] https://about.bnef.com/blog/colossal-six-months-for-offshore-wind-support-renewable-energy-investment-in-first-half-of-2020/

[2] IEA (2019), Offshore Wind Outlook 2019, IEA, Paris https://www.iea.org/reports/offshore-wind-outlook-2019

To continue reading the rest of this article, please read it in Issue 114 of theSubTel Forum Magazine on page 44 or on our archive site here.

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Rise and Rise of Offshore Wind and the Opportunities for the Subsea Industry - SubTel Forum

UK Government seeks offshore wind support information – reNEWS

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The UK Government isrequesting information from coastal landowners and developers with an interest in supporting UK offshore wind manufacturing.

Following Prime Minister Boris Johnson's announcement of160m to upgrade ports and factories for building turbines, it is seeking expressions of interest from potential large scale manufacturing portside hubs.

Sites with significant quayside capability, quay length and water depth, that are capable of accommodating heavy lifting vessels and wider supply vessels for multiple tenants, are urged to apply.

The Government is also looking for connected land for marshalling to support the build out of typically 2-3GW of offshore wind capacity per annum, including the potential for storage of products to bridge between manufacturing and installation cycles.

In addition, it is requesting sufficient land availability to support multiple manufacturers on the site, including enough flexibility to "future-proof" facilities for expansion.

This would be a minimum 200 ha or more area of development and storage land is needed behind the quay (not including land for transport and logistics movements around the port hub).

All projects should have a realistic chance of completing construction or being partly operational by 2023

Interested partiesshouldreply with information on their sites and potential projects to OWMIS@Beis.gov.ukby Friday 30 October.

This will lead to an initial stage of engagement, before a more formalised appraisal of any potential projects, the Department for Business, Energyand Industrial Strategy said.

The scheme aims to accelerate the development of large scale manufacturing portside hubs, which could see financial support to strengthen the UKs offshore wind manufacturing capability, creating employment and investment in both coastal communities and the wider supply chain.

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UK Government seeks offshore wind support information - reNEWS

In a First, ROVOP Inspects Offshore Installation via Video Link – Offshore Engineer

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UK-based ROV services provider ROVOP has said it has delivered its first remote platform-based inspection, repair, and maintenance workscope, "effectively reducing the number of personnel required offshore," on Premier Oil's Balmoral floating production vessel in the UK North Sea.

The ROV company carried out remote visual and NDT inspections of hull sections, flowlines, umbilicals, and risers, along with chain inspection, measurement, and cleaning, on the Balmoral unit with the help of a live video stream.

"Using the latest communications and modeling technology, ROVOP worked closely with Premier Oil to develop a robust live video streaming service back to shore. Two-way open communications allowed the inspection and data recording engineers to run the workscope remotely from onshore, resulting in three less people on board the vessel, where accommodation is limited due to the COVID-imposed restrictions," ROVOP said.

Premier Oil, which on Tuesday said it would merge with Chrysaor, last month filed the decommissioning plan for the Balmoral FPV and the associated subsea infrastructure. The Balmoral platform was installed in the Balmoral Area in 1986.

ROVOP said that the cloud-based viewing platform allowed those working from home to view the inspection work as it unfolded.

"They were able to see exactly what the ROV and inspection engineers were seeing in real-time. Data, which would once have taken weeks to return from offshore to be analyzed, was captured as those watching onshore were able to influence the operation live, making the campaign much more efficient," ROVOP said.Credit: ROVOP

Also, ROVOP selected subsea mooring inspection and integrity engineering specialists Welaptega, an Ashtead Technology company, to support the project. Welaptega's mooring inspection and 3D modeling photogrammetry equipment was integrated into the ROV to enable accurate and repeatable chain measurement and 3D modeling of the subsea template.

The point cloud data produced will be used to assist the planning of the template removal, ROVOP said.

The main components of the Balmoral field consist of; the Balmoral FPV, Balmoral Template, 11 template and 10 satellite wells, a riser system, pipelines, umbilicals, and cables.

Paul Hudson, ROVOPs sales and marketing director, said: "Reducing numbers of people offshore has clear benefits in terms of risk, cost and overall efficiency and, of course, it is particularly relevant when dealing with the challenges presented to the offshore industry by the coronavirus pandemic. This project underlines how digitalization and collaboration can address some of our most pressing industry challenges.

