Centrists have a solution for Trumpism: Trump Lite – The Week

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Self-described centrists have had a hard time of it for the last four years. With President Trump utterly dominant on the right, and the Democrats moving at least rhetorically to the left, the apparent space in the middle has shrunk virtually to nothing. And with ideological polarization and mutual animosity between the parties higher than it's been in over a century, there is little prospect for the sort of bipartisan compromise beloved by Washington establishment organizations like No Labels, the ostensibly nonpartisan group that pushes for sensible, moderate, pro-growth policy.

But now that Joe Biden is president-elect and promising a return to bipartisan comity, No Labels is bringing forth a new champion: Maryland Governor Larry Hogan. This Republican will bring honor and decency back to the GOP by being openly corrupt and racist just like Trump, but in a quieter and more plausibly-deniable fashion. No Labels, and the school of centrism they typify, couldn't ask for a better mascot.

As Eric Cortellessa reports at Washington Monthly, Hogan's most notable act as governor has been canceling a public transit project in Baltimore and spending Maryland money on highway developments adjacent to land he owns personally. Just like Trump, instead of divesting himself of conflicts of interest, he put his business operations in the hands of a relative who keeps him abreast of what is happening. He "has advanced a number of major state transportation projects that are near properties his company owns," Cortellessa writes, including "millions of dollars in road and sidewalk improvements near property he had bought approximately two years earlier and was turning into a housing development." Hogan is making millions, more than any Maryland governor in history, yet just like Trump refuses to release his tax returns so his constituents can see where the money is coming from.

In addition to being wildly corrupt in basically exactly the same way that Trump is corrupt again, Hogan shamelessly funneled public money into his own pockets this decision was also racist, a climate disaster, and hugely wasteful. The Red Line metro rail project was a tentative, inadequate, and long-overdue effort to reverse just a little of the decades of disinvestment that have left majority-Black Baltimore as one of the poorest and most crime-ridden cities in the country. Taking that money to spend on largely-white suburban roads is exactly what racist conservatives did in the 1970s to capitalize on post-civil rights white backlash, while of course cars and car-dependent suburbs consume dramatically more energy than dense urban cores. Hogan also had to flush millions down the toilet to kill the Red Line not only foregoing $900 million in matching funds from the Obama administration, but also wasting a ton of money the state had spent on land acquisition prior to construction.

The choice of a guy like this is a perfect illustration of what No Labels "centrism" amounts to in practice. It is not about good government, or "problem solving," or bridging the partisan divide, or any of the other things these organizations say they are about. It's instead an attempt to paint a nanometer-thin veneer of honor and civility over the same corrupt neoliberal self-dealing that has saturated American politics for the last 30 years. As Alex Pareene writes:

Hogan is exactly the "normal" to which politicians like Joe Biden promise to return us when they try to speak into existence a Republican Party that they can "work with." Here he is: a self-dealing crook whose racist policymaking will speed the destructive effects of climate change while making him even richer. [The New Republic]

But we can see also why No Labels has fixated on Hogan he is a Republican who is extremely popular in Democratic Maryland, registering 73 percent approval among Democrats in the state, and 87 percent among Black voters there. Frankly, that level of popularity is baffling, but it seems liberal Democrats are depressingly willing to embrace a conservative who keeps taxes low, quietly starves the poor out of sight, and proves their open-mindedness, so long as he isn't too much a loudmouth. For his part, Hogan, whose second term in office expires in 2022 and is clearly angling for a future presidential run, gets a higher media profile and to appear Responsible.

The problem with "centrism" in an American context is that it is not actually anywhere close to the middle of the political spectrum, and its signature ideas are not popular at all. Now, some of the ideas No Labels advocates for are perfectly sensible and poll well, like treating capital gains as normal income or reforming the filibuster. But many others, like cutting the deficit and the corporate tax rate, are not. Its overall policy orientation is pure neoliberalism: removing regulatory "barriers" and bettering "incentives" supposedly to create growth, policies which the last 40 years of economic history have demonstrated do the opposite.

The real unoccupied center in American politics is genuine economic populism, where most rank-and-file Democrats and a nontrivial number of socially conservative Republicans agree that taxes on the rich should be jacked up, that the minimum wage should be $15 an hour, that workers should have some control over the means of production, and so on.

