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Democratic senators will push to pass pot reform bill this year – CNBC

Posted on February 4, 2021 by Danzig

An employee holds a jar of marijuana on sale after it became legal in the state to sell recreational marijuana to customers over 21 years old in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Illinois begins the legal sale of marijuana on Jan 1, 2020.

Matthew Hatcher | Reuters

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and two other Democratic senators said Monday that they will push to pass this year sweeping legislation that would end the federal prohibition on marijuana, which has been legalized to some degree by many states.

That reform also would provide so-called restorative justice for people who have been convicted of pot-related crimes, the senators said in a joint statement.

"The War on Drugs has been a war on people particularly people of color," said a statement issued by Schumer, of New York, and Sens. Cory Booker, of New Jersey, and Ron Wyden, of Oregon.

"Ending the federal marijuana prohibition is necessary to right the wrongs of this failed war and end decades of harm inflicted on communities of color across the country," they said.

"But that alone is not enough. As states continue to legalize marijuana, we must also enact measures that will lift up people who were unfairly targeted in the War on Drugs."

The senators said they will release "a unified discussion draft on comprehensive reform" early this year and that passing the legislation will be a priority for the Senate.

The trio also said that in addition to ending the federal pot ban and ensuring restorative justice, the legislation would "protect public health and implement responsible taxes and regulations."

Schumer co-sponsored marijuana decriminalization legislation several years ago.

The statement comes as public support for legal marijuana has grown. A Gallup poll in November showed that 68% of Americans, a record high, favored marijuana legalization.

Every initiative that involved the decriminalization or legalization of marijuana on the ballot in 2020 passed.

Voters in New Jersey and Arizona chose to legalize marijuana for adult recreational use. Mississippi voted to legalize medical marijuana use, and South Dakota legalized the drug for both recreational and medical use.

So far, 15 states and the District of Columbia have legalized marijuana for adult recreational use, and 36 states permit medical use of the drug.

Oregon is the first to have decriminalized hard drugs.

Drugs and Power: Counterinsurgency in Afghanistan – smallwarsjournal

Posted on February 4, 2021 by Danzig

Drugs and Power: Counterinsurgency in Afghanistan

By Gareth Rice

INTRODUCTION

Despite a significant counterinsurgency campaign since 2001, Afghanistan has transformed into a true narco-terror state. Providing the source of close to 90% of the worlds supply of heroin, Afghanistans narcotics trade has become interwoven in all aspects of Afghan society and has further compounded the countrys inability to achieve a peaceful end to hostilities. The Talibans relationship with this trade has slowly transformed from one of economic convenience to a dependency that sees it providing the largest source of their financing and significant political capital over large areas of the country. Moreover, that relationship has helped the group to control more territory than at any time since 2001.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC) annual Opium Surveys have provided a stark depiction of the scale of this problem. In 2018, despite a drought in large areas of the country, Afghanistan cultivated the second largest area of opium on record, continuing the upward trend in cultivation since 2001. Indeed, in the last 30 years of the 20th Century, opium output increased in Afghanistan by 800%. As a global comparison, Columbian drugs at the height of their production never reached more than 5% of Columbias GDP, while Afghanistans drug trade accounted for 50% of its GDP by 2007. This figure declined to between 6-11% by 2018 (due mostly to the growth in the Afghan licit economy), although opium still surpassed the value of the countrys legal exports of goods and services.

There have been several barriers to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GIROA) in addressing this problem. Debate as to the extent of the Talibans relationship with this trade and the best methods to address the problem have contributed to some of the many reasons it has never featured as a key strategic issue. Similarly, the uncertainty of Taliban profit margins from the trade have resulted in a conflicting prioritisation of counter-narcotics efforts across the member nations of ISAF and provincial governors of GIROA. The drug trade in Afghanistan has simply proved to be insurmountable and its relationship to the insurgency too unclear to deserve greater attention.

This study seeks to understand the relationship between the drug trade and the insurgency to provide a better understanding of the interaction between counter-narcotics and counterinsurgency campaigns. Existing research on this topic has often focused on the socio-economic factors of the drug trade, criminal interactions or financing of terror groups; all of which fall short of providing constructive guidance to counterinsurgency campaigns. By exploring the economic, cultural and political dimensions that underpin this trade, this study will provide a greater understanding of not only how the insurgency continues to thrive but additionally, how this trade intersects with the Afghan society. In doing so, the study will demonstrate the economic motivations for entry into the insurgency and the drug trade, the cultural paradigm that ensures trust between actors and ultimately the political power that is derived from controlling an illicit drug trade. The importance of understanding these relationships has far reaching implications for counter-narcotics strategies and contemporary understanding of insurgent groups more broadly.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This research paper provides a literature review with a counterinsurgency focus across the various intersecting fields of study relating to the Afghan drug trade. The counterinsurgency focus is unique because the trade in illicit narcotics are often seen as a policing or socio-economic issue. As such, there are few studies into illicit drug trades that are undertaken with the express purpose of aiding a counterinsurgency campaign. This in part explains the inconsistent approach to counter-narcotic programs that have been undertaken in Afghanistan. Further, when narcotics is discussed in relation to the insurgency, it is more often an analysis of insurgent financing which does not encompass the full impact of these trades on the conflict.

There was a lack of reliable, quantitative data to support an in-depth analysis of insurgent financing. Cultivation data produced by the UNODC was found to be the most reliable data on narcotics cultivation. However, corresponding data on other metrics of violence and insurgent behaviour were far less reliable. Utilising data on opium production and the deaths of western soldiers, Jo Lind, Karl Moene and Fredrik Willumsen provide one example of attempting to demonstrate a causal link between conflict and opium production. While the use of soldiers deaths is a questionable data metric, it was found by the authors to be the only reliable data available. As such, many of the findings of this paper are theoretical in nature and provide a framework from which to understand the insurgency.

There are a number of obstacles to conducting primary research into extremist groups. The ongoing violence in drug-cultivating areas is a significant disincentive for many researchers wishing to conduct field interviews. Similarly, the lack of modern financial infrastructure both within this region and utilised by the insurgency make it almost impossible to accurately track finances that are linked to this trade. As a result, it may well be impossible to accurately determine the level of insurgent finances derived from narcotic-related activities. It is not surprising then to see the significant debate on this topic as highlighted by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR):

the extent to which the Taliban participate in the trade of narcotics is debated. While the Taliban are believed to collect payments from those involved at each stage of the value chain in Afghanistan, the extent of their control over the processing, sale, and distribution of opiates is less clear.

Rather than contributing to the debate on insurgent finances, the focus of this research will expand on the intrinsic relationship between the insurgency and the drug trade. In doing so, it provides a framework for understanding how insurgent groups within this region operate and the often-convoluted relationship between criminal and extremist elements. More broadly, financing will always be a fundamental requirement for extremist groups to survive. Understanding how to dismantle these funding sources is therefore critical to defeating them. This research will demonstrate that narcotics is a particularly unique source of financing because of its ability to generate political capital for the group that ensures both its ongoing survival and the basis of its power.

Insurgent groups within Afghanistan operate under a number of different affiliations and with varying degrees of cooperation or competition. The most commonly understood insurgent affiliation is the Taliban, and to avoid confusion in this study all insurgent and terrorist groups connected to the drug trade will be referred to under this title. Further complicating this landscape, groups or cells within the Taliban do not always operate within a centralised, hierarchical structure. On the contrary, it is more common to see groups that are interconnected and responsible for their own finances and low-level operations. The same is true of the drug trade. Where some groups have almost no interaction with the drug trade, others have achieved significant control of the trade within their areas of operation. Consequently, the findings of this study may not apply to all insurgent actors in Afghanistan.

HISTORY OF NARCOTICS IN AFGHANISTAN

Narcotics have played a role in Afghanistan since the days of Alexander the Great in the fourth century BCE. Opium is believed to have been imported by Alexanders armies and it thrived in the Afghan climate, producing yields far higher than the global average and often in spite of scarce irrigation infrastructure. It is not surprising then to consider that opium has played a central role in Afghanistan for the past 40 years. Indeed, conflict and drugs have become a fundamental part of the Afghan state as both a crop of convenience for those seeking to survive a war-torn country and a commodity to be exploited for criminal gains.

Given its relationship with conflict, the drug trade has existed in its current form since the 1960s. The only variables that appear to have changed are the volume of drugs being produced and where the money from the trade is flowing. With the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, these variables would begin to change rapidly. Afghan farmers increasingly turned to opium as agricultural output declined, due in part to the deliberate destruction of irrigation infrastructure by the Soviets. When the Mujahideen required funding for their war against the Soviets, this crop also provided an easy source of revenue.

While the Mujahideen enjoyed significant foreign sponsorship during the Soviet-Afghan war, narcotics allowed them to gain financial independence and carry out more sophisticated attacks. With the help of the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), the Mujahideen encouraged opium production and subsequently imposed a tax on its output. In what became a vicious debt cycle, farmers began to plant more poppy to pay for the tax and became victims to credit systems offered by an influx of drug merchants. The combination of (US led) foreign funding and an expanding opium harvest allowed the Mujahideen to sustain their insurgency until the Soviet withdrawal in 1989.

As Afghanistans opium production expanded from 100 tonnes per annum in the 1970s to 2,000 tonnes in 1991, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), helping to coordinate the war, chose to ignore the drug trade in order to focus on defeating the Soviets. Indeed, at one point in the war, there were even plans to flood Soviet troops with heroin in an effort to undermine the militarys effectiveness highlighting the often conflicting approach to counter-narcotics. While the CIA appeared to quietly endorse the growth in narcotics, the ISI began to take a more direct role that helped contribute to a near twentyfold increase in output during the war. This period undoubtedly led to a transformation of many warlords into drug lords that would continue well after the war concluded.

Following the Soviet withdrawal, Afghanistan descended into a civil war that corresponded with another doubling in opium output. The opium trade would prove to be a popular market for an influx of returning refugees requiring employment and poor farmers seeking credit to sustain themselves between harvests. Opium would once again play a pivotal role in conflict as warlords sought to maximise their narcotics returns to fund their struggles for power. The political structures that many of these warlords created would eventually establish much of the framework for Afghanistans future. As the concept of a central political power became an increasingly distant reality, these warlords created their own cultural, economic and political structures of which opium would play a central role.

When the Taliban finally seized Kabul in 1996, they continued to encourage opium production and offered protection in exchange for taxes on production and refinement. Opium output increased by 25% in the year following the Talibans rise to power with 97% of this output coming from Helmand and Kandahar province where the Taliban held the most power. Despite earning significant profits, the Taliban had an inconsistent approach to the drug trade based on an ideological belief that it was un-Islamic, as well as a practical acknowledgement that foreign aid and political recognition would often be conditional on not supporting its continued cultivation.

Poppy Cultivation By Province (2018) and Historical Trafficking Routes

Figure 1

Notwithstanding their objections to the drug trade, the Taliban would (for the most part) chose their economic gains over any ideological or religious concerns. This relationship would continue until 2000 when the Taliban made the sudden decision to ban all opium cultivation in an apparent attempt to gain economic aid. Despite reducing opium output by 94%, it is speculated that the Taliban was able to offload significant stockpiles at now inflated prices while simultaneously receiving $US43 million in aid from the US. The Talibans ban on narcotics would, however, have serious ramifications for their political capital with the rural population and would contribute to their rapid removal from power following the US-led intervention. This is likely to be a lesson that the group remembered during the insurgency that would follow.

With the removal of the Taliban from power in 2001 and the exile of their senior leadership to Pakistan, motivations quickly turned to funding the new insurgency. The initial donors for this new movement were often drug smugglers. At the coalface, Taliban fighters quickly began adjusting battlefield tactics to focus primarily on protecting drug shipments of which they would receive a protection fee of as much as 20%. As the insurgency began to develop, the Taliban began to take on a more direct involvement in the drug trade at each stage of the value chain. From the outset of the insurgency it was clear that the drug trade was of vital importance to the Talibans ability to project power.

ECONOMIC POWER

The Afghan drug trade is most commonly understood in terms of the political economy that it generates to perpetuate the war. Loretta Napoleoni notes that war often creates alternative systems of power and profit that can be exploited by combatants and non-combatants alike. David Keen takes this notion further by extending Carl von Clausewitzs famous maxim of war as an extension of politics by other means, by observing that war is also an extension of economics by other means. In other words, it can be observed that war does not destroy an economy but rather transforms it to the benefit of certain groups. Those groups may not have caused the war but may well have strong motivations to keep it going. Therefore, we can see that war can be a rational economic pursuit for some, where ideological reasoning is not the primary motivation for hostilities.

Afghanistan provides an unfortunate example of this economic transformation. Following the Talibans removal from power in 2001, farmers quickly returned to opium production to exploit the lack of governing authority and recover losses from the Talibans year-long opium ban. This lack of governance corresponded with an influx of criminal elements comprised mostly of drug merchants and traffickers to Afghanistans rural areas. Despite commentary often suggesting Taliban coercion of farmers to grow opium, the initial motivations appear to have been almost exclusively for profit. This is significant because it recognises that the Taliban likely had little to do with emergence of the drug trade post 2001, but rather exploited its existence once it was established.

In 2003, a UNODC Survey found one third of the surveyed populace reported poverty as their principle driver for growing poppy. Subsequent Opium Surveys have consistently highlighted the potential profit margin as a central motivating factor for farmers. The UNODC has, however, separately argued the desire to grow poppy is driven more by greed than need. These findings are supported by the work of Lind et al. in their comprehensive study examining the relationship between illicit trades and conflict conditions. In doing so, they conclude that the opportunity to exploit conflict conditions for profit provide the primary motivation for individual farmers. The population engaged in this trade is therefore likely to be drawn to an insurgency that supports their cultivation, as the prospect of government control over the country would threaten the basis of the drug economy and by extension, their livelihoods.