David Robertson, diving & ROV engineer with Premier Oil, added: This is a fantastic achievement for both ROVOP and Premier Oil. Through a lot of hard work and collaboration with respective network technology companies, we managed to de-risk personnel traveling to an offshore installation during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Executing work of this nature from an installation is always challenging due to bed space requirements. We have proven that inspection activities can be done with a significant reduction in manpower offshore, which potentially paves the way for cost and greenhouse gas reductions across our other assets in the future.

Credit: Premier Oil

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Living quarters, pipe racks in place on offshore Israel FPSO – Offshore Oil and Gas Magazine

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Living quarter module installation.

(Courtesy Energean)

Offshore staff

LONDON Sembcorp Marines crane barge L-3601 has lifted the living quarter (LQ) module and eight pipe rack modules onto the FPSO Energean Power hull at the Admiralty Yard in Singapore.

The FPSO will produce gas from the Karish field in the Israeli sector of the Mediterranean Sea, operated by Energean.

The LQ module 20 m (65.6 ft) long, 40 m (131 ft) wide, 26 m (85 ft) high and weighing 1,727 metric tons (1,904 tons) has seven decks and will accommodate 70 people during normal operations in single occupancy cabins.

However, in periods of heavy maintenance, this could rise to 120 personnel by increasing most cabins of the cabins to double occupancy.

The pipe racks are designed to carry interface piping between the various modules and hull systems and to provide space for cable trays connecting the modules to the electrical house and instrument technical room.

Karish EPCIC contractor TechnipFMC has engaged Jumbos heavy liftcrane vessel Fairplayer to lift and connect the vessels 14 pre-laid and wet-stored mooring lines to the FPSO Energean Power, after it has sailed from Singapore to Israel next summer.

Energean is targeting first gas in the second half of 2021.

10/07/2020

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Living quarters, pipe racks in place on offshore Israel FPSO - Offshore Oil and Gas Magazine

Trump’s Offshore Oil Ban Will Hit Wind Farms Hard – OilPrice.com

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Last month, President Trump shocked the entire oil industry after extending the existing moratorium on oil drilling along Floridas, Georgias and South Carolinas coasts. The announcement marked a complete 180 from White Houses previous stance that sought to open up those areas to oil drilling and caught many industry officials, congressional aides, and lobbyists, who have been working on the same issue, completely off-guard. It also went contrary to the sentiment of voters in those regions--including the majority of Democrats-- who say they are more likely to vote for a candidate who supports access to oil and gas produced in the U.S.

Under normal circumstances, Trumps stance would have been a big win by the clean energy camp and environmentalists who have been opposed to drilling activity in threatened areas. Unfortunately, it turns out that the renewables energy sector will be just as severely impacted by the moratorium.

Trumps decision to rule out energy development along the East Coast will bar not only offshore oil and gas drilling but coastal wind farm development in equal measure.

The Interior Department agency has confirmed the broad reach of Trumps latest orders and is likely to significantly impact U.S. wind development, a sector that has lately been recording the fastest growth amidst the Covid-19 pandemic.

$1Trillion Offshore Wind

Last year, Paris-based International Energy Council (IEA) forecast that supplies from turbines will prove to be the next great energy revolution.

The IEA has forecast that the offshore wind sector will experience impressive growth over the next two decades to eclipse the $1 trillion mark in cumulative investments by the end of the forecast period. That would entail a 15-fold growth in investment compared to 2019 levels.

As expected, Europe has again been projected to lead the charge, managing to grow its offshore wind capacity from 20 gigawatts to nearly 130 gigawatts by 2040, driven by a huge demand growth by green hydrogen-poweredby wind energy. China, however, is expected to record the biggest growth with its offshore capacity set to rise from 4 gigawatts in 2019 to 110 gigawatts by 2040, a nearly 28x jump. The Middle Kingdom could do even better, with the IEA saying it could grow its capacity to 170 gigawatts if Beijing adopts more stringent climate targets.

Well, the IEA might have been spot on with its predictions, if early results are any indication.