The political function of No Labels is to keep such supposedly radical policies off the political menu at any cost, which is why it gets so much corporate funding. Joe Biden served a similar purpose for many years in the Senate as a stooge of the credit card companies that use Delaware as a corporate flag of convenience. His recent promise to obtain more bipartisan compromise probably will not work out, but if it does, it will likely involve exactly the kind of hideously unpopular cuts to social programs that he's been pushing for decades that way both parties can launder responsibility for something Americans as a whole hate.

Pushing up a Republican who has figured out how to satisfy well-off liberals by quietly pandering to their most retrograde instincts is all part of the plan. We may end up with Trump Lite as president, but at least the corruption and racism will be out of sight and the pocketbooks of the rich will be safe.

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Centrists have a solution for Trumpism: Trump Lite - The Week

Year in Review: Long-sought ANWR sale tops 2020 in oil and gas – Alaskajournal.com

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Trump administration officials nearly waited until the last minute to make it happen, but opening bids for an Arctic National Wildlife Refuge coastal plain lease sale will be one of the first things Bureau of Land Management Alaska officials do in 2021.

BLM Alaska leaders announced Dec. 3 that the hotly contested lease sale will be held Jan. 6. Barring a last-minute court injunction from one of the several lawsuits filed against BLM for its environmental evaluation of the lease sale, it will be held before the Biden administration could do anything to stop the bidding. At least two lease sales are required under the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

Interior Secretary David Bernhardt signed the record of decision approving BLMs plan to lease all of the available acreage in the 1.5 million-acre coastal plain Aug. 17, allowing the agency to move ahead with the final administrative procedures to hold the sale.

Several Alaska Native and conservation organizations sued the Interior Department earlier this year on the grounds that the environmental impact statement and subsequent agency decision approving the leasing plan was rushed and ignored numerous environmental considerations. Those lawsuits are pending.

Earlier this month BLM leaders announced they plan to offer nearly all of the 1.5 million acres parsed into 32 tracts ranging from approximately 34,000-60,000 acres each. The acreage will come with a 10-year lease term and minimum bids must be for at least $25 per acre.

Industry advocates and Alaskas congressional delegation continue to stress the anticipated economic boon coastal plain oil development could be for the state. They insist that despite current prices the potential large oil pools some geologists believe are likely under ANWR could attract significant long-term investment in the North Slope.

2. Ballot Measure 1 rejected

Alaskas oil industry notched another win at the ballot box Nov. 3 when voters rejected a citizen-led initiative to significantly raise oil taxes by a 15 percent margin.

Known as the Fair Share Act, or Ballot Measure 1, the initiative would have raised both the gross minimum and net profits tax rates on the largest oil fields on the North Slope: currently Alpine, Kuparuk and Prudhoe Bay.

The nearly 55,000-vote margin against the oil tax initiative was in sharp contrast to the 2014 referendum to repeal Senate Bill 21, the tax system Ballot Measure 1 sought to replace.

The Republican-backed oil tax survived 2014 primary election vote by approximately 10,000 votes and a 5 percent margin.

Public opposition to the ballot measure reached beyond the oil industry, partly because the pandemic took the bottom out of oil markets just as a proposal to significantly raise state taxes was making its way to the ballot.

Typically non-political business groups such as the Alaska Economic Development Corp. formally opposed Ballot Measure 1 and the OneAlaska campaign against it raised nearly $25 million, while Vote Yes for Alaskas Fair Share generated approximately $1.3 million to promote the initiative.

The election result does not mean the issue of oil taxes is settled in the Legislature, however, as even some traditional industry backers have said some change to oil taxes will likely have to be a part of a broader fiscal plan. It remains to be seen how strict Gov. Mike Dunleavy would be in adhering to his strong opposition to any new taxes should that situation arise.

3. Prudhoe Bay transition

In typical Hilcorp fashion the biggest move the company has ever made was finalized quietly when it took over operations at Prudhoe Bay July 1. The transition from BP to Houston-based Hilcorp Energy was the practical end to BPs decades-long run in Alaska.

Hilcorp has since increased production in November approximately 15,000 barrels per day compared to last year, with daily production averaging 305,000 barrels last month.

In December the Regulatory Commission of Alaska approved the sale of BPs 49 percent stake in the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System to Hilcorp, nearly a year-and-a-half after the $5.6 billion deal was announced in August 2019.

As part of the deal, BP retains the financial responsibility to dismantle TAPS and restore the disturbed area commensurate to its prior ownership stake in the pipeline.