Poppy is simply a low-risk crop in a high-risk environment according to Adam Pain and David Mansfield. The ease with which it is planted, stored and sold make it a highly attractive crop for the rural population. Perhaps the only down sides to this crop are its significant labour requirements at harvest and, of course, its illicit nature. Mansfield has therefore challenged the notion that opium is often a more profitable crop for farmers. On the contrary, he argues that like any elastic commodity it is subject to the law of supply and demand. If farmers are unable to secure sufficient economic return from the crop to feed their household, it becomes more likely that they will switch to a food crop such as wheat. This economic correction can be seen in the 2009/10 crop cycle (see table 1) in which opium production declined due in part to an oversupply of opium and an undersupply of wheat.

Potential Opium Production 1994-2018 ($US/Mt)

Table 1

The elasticity of this commodity would typically provide promise of the growth in opium cultivation declining once economic returns reach equilibrium. Yet while there is little evidence of farmers being coerced into growing opium by force, there is significant evidence to suggest that opium related credit provides this persuasion. Due to the lack of available credit in rural areas, drug traffickers have typically filled this void. The resulting debt traps that many farmers find themselves in has only been further exacerbated by the impact of drought, government eradication and predatory debt lending. This potentially contradicts Mansfields findings as farmers may be unable to grow alternative crops if they have promised to provide an agreed quantity of opium at harvest.

The reluctance of agencies such as the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to offer alternative seeds and credit has provided little competition to the drug trade. In 2012, Rajiv Chandrasekaran argued that USAID refused to provide support to farmers switching to cotton, in part due to a US law prohibiting aid being used to assist foreign agriculture that might compete with US markets. This was partially addressed by the establishment of the Agricultural Development Fund in 2010, however, SIGAR has criticised the programs effectiveness in reaching rural populations with an ambitious goal of default rates below 5% in one of the worlds most volatile environments. Indeed the bulk of foreign aid to Afghanistan has failed to provide any viable economic alternatives to the drug trade despite 70% of the nation living in rural areas and 61% of households generating income from agriculture.

A significant portion of the Afghan labour market is now dependent on the production of narcotics. In 2009, it was estimated that nearly two million people (or 8.7% of the population) had some involvement in narcotics. By 2017, the market was providing the equivalent of 354,000 full-time jobs. Despite a perception that drug labs are owned and operated by Taliban or criminal enterprises, there are a significant number of small family-run laboratories throughout the country. This adds to the challenge of attempting to distinguish between the civilian, criminal and insurgent sectors of the population. Moreover, any alternative to the drug trade will need to replace the existing labour market or risk further alienating the rural population and creating further poverty. Considering the opium crop requires nine times as many workers to cultivate than wheat, this will not be an easy transition for the local economy.

The economic incentives for the Taliban to become connected with the drug trade are significant. With an annual export value in recent years of between $US1.5 - $US3 billion a year, the potential for the Taliban to secure even a small percentage of this trade would provide an attractive source of financing for their insurgency. Unfortunately, it is impossible to accurately determine the Talibans profits from the drug trade due to distinct differences in how various regional nodes operate. Similarly, the difference in the price of opium as it moves along the value-chain from farmer to market varies greatly with fiat currency not always being the preferred exchange for goods and services.

The Talibans initial profits from this trade appear to have manifested from the imposition of a land tax on farmers and protection fees to drug traffickers. The imposition of a land tax is perhaps the simplest method of securing a profit from the illicit trade. As a global comparison, Yasser Arafat was able to negotiate a 10% tax on the drug trade within the Bekaa Valey of Lebanon, which resulted in an estimated net return of $US150 million per year. This method is also similar to what occurred when the Taliban held power before the war under the guise of a zakat. The question of what is provided in exchange for this tax will be explored in the next section.

US Forces-Afghanistan have estimated that the Taliban receives 20% of the annual narcotics revenue. While it may be impossible to determine the accuracy of this figure, understanding where and how the Taliban establishes their profit along the value-chain is of fundamental importance when attempting to disrupt their finances. To demonstrate this, consider the prevalence of interdictions within counter-narcotics strategies as opposed to eradication schemes (see figure 2). The prevalence of interdictions presumably occurs because traffickers and drug labs are seen as being more affiliated with the insurgency than farmers. Briefly ignoring the accuracy of this perception, it is difficult to see how interdictions would successfully reduce the Talibans finances if their primary source of income is achieved through a tax at the beginning of the value-chain.

US Counter-narcotics funding allocation 2002-2017 ($US Millions)

Figure 2

As a fragmented insurgent group, it is also important to establish that the drug trade does not appear to be controlled by a central element but rather multiple independent groups who coexist in a mutually supportive arrangement. Such arrangements are also by-products of economic power which is inherently decentralised and dispersed. If the trade is in fact controlled by multiple independent elements, that may make the problem more challenging to confront. If there are no large cartels to dismantle and no central drug figures to arrest, it may prove ineffective to target traffickers and labs exclusively in an effort to bankrupt the insurgency. Following the money is also difficult in a country that has no traditional banking system and relies heavily on the hawala financial system which offers little in the way of records.

The ideological motivations of the Taliban appear to have shifted over time, with economic rewards now providing the principle driver, as is often the case when encountering illicit trades. While often appearing as ethnic conflicts on the surface, economic and political motivations have historically always shaped group and individual behaviour in Afghanistan. Gretchen Peters argues that the drug trade has fundamentally transformed the Taliban into a drug enterprise which is devoid of much of its ideological origins. This is a view that is also indirectly supported by the work of Paul Collier and Anke Hoeffler whose greed and grievance theory argues that the profits from illicit trades provide little incentive for insurgencies to seek an end to hostilities.

Regardless of the extent of Taliban involvement in this trade, the existence of an illicit trade of this magnitude significantly increases the potential for widespread corruption. While there have undoubtedly been Western perceptions of corruption as a cultural issue within Afghanistan, such perceptions fail to acknowledge the negative views of Afghan people towards corruption and its propensity to drive support for the Taliban. Indeed, the initial rise of the Taliban movement was due in large part to the corruption of many Mujahideen factions. The paradox here is that despite the Talibans connection to the drug trade, they have been able to escape similar allegations of corruption which have consistently undermined the legitimacy of the Afghan government. Whether the Taliban deliberately facilitate aspects of this corruption (or at least allegations of it) to support their narrative remains to be seen.

The economic interests of both combatants and non-combatants remains a powerful barrier to any peaceful end to hostilities. Further, to accept Peters description of the Taliban as a cartel devoid of its ideological inceptions, it must also be accepted that narcotics plays a central role within the insurgency. Yet, while the value of this commodity to the Taliban explains much of how the group has managed to survive and potentially even recruit, it does not explain how the Taliban has continued to exert such significant resistance against both GIROA and ISAF. An economic analysis on its own simply does not explain how individuals and groups can interact with an illicit trade or, how a source of funding can generate political capital for an extremist group.

POLITICAL POWER

The Political Capital Model is derived from the work of Vanda Felbab-Brown who argues that the true strength of insurgent involvement in drug trades is derived from the political capital that it creates. While the financing of any extremist group is fundamental to its survival, there is no other source of financing which also provides this degree of political capital. Due to the labour-intensive nature of the drug trade and the ease of entry into the market, narcotics involves a larger portion of the population than many other illicit trades. By providing either land, credit or security (or a combination of these factors), the Taliban is able to facilitate the market that is sustaining the rural populations livelihoods and, in the process, ensures their dependence on the existence of the insurgency.

Whether political capital was the initial motivation for the Taliban is uncertain and perhaps irrelevant. It is this influence over the rural population that ultimately allows the Taliban to survive. Notwithstanding the fact that drug revenue allows the Taliban to pay its fighters and carry out attacks against GIROA and ISAF, it is the population from which any insurgency (and indeed any government) draws its strength. Of note, both Australian and US military counterinsurgency doctrine focuses on the ideology of the insurgent which presumably allows it to derive its legitimacy and win the support of the people. While there is undoubtedly an ideological element to the Taliban movement that forms the basis of their recruitment, there is little evidence to suggest that it is widely supported by the Afghan populace.

The Political Capital Model is significant because it contradicts the popular notion that a population will withdraw support for the insurgency once it loses its ties with the ideological basis of its group. A 2018 survey of the Afghan population by the Asia Foundation would certainly support the view that the population has lost support for the Taliban and yet, the group continues to flourish in large parts of the country. While it could be argued that the population supports the Taliban out of fear rather than any other motivation, this does not provide a conclusive explanation for the Talibans continued survival. It is perhaps more likely that the rural population has formed a relationship of convenience with the Taliban born out of the illegality of the drug trade and the protection that it requires from both criminal elements and the government itself.

Dipali Mukhopadyays study of Afghan warlords provides a strong foundation for understanding the relationship between the governed and the governing authority in Afghanistan. Since political power in Afghanistan has rarely been centralised, the power of warlords at the periphery has often been the norm. These warlords have typically derived the origin of their power through an ethnic, religious or tribal affiliation; however, their ongoing legitimacy is projected through the protection that they provide rather than any ideological foundation. The importance of political legitimacy (often featured in counterinsurgency doctrine) is therefore seemingly rejected by Mukhopadhyay. She goes on to state that Predation and protection often go hand in hand, which reflects both the Taliban and many warlords control of rural populations.

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Drugs and Power: Counterinsurgency in Afghanistan - smallwarsjournal

Meet the female Garda chief superintendent spearheading Ireland’s five-year war on drugs and organised crime – Sunday World

Posted on February 4, 2021 by Danzig

The chief in charge of the Garda Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau has warned anyone tempted to take on a role in a drugs gang that they should be prepared to be locked up.

etective Chief Superintendent Angela Willis, who has overseen the Bureaus response to organised crime and, in particular, the dismantling of the Kinahan mafia, says nobody is outside its reach.

Whatever your role. If you are one of our targets you better be ready to go to prison. It doesnt matter what your role is, a group cant operate without all its components, she said.

There is nobody beyond reach. Once the right collaboration is there and dedication to targeting them is there, then I dont think there is anybody who is untouchable.

Last year, the Gardas tough crime-fighting unit seized 8 million in cash, 23 firearms and 36 million worth of drugs, and while it is still difficult to ascertain how Covid-19 has affected organised crime, it has presented opportunities for the force.

In a wide-ranging interview which will be broadcast on the Crime World podcast this week, Detective Chief Superintendent Willis reveals how her own career has spanned the emerging drug market.

She details how she started out as a rookie cop in Store Streets drug unit, working the north inner city, but now liaises with police departments across the world tackling Irish criminals.

She was part of the team that took on Tony Felloni, Roly Cronin and who policed others like Thomas the Boxer Mullen and Derek Maradona Dunne, who flooded the area with heroin.

Just last week, a report found that one in four people living in the area have experienced drug-related intimidation, but just one in five said they would report it to the authorities.

The report from the Drug-Related Intimidation Initiative found that fear, open drug dealing and intimidation have now become normal for many in the area.

Back in the 1990s, we could identify all our targets as there werent so many of them. It was mothers who were coming to us, mothers whose children were dying from heroin, and our targets were the suppliers that were causing the most misery.

The community came on board with us and have continued to support what we do. Without the support from communities we simply couldnt do our job.

We would have carried out about 500 searches a year but it was different because we were never overly concerned about firearms.

We were always mindful they could be there, but the amount of times we found them was minimal compared to today, when that is now the first consideration when we are doing any operation.

I was just straight out of Templemore when I was assigned to the north central divisional unit. I suppose I was just thrown into the middle of it, but we had a great unit and it was very effective. It was a small number of key targets that interested us.

The people came to us and told us who was most affecting their community and we went after them.

"Tony Felloni lived up in Dominic Street flats at the time with his children and extended family and we looked at him and his lifestyle and put surveillance around him and we got help from the community who could see the comings and goings, and through that we worked out the right time to search the place and find the heroin inside.

That was the strategy, hitting them at the right time. You have to catch them and have enough evidence to support a prosecution so they end up in prison and cant cause any further harm to the community. That is where you have a significant impact.

Times have changed since Felloni and his counterparts pushed their poison. Back then, a seizure of 100,000 worth of drugs would make a difference and could even cause a drought on the streets. Its not the same today as drug use and supply has grown to unprecedented levels.

When the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau (DOCB) was set up in March 2015 it had a new strategy, and targeting entire gangs rather than individuals was top of the list.

While seizures are still important, the focus is more on dismantling the structures that facilitate large-scale dealing.

Since then, more than 200 million worth of drugs have been confiscated, 133 guns and more than 5,500 rounds of ammunition. In January alone, almost 3 million in cash, 1.2 million worth of drugs and a pistol has added to the stash.

Less than a year after its establishment, the focus of the DOCB was fixed firmly on events surrounding the Regency Hotel attack and the bloody feud that it kicked off.

In her interview, Detective Chief Superintendent Willis describes how a plan was formulated around dismantling the Kinahan organised crime gang and others.

I suppose nobody expected in broad daylight there would be a murder of such significance.

We had been formed before that and we were a well resourced part of the policing reform, so we were in a good position to put those resources into tackling that group and others, she said.

The jailing of nine members of one murder squad, who were stopped as they attempted to kill Patsy Hutch, was exactly the type of new policing used by the Bureau where everyone involved from top to bottom of the murder team were targeted.

They were all convicted for their individual roles in that attempt.

We were as focused that morning on the ones with the firearms, the lookout and the person who bought the sim cards for the mobile phones as they approached their target. We achieved the desired outcome.

A lot of our work is obviously in preventing murders, and I think that when you look at the numbers you can see that our strategy is working.

We have intervened and prevented murders 75 times since the Bureaus establishment. Some of those cases involved the same person multiple times.

In the last year, those figures were reduced to two.

It shows that many of the people who are willing to engage in that type of thing are serving time in prison.