Related: Oil Prices Stuck In Limbo As Uncertainty Mounts

Despite the Covid-19 slump that has negatively impacted virtually all energy sectors, offshore wind has been experiencing phenomenal growth. The Guardian has reported that global offshore wind investments reached $35 billion in the first half of 2020, representing the most growth by any energy sector during the Covid-19 crisis. That was a sizzling 4x growth and already surpassed investments for the entire 2019.

Source: The Guardian

Offshore wind has enormous potential and can, in fact, generate more energy than the world needs.

Detailed studies of the worlds coastlines have found that offshore wind farms alone could power the entire globe--even if they are only built in windy regions in shallow waters near the shore. The IEA has revealed that if wind farms were built across all useable sites no further than 60km (37 miles) off the coast and coastal waters depths not exceeding 60 meters, they could generate 36,000 terawatt-hours of renewable electricity a year, thus easily meeting our global demand for electricity of 23,000 terawatt-hours.

Thats an eye-opening revelation considering that offshore wind currently provides just 0.3% of global power generation.

Unfortunately, Trumps ban might make an already dire situation worse for the United States.

The U.S. offshore wind sector remains severely underdeveloped, with the countrys sole offshore commercial wind farm, the Block Island Wind Farm, generating just 30MW of electricity. In sharp contrast, the country has a total installed wind generation capacity of 107,443 MW after adding another 1,800MW during the first half of 2020. Thats really sad since the DOE says U.S. offshore wind resources have enough potential to generate more than 2,000 GW of electricity annually--nearly double the nations current electricity consumption.

Hopefully, that could change with the right policies in place: The Special Initiative for Offshore Wind has projected a $70 billion business pipeline in the U.S. by 2030.

By Alex Kimani for Oilprice.com

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Proserv and Synaptec Ink Cable Monitoring Deal – Offshore WIND

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Proserv and Synaptec have signed a strategic alliance agreement to develop an integrated cable monitoring system for offshore wind projects.

Synaptecs passive distributed electromechanical sensing (DES) technology will be incorporated within the monitoring solution.

According to the companies, this is expected to enable faults and failures to be identified pre-emptively, through a non-intrusive approach, allowing the end-user savings in installation costs and in providing the capability to mitigate the occurrence of faults.

Cable failures continue to be a significant challenge for the offshore wind sector, said Philip Orr, Managing Director at Synaptec.Through this new partnership we are bringing to market a solution which will support the growth and progress of the energy transition and positively impact the operations and maintenance costs for offshore wind operators.

The parties stated that the objective of the partnership is to move both companies forward in several energy markets, including offshore wind and upstream oil and gas, via the co-development of innovative products and services.

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Proserv and Synaptec Ink Cable Monitoring Deal - Offshore WIND

Norway kicks off construction of world’s largest floating offshore wind farm – WorldOil

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10/1/2020

Hywind Tampen floating wind farm layout

OSLO - Prime Minister Erna Solberg and Kvrner apprentice Arne Linga started construction of Hywind Tampen, a floating offshore wind farm, at Kvrner Stord. The technology project opens up new opportunities for Norwegian industry. Prime Minister Solberg and Linga started the cutting robot on the project's first sheet of steel on Thursday, 1 October. Kvrners assignment will include building 11 floating concrete hulls for the turbines on Hywind Tampen.

"Hywind Tampen is a new chapter in Norways narrative as an energy nation. With support from the Norwegian authorities, we're not only building Norways first offshore wind project; we're refining floating offshore wind technology along with the Norwegian supplier industry," says Equinor president and CEO Eldar Stre.

"Eighty percent of the world's offshore wind resources are located in deep water areas and are available for floating offshore wind projects. If we can use projects like Hywind Tampen to make floating offshore wind competitive with other forms of energy, the technology will be able to deliver large-scale renewable power and contribute to a more sustainable global energy supply. A floating offshore wind market will also open up considerable industrial opportunities for Norwegian industry," Stre says.

The development of the Hywind Tampen project involves around 250 full-time equivalents for Kvrner employees. Kvrner's project will also generate around 800 full-time equivalents in ripple effects for suppliers and the public sector, among others.

Equinor's ambition is for floating offshore wind to be competitive with other forms of energy by 2030.