4. Willow gains approval

One of the largest North Slope oil prospects in decades received clearance from the federal government for development Oct. 26 when Interior Secretary David Bernhardt signed a record of decision approving ConocoPhillips $6 billion Willow project master development plan.

The remote oil prospect in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska west of the established North Slope fields was discovered in 2016 and ConocoPhillips now believes it can produce up to 160,000 barrels of oil per day.

BLM approved construction of three drill sites, a processing facility and ancillary infrastructure and said plans for two more drill pads and subsequent roads and pipelines could be reviewed later.

Interior leaders have since been sued by conservation groups over the veracity of the agencys environmental impact statement for Willow, but ConocoPhillips Alaska representatives have said early construction could begin next year if other regulatory approvals are granted.

5. NPR-A plan gets overhaul

As the Bureau of Land Management worked to approve one oil development in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, agency officials also generated plans to open more of the 23 million-acre reserve to industry over the year.

ConocoPhillips Willow project gained federal approval in August, and in late June BLM Alaska leaders announced their intent to make 18.7 million acres of the NPR-A available for oil and gas leasing under the agencys preferred alternative in the final environmental impact statement for the NPR-A Integrated Activity Plan.

The new plan would add 6.9 million acres to the area open for leasing, or about 100,000 acres more than was evaluated under the most liberal leasing option discussed in the draft NPR-A land-use EIS released last November. Currently, about 11.8 million acres, or a little more than half of the reserve, is available for leasing by industry under the NPR-A plan finalized by the Obama administration in 2013.

The plan would open the entire Teshekpuk Lake Special Area in the northeast portion of the reserve an area of particular importance to both industry for its oil potential and conservation and subsistence interests for its waterfowl and caribou-rearing habitat to leasing.

It would also eliminate the Colville River Special Area, which provides habitat protections over 2.4 million acres adjacent to the river as well. The Colville River makes up much of the eastern boundary of the NPR-A.

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Year in Review: Long-sought ANWR sale tops 2020 in oil and gas - Alaskajournal.com

Coalition should commit to halving emissions this decade, says conservative thinktank – The Guardian

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A centre-right thinktank with links to former Liberal ministers Robert Hill and Christopher Pyne has said the Morrison government should commit to halving emissions from coal-fired electricity this decade, and the Coalition could drive the change by using some existing policies.

A report from the Blueprint Institute said the latest emissions projections released by the government indicated Australia would not meet its 2030 target. The only way to permanently reduce carbon emissions was to reduce our economys structural reliance on them.

Coal-fired power generation was now in permanent decline, it said, and in 2019, 21% of Australias electricity came from renewable sources. Since the last coal plant was commissioned in 2009, wind power had grown by 15% a year, solar by almost 50% a year, and that pace is accelerating.

The report, to be released on Monday, said the transformation trend was so baked in it was no longer a question of the government making a decision to end coal-fired generation: Its end is inevitable, its role in permanent decline.

All thats left for the commonwealth to decide is whether its willing to step up and coordinate an orderly phase-down that provides certainty for communities, workers, consumers, and investors.

The Blueprint Institute is a relatively new thinktank drawing staff who have worked for federal Liberal MPs including Julie Bishop and Dave Sharma and policy experts. A number of board members have worked in state politics, and the strategic council of the organisation includes Hill, Pyne, former NSW Liberal parliamentarian Michael Photios, and former state and federal minister Bruce Baird.

Its report, Phasing Down Gracefully, suggested the government could manage the retirement of coal generation in an orderly fashion and with fewer job losses than was sometimes claimed in Australias hyper-partisan brawling about climate policy by announcing new sectoral emissions reduction targets for 2026, 2028 and beyond the current medium-term target for 2030.

It said under the Coalitions existing safeguard mechanism sectoral emissions caps could be imposed to drive participation in a new coal-generation phase-down mechanism that would be administered by the clean energy regulator. The safeguard mechanism, which began in 2016, applies to facilities emitting more than 100,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent a year.

Having set targets, the government could then offer contracts for emissions reductions that would both cap pollution and guarantee a minimum electricity supply until the contract expired.

Generators would participate in a sealed bid auction system. The scheme the thinktank proposed would also contain requirements that generators offer redeployment and retraining opportunities for workers.

The mechanism could either generate revenue that could be distributed in communities impacted by the closures, or alternatively the government could pay out the generators for the profits they would lose because of an early exit from the system an option that would cost taxpayers billions.