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Meet the female Garda chief superintendent spearheading Ireland's five-year war on drugs and organised crime - Sunday World

Cannabis stocks rally anew as $7 billion GW Pharma deal spurs interest in weed and its medical benefits – MarketWatch

Posted on February 4, 2021 by Danzig

Cannabis stocks rallied anew on Wednesday, spurred on by news of a $7 billion deal for the first company to win U.S. regulatory approval for a cannabis-based drug, a move thats expected to boost investor interest in the plant and its medical benefits.

GW Pharmaceuticals Ltd. GWPH, +44.53%, developer of Epidiolex, the drug that won U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval as a treatment for severe forms of childhood epilepsy in 2018, said earlier it is being acquired by Jazz Pharmaceuticals PLC JAZZ, -3.87%, which specializes in sleep medications.

The news sent U.S.-listed shares of the U.K.-based GW Pharma up 46% in afternoon trading, and helped spark a broad-based rally among cannabis stocks. Jazz shares slipped 1.0%.

We dont think this is the last deal we will see in the sector, said Nawan Butt, portfolio manager of the Medical Cannabis and Wellness UCITS ETF CBDX, +9.77%.

The deal is a clear sign that the pharmaceutical industry is recognizing the value and future potential of cannabinoid based medicines, said Jason Wilson, cannabis and banking expert at ETF Managers Group, which manages the ETFMG Alternative Harvest ETF MJ, +9.80% with $1.5 billion in assets under management.

It is also another example that the cannabis industry is continuing to normalize and evolve beyond the traditional cultivation of flower, with potential well outside of our borders, said Wilson. For investors, the acquisition of GW Pharma is another reminder that investing in cannabis touches many verticals globally, requiring a diverse approach beyond traditional cannabis cultivation companies.

David Johnson, chief executive of Enveric Biosciences Inc. ENVB, +1.18%, a Nasdaq-listed biotech that works with cannabinoids to help patients suffering from the side effects of cancer treatment, agreed. The deal serves as further validation that thoroughly researched and developed medical cannabinoids have significant potential to address patients unmet medical needs, he said.

Kyle Detwiler, chief executive of Clever Leaves, a company with operations in Canada, Colombia, Germany, Portugal and the U.S., said the news will help signal that global private equity and institutional investors are increasing their focus on the cannabis space.

This is a sign pharmaceutical cannabis is here to stay, he said.

The deal comes at a time of growing optimism in the cannabis sector, coming just days after Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and two other Democratic Senators pledged to make reform legislation a key priority in the current Congress, bolstering hopes for an end to federal prohibition.

Schumer, along with Sens. Ron Wyden of Oregon and Cory Booker of New Jersey,said in a joint statement Monday that they would introduce legislation in the coming weeks that would include expunging records relating to past activity deemed criminal during the so-called War on Drugs.

The sector had already enjoyed a boost since the election of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, who were expected to pursue an agenda of reforming the U.S.s strict cannabis laws,which continue to classify the substance as a Schedule I drug, alongside heroin.

That classification has hampered the development of the sector, which is confined to those states that have legalized cannabis for medical or recreational use and kept companieslocked out of the federally insured banking system.

Other positive developments include Mexico recently publishing federal medical cannabis regulations and the United Nations vote to remove medical cannabis from its list of dangerous narcotics, said Wilson.

These recent catalysts occurred on the backdrop of strong global cannabis sales growth in 2020 (2020 global sales are expected to reach approximately $20 billion an increase of approximately 35% versus 2019 sales of $15 billion) and suggest that the industry will continue to see strong growth and continued expansion domestically and globally for the foreseeable future, he said.

See also:New York is finally expected to legalize cannabis in 2021 as Gov. Cuomo goes all in

The Cannabis ETF THCX, +9.40% jumped 10% Wednesday, with 25 of its 30 components trading higher. Among individual stocks, Organigram Holdings Inc. OGI, +21.03% climbed 20%, Aphria Inc. APHA, +12.62% APHA, +12.46% was up 14% and Tilray Inc. TLRY, +12.01%, with which it is merging, was up 14%.

Cronos Group Inc. CRON, +7.93% CRON, +8.06% was up 9%, Aurora Cannabis Inc. ACB, +8.27% ACB, +7.48% was up 8.7% and Canopy Growth Corp. CGC, +7.73% WEED, +8.10% was up 7%.

Among U.S. companies, Charlottes Web Holdings Inc. CWBHF, +7.14% CWEB, +6.98%, a maker of CBD-based products, rose 7%, while vape maker Greenlane Holdings Inc. GNLN, +5.10% was up 5.6% and cbdMD Inc. YCBD, +7.00% was up 4%. Curaleaf Holdings Inc. CURLF, +4.46% CURA, +3.00% was up 5% and Cresco Labs Inc. CL, +2.37% was up 3.8%. Green Thumb Industries Inc. GTII, -0.05% was up 4.3%. KushCo Holdings Inc. KSHB, +16.54%, which containers, packaging and other products for the cannabis industry, was up nearly 10%.

The S&P 500 SPX, +0.10% was up 0.3%.

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Cannabis stocks rally anew as $7 billion GW Pharma deal spurs interest in weed and its medical benefits - MarketWatch

23. The War on Drugs – Cato Institute

Posted on February 4, 2021 by Danzig

Ours is afederal republic. The federal government has only the powers granted to it in the Constitution. And the United States has atradition of individual liberty, vigorous civil society, and limited government. Identification of aproblem does not mean that the government should undertake to solve it, and the fact that aproblem occurs in more than one state does not mean that it is aproper subject for federal policy.

Perhaps no area more clearly demonstrates the bad consequences of not following such rules than does drug prohibition. The long federal experiment in prohibition of marijuana, cocaine, heroin, and other drugs has given us crime and corruption combined with amanifest failure to stop the use of drugs or reduce their availability to children.

In the 1920s, Congress experimented with the prohibition of alcohol. On February 20, 1933, anew Congress acknowledged the failure of alcohol prohibition and sent the TwentyFirst Amendment to the states. Congress recognized that Prohibition had failed to stop drinking and had increased prison populations and violent crime. By the end of 1933, national Prohibition was history, though many states continued to outlaw or severely restrict the sale of liquor.

Today, Congress must confront asimilarly failed prohibition policy. Futile efforts to enforce prohibition have been pursued even more vigorously since the 1980s than they were in the 1920s. Total federal expenditures for the first 10years of Prohibition amounted to $88 million about $1 billion in 2015 dollars. Now, drug enforcement costs about $27 billion ayear in federal spending alone.

Those billions have had some effect. Total drug arrests are now more than 1.5 million ayear. Since 1989, more people have been incarcerated for drug offenses than for all violent crimes combined. There are about 300,000 drug offenders in jails and prisons, and 50 percent of the federal prison population consists of drug offenders.

Yet, as during Prohibition, all the arrests and incarcerations havent stopped the use and abuse of drugs, or the drug trade, or the crime associated with blackmarket transactions. Cocaine and heroin supplies are up; the more our Customs agents interdict, the more smugglers import.

As for discouraging young people from using drugs, the massive federal effort has largely been adud. Every year from 1975 to 2012, at least 82 percent of high school seniors said they found marijuana fairly easy or very easy to obtain. During that same period, according to federal statistics of dubious reliability, teenage marijuana use fell dramatically and then rose significantly, suggesting that cultural factors have more effect than the war on drugs.

The United States is afederal republic, and Congress should deal with drug prohibition the way it dealt with alcohol prohibition. The TwentyFirst Amendment did not actually legalize the sale of alcohol; it simply repealed the federal prohibition and returned to the states the authority to set alcohol policy. States took the opportunity to design diverse liquor policies that were in tune with the preferences of their citizens. After 1933, three states and hundreds of counties continued to practice prohibition. Other states chose various forms of alcohol legalization.

The single most important law that Congress must repeal is the Controlled Substances Act of 1970. That law is probably the most farreaching federal statute in American history: it asserts federal jurisdiction over every drug offense in the United States, no matter how small or local in scope. Once that law is removed from the books, Congress should move to abolish the Drug Enforcement Administration and repeal all the other federal drug laws.

There are anumber of reasons why Congress should end the federal governments war on drugs. First and foremost, the federal drug laws are constitutionally dubious. As noted, the federal government can exercise only the powers that have been delegated to it. The Tenth Amendment reserves all other powers to the states or to the people. However misguided the alcohol prohibitionists turned out to have been, they deserve credit for honoring our constitutional system by seeking aconstitutional amendment to explicitly authorize anational policy on the sale of alcohol. Congress never asked the American people for additional constitutional powers to declare awar on drug consumers. That usurpation of power is something that few politicians or their court intellectuals wish to discuss.

Second, drug prohibition creates higher levels of crime. Addicts commit crimes to pay for ahabit that would be easily affordable if it were legal. Police sources have estimated that as much as half of the property crime in some major cities is committed by drug users. More dramatically, because drugs are illegal, participants in the drug trade cannot go to court to settle disputes, whether between buyer and seller or between rival sellers. When blackmarket contracts are breached, the result is often some form of violent sanction, which usually leads to retaliation and then open warfare in the streets.

Make no mistake, the annual carnage from gang violence has little to do with the mindaltering effects of amarijuana cigarette or ameth pipe. It is instead one of the grim and bitter consequences of an ideological crusade whose proponents will not yet admit defeat.

Third, U.S. intelligence officials have repeatedly warned us of possible terrorist attacks. Given that danger, it is agross misallocation of law enforcement resources to have federal police agents looking for marijuana fields when they could be helping to discover terrorists on U.S. territory. The Drug Enforcement Administration has 10,000 agents, intelligence analysts, and support staff members. Their skills would be much better used if they were redeployed to fulltime counterterrorism investigations or recruited into local police departments to work unsolved murder and rape cases.

Fourth, drug prohibition is aclassic example of throwing money at aproblem. The federal government spends some $27 billion to enforce the drug laws every year all to no avail. For years, drug war bureaucrats have been tailoring their budget requests to the latest news reports. When drug use goes up, taxpayers are told the government needs more money so that it can redouble its efforts against arising drug scourge. When drug use goes down, taxpayers are told that it would be abig mistake to curtail spending just when progress is being made. Good news or bad, spending levels must be maintained or increased.

Fifth, drug prohibition channels more than $40 billion ayear into acriminal underworld that is occupied by an assortment of criminals, corrupt politicians, and terrorists. Alcohol prohibition drove reputable companies into other industries or out of business altogether, which paved the way for mobsters to make millions in the black market. If drugs were legal, organized crime would stand to lose billions of dollars, and drugs would be sold by legitimate businesses in an open marketplace.

Sixth, drug prohibition has exacerbated racial tensions in America. The immense profits to be had from ablackmarket business make drug dealing the most lucrative endeavor for many young minority men. Drug dealers become the most visibly successful people in innercity communities, the ones with money and clothes and cars. Social order is turned upside down when the most successful people in acommunity are criminals. Even though most will end up in prison, the money tempts many young men away from seeking lowerpaying legal employment. Since the police are tasked with combating the drug trade, they constantly clash with the residents in minority neighborhoods.

Students of American history will someday ponder the question of how todays elected officials could readily admit to the mistaken policy of alcohol prohibition in the 1920s but recklessly pursue apolicy of drug prohibition. Indeed, the only historical lesson that recent presidents and Congresses seem to have drawn from Prohibition is that government should not try to outlaw the sale of booze. One of the broader lessons that they should have learned is this: prohibition laws should be judged according to their realworld effects, not their promised benefits. If the 115th Congress subjects the federal drug laws to that standard, it will recognize that the drug war is not the answer to problems associated with drug use.

The failures of drug prohibition are becoming obvious to more and more Americans. In 2012, voters in Colorado and Washington approved ballot initiatives that legalized marijuana for recreational purposes. In 2014, voters in Alaska, Oregon, and the District of Columbia approved similar measures. Several more states California, Massachusetts, Maine, and Nevada followed suit in the fall of 2016.

A particularly tragic consequence of the war on drugs has been the refusal to allow sick people to use marijuana as medicine. Prohibitionists insist that marijuana is not good medicine, or at least that legal alternatives to marijuana are equally good. Those who believe that individuals should make their own decisions, not have their decisions made for them by Washington bureaucracies, simply say that thats adecision for patients and their doctors to make. But in fact there is good medical evidence of the therapeutic value of marijuana despite the difficulty of doing adequate research on an illegal drug. ANational Institutes of Health panel concluded that smoking marijuana may help treat anumber of conditions, including nausea and pain. It can be particularly effective in improving the appetite of AIDS and cancer patients. The drug could also help people who fail to respond to traditional remedies.

More than 70 percent of U.S. cancer specialists in one survey said they would prescribe marijuana if it were legal; nearly half said they had urged their patients to break the law to acquire the drug. In 2013, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, the chief medical correspondent for CNN, apologized to his viewers for previously voicing his opposition to medical marijuana without having done his own homework. He admitted that he had basically assumed that the Drug Enforcement Administration had sound scientific proof that marijuana could not benefit persons who are ill. After studying the subject more thoroughly, Gupta said, We have been terribly and systematically misled for nearly 70years in the United States, and Iapologize for my own role in that.

The most relevant point for federal policymakers is that 29 states have authorized physicians licensed in those states to recommend the use of medical marijuana to seriously ill and terminally ill patients residing in the states, without being subject to civil and criminal penalties.

If it is inappropriate for governors and mayors to entangle themselves in foreign policy and it is it is also inappropriate for federal officials to entangle themselves in state and local politics. In the 114th Congress, Reps. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), Steve Cohen (D-TN), Duncan Hunter (R-CA), Thomas Massie (R-KY), Jared Polis (D-CO), Justin Amash (R-MI), and others jointly proposed the Respect State Marijuana Laws Act of 2015, which would have prohibited federal interference with any person acting in compliance with state rules pertaining to the production, possession, or delivery of marijuana. The 115th Congress should enact asimilar bill without delay.