"By using larger turbines, concrete substructures, new technology and a new assembly method, we're well on our way toward delivering on the objective to reduce costs by more than 40% compared with Hywind Scotland. This is an important step to establish floating wind as a sustainable power supply alternative," says Hywind Tampen project director Olav-Bernt Haga.

"If more major floating offshore wind projects are realised in the future, it will be possible to reduce costs even further, and we could see a development in cost reductions equivalent to the one we've seen in fixed foundation offshore wind," Haga says.

Equinor sees a potential for floating offshore wind projects in Norway, the UK, Europe, the US and Asia.

The Hywind Tampen project will be the first floating offshore wind project to supply renewable power for oil and gas installations. The wind farm will have a total capacity of 88 MW, and is expected to cover about 35 percent of the annual power needs on the five platforms Snorre A and B and Gullfaks A, B and C.

Hywind Tampen will reduce emissions from the Gullfaks and Snorre fields by more than 200,000 tonnes per year, which corresponds to annual emissions from 100,000 private vehicles.

Equinor has been a pioneer in floating offshore wind technology and has been working on this technology for nearly 20 years. When the Hywind Tampen project is operational in 2022, the company will be operating one-third of the global floating offshore wind capacity.

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Norway kicks off construction of world's largest floating offshore wind farm - WorldOil

SOCARENAM from France to deliver 3 Offshore Patrol Vessels to Polish Coast Guard – Navy Recognition

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According to a press release published on October 5, 2020, the French company SOCARENAM has announced the signature of a contract with Poland for the delivery of 3 Offshore Patrol Vessels for the Polish Coast Guard.Follow Navy Recognition on Google News at this link

Drawing of future Offshore Patrol Vessel for Polish Coast Guard. (Picture source SOCARENAM)

Following a European call for tenders with competitive bidding launched at the end of 2019, SOCARENAM was able to develop and propose a tailor-made, high-performance and competitive technical solution designed to meet the Coast Guard's demanding specifications. After the delivery of the 3 patrol boats for the French Customs, the 2 patrol boats for the Belgian Navy, the 3 patrol boats for the French Navy and the next 6 under construction also for the French Navy, SOCARENAM confirms its position as leader, in France and Europe, for the design and construction of high-tech offshore patrol boats.

Designed in collaboration with the MAURIC naval architecture firm in Marseille and 70 meters long, the patrol boat will have a reinforced steel hull and aluminum superstructures. With a capacity to accommodate 35 people autonomously for one month, the vessel will be equipped with two high-speed RHIBs and an aerial mini-UAV. It will be financed by the European Internal Security Fund and the Polish State, and will be operated by the Polish Coast Guard, mainly for the control of the European Union's external borders. It will be based in Gdansk and will be able to operate in all European waters, from the icy waters of the Baltic Sea to the warm waters of the Mediterranean.

The patrol boat, a truly multi-purpose vessel, will be able to carry out many State Action at Sea missions and will be equipped with all the necessary equipment: from intervention RHIBs to fire-fighting monitors, anti-pollution equipment, a mini surveillance UAV and a large open area dedicated to the accommodation of survivors.

This new contract demonstrates once again SOCARENAM's ability to design and build customized vessels to meet the needs of State Action at Sea organizations. It will enable the shipyard to continue its growth in this market sector, thereby strengthening its involvement in the recruitment and training of new employees to ensure the long-term development of skills.

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SOCARENAM from France to deliver 3 Offshore Patrol Vessels to Polish Coast Guard - Navy Recognition

W&T Offshore Provides Operational Update and Announces Timing of Third Quarter Earnings Reporting – GlobeNewswire

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HOUSTON, Oct. 05, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- W&T Offshore, Inc. (NYSE: WTI) (W&T or the Company) today provided an operational update and announced the timing of its third quarter 2020 earnings release and conference call.

Operations UpdateProduction across the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) has been significantly impacted by an extraordinary six named storms thus far in this hurricane season. All of these storms resulted in varying amounts of production being shut-in depending on the size and path of the storms. Tropical Storm Cristobal impacted W&Ts second quarter 2020 production while Hurricanes Hanna, Marco, Laura, Sally and Beta caused production shut-ins during the third quarter of 2020. Primarily due to the significant impact of these storms, unplanned downtime at Mobile Bay, and previously-announced planned downtime at the Magnolia field, the Company currently estimates its third quarter 2020 volumes will average 32,500 to 33,900 barrels of oil equivalent per day (Boe/d), with approximately 35% oil, 12% natural gas liquids, and 53% natural gas.