In terms of job losses, the report noted Australias coal industry employed 50,000 workers directly and 120,000 workers indirectly.

But it said the coal-fired generation sector employed fewer than 10,000 workers, including the thermal coalminers who supply the generators. It acknowledged the emissions reduction commitment it proposed would see roughly half these workers lose their jobs.

But the report said it was entirely possible for Australia to continue to export coal for a time while shutting down coal generation domestically.

Any suggestion that an Australian commitment to net zero by 2050 or a drive to decarbonise our electricity sector risks the future of our coal industry is simply false, the report said.

The export market for thermal coal would decline in this decade. It said: Over 74% of our thermal coal exports go to China, Japan, and South Korea which have all pledged net-zero.

But it said metallurgical coal which is required for steel making formed most coal exports from Australia. Metallurgical coal would be required for at least the next decade because we are yet to develop and commercialise zero-emissions alternatives.

Notwithstanding their net-zero commitments, robust steel production by our major trading partners is likely to continue to underpin robust demand for our metallurgical coal for some time.

This will secure the majority of jobs in our coal industry, as well as generating economic activity in local communities and revenues for state governments.

Australia had time to be part of developing alternatives, and transition was consistent with the Morrison governments technology investment roadmap.

The Morrison government should face up to the inevitable and take responsibility for what is a national problem, and set out a plan for how our electricity market will evolve this decade and beyond.

While Scott Morrisons language on a climate policy pivot has warmed up since Joe Biden was declared the winner of the American presidential contest, the government continues to say it will not sign up to a mid-century emissions reduction target unless it can explain the costs to the public.

Morrison had planned to flag the likelihood that Australia would meet its 2030 target without having to resort to controversial Kyoto-era carryover credits at a climate ambition summit last weekend, but Australia was not granted a speaking slot at an event reserved for significant new commitments.

Australias target for 2030 is a cut of 26%-28% on 2005 levels. As the Blueprint Institute report noted, current projections suggest the country is falling short of that objective. On current projections Australia was likely to land at 22% below 2005 levels at the end of the decade.

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Coalition should commit to halving emissions this decade, says conservative thinktank - The Guardian

A new approach to studying religion and politics – MIT News

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Associate Professor Richard Nielsen is an MIT political scientist with an innovative research program: He studies clerics in the Islamic world, combining textual analysis, ethnographic insights, on-the-ground research in the Middle East, and a big-data approach to charting online tracts.

This method has generated novel conclusions about religious doctrine and authority although Nielsen, who has graduate degrees in both government and statistics and does his primary research in Arabic, downplays his versatility.

I basically tell people that Im not the best in the world at any of the things I do, Nielsen says. Its just that theres a real dearth of people who are trying to do all of them.

Nielsens first book, Deadly Clerics: Blocked Ambition and the Paths to Jihad, published in 2017, drew praise for both its insights and methods. After scrutinizing the online writings of about 200 radical clerics, Nielsen concluded that a substantial portion of these clerics had come from academic backgrounds, but found their career paths blocked. Disenchanted, many became jihadists, preaching war against their perceived enemies.

Nielsens follow-up book project, in progress now, looks at authority in the Islamic world, with an increasing focus on women who have become online preachers.

Most people dont think of Islam as having female preachers, Nielsen says. However, he notes, Theyre helping this movement expand. These people help reach new audiences on the Internet. So the question is how do women gain authority in these conservative religious spaces?

As with his first book, this project combines a close study of society with large-scale analysis of textual trends. Nielsen has refined many of those analytical techniques over time, and has published numerous papers about data and research methods as well.

The ethnographic type of approach is not often combined with the statistical approach, Nielsen observes. My personal view is thats where a lot of scientific discovery happens, from people who are willing to try multiple things.

For his research and teaching, Nielsen was granted tenure at MIT in 2020.

No place like home

Long before he became a professor, Nielsen spent some quality time at MIT. Nielsens father received a PhD in chemistry from MIT and lived in campus graduate housing along with his young family.

Its really a homecoming for me to be here, because my earliest memories are of living in Eastgate and Westgate [apartment buildings] as a toddler, Nielsen says. Another memory: The MIT boathouse master taking my mom and me out in one of the motorboats, which I thought was an amazing thing. They let me hold the steering wheel, and thats the first thing I think I remember.