One of the benefits of afederal republic is that different policies may be tried in different states. One of the benefits of our Constitution is that it limits the power of the federal government to impose one policy on the several states.

The common law in England and America has always relied on judges and juries to decide cases and set punishments. Under our modern system, of course, many crimes are defined by the legislature, and appropriate penalties are defined by statute. However, mandatory minimum sentences and rigid sentencing guidelines shift too much power to legislators and regulators who are not involved in particular cases. They turn judges into clerks and prevent judges from weighing all the facts and circumstances in setting appropriate sentences. In addition, mandatory minimums for nonviolent firsttime drug offenders result in sentences grotesquely disproportionate to the gravity of the offenses. Rather than extend mandatory minimum sentences to further crimes, Congress should repeal mandatory minimums and let judges perform their traditional function of weighing the facts and setting appropriate sentences.

Drug abuse is aproblem for those involved in it and for their families and friends. But it is better dealt with as amoral and medical problem than as acriminal problem a problem for the surgeon general, not the attorney general, as former Baltimore mayor Kurt Schmoke put it.

Congress should repeal the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, shut down the Drug Enforcement Administration, and let the states set their own policies with regard to currently illegal drugs. They would do well to treat marijuana, cocaine, and heroin the way most states now treat alcohol: it should be legal for stores to sell such drugs to adults. Drug sales to children, like alcohol sales to children, should remain illegal. Driving under the influence of drugs should be illegal.

With such apolicy, Congress would acknowledge that our current drug policies have failed. It would restore authority to the states, as the Founders envisioned. It would save taxpayers money. And it would give states the power to experiment with drug policies and perhaps devise more successful rules.

Repeal of prohibition would take the astronomical profits out of the drug business and destroy the drug kingpins who terrorize parts of our cities. It would reduce crime even more dramatically than did the repeal of alcohol prohibition. Not only would there be less crime: reform would also free federal agents to concentrate on terrorism and espionage and would free local police agents to concentrate on robbery, burglary, and violent crime.

The war on drugs has lasted longer than Prohibition, longer than the Vietnam War. Prohibition has failed, again, and should be repealed, again.

Balko, Radley. Overkill: The Rise of Paramilitary Police Raids in America. Washington: Cato Institute, 2006.

Boaz, David. A DrugFree AmericaOr aFree America? UC Davis Law Review 24, no. 3 (1991): 61736.

Buckley, William F. Jr., and others. The War on Drugs Is Lost. National Review, February 12, 1996.

Carpenter, Ted Galen. Designer Drugs: ANew, Futile Front in the War on Illegal Drugs. Cato Institute Policy Analysis no. 774, May 27, 2015.

. The Fire Next Door: Mexicos Drug Violence and the Danger to America. Washington: Cato Institute, 2012.

Dills, Angela, Sietse Goffard, and Jeffrey Miron. Dose of Reality: The Effect of State Marijuana Legalizations. Cato Institute Policy Analysis no. 799, September 16, 2016.

Greenwald, Glenn. Drug Decriminalization in Portugal: Lessons for Creating Fair and Successful Drug Policies. Washington: Cato Institute, 2009.

Lynch, Timothy, ed. After Prohibition: An Adult Approach to Drug Policies in the 21st Century. Washington: Cato Institute, 2000.

Masters, Bill. Drug War Addiction. St. Louis, MO: Accurate Press, 2002.

McNamara, Joseph. The Defensive Front Line. Regulation, Winter 2001.

McWhorter, John. How the War on Drugs Is Destroying Black America. Catos Letter 9, no. 1 (2011).

Mikos, Robert A. On the Limits of Federal Supremacy: When States Relax (or Abandon) Marijuana Bans. Cato Institute Policy Analysis no. 714, December 12, 2012.

Miron, Jeffrey A., Marijuana Policy in Colorado, Cato Institute Working Paper no. 24, October 23, 2014.

Miron, Jeffrey A., and Katherine Waldock. The Budgetary Impact of Ending Drug Prohibition. Washington: Cato Institute, 2010.

Nadelmann, Ethan A. Legalize It: Why Its Time to Just Say No to Prohibition. Foreign Policy, SeptemberOctober 2007.

Ostrowski, James. The Moral and Practical Case for Drug Legalization. Hofstra Law Review 18, no. 3 (1990): 607702.

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23. The War on Drugs - Cato Institute

How travelers help to protect the Outer Islands of the Seychelles – CNN

Posted on February 4, 2021 by Danzig

(CNN) There are few places in the world as beautiful, or as vulnerable as the Outer Islands of Seychelles.

While the archipelago in the western Indian Ocean is made up of 115 islands, its 72 Outer Islands are undoubtedly its most remote and preserved locations.

Situated at distances ranging from 60 minutes to two and half hours away from the main island of Mah, the islands and atolls feature an abundance of marine life, pristine coastline and exotic birdlife.

Among them are UNESCO World Heritage site Aldabra, home to the largest giant tortoise population in the world, Alphonse, the first Seychelles island to become reliant on solar power and the uninhabited Cosmoledo, known for its spectacularly pristine coral reefs.

"The most unique thing about the Outer Islands is they've been frozen in time," environmentalist Keith Rose-Innes tells CNN Travel. "These islands are so inaccessible by humans and so far out that they've been left alone.

"The coral's still intact, because the atolls have very sharp drop offs and the cool water circles around them. So there's very little coral bleaching.

"The biomass of fish underneath the sea is incredible. At times if you swim 10 meters apart you can't see each other because there's so many fish. So it is really an amazing place. There's been very little human pressure over the years."

Under threat

Alphonse Atoll is one of the best preserved locations in the Outer Islands of the Seychelles.

Fiona Ayerst

But while the Outer Islands have been spared some of the "human pressure" problems faced by destinations such as Thailand, they, along with the rest of the Seychelles, are under threat nonetheless.

At present, the most significant dangers to the islands are plastic pollution, overfishing and climate change.

The money has been channeled into projects aimed at protecting marine life and tackling the impact of climate change and promised to make 30% of its national waters protected areas by the close of 2020.

After spending many years exploring the Outer Islands as a fly-fisherman, Rose-Innes says he's witnessed the effects first hand.

"Climate change is a big issue," he says. "I can see it [the difference]. For instance, we get bigger storms. The island of Farquhar experienced the most vicious cyclone ever recorded in the Indian Ocean in 2016.

"And an increase of one degree in sea temperature will mean 80% of our coral will die. Now is the time to protect these places, and use them in the right way so they can stay around for longer."

Protecting paradise

Alphonse has recorded more than 130 species of bird.

Anthony Grote

He's turned his attention to conservation in recent years as a way of "giving back" after becoming concerned about the future of the Outer Islands.

"I was known as the 'fly fisherman,'" he says. "That was my passion. But when you're walking around the islands or sitting in the boat, you're noticing all of the amazing things these atolls have to offer.

"I thought 'how do we create enough revenue to protect these places? How do we reduce the amount of fly fishing we do? The only way to do that was through ecotourism."

Blue Safari offers a number of activities and programs, such snorkeling with and photographing manta rays, birdwatching walks, turtle patrols, scuba diving, tree planting, beach cleanups, and a scuba diving excursion to collect debris from the ocean.

The accommodation available includes lodges, eco-camps, as well as eco-pods made from shipping containers.

"Every year we've seen amazing growth and more people coming," he says. "It's important to allow people to experience and see these amazing places," he adds. "This also opens up the possibility of raising funds."

While the Islands Development Company (IDC) manages 13 of the 72 Outer Islands, Blue Safari looks after four of these -- Alphonse, Astove, Cosmoledo and Farquhar.

Travelers who visit any of the islands are required to pay a $25 a day conservation charge, which is donated to its designated foundation and put towards ecological and environmental programs and initiatives.

While those who take part in the activities provided by Blue Safari are offered a unique insight into the Outer Islands through unique experiences, Rose-Innes says he and his team of over 150 also gain a lot from meeting travelers and educating them on the work that's being done.

Plastic problem

The uninhabited Cosmoledo atoll is the furthest from the mainland Mah island.

Blue Safari Seychelles

"It's an incredible opportunity," he says. "There aren't many places around the world where you're able to interact with guests, show them what you're doing and tell them how they can make a positive impact by coming on holiday."

Beach clean-ups are perhaps one of the most essential activities that visitors can take part in, if not the most thrilling.

Tons of plastic, mainly from ships, regularly washes up on the beaches of the Outer Islands and the amount is increasing every year according to Rose-Innes.

"We are picking up tons of plastic, especially after better weather on the beaches," he says. "So that's obviously quite a concerning thing."

Interestingly, flip flop sandals are among the most common plastic items that end up in the Outer Islands, along with water bottles.

"One or two of our islands get quite a big build of flip flops," Rose-Innes explains. "Funnily enough, it's mostly left side flip flops. I think it's like 10 to one left versus right."

However, Rose-Innes is hopeful that the global movement towards reducing plastic packaging will eventually reduce the amount of plastic that finds its way over to the islands.

Although the Seychelles is still seen as a far-flung beach destination by many travelers, the popularity of destinations such as Costa Rica, the Galapagos Islands and Kenya has proven that there's still a huge market for these types of trips.

"Ecotourism is very important because it raises awareness for the environment," says Rose-Innes.

"If you have a guest that comes out and we take them on a beach clean-up where we pick up plastic, it's very easy for them to take that back to where they come from.

"And maybe next time there'll think twice about buying a plastic bag."

Safeguarding the future

The Blue Safari team lead a number of activities, such as beach cleanups and bird watching walks.

Melissa V.d Walt

Meanwhile, the debt-for-conservation deal has proved successful so far.

Last March, Seychelles President Wavel Ramkalawan announced the nation had followed through on its pledge to protect 410,000 square kilometers of its waters, an area around the size of Germany.

"By protecting these large areas we are not only safeguarding our marine environment but balancing economic growth through the management of the resources that the sea provides."

While its economy is highly dependent on the ocean and marine resources, tourism also plays a big part and numbers have been down significantly due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Officials aim to vaccinate over 70% of its estimated 98,000 population by mid-March, which would make the Seychelles the first nation to vaccinate its entire population and allow restrictions to be relaxed further.

"It is really important to put in place the right protocols as tourists still want to come and spend a holiday in Seychelles."

Rose-Innes shares this sentiment, but is confident that things will improve in the coming months.

"We're hoping that by around April we'll be back to some sort of normality with regards to guests coming to the islands," he says.

"But at the moment it's very quiet. And the less people that come to the islands, the less funding we're able to raise.

"The most important thing travelers can do to support conservation is to come out and see us."

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How travelers help to protect the Outer Islands of the Seychelles - CNN

KuCoin CEO Reflects on 2020 and Looks to the Future – PRNewswire

Posted on February 4, 2021 by Danzig

"Security has always been the sword of Damocles hanging over the head of crypto exchanges. When we encountered the breach, we acted quickly and transparently to protect all our users and partners," wrote Lyu. "First, we gradually resumed the deposit and withdrawal services within a week, before fully restoring all features.

"Secondly, with the efforts of all parties in the industry, we cooperated with exchange and project partners to recover $222 million (78%), and through further cooperation with law enforcement and security institutions, we recovered another $17.45 million (6%).

"KuCoin and our insurance fund covered the remainder of around $45.55 million (16%). In the end, we ensured that no users sustained any loss in this incident, and we have since greatly strengthened our security level."

Lyu also confirmed that KuCoin had gathered intelligence about the perpetrators, and indicated that investigations were ongoing.

Based in Seychelles, KuCoin is one of the industry's most recognized exchanges, serving a global user base of over six million. The platform works closely with over 200 blockchain projects and facilitates hundreds of millions of dollars worth of daily transactions. Reflecting upon the addition of 39 fiat currencies in the past year, Lyu confirmed that KuCoin now supports 53 national currencies with plans to integrate emerging payment tools and popular gateways such as BTC Direct and Mobilum. The CEO also heralded impressive growth in trading volume.

"In 2020, our margin trading volume increased 217% year on year and has supported 33 tokens and 54 trading pairs. Since the start of the year, KuCoin Futures have achieved a stunningly rapid 420% increase in trading volume and a remarkable 670% growth in user numbers. It now supports 17 coins, including USDT-Margined and Coin-Margined Contracts, and Perpetual Futures and Quarterly Delivery Futures.

"Over the past year, the Pool-X staking platform which supports over 50 projects generated around $7 million of passive income for users."

After reflecting on recent additions, including new DeFi and NFT trading boards, Lyu revealed that KuCoin will support the upcoming Polkadot parachain slots auction, enabling users to participate in the expanding Polkadot ecosystem. Outlining his vision for the next two years, the CEO stated his belief that bitcoin will overtake gold, that decentralized finance will continue to innovate, and evolve, and that NFT use will also increase.

"In general, the future strategy of KuCoin will be carried out by two priorities: 'Find the next crypto gem' and 'Empowering KCS'. In order to achieve the former, our intercontinental blockchain project research team will keep up with industry trends to identify more promising projects. "

"In the KuCoin community, KCS is the bond that connects us all, and ideally, all KuCoin users will become members of the KCS community. To this end, we will shed light on KCS and encourage users to become token holders, to grow with us and share the benefits from our growth. Moving forward, we will build KCS as a killer product rather than a simple token."

Decentralization was a dominant theme in Lyu's letter, with the CEO restating his belief that decentralization and blockchain-powered transparency can facilitate the free flow of value around the world.

"After evaluating all existing technologies and public chain ecosystems, we are going to launch new KuCoin decentralized trading solutions on the basis of KuChain," Lyu wrote. "One thing is for sure: KCS will be the underlying fuel whatever the solution actually is."

About KuCoin

KuCoin is a global crypto exchange that supports multiple crypto asset transactions. Established in September 2017, KuCoin has grown into one of the most popular crypto exchanges in the world. It currently provides Spot trading, Margin trading, P2P fiat trading, Futures trading, Staking, and Lending to its six million users in over 200 countries and regions around the world.