W&T has restored a portion of its shut-in operated and non-operated production but continues to have production shut-in primarily due to extended storm-related downtime at several fields and at a third-party operated platform downstream from the Magnolia field. W&T did not experience any material damage to any of its platforms or infrastructure from the series of storms, but did incur approximately $5 million in additional costs related to repairs and restoring production following multiple shut-ins. Nonetheless, W&T expects that its overall costs and expenses for the third quarter and full year 2020 will be in-line with the guidance it previously provided, but per-unit costs will be higher due to lower production volumes. There continues to be tropical storm activity in the Gulf of Mexico in early October and as a reminder, hurricane season extends until November 30. As such, there remains the potential for additional tropical weather impact to production and costs in the fourth quarter of 2020. Currently, W&T estimates its fourth quarter production will average 31,500 to 35,000 Boe/d which includes the ongoing impact from prior storms and other planned shut-ins, as well as an estimate of additional potential storm-related downtime for the balance of the fourth quarter.

Tracy W. Krohn, W&T's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, commented, This year has been particularly difficult for energy producers, including a global COVID-19 pandemic, supply and demand imbalances and the most active tropical storm season in the GOM over the past 10 years. The third quarter had five hurricanes enter the GOM, which caused significant production to be shut-in but minimal physical damage. These storms and unplanned downtime at Mobile Bay adversely impacted our production by nearly 9,000 Boe/d in the third quarter. Production in the fourth quarter is forecasted to be between 31,500 and 35,000 Boe/d, depending on when Magnolia and other fields are restored to production, and includes the impact of additional shut-ins at Mobile Bay including consolidation of the gas plants and the potential impact from additional tropical storms. Despite this, we continue to generate positive adjusted EBITDA and we reduced our spending early this year to ensure that we continue to generate free cash flow. This is a cyclical business and we have faced active hurricane seasons in the past, but our success over nearly40 years has been because of our focus on cash flow generation and operating efficiently. We will not lose sight of this and continue to believe in the long-term viability of our assets and the Gulf of Mexico.

Third Quarter Earnings Release and Conference Call The Company said it will issue its third quarter 2020 earnings release on Wednesday, November 4, 2020, after the close of trading and host a conference call to discuss financial and operational results on Thursday, November 5, 2020, at 10:00 a.m. Central Time (11:00 am Eastern Time.)

Interested parties may participate by dialing (844) 739-3797. International parties may dial (412) 317-5713. Participants should request to be joined to the W&T Offshore, Inc. Conference Call. This call will also be webcast and available on W&T Offshores website at http://www.wtoffshore.com under Investors. An audio replay will be available on the Companys website following the call.

About W&T Offshore

W&T Offshore, Inc. is an independent oil and natural gas producer with operations offshore in the Gulf of Mexico and has grown through acquisitions, exploration and development. The Company currently has working interests in 51 producing fields in federal and state waters and has under lease approximately 772,000 gross acres, including approximately 557,000 gross acres on the Gulf of Mexico Shelf and approximately 215,000 gross acres in the Gulf of Mexico deepwater. A majority of the Companys daily production is derived from wells it operates. For more information on W&T, please visit the Companys website at http://www.wtoffshore.com.

Forward-Looking and Cautionary Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements reflect our current views with respect to future events, based on what we believe are reasonable assumptions. No assurance can be given, however, that these events will occur. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially including, among other things, market conditions, oil and gas price volatility, uncertainties inherent in oil and gas production operations and estimating reserves, unexpected future capital expenditures, competition, the success of our risk management activities, governmental regulations, the continued impact of responses to COVID-19, uncertainties and other factors discussed in W&T Offshores Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019 and subsequent Form 10-Q and Form 8-K reports found at http://www.sec.gov or at our website at http://www.wtoffshore.com under the Investor Relations section. Investors are urged to consider closely the disclosures and risk factors in these reports.

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W&T Offshore Provides Operational Update and Announces Timing of Third Quarter Earnings Reporting - GlobeNewswire