After MIT, the Nielsen family moved around a bit. They lived in upstate New York and eventually San Jose, California, where Nielsen attended high school and became an avid surfer, finding some overlooked breaks on the Northern California coast.

Nielsen attended college at Brigham Young University, and after watching the terrorist attacks of September 2001 unfold on television became interested in studying the politics of the Islamic world. That alone might not have led him into academia. But one summer, when Nielsen was working part-time as a campus security guard, a professor of his stopped by a campus event, saw Nielsen monitoring the door, and asked him, Would you like another job?

That professor Daniel Nielson, an expert in international politics had a National Science Foundation grant to study foreign aid; he encouraged Nielsen to jump into serious research. By the time Nielsen graduated from college, he had presented work at conferences and helped co-author a paper that would be published in the American Journal of Political Science.

That was a huge break for me, and really when I cut my teeth on research, Nielsen says. He [Nielson] gave me and a couple other people really meaningful opportunities.

That also helped Nielsen get accepted into Harvard University for graduate school. Nielsen received a masters degree in statistics in 2010 and his PhD in government in 2013. He made two trips to Egypt during his dissertation research, starting by grasping the dynamics of a prominent teaching mosque.

On the ground, watching students interact with their teachers is where I had the core insight of my first book, that these people, who I had thought were so different from me, were really just students and professors, Nielsen says. The story I was hearing about the folks who got more extreme in their beliefs was that they werent making the connections they needed to, so they got frustrated, [leading to] more extreme religious and political beliefs. I took that insight which Id had qualitatively, back to this very large corpus of [textual] data, and could confirm that pattern was indeed happening.

Nielsen joined the MIT faculty in 2013; his dissertation research became the basis of Deadly Clerics.

Riding the waves

At the Institute, Nielsen teaches a range of graduate and undergraduate classes, and describes his students as the sharpest people imaginable.

I teach a fairly large undergraduate class on introduction to international relations, Nielsen says, and every time I get up at the beginning, I say, All of you are smarter than me, Ive just been doing this for longer. And every time, its true.

While teaching, Nielsen is continuing with the second book project, which was also helped by a prestigious Carnegie Foundation fellowship in 2017. Nielsens new work took shape in part because he noticed that some online female preachers had larger audiences than their male counterparts; those female preachers, Nielsen says, generate a lot of positive reactions and fairly minimal negative reactions.

Nielsen adds that there clearly is a broader segment of the Islamic world that is interested in womens authority. And I think that is because people do things on the internet that they would feel awkward about if meeting in public. Women are asserting their authority to speak to womens experiences and more generally to a broad Islamic experience that commenters are not aware of. Im not saying this a bastion of classic liberal feminism. It isnt. But I do think there are the seeds of new perspectives happening in the preaching of these women.

If that were not enough, Nielsen is also working on an additional project, about female white nationalists in the U.S., analyzing some 15,000 videos to better understand how and why women join the movement.

I love working on multiple projects, Nielsen says. I think its a creative stew for myself. And Im really glad MIT sees the promise in the whole stew.

When Nielsen is not teaching, doing research, or at home with his family, he is likely doing one other thing: surfing. Having learned to surf in California, Nielsen still seeks out good waves in Massachusetts. To this day, Nielsen says, surfing clears his mind of everyday worries, including the Covid-19 pandemic.

During the shutdown it was almost the only reason I was leaving the house, Nielsen says, adding: Its been my sanity outlet all the way through grad school, and the tenure track. Its one time when my mind stops thinking about work.

And when hes back on land, Nielsen recognizes how well his distinctive brand of political science fits the interdisciplinary ethos of the Institute he again calls home.

MIT is a special place to me and has given me opportunities I couldnt have imagined almost anywhere else, Nielsen says.

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A new approach to studying religion and politics - MIT News

Kevin McKenna: SNP neo-liberalism must be fought, but we cannot while in the UK – The National

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IT was a nationalist friend, a socialist and trade union activist, raised in Labours Lanarkshire heartlands, who asked me the nuclear question: are there any circumstances in which you might not now vote for Scottish independence?

Like me, shed lately come to resent the influence of neo-liberal managerialism which currently holds sway at the top of the SNP. We both considered the beguiling possibility of how we might have felt had Jeremy Corbyn ever become prime minister of the UK.