SOURCE KuCoin

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KuCoin CEO Reflects on 2020 and Looks to the Future - PRNewswire

Air Seychelles would be ahead of schedule on transformation plan if 2020 was a normal year: CEO | CAPA – CAPA – Centre for Aviation

Posted on February 4, 2021 by Danzig

CAPA publishes more than 400 global News Briefs every weekday, covering all aspects of the aviation and travel industry. Its the most comprehensive source of market intelligence in the world, with around 50 per cent of content translated from non-English sources. The breadth of our coverage means you wont need any other news sources to monitor competitors and stay informed about the latest developments in the wider aviation sector.

Our daily News Briefs are only available to CAPA Members. Membership provides access to more than 400 News Briefs every weekday, with quick links to our Analysis Reports, Research Publications, Data Centre and more.

Its easy to keep your News Briefs relevant by customising your email alerts based on topic, region, sector, frequency and more. Once youve saved your settings, you can stay up-to-date wherever you are, by quickly scanning our News Briefs online or via the CAPA mobile app.

Membership also provides full access to our Analysis Reports, in-depth Research Publications and comprehensive Data Centre. Premium CAPA Members can also access add-ons such as our exclusive Fleet Database, Airline Cask Data tools and more, to enjoy the full capabilities of our global platform.

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Air Seychelles would be ahead of schedule on transformation plan if 2020 was a normal year: CEO | CAPA - CAPA - Centre for Aviation

Israel and Greece in talks to allow reciprocal visits for vaccinated tourists – Ynetnews

Posted on February 4, 2021 by Danzig

Israel and Greece are in advance negotiations to sign an agreement that would allow reciprocal visits for vaccinated tourists with no obligation to self-isolate or present a negative coronavirus test.

Israel is also negotiating similar agreements with Romania and Serbia, Cyprus and the Seychelles, while the country of Georgia has also expressed interest in signing a similar deal.

A beach in the Greek island of Crete

(Photo: Shutterstock)

The deal would facilitate travel for holders of "green passport", which anyone who had received two of the required coronavirus vaccines, will be able to get.

Greece and Israel hope that by the time Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis arrives in Israel on Monday for a state visit, the deal will be completed and the two leaders will be able to announce it as early as next week.

Jerusalem, however, said that the signing of the agreement depends on the infection rate in both Israel and Greece, which is currently dealing with a severe coronavirus outbreak in one of its provinces.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis

(Photo: GPO)

In the meantime, Ben Gurion Airport, Israel's main port of entry, is currently under severe restrictions imposed by the government in a bid to halt the spread of the coronavirus and its UK, South-African and California mutations, recently discovered in Israel.

As per the restrictions, arrivals of foreign-registered aircrafts is prohibited, except for cargo flights, medical and rescue flights.

Ben Gurion Airport during the closure

(Photo: AP)

Israelis are not allowed to leave or return to Israel, with the exception of medical treatment, attending a relative's funeral or legal proceedings abroad.

Private flights can still take place due to the fact they cannot be legally prevented.

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Israel and Greece in talks to allow reciprocal visits for vaccinated tourists - Ynetnews

End of the world: Elon Musk warns of ‘civilisation collapse’ if we don’t leave Earth soon – Daily Express

Posted on February 4, 2021 by Danzig

Mr Musk spoke about the importance of building a self-sustaining city on Mars and how it is one of the most important things we can do to ensure "the long-term existence of consciousness".

He said: "I think there's arguably a great filter that we face with, you know, will we become a multi-planet species or not.

"You know, we'll be surprised if out there in our galaxy and others, there are a whole bunch of dead one-planet civilisations that prospered for a while - they might have prospered for millions of years - but then gradually the civilisation collapsed for reasons externals or internal and that was that.

"All civilisations go through an arc where they build, they grow up in technology complexity but then they don't keep going up, they, over time they decline and they fall.

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End of the world: Elon Musk warns of 'civilisation collapse' if we don't leave Earth soon - Daily Express

Elon Musk opens up about Mars, Gamestop and Dogecoin | Heres everything he said – Republic World

Posted on February 4, 2021 by Danzig

A few days ago, Elon Musk appeared for an interview and the launch of the exclusive Clubhouse app where 5000 people joined the Clubhouse chatroom to hear him talk live.He talked about a whole lot of things, from his plans to coloniseMars, to whether Dogecoin might become the universal currency of the future, to the Gamestop incident and the stock market. Readon to find more here.

Also Read:Elon Musk's Wife Grimes Gives 8-month-old Son X AE A-Xii 'Viking' Haircut | See Pictures

Musk told everyone about his plans about beginning to set up a colony on Mars. He said he is considering a time-span of five and a half years till he can start getting people to Mars."The important thing is that we establish Mars as a self-sustaining civilization," he said.

Musk then went on to talk about memes and his 'meme dealers'. He talked about his company Neuralink, his company that has been doing research on human brain implants. There have already been a lot of experiments done with animals and Musk said they would have videos of working proof of Neuralink out soon. He was also quoted as saying. "We have a monkey with a wireless implant in their skull who can play video games using his mind".

Also Read:Elon Musk Loses Legal Battle With Tesla Critic, Judge Rules To Keep Defamation Case

Bitcoin, GME, stock market and Dogecoin have been in the news a lot the past few weeks and Elon Musk has been tweeting about them all. Previously, Musk has joked around about Dogecoinin the past, but this time he seriously appeared to endorse Bitcoin. He said, "I'm late to the party but I'm a supporter of Bitcoin", he said. This made the price of Bitcoin go up overnight.

Also Read:Randeep Hothi: Meet The Indian-American Student Who Sued Elon Musk And Won Round One

He considered Dogecoin to be a meme currency but didn't dismiss it. This is what he had to say about Dogecoin:"Arguably the most entertaining outcome, the most ironic outcome would be that Dogecoin becomes the currency of Earth of the future," Immediately after his comments, the value of Dogecoin dropped a little bit.He even talked about his favourite TV shows and said Cobra Kai was really good and something he enjoyed a lot. He also talked about the whole Gamestop Reddit drama. The interview ran for about 90 minutes in total.

Also Read:Bitcoin Prices Spike As Elon Musk Changes Twitter Bio, Netizens Call Him 'real Influencer'

Elon Musk opens up about Mars, Gamestop and Dogecoin | Heres everything he said - Republic World

"The Expanse" shows the dangers of treating extremism as a joke – Salon

Posted on February 4, 2021 by Danzig

Events depicted in Amazon's"The Expanse," which just wrapped its fifth season,take place two centuries in the future when humankind has colonized Mars and cultivated a downtrodden working class in the asteroid belts between Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. Apparently no amount of time diminishes the solid charms of a classic joke setup, because early on in the season an Earth admiral attempts to lighten a deposed politician's dark mood by telling his version of the classic "A, B and C walk into a bar . . ."

This joke stars a Belter, an Earther and a Martian. The Belter orders the finest Martian whiskey from the bartender, and the Martian orders Earther tequila. Both give the same explanation for their choices: "Drinking like my enemy helps me think like my enemy." Before the admiral can get to the punchline they're interrupted by urgent business, which turns out to be a warning about an impending disaster enormous in scale.

Six full episodes transpire before the admiral, Felix Delgado (Michale Irby) gets to the punchline. By that point in the season millions have been slaughtered in on Earth, Mars and a Belter colony instigated by sadistic Belter extremist Marco Inaros (Keon Alexander), shifting the solar system's power balance.

The politician, Chrisjen Avasarala (Shohreh Aghdashloo) has been restored to power as the acting Secretary-General of the United Nations after her predecessor orders a military strike against the economically devastated Belter outpost Inaros once called home, leading most of his cabinet to resign.

In a moment of calm and candorshe asks Delgado to finish the joke, and the admiral complies: "The Earther says, 'Give me a shot of the finest Belter liquor you have, the best the Belt has to offer.' The bartender says, 'Because it helps you think like your enemy?' And the Earther says, 'No, because I'm trying to drink less. The best the Belt has to offer is terrible!'"

Neither Delgado nor Avasarala laugh, and in those seconds the Admiral's flippant twinkle melts. "It used to be funnier," he flatly offers.

Simple exchanges like thisremind viewers why "The Expanse" is consistently underappreciated in the realm of epic dramas. Here we see two people tasked with serving humanity and seeking peace revealing their arrogance and prejudice by way of a derogatory joke; they are leaders and ostensibly diplomats. To use a familiar and loaded 2021 term, they are the "elites."

But even these supposedly wise leaders are not above ignorant wisecracks about the presumed inferiority of the downtrodden or, we should say, they didn't used to be. By the time the joke has stopped being funny the Belt has delivered a wallop to the systemthat threatens to bring the established order to its knees.

Several times, including very recently, I've written about the limited appeal of end-of-the-world dystopias to audiences living in the middle of one, and on the surface it may be tempting to lump "The Expanse" in with other examples of apocalyptic visions. It was never that type ofshow.

From the beginning "The Expanse" has always extrapolated the probable direction our future would take with an eye on humanity continuing, not ending. In the same ways some hoary, dumb jokes don't really change, neither does humankind's greedy nature and its ages-old habit of optimizing society's function to benefit the wealthy and leaving the rest to struggle over scraps. Ever imagine what happens to a society that never quite makes it beyond late capitalism? Watch this show.

And I recommend that you do because "The Expanse" thisseasonserved up several disaster movies, a bullet-riddled action thriller and family drama, and it did a spectacular job with each. Each of its 10 episodes is a spectacle that refuses to sacrifice its stunning aesthetics even in the worstof circumstances. This also differentiates "The Expanse" from, say, an endless grind to survive a zombie world or a desperate frozen locomotive.

As terrible as the situation gets for the show's protagonists, the worlds depicted never look anything less than interesting, and the writing gives us a view into humanity's shortsightedness in broad strokes and intensely personal ones.

Human greed and perseverance will always be this show's roiling guts, especially once we know these characters and all they're capable of, for better or for the absolute worst.

Season 5 breaks free of the show's habit of viewing the solar system's intense political machinations, class warfare and economic disparity from the somewhat neutral view of the Rocinante, an independent gunship whose crew consists of Captain James Holden (Steven Strait) and chief engineer Amos Burton (Wes Chatham), who originate from Earth; pilot Alex Kamal (Cas Anvar), a citizen of Mars; and executive officer Naomi Nagata (Dominique Tipper), a Belter.

Spaceship crews that transcend cultural and political strife are a sci-fi mainstay, but the Rocinante's tight family sticks together because they don't fully trust any government while maintaining connections to each faction through their individual relationships. They've also bonded over their perilously close interactions with the story's X-factor, a sentient phenomenon known as the protomolecule that can wipe out entire colonies. Through the protomolecule the Roci crew also discovers a network of gates to other parts of the universe, some with inhabitable planets and some containing dead space.

Over the show's five seasons the Roci has contended with various factions wanting to use the protomolecule for their own benefit, but only recently Holden and his cohorts believed they had banished it from this system. But where there are zealots there must be world-ending weapons for them to steal.

Strangely enough, the protomolecule is not season's greatest ordeal nor itsmain strength.

Following a mild restart in the fourth season (the first to stream on Amazon after Syfy dropped the show) showrunner Naren Shankar's decision to temporarily break up the Roci crew to pursue personal missions refreshes the series yet again. Doing so expanded the development of Tipper's Naomi and Chatham's Amos, and enabled the writers to humanize the figures that could have been most easily written off as terrorists.

"The Expanse" cast's performances are powered with the same level of devotion to profundity that the producers give to getting the details of physics and space travel right. It follows that the series would operate with the same steadiness in its shift from a political saga fueled by struggles over resources into a provocative warning about ignoring so-called fringe actors and their passions.

"The Expanse" isn't shy about depicting Inaros as a self-serving, dangerous cult leader, to be clear. But through Naomi, who goes in search of the son she has with Inaros, Filip (Jasai Chase-Owens), we are given a tight shot on how easily abusive personalities can radicalize the disillusioned . . . which is entirely relevant at the moment.

Naomi is never seduced by his message but her son is fully indoctrinated, and through both of their stories we come to understand why and how a figure who begins the season as the system's most wanted man ends it as its most feared. Everything comes back to that punchlineand the political arrogance of underestimating a livid underclass. Designate people as a joke for long enough and eventually they'll make it their mission to turn their oppressorsinto a punchline.

Amos returns to Baltimore, just in time to coincide with the Inaros faction's crippling attack. Earth's dire disarray pushes Amos to use his abilities as a strategist and negotiator instead of relying on brute force, and allows Chatham to spread his dramatic range wider than he has before. He also was part of the underclass. Now he has the Earth's chief executive on speed dial.

Anvar's Alex probably received the least amount of expansion next to Strait's character, but given that most of "The Expanse" makes Holden the center of the story sidelining him in order to beef up Naomi and Amos is excusable.

Alex's deemphasis may have been in the editing, however; the actor was fired in the wake of multiple sexual misconduct allegations brought against him in the summer of 2020. If you didn't know that, his sudden death-by-stroke in the finale may have taken you by surprise.

Nevertheless, the Rocinante crew finishes this season as heroes celebrated by Avasarala as the exemplar of what Inaros hates: an assembly of people pittedagainst one another by the powers that be, now working together for the common good. "All we have to do now is turn Belter, Martian and Earther into this," she says with a warm smile, adding, "This is how we win."

Genre fiction teaches us that whenever a character delivers a line like this with pure certainty, evil will surely test it and right on time Inaros responds in another part of space, setting the table for a sixthand final season that looks like it could be an existential battle pitting a pseudo-democracy against fascism.

Ignoring the real-world parallels that may hit too close to home for some people, the painstaking level of intricacy laced through every corner of "The Expanse" could make the prospect of leaping into this series daunting especially in a time when everyone's attention span has been taxed beyond belief.

Then again, right now much of the country is blanketed in snow, and many millions more are slumped into the midwinter doldrums. We crave some element of departure from the world's woe, but prestige habit also dictates that the writing gives us enough realism to hold onto.

"The Expanse" is a journey removed enough from reality to release us from its gravity, but relatable enough to draw us in. If you ever considered taking on the show, it would be tough to come up with a better time than right now.

All five seasons of "The Expanse" are currently streaming on Amazon Prime.

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"The Expanse" shows the dangers of treating extremism as a joke - Salon

Opinion | Why Biden must pursue space diplomacy with Russia and China – Politico

Posted on February 4, 2021 by Danzig

Moreover, Russias space program required increased funding that China could provide in exchange for the Russian expertise it craved. The pair even announced they were considering building a lunar research base together. Nevertheless, it is clear this new friendship will create a destabilizing counter-system in space.

To be fair, there is good reason for the United States to pursue the Artemis Accords without Russia and China. Chinas official policy is to become the preeminent space power by 2045. This means a nuclear-powered space fleet, space transport for humans, and mining colonies on the Moon, Mars, and asteroids. President Xi Jinping described the Chinese space program as part of the dream to make China stronger. Furthermore, for nearly a decade the annual Commerce, Justice, and Science Appropriations bills included the Wolf Amendment, which has prohibited NASA from cooperating with China to prevent technology theft.

Russia also represents a serious threat in space and the need for a counter-coalition. In November 2019, Russia launched a single satellite that subsequently and unexpectedly birthed a twin. In January 2020, the pair floated near KH-11, a multi-billion-dollar U.S. military reconnaissance satellite. After the United States complained, Moscow moved the satellites away from KH-11.

However, on July 15, 2020, the birthed satellite launched a missile into outer space. Russia claimed the satellites were non-military, but these Nesting Doll satellites demonstrate the dual nature of space technology: that Russia and China can readily turn allegedly benign infrastructure into military weapons to threaten the United States. Thus, although the Artemis Accords govern commercial space activities, assembling a like-minded coalition ready to challenge American foes seems prudent.

The Sino-Russo partnership not only undermines national security, but also risks the very aim of the Artemis Accords: the expansion of space commerce. A competing alliance in space will prevent the Artemis Accords from developing into customary international law that would increase stability.

For example, under the Artemis Accords, nations agree to increase transparency and employ safety zones for activities like lunar mining. As nations and corporations compete over the best locations on the moon to extract lunar ice to create rocket fuel, it is important that a single system govern who may operate where. Otherwise, potential conflicts lack peaceful means of resolution.

The incoming Biden Administration will have to decide how to proceed under the Artemis Accords. As political commitments, they could readily be abandoned. However, this would be unwise. After four years of the Trump Administration undermining alliances and sowing international distrust of the United States, withdrawal would only continue this course. Additionally, so long as Russia and China continue to challenge the United States in space, smart policy necessitates a NATO-like alliance to check and confront them. Accordingly, the Artemis Accords are not so unlike the Obama Administrations goal to surround China economically via the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

The Artemis Accords represent a rare opportunity for diplomacy with two of Americas archrivals. True, tensions with Russia and China remain high and little diplomatic progress has been achieved recently. But progress must start from somewhere. Ultimately, Russia, China, and the United States all want to commercialize space. A single legal system will decrease uncertainty and benefit all three nations. Moreover, American technology and investment outstrips both rivals combined. The United States may currently engage from a position of strength.

Fortunately, the United States and Russia have a long history of working together in outer space. The fact that the Outer Space Treaty was negotiated and ratified at the height of the Cold War demonstrates that diplomacy is possible and can even strengthen national security. More recently, the United States and Russia worked together on the International Space Station (ISS). The trust gained from the ISS is, perhaps, a path forward. In fact, Rogozin recently explained, The most important thing would be to base [lunar exploration] on the principles of international cooperation that were used in order to fly the ISS program. If we could get back to considering making these principles as the foundation of the program then Roscomos would also consider its participation.

Clearly, the door is not shut. At minimum, the United States should use this opening to drive a wedge between a blossoming Sino-Russo space relationship. Diplomacy may fail. But not trying accomplishes nothing. The Biden Administration should engage both Russia and China in space diplomacy while continuing to assemble a strong and durable Artemis Accords coalition that is prepared to counter Americas outer space adversaries should diplomacy fail or the need arise.

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Opinion | Why Biden must pursue space diplomacy with Russia and China - Politico

Jeff Bezos Renews Focus on Blue Origin, Which Has Been Slower to Launch – The New York Times

Posted on February 4, 2021 by Danzig

For most of its two decades of existence, Blue Origin was like Willy Wonkas chocolate factory in the childrens book by Roald Dahl.

It was a rocket company founded by Jeffrey P. Bezos, the billionaire who had created Amazon. That much was known. What the company was actually doing was shrouded in mystery.

But everyone wanted to get in, laughed Carissa Christensen, founder and chief executive of Bryce Space and Technology, an aerospace consulting firm.

Mr. Bezos announced on Tuesday that he would be stepping down as chief executive of Amazon this summer and becoming executive chairman. In his letter to Amazon employees, he said he wanted to put time and energy into other passions and listed Blue Origin among them.

The coming years for Blue Origin promise to be busy flying tourists on short suborbital jaunts, launching satellites on a new rocket, developing a lunar lander for NASA.

Does that mean Mr. Bezos will take a bigger day-to-day role at his rocket company?

If Jeff chose to spend more time at Blue Origin during the next phase of his career, that would be a very good thing for Blue, said Rob Meyerson, who was president of Blue Origin from 2003 to 2017. He brings great intelligence, great operational expertise and great mission passion to the business.

Mr. Meyerson noted that Mr. Bezos other ventures include the Bezos Earth Fund, which last year gave a $100 million grant to the Environmental Defense Fund to build and operate a methane-detecting satellite. Amazon, where Mr. Bezos will continue to be involved, is developing Project Kuiper, a constellation of satellites to beam internet service to Earth.

Its clear that space will be a prominent theme, Mr. Meyerson said.

Mr. Bezos founded Blue Origin in 2000 two years before Elon Musk started the Space Exploration Technologies Corporation, better known as SpaceX.

But while Mr. Musk and SpaceX have already built a thriving business launching satellites and NASA astronauts to orbit and developing a huge rocket named Starship that is intended to take people to Mars someday Blue Origin seems to lag.

In its early days, the company only occasionally offered drips of news. Reporters would call Blue Origins public relations firm to obtain a perfunctory declined to comment from the company.

In November 2006, a gumdrop-shaped test craft successfully rose a modest 285 feet into the air and then returned gently back to the ground at a test site in West Texas. Mr. Bezos reported the success in a blog post on the Blue Origin website one and a half months later.

There were no other updates for four and a half years until Mr. Bezos acknowledged that a test vehicle had crashed, but only after The Wall Street Journal had reported the failure.

Over the years, Blue Origin became less secretive. Five years ago, Mr. Bezos welcomed a group of reporters for a tour of the companys headquarters in Kent, Wash., a few miles south of Seattle. During lunch, he happily answered questions. Its my total pleasure, he said then. I hope you can sense that I like this.

Since then, Blue Origin has grown quickly. It has a NASA contract for developing a lander that might take astronauts to the surface of the moon in a few years. It sells rocket engines to another rocket company, United Launch Alliance. It charges customers to fly science experiments on New Shepard, a suborbital spacecraft.

But those are so far modest in scope. Blue Origin has yet to start sales for New Shepards primary business taking tourists on short rides to the edge of space or even had people aboard on any of the test flights so far.

New Glenn, a larger rocket that would compete with SpaceXs Falcon 9 workhorse, will not take off on its maiden flight until at least later this year.

They have grand plans, but they have yet to actually launch any humans aboard any of their craft, said Laura Seward Forczyk, owner of Astralytical, a space consulting firm.

Mr. Musk and Mr. Bezos have periodically sparred about their rockets and whether humans should aim for Mars Mr. Musks ultimate destination or build free-floating colonies as Mr. Bezos envisions.

In an interview with Maureen Dowd last year, Mr. Musk offered faint praise for Mr. Bezos and Blue Origin: The rate of progress is too slow and the amount of years he has left is not enough, but Im still glad hes doing what hes doing with Blue Origin.

That does not necessarily mean Blue Origin is far behind.

During his tour with reporters in 2016, Mr. Bezos pointed to an image in the headquarters central area. It showed two tortoises holding an hourglass and gazing upward toward the cosmos. Below was Blue Origins motto: Gradatim ferociter, which is Latin for step by step, ferociously.

Blue Origin may hope to turn out to be the tortoise of the fable where slow and steady eventually wins over the speedy hare. Mr. Bezos wealth he has been selling billions of dollars in Amazon stock to help finance Blue Origin has allowed Blue Origin to follow a methodical, long-term plan without needing to generate much revenue in the short term.

Mr. Bezos has spoken in more detail about a future where millions of people live and work in space. The aim of Blue Origin, he said, is to help people get there.

We are going to build a road to space, Mr. Bezos said during a presentation in 2019 when he unveiled a design for a lunar lander. And then amazing things will happen.

Blue Origin now has a rocket engine factory in Huntsville, Ala., and huge facilities just outside NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida for assembling the New Glenn rockets.

In 2016, Mr. Bezos said he spent one day a week at Blue Origin. Although he majored in electrical engineering and computer science at Princeton as an undergraduate, Mr. Bezos let his engineers talk about the technical aspects of the Blue Origin spacecraft to reporters.

By contrast, Mr. Musk, with the title of chief engineer, is deeply involved with engineering details at SpaceX, although Gwynne Shotwell, the president and chief operating officer, handles much of the companys day-to-day details.

Thus, as Blue Origin shifts from research and development to a pursuit of revenue and profits, now may be an ideal time to bring in someone with the business successes of Amazon.

He is a business person who knows how to make money, Ms. Christensen said. Maybe this is the moment in time where its just too enticing for him to stay away.

She added: Amazon was like no other company before it. If Jeff Bezos is truly going to devote more time to Blue, I wonder if it is going to become like no other launch company before it.

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Jeff Bezos Renews Focus on Blue Origin, Which Has Been Slower to Launch - The New York Times

Newly Invented Fusion Rocket Thruster Concept Might be Our Ticket to Mars and Beyond! – Tech Times

Posted on February 4, 2021 by Danzig

After the highly-anticipated return of man to the moon, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), as well as private space company SpaceX headed by Elon Musk, is planning to finally step on Martian soil for the first time and maybe even create a colony that could thrive in the Red Planet--but how will they do that?

(Photo : Pexels)A trip to Mars might become faster with the new concept fusion rocket thrusters.

Although space travel is rather common, what with astronauts going to and fro the International Space Station (ISS), a trip to Mars would take a long time, given our current technology.

In a previous report byTech Times, studies have found that prolonged space flight can be dangerous for humans, so a trip to Mars could even be deadly, and that is one of the problems scientists are trying to solve before any human could step to Mars.

However, a new invention by a scientist may solve the problem.

Read More: Elon Musk Shares Photos of SN9, SN10 Starships But Not Launching, Calls FAA Regulations 'Broken'

In a report bySky News, Dr. Fatima Ebrahimi, a physicist with the US Department of Energy's Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) has designed a fusion rocket thruster that could make space travel faster than it currently is.

According to the report, the rocket will be using magnetic fields that will shoot plasma particles, which are electrically charged gas, to go further into the vacuum of space.

The speed of the said rocket would be ten times faster than any comparable devices we have now.

There are currently plasma propulsion engines that have been used in space missions, but they use electric fields to propel the particles, but the rocket designed by Dr. Ebrahimi would be using magnetic reconnection.

The process is actually rather common in our universe, but it's mostly observed on the surface of the sun, whenever magnetic fields converge in the surface of our host star before separating and reconnecting yet again, they produce a massive amount of energy.

The same concept would be found in the physicist's design.

Similar energy would be created by within the rocket's torus-shaped machines, which are called tokamaks, a magnetic confinement device.

According to the scientist behind the concept design, the tokamak produces plasmoids, or magnetic bubbles, during its operation.

The plasmoids move at around 20 kilometers per second, which the physicist believe is a lot of thrust.

"I've been cooking this concept for a while," Dr. Ebrahimi said. "I had the idea in 2017 while sitting on a deck and thinking about the similarities between a car's exhaust and the high-velocity exhaust particles created by PPPL's National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX)."

In computer simulations, Dr. Ebrahimi's rocket thrusters outperformed existing plasma thrusters we currently have as it's able to generate an exhaust with velocities of hundreds of kilometers per second.

With that, a trip to Mars would be achievable, but more than Mars, we might soon reach more distant planets within our solar system.

This may also partially solve the problems with prolonged space travel since astronauts will be in the vacuum of space for a shorter time, but as of now, the design is still a concept, although the scientist is planning to create the prototype.

Related Article: NASA Develops Mars Rover Landing Simulatior for Mobiles and Desktops

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Written by: Nhx Tingson

Newly Invented Fusion Rocket Thruster Concept Might be Our Ticket to Mars and Beyond! - Tech Times

NASA and CSA Will Give $500,000 To The Best Idea of Food Production In Space – Science Times

Posted on February 4, 2021 by Danzig

NASA and the Canadian Space Agency teamed up to look for brilliant ideas for food production in space, particularly in the upcoming Mars mission in 2024.

They are willing to give $500,000 for the best idea to help feed the astronauts on long-term space missions that are different from the dried and packaged food from Earth, Slash Gearreported.

This project is known as the Deep Space Food Challenge. Interested innovators have until May 28 to register, and NASA will award $25,000 for up to 20 teams.

Both NASA and CSA are trying to look for more feasible ways to use technology into bringing nutritious food into the spacecraft that will be used in the Artemis missionbut also making sure that it will not weigh down or produce more waste.