Here was an authentic Labour leader whose entire adult life had been dedicated to fighting inequality and class-driven social injustice and who was committed to restoring some balance in the economy in favour of our poorest communities. As soon as the English political establishment realised he was serious they destroyed him. They then sent in the multi-millionaire Sir Keir Starmer to preserve their interests and to hang the false charge of antisemitism around Corbyns neck to ensure the threat of a genuinely radical UK Labour Party would be neutralised.

Yet, Corbyn would likely only have been a one-term prime minister and thus Scotland would always remain tied to the whims of the English electorate.

READ MORE:Ruth Wishart: Book of Boris in Brexit makes the case for independence rather nicely

My journey towards Yes began seven years ago after it became clear that England was about to journey into a long journey into darkness. The Tories had committed themselves to a hard-right suite of social policies. At the heart of this lay a commitment to a programme of austerity which discriminated against communities just recovering from the iniquities of Thatcherism while providing tax breaks for its most affluent supporters.

Later, they would come to be influenced by the racist agenda of Nigel Farages support base. In truth though, the Tories had already signalled their intent to promote racism with its creation of a hostile environment for those deemed to be the wrong type of immigrants and the Windrush scandal.

I could never have predicted though, how inequality and the celebration of it would become embedded in present-day Tory policy. The chaos of Brexit has left us with a political class whose justification for a No-Deal divorce is that well get through it because we always do. What they mean of course is that it doesnt really matter because they and their supporters have the finances to absorb the consequences. All reasonable criticism of the EU and its neo-liberal instincts was swamped by the sewage of British superiority and hostility to foreigners.

Here I must admit that some sections of the SNP, the main vehicle for independence, drive me nuts. Each time I vote for this party I must fortify myself with a stiff drink and be reminded that its for the greater good. I reassure myself that immediately following a Yes vote there will be a Scottish General Election and that perhaps the Labour Party in Scotland will have rediscovered its socialism. Hell, maybe the radical independence movement might stop dancing on pinheads and produce a broad-based political party capable of fighting a Scottish election with a reasonable chance of success.

In every sector of SNP governance, the influence of big business and global corporations is clear. From its agricultural and fisheries policies to its failure to unstitch the feudal patterns of land ownership its easy to detect the influence of multi-nationals. Those investments in lobbying fees and a willingness to meet the astronomical asking price for a berth at SNP conferences has paid off handsomely.

Yet, while eager to protect the interests of a powerful few they are happy to abandon working-class communities on the pretext that their hands are tied by EU state aid rules. The real reason of course is that the leadership has an obsession with cosying up to Brussels even though there is virtually no chance of an early entry into the EU.

I have grown dismayed at how the party has permitted a large number of fakes and opportunists to hitch their careers and finances to the only political show in town. In lieu of undertaking the painstaking task of finding long-term solutions to multi-deprivation they have contrived a culture war around the proposed Gender Recognition Act reforms. This and the proposed hate crime legislation are counterfeit radicalism which, instead of helping the poor, are actually a means of gaslighting them.

More than 13 years of SNP rule has seen the party lapse into complacency with too many of its senior figures, especially at Westminster, living a superannuated idyll while contributing nothing of any note to the movement. Im reminded of this each time Pete Wishart rises to speak. And its yet to be explained to me why a party that seeks the break-up of the UK chooses still to legitimise the Union by sitting in its main chamber of power and drawing six-figure salaries and expenses from it while taking an oath of loyalty to a toy-town royal house.

READ MORE:Michael Fry: Nothing's federal about the UK, and its too late to start now

If they had the courage of their purported convictions theyd refuse to take their seats at Westminster and make a serious declaration of intent about Scottish independence. Theyd also seriously undermine the authority of Westminster to act as the pre-eminent UK legislature. Instead, they choose to denigrate the wider Yes movement for daring to do what the party refuses to: engage in an intellectual debate about what an independent Scotland might look like.

Yet I have to conclude that independence is indeed everything, not least because gaining it would land a massive blow on an increasingly corrupt and elitist British state, whos cheating and duplicity is made flesh in the person of the UK Prime Minister.

Following the 16th consecutive poll indicating majority support for independence, those of us whose hearts desire is an independent, socialist republic of Scotland must start preparing for the battle which immediately follows independence.

This will be to drive back the forces of capitalism and neo-liberalism who currently wield disproportionate influence on Scottish life. Their main strategists, even now, are seeking ways to ensure their writ runs unhindered in an independent Scotland as it does in the rest of the UK.