Specifically speaking, the contest said that they are calling for innovators to find "palatable, nutritious, and safe foods that require little processing time for crew members." Fox News reported that the contest's website specified that this technology should be designed to feed a crew of up to four astronauts for three years.

"NASA has knowledge and capabilities in this area, but we know that technologies and ideas exist outside of the agency," said Grace Douglas, NASA lead scientist for advanced food technology at Johnson Space Center in Houston.

"Raising awareness will help us reach people in a variety of disciplines that may hold the key to developing these new technologies," she added.

ALSO READ: Growing Plants In Space: Astronauts Eats First Radish Grown in Space

According to UPI, NASA has set a deadline until July 30 for teams to submit their ideas, the time when they will choose the idea.

The Deep Space Food Challenge was inspired by the problems that astronauts face with food boredom aboard the International Space Station, the news outlet reported.

Douglas wrote in a paper in 2020 that astronauts report that the fresh fruits and vegetables and some semi-shelf-stable specialty items brought to them several times a year gives them a profound psychological benefit.

Douglas wrote a paperin 2020 with two colleagues, published in the Journal of Nutrition, that outlined the problems astronauts face with food boredom aboard the International Space Station.

Moreover, the paper outlined the efforts of astronauts in producing food in space, including the limited cultivation of greens and radishes. They have also started experimenting with yeast to grow nutrients that supplement the diets of astronauts, but none of these could provide a significant volume of food to the astronauts.

Last year, astronauts aboard the ISS have already harvested the first radish grown in space, which they were able to eat some before sending most of it back to Earth.

Douglas warned that NASA might not be able to provide the same to deep space missions in the future because the fastest possible roundtrip is about 250 days, making resupply nearly impossible.

Meanwhile, Science Times previously reported that the Mars City platform had launched an annual challenge of Mars City Design Challengesto promote Marschitecture that encourages innovators to design architecture that balances Urban Farming on Mars.

Competitions such as this and the Deep Space Food Challenge could perhaps someday make the dream of creating a Mars colony possible in the future.

RELATED STORY: Top 5 Winning Farm Ideas on Mars

Check out more news and information on NASA Mars Missionon Science Times.

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NASA and CSA Will Give $500,000 To The Best Idea of Food Production In Space - Science Times

Kudic and Buzar discussed Developments regarding the Migrant Crisis – Sarajevo Times

Posted on February 4, 2021 by Danzig

Mufti of Biha Hafiz Mehmed ef. Kudi received yesterday Mirsad Buzar, Deputy Director of the Service for Foreigners Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Mufti Kudi and Deputy Director Buzar discussed current developments regarding the migrant crisis and the organization of religious life for the migrant population, as well as other current issues within the scope of activities of the institutions they represent.

I am grateful to the Deputy Director of the Service for Foreigners Affairs, Mr. Mirsad Buzar, for his visit and the information he conveyed to us about the current situation in the Lipa camp. From the very beginning of the migrant crisis, the Islamic community has played a progressive role and has helped in various ways to alleviate the humanitarian crisis and to support the organizations in charge of distributing aid to this population, said Mufti Kudi.

At the request of institutions and organizations, we constantly responded to provide what they asked of us, and what was needed for the realization of religious activities of migrants. We told the Deputy Director that we in no way want the mosques to be used for any other purpose than as prayer spaces at the exact time indicated. I am glad that state institutions support our views on this. I am especially satisfied with the fact that state institutions have become more actively involved in this process and that they will manage this crisis in full capacity in the coming period, said Mufti Kudi, the Biha Muftis Office announced.

Buzar added that the Service would provide a space for social activities of migrants in the Lipa camp, and a space for religious activities was planned within that space.

We are grateful to the Islamic Community for supporting us in that sense and helping us to provide adequate conditions for religious activities for migrants, who express a desire for that, said Deputy Buzar.

Currently, there are more than 900 migrants in the reception center Lipa near Biha. Last Friday, more than 120 migrants prayed the Jumuah prayer in this camp.

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Kudic and Buzar discussed Developments regarding the Migrant Crisis - Sarajevo Times

Rewiring Migrant Returns and Reintegration after the COVID-19 Shock – World – ReliefWeb

Posted on February 4, 2021 by Danzig

The COVID-19 Pandemic Highlights the Need for Sustainable Reintegration Strategies for Returning Migrants Communities and Countries

WASHINGTON As the COVID-19 pandemic hit, millions of migrants were stranded in the countries where they work and live, and countless others were expelled or returned voluntarily to their countries of origin amid restrictions on mobility and widespread economic dislocation. Countless more migrants may yet return to their countries of origin as second and third waves of the outbreak are occurring.

Destination- and origin-country governments have engaged in chaotic and mixed policy responses to forced returns. Origin countries face the challenges of receiving returning nationals amid a public-health crisis and reintegrating them into communities and labor markets at a time of economic struggles. The experiences highlight the importance of countries along the migration continuum being better prepared for disruptions to migration patterns. A greater focus on sustainable reintegration is needed, not only for the current crisis but for the long term, Migration Policy Institute (MPI) analysts argue in a new policy brief.

In Rewiring Migrant Returns and Reintegration after the COVID-19 Shock, Camille Le Coz and Kathleen Newland examine the effects of the pandemic on return, reception and reintegration. The brief also considers how to strengthen return infrastructure and partnerships between countries of origin and destination going forward.

While the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration recognized the need for international cooperation on return and reintegration, the global public-health crisis hit scarcely a year into its adoption. Governments rapidly closed borders and imposed travel restrictions in uncoordinated fashion even as many migrants were compelled to leave their jobs and, often, the countries in which they were living. And while some countries initially suspended forced removals, others exerted further pressure on origin countries by accelerating returns.

The reception of returning migrants has posed a daunting challenge. Few countries of origin, for example, had adequate quarantine facilities for returnees, and the crisis has demonstrated the importance of improving monitoring of returns and ensuring appropriate reception conditions.

Origin countries have also faced challenges reintegrating returning migrants into local communities and helping them re-establish livelihoods, with economic effects compounded by the loss of migrants remittances as well as the reallocation of humanitarian and development funds away from reintegration to support immediate COVID-19 responses.

Yet, the brief notes, some innovations have flourished during the crisis, including online training for returnees and efforts to reopen legal migration pathways in ways that are better managed and more respectful of workers rights. The authors suggest the pandemic has spotlighted the need for a broadened definition of reintegration.

The focus of reintegration programs is often on returnees themselves, but recovery from the COVID-19 crisis requires a more comprehensive approach, particularly to assist communities affected by lower levels of remittances and other economic disruptions, they write. Reintegration assistance that focuses not only on the outcomes of individuals returning but also on the economic, social and physical health of their communities and countries in short, that emphasizes the development potential of returns and returnees is the kind of assistance this crisis demands.

The policy brief is the third in the series Critical Migration Governance Issues in a Changed World, which results from a partnership between MPI and the Deutsche Gesellschaft fr Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, supported by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

Find this and other publications in the series here: http://www.migrationpolicy.org/programs/international-program/critical-migration-governance-issues-changed-world.

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Rewiring Migrant Returns and Reintegration after the COVID-19 Shock - World - ReliefWeb

Liberal and Realist Explanations of Merkel’s "Open-Door Policy" During the 2015 Refugee Crisis – Inquiries Journal

Posted on February 4, 2021 by Danzig

During the 2015 refugee crisis Chancellor Angela Merkel allowed refugees to enter Germany in unprecedented numbers. Her historic decision to adapt the so-called open-door policy continues to shape contemporary German politics. More precisely, it will likely define Merkels legacy and political future. This article analyzes her decision through two major IR theories: liberalism and realism. It aims to contribute to the disciplines understanding of the open-door policy by assessing what each theory can explain well and less well. While the article analyzes the decision through competing IR theories, it does not suggest that one theory is more suitable to explain the event. It rather concludes that each theory explains Merkels refugee response differently and is able to better explain some aspects of her decision than others. Thus, the article highlights the importance and significance of analyzing a global political event through multiple lenses (i.e. IR theories).

During the height of the 2015 European refugee crisis, Germanys chancellor Angela Merkel decided to allow refugees, mostly from Syria, Afghanistan, and Iraq, who had arrived at the German border through the so called Balkan-Route, to enter the country. Nearly one million refugees arrived in Germany during that year. Merkels decision is commonly referred to as implementing an open-door policy. At the time, the move was applauded as humanitarian by the public, media, and politicians across the political spectrum. However, years later, despite the refugee intake having declined significantly, the decision has arisen to define not only Merkels legacy but her political future. More precisely, the issue of refugee intake and immigration assimilation has become the main topic of political discourse in Germany. Merkels government coalition (grand-coalition), based on her partys alliance with the CSU, has been on the brink of collapse multiple times over disagreements on immigration. Several members of her own party, including members of her cabinet, remain opposed to her stance on immigration and have repeatedly threatened to bring her 15-yearlong chancellorship to an end. Furthermore, her open-door policy allowed the right-wing and anti-immigration party Alternative fr Deutschland to rise to political significance, fueling the growing polarization of Germanys society and politics (McAuley & Noack, 2018).

Due to the continuous weight of Chancellor Merkels 2015 decision, explaining the dynamics behind it remains relevant. In other words, analyzing her open-door policy implementation is crucial because understanding the decision is a key component of explaining international relations and state behavior. Furthermore, it will assist in conceptualizing the legal as well as ethical obligations states have to both refugees and their own citizens. However, how do we best analyze the decision, its origins, and its consequences. More precisely, can different IR theories explain different aspects of it. Can a certain theory see things that another might not be able to?

Accordingly, the article analyses Merkels decision to allow refugees into Germany through the two major IR theories: liberalism and realism. Using texts written by the most prominent liberal and realist IR scholars as well as secondary readings, it attempts to explain her implementation of the open-door policy. While this article will draw from multiple authors of liberal and realist IR theory, it will not discuss how Merkels policy is seen through individual scholars explanations. In other words, a generic liberal and realist framework and its main assumptions which have been developed and are widely agreed upon by the discipline will be used to analyze the 2015 decision. While an analysis of individual scholars would certainly be a valuable contribution to the discipline, it would go beyond the scope of this article.

Through the relevant and contemporary case study open-door policy, this article highlights how a global event can be interpreted vastly different, if analyzed through competing IR theories. In other words, I expect that liberal and realist IR theory can explain certain parts of the decision well and others less well. More precisely, realist theory might be better in explaining aspects associated with power, rationality, national interest, and considerations of sovereignty. Contrary, liberal theorys focus on international cooperation and its study of the individual as the basic unit of political life can provide an explanation of Merkels ethical and normative considerations as well as the role of the European Union during the refugee crisis. However, while the two theories come to competing conclusions on the dynamics underlying Merkels decision, I do not suggest that one theory is more suitable than the other to explain the event. In other words, neither liberalism nor realism offer a superior explanation of the decision. Each theory just explains Merkels refugee response differently and might better explain some aspects of her decision than others.

I begin by evaluating the implementation of the open-door policy through a liberal lens. Afterwards I focus my attention on realist theory and its explanations of the decision. Each part commences with a short description of the major principles of the respective theory. Following, I analyze in greater detail what part of Merkels refugee response the theory can explain well and less well. The article concludes by discussing the similarities and differences of each approach, highlighting each theories strengths and weaknesses.

Liberal IR theory, also often referred to as idealism, focuses its analysis on the individual as the basic unit of political life. State-power is derived from individuals, who are acting independently through a social contract. Thus, the population as well as domestic policy shape states, who consequently behave differently on the international level. While states are rational actors, they are increasingly interdependent, e.g. though trade. Even though liberal scholars believe that the international system is anarchic, they share the central and optimistic outlook that state cooperation for mutual benefit is possible. Hence, change, progress, and peace in the international system is achievable. Moreover, natural laws and justices, which proceed the sovereign, exist. Liberalism suggests, that some institutions and values are normatively better, namely liberty, equality, autonomy, individual freedom, and private property. Accordingly, these values need to be protected and advanced. This can be achieved through the spread of democracy, the rule of law, and institutions. Hence, liberal thought gives considerable attention to international organizations and international law (Matthews, 2017).

To understand Merkels open-door policy we must first explain in what kind of international structure Germany operates and makes policy decisions. Liberal theory demonstrates particular strengths in such analysis. Its focus on cooperation and international organizations allows us to understand the emergence and continuing existence of the European Union. As a project of integration and collaboration, it provides an important starting point of such analysis. Peace and progress are indeed possible, highlighting a core assumption of liberal theory. In other words, the context and structure in which Germany is forced to respond to the refugee crisis can be explained well by liberalism. Furthermore, Germany, as a member of the EU and the international community, has agreed to follow universally accepted rules and definition for asylum seekers. Accordingly, Germany and the EU have a legal and moral obligation to assist refugees in their attempt to claim asylum. Thus, it is important to note not just the humanitarian aspects behind Merkels decision, but the weight the international structure and its organizations (including its rules and norms) have on German state behavior. Furthermore, international legal constraints prevent states from enacting certain policy options when responding to a refugee crisis. More precisely, according to liberal theory, due to Germanys membership to the international community, the country cannot act entirely sovereign but is expected to respond to the refugee crisis based on agreed upon norms and rules. Thus, a sovereign above the state exists, defining the legal and ethical obligations a state has not just to its own citizens but to asylum seekers (Betts, 2015).

A refugee crisis is foremost a humanitarian crisis. Thus, state behavior in response to such crises should not be guided by considerations of power but by universal norms and values. Liberal theory further suggests that some values are normatively better than others (Gibney, 1999). Merkel herself framed her decision to implement an open-door policy on normative and humanitarian grounds. Thus, liberalism is well suited to explain the moral and ethical considerations of Germanys refugee response. The theory successfully highlights how Merkels attempt to act based on European norms, was an effort to advance and protect those values (i.e. liberalism, tolerance, solidarity). Trying to show that Europes ideals are valid also in difficult times, she passionately defended her stance: If we start having to apologize for showing a friendly face in emergencies, then this is not my country (The Economist, 2015). Furthermore, she tirelessly urged other EU countries to show more international cooperation, responsibility, and solidarity. Doing so, she directly linked the EUs refugee response to Europes identity and its liberal interpretation of human rights: If Europe fails on the question of refugees, if the close link with universal civil rights is broken, then it wont be the Europe we wished for (Eddy, 2015). Accordingly, it is obvious that the refugee crisis and Germanys response to it can only be fully explained if considering normative and humanitarian aspects. That is why liberal theory is more suitable than other IR theories to shed light on such considerations.

Moreover, the liberal focus on the individual as a basic unit of political life allows an analysis of the decision conceptualizing Merkel as an individual. Even though leaders are acting in unique political environments, the role of their personality (i.e. background, beliefs, motives, personal characteristics) in decision making deserves particular attention (Sprout, 1956). During the 2015 refugee crisis, Merkel relied on her own individual policy preferences which were mostly motivated by humanitarian concerns and personal beliefs (Mushaben, 2017). Where do these values and beliefs originate from? Much attention in the literature has been given to Merkels own past, living under a communist regime. There is little doubt that her background of growing up in East Germany has significant impact on her political ideology as well as her decision making, namely her humanitarian response to the refugee crisis. Stefan Kornelius, the author of Merkels authorized biography, argues that one cannot understand Merkels political life without considering her background: The mystery that is Merkel, has its roots in that doomed republic (Kundnani, 2016). Merkel herself cited her experiences of living in East Germany as a core principle of her stance on migration. Criticizing the lack of solidarity in the EU and the national isolation of member countries during a summit in Brussels in October 2015, she tuned to Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban: I lived behind a fence for too long [] to now wish for those times to return (ibidem). To the people close to Merkel, it is clear that her decision to implement an open-door policy during the 2015 refugee crisis was based on humanitarian grounds. Her autobiographer Kornelius concludes: Angela Merkel shows a lot of understanding for people who flee from war and despair. There is no moral questioning of her motives (Lebor, 2015).

However, Chancellor Merkel was only able to implement an open-door policy because of the normative resonance between international and domestic levels in Germany. Liberal theorys attention to the impact of domestic policy on state behavior provides a compelling description of Merkels refugee response. Domestic and social factors were a central factor in the decision because they significantly influence Germanys state behavior in the international system. In other words, the state was only able to react in a humanitarian manner because of circumstances and dynamics within Germany. The country had not only the economic strength to take in a large number of refugees but a civil society who was in agreement with the decision and willing to assist in its implementation. Additionally, Merkel was on her height of power during the summer of 2015. More precisely, she knew that her institutional and political power would be able to legitimize and back her decision (idem: 46). Her unchallenged power in combination with the initial support of the German population which welcomed refugees into the country, allowed Merkel to hold a strong pro-migrant stance during the refugee crisis. There is no doubt, that Germanys history and its considerable experience of benefiting from the kindness of strangers played a part in the embracement of refugees. The world sees Germany as a country of hope and opportunity, that was not always the case, Merkel explained the significance of welcoming refugees into the country (Eddy, 2015). Moreover, civil societys importance in assisting and making up for gaps in state efforts were unquestioned. Even though the German population had no agency in the policy decision of the state, its support was crucial in providing legitimacy (Funk, 2016: 293.)

All of the mentioned dynamics within Germany are relevant in explaining the states refugee response. Liberal theory is able to see them and explain its impact on state behavior in the international system. Thats why the theory provides a unique analysis of the refugee crisis, explaining many aspects well which might be overlooked by other IR theories. However, analyzing Germanys refugee response through liberal theory also has limitations. Its focus on normative considerations and sensitivity to human security makes it easy to neglect German aspirations of power in the international system. Furthermore, its emphasis on international organizations and cooperation might lead to inattention to issues of sovereignty during the refugee crisis. Likewise, it is possible that we miss one of the core aspect of German state behavior (i.e. self-interest) when focusing too narrowly on the impact of domestic policy and the individual as a basic unit of political life.

After exploring the refugee crisis through a liberal lens, I will now turn my attention to realism, examining what the theory is able to explain well and less well. Are there key aspects of Germanys refugee response which only realist IR theory can explain?

At its core, realism suggests that no justice can exist before the sovereign and that the state of nature in the international system is a state of war. Because the international system is a state system, scholarly focus should be on individual independent states. Hence, sovereignty plays a key part in realist theory. Moreover, the international system is anarchic, making war always possible while peace is not. No sovereign to control an anarchic system exists. Accordingly, states cannot rely on one another, making cooperation and progress impossible. Due to their lack of sovereignty, international organizations, NGOs, and transnational corporations have less power in the international system and thus should be given little attention by IR scholars. States on the other hand are rational actors which act based on their national interest. Realism aims to be a theory of objective analysis. In other words, its goal is to observe and conceptualize rather than being used to advocate for change in the international system. However, two of the most prominent realist scholars, Morgenthau and Waltz, differ in their approach. Morgenthau focuses his analysis exclusively on the state and explains outcomes through the actions of sovereign states. His so-called classical realism perceives states as power maximisers and the driver of insecurity being human nature. In Waltzs structural realism, the international system is the level of analysis and the structure itself does the explanatory work. The international system is anarchic precisely because of its structure and thus states are forced to be security maximisers (Morgenthau, 1946 & Waltz, 1979).

While it is certainly true that the EU as an international institution was meant to foster cooperation between member states, realism can explain well why that did not occur during the refugee crisis. Sovereign states were the entities reacting to the crisis because in times of emergencies states always act in their self-interest. Moreover, they do not follow normative considerations, particularly when they derive from international institutions not domestic ones. The EU itself is lacking a strong sovereign leader and hence could not consolidate a singular position. When discussing the refugee crisis, member states followed realist principles and preferred to maintain their sovereignty (Hellman, 2016: 4). Some realist scholars like Waltz go even further, arguing that because of the European Unions lack of sovereignty it is of no interest to IR: Europe will only become interesting when it forms a genuinely unified sovereign country (idem: 5). The refugee crisis could have brought European integration, but it did the opposite, precisely because member states wanted to vigorously keep their sovereignty. Thus, realism is well suited to contextualize the lack of European cooperation in response to the crisis as well as the erosion of the EU. Founded on shared principles and values (i.e. tolerance, human rights, solidarity) the project was doomed to fail because of the anarchy of the international system and the unfeasibility of cooperation. No realist is surprised that the international community and the EU were unable and unwilling to respond collectively to the worst refugee crisis since WW II. Even Jean-Claude Juncker, the President of the European Commission, resented the inability of the European Union to respond to the crisis at a panel discussion in Rome: In former times, we were working together []. This has totally gone. While proponents of the EU might argue that the refugee crisis was a singular incident highlighting a lack of willingness to work together, realism suggests that the envisioned cooperation was never feasible in the first place. One example which emphasizes that international cooperation does not work in the long-term is the suspension of the Schengen agreement during the refugee crisis. Furthermore, the European Union is facing historic challenges: the increasing support of far-right parties, historic unemployment in some member states, Brexit, and a persistent questioning of European identity and values. According to realism, none of these challenges can be solved through international cooperation. In the contrary, they might even be a result of an international organization which acts on normative grounds without any form of sovereignty. Any organization which lacks legitimacy and the ability to act in concert can only be described as weak. Even threats of the EU to withhold EU transfers to member countries not taking in their fair share of refugees had virtually no impact (Funk, 2016: 295). That is why during the refugee crisis Germany was forced to respond as a sovereign state without putting any trust into the assistance of other states or the institutions of the European Union. Hence, Merkels attempt to work towards a European solution was not only naive but impossible to achieve in an anarchic international system (Hellmann, 2016: 15).

Realism suggests that states always act based on their self-interest to strengthen and increase their power. Thus, Merkels refugee response could have been underlined by just that, Germanys national interest. It can be explained as an attempt to solidify its leadership in Europe. Germanys response to the refugee crisis reinforced Chancellor Merkels image as the leader of Europe. In the months after the decision to implement an open-border policy, she was even frequently called the leader of the free world by the international media. Following the decision, Germany was perceived as becoming a global player, increasing its power in the international system (Steinmeier, 2016). However, it is important to note that this understanding of power is more sensitive to human security and based on moral humanitarian action not military strength. Thus, it stands in sharp contrast to a realist definition of power. Nevertheless, realist theory provides a compelling explanation of Germanys push for an EU-wide solidarity solution to the refugee crisis. It might have been an attempt to strengthen the countrys leadership in the region and to mold European institutions, processes, and decisions to serve its interest and preferences (Hellmann, 2016: 9).

Furthermore, Germanys refugee response can be explained by examining not only the countrys economic capabilities but its potential economic gains from implementing an open-door policy. Germany desperately needs migrants to fill a growing shortage in the workforce due to an aging population and chronically low birthrates. Projections by Eurostat, the statistical office of the EU, suggest that Germanys population will decline from 82 million to 65.4 million by 2080 (Lebor, 2015). Thus, Merkels response to the refugee crisis might have little to do with humanitarian concerns but the countrys long-term economic interests. In other words, it was the rational response to the crisis because the positive economic ramifications outweighed the costs. Because of it, Germany would acquire additional material capabilities and power, in terms of labor force and population. According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, 40% of Syrian refugees entering Europe at the time were university educated (idem). While Merkel never explicitly referred to the economic benefit of welcoming refugees, she argued that her decision would be in Germanys long-term interest if shaped so that it grows into something that is of benefit to us all (Connolly, 2015). Thus, the sharp reversal of policy in regard to Germanys refugee response was only possible because it was in alignment with the countrys national interest.

Moreover, realist theory provides a suitable explanation why Merkel called for a European solution to the crisis while defying European regulations as well as striking bilateral treaties with individual EU member countries, namely, Spain, Italy, and Greece. According to the EU Dublin III agreement, every refugees asylum claim has to be processed in the EU member country in which he/she first arrives. However, Merkel suspended the agreement on August 24, allowing all refugees who arrived in Europe to enter Germany. Whether her decision was grounded on humanitarian grounds or national interest is irrelevant. Important to note is, that she found Germanys sovereignty to exceed any international agreement, constituting a core realist assumption. Additionally, the Dublin agreement in itself can hardly be described as a product of solidarity and international cooperation as it pushes the burden onto the Mediterranean EU member states where nearly all refugees first arrive. Thus, it is reasonable to conclude that Germany valued its sovereignty more than any international agreement and that the suspension of the Dublin rule was in the countrys self-interest.

Furthermore, once Germanys willingness to accept refugees diminished, Merkel was instrumental in negotiating international treaties on the behalf of the EU to prevent further migration into Europe. Most notably, Merkel and the EU signed a treaty with Turkeys President Erdogan to prevent refugees from entering the EU through Greece. Turkey would monitor its coastline to avert further refugee migration into Europe and admit rejected asylum seekers from Greece. In return, Erdogan would receive six billion euros for the care of refugees and a pledge from the EU that it would consider visa free EU entry for Turks. This deal with an increasingly repressive leader on the back of refugees can hardly be explained normatively. However, realisms focus on power, security, and self-interest offers a rational for such agreement. Precisely, it was in the interest of Germany to prevent and discourage further refugees from taking a journey to the EU. With that goal in mind, there was no room for normative or humanitarian considerations (Funk, 2016: 290).

Realism offers a thorough and compelling explanation of Germanys response to the refugee crisis. It was in Germanys national interest to welcome refugees, because it would solidify its leadership in Europe and be of economic benefit. Moreover, the European Union and international cooperation should be neglected in the analysis as it had little to no impact on Merkels refugee response. Realism is well suited to explain why the international community failed to respond collectively. Furthermore, Germanys attempt to maintain its sovereignty played a key role in its policy considerations during the refugee crisis. Nevertheless, while realist IR theory provides a convincing explanation, significant shortcomings are visible. The theory is unable to make normative considerations, which is inadequate when analyzing a refugee crisis which is at its core a humanitarian crisis. Additionally, realism fails to see domestic factors within Germany which allowed Merkel to make the decision to implement an open-door policy.

After analyzing Germanys response to the 2015 refugee crisis through a liberal and realist lens, this article will conclude by contrasting each theorys findings. More precisely, it will outline each theorys strength and weaknesses, assessing what it can explain well and less well.

There is no doubt that the 2015 refugee crisis was a defining moment for Germanys position in the international system and Chancellor Merkels political future and legacy. However, liberalism and realism offer different explanations for Germanys response to the crisis. Liberal theory is well suited to highlight the moral and humanitarian considerations, while realism is unable to see any such concerns. Furthermore, both theories offer an explanation for the role of the European Union. However, while liberalism explains aspects of international cooperation and international norms and rules well, realisms strengths are in conceptualizing the lack of a unified European response to the refugee crisis. Moreover, realism provides a compelling analysis of issues linked to EU member states understanding of sovereignty. Nevertheless, realist theory is unable to see any factors within Germany which might have influenced the decision to implement an open-door policy. Chancellor Merkels individual policy preferences and her own beliefs, characteristics, and background can only be seen through a liberal analysis.

Liberalism and realism are both well suited to examine Germanys response to the 2015 refugee response. While they come to different conclusions on the dynamics behind Merkels decision, they are equally valid to offer an explanation. In other words, each theory can see some aspects well and others less well. Thus, this article highlights the importance of analyzing a global event through competing IR theories. Nevertheless, it has limitations due to its lone focus on liberal and realist theory. Future research is advised to examine the 2015 refugee crisis through other IR theories, including non-traditional ones (i.e. post-colonial, feminist). Moreover, an analysis of Germanys refugee response through the literature of individual IR scholars theoretical frameworks could offer additional interesting insight.

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