In public, these people profess hostility towards independence.

In truth though, it matters not a jot to them; just so long as their bank accounts and property portfolios remain healthy. What do you think the Growth Commission was all about?

They will start the second referendum campaign three goals up and its about time the SNP and its loyalists stopped sleep-walking and woke up to the fact.

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Kevin McKenna: SNP neo-liberalism must be fought, but we cannot while in the UK - The National

The Remedy to the Agricultural Crisis That No One Is Talking About – The Wire

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Five weeks after the Farmers agitation began, and a day after the Supreme Court urged the government to put the three farm bills passed in September on hold, Prime Minister Modi has finally agreed to hold talks with their leaders.

But what will he hold talks about when neither he, nor anyone else in his government, has shown any understanding of what has driven the entire community of farmers from North India to the edge of despair?

Theirignorance is writ large on his party propagandists attempts to ascribe political, even traitorous, motives to the farm leaders. That is the reaction of schoolyard bullies who, when they find themselves losing an argument, start hitting their opponents.

Now that Modi has decided to talk to the farmers himself, he would do well to understand the predicament that has driven them to desperation. In a nutshell, it is this: India is now a chronically food surplus economy. So while opening up the foodgrains trade to traders from all over the country will benefit rich farmers who have the maximum bargaining power and can contact, or be contacted by, buyers in other states and countries most easily the entire price shock of the foodgrains surplus will be felt by the small landholders who make up four-fifths of the farming community.

The governments recent decision not to abolish the Minimum Sale Price system will cushion this shock, but no one knows to what extent it will do so if the thriving mandis of Punjab, Haryana, Western UP and northern Rajasthan lose the bulk of their business to private buyers and start closing down.

Even if the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committees that manage these mandis survive no one can foretell how far their straitened finances will permit them to provide the small farmers with the host of ancillary services, such as advances to buy seed and fertiliser in time to sow the next crop, that they are doing today. In sum, these reforms will plunge the largest, most vulnerable, segment of the countrys population into a sea of uncertainty, in which they presently have no idea, of how they will stay afloat.

Also read: The Protests Against the Farm Laws Present a Familiar Pattern

Liberal economists are treating this as the unavoidable price of economic development. The solution, they say, lies in product diversification. The cereals market will automatically come back into balance if farmers divert some of their land to horticulture, dairy and poultry farming. What they seem to be unaware of is that farmers have been doing this since the early 1990s. Those with small and marginal holdings were the first to attempt it.

But the world they entered was frighteningly different from the world they were leaving, for it was one in which near-complete market security was replaced by equally complete market insecurity. While cereals are not perishable and can easily be stored for six months or more (wheat) to several years ( lentils), fruit, vegetables (other than onions and potatoes), milk and eggs perish in days. Horticulturalists have therefore found that, from the moment they harvest their crop, they are at the utter mercy of the trader.

Despite this more and more farmers have taken to growing vegetables, fruit and flowers because of the rapid and unexpected growth of exports. Since exporters offer contracted prices to ensure, and often pre-empt, supply, a degree of income stability has been given to horticulturists. As a result, the area under horticulture has more than doubled in the past twenty years to 25 million hectares, and exports have grown eightfold from Rs 8,000 crores in 2000-01 to Rs 63,700 crores in 2018-19.

Farmers protest against the farm bills at Singhu border near Delhi, India, December 4, 2020. Photo: Reuters/Anushree Fadnavis

But only traders, exporters and well-to-do farmers have benefited from this windfall. To manage the growing volume of horticultural produce giant cold storages that can store up to 40,000 tonnes of produce, have sprung up all over India in the last two decades. In March 2019, there were an estimated 7,645 large cold storages with a refrigerated space of 150 million cubic metres, capable of storing 37 to 39 million tonnes of perishable produce.

But the small farmers, who have grown most of the fruits and vegetables, have been left out in the cold because, even today, almost three-quarters of a century after independence, there are no cold storages in the villages.

The following data from the agriculture ministrys report, Horticulture Statistics at a Glance 2018 shows how this single omission has chained the small farmers to poverty. In Punjab, one hectare under horticulture yields four tonnes of paddy and five tonnes of wheat, but close to 20 tonnes of vegetables.

But between 2013 and 2018, the wholesale price of onions, potatoes and tomatoes the three principal horticulture crops has averaged Rs 10,000 to Rs 12,000 per tonne in March and April at the end of the growing season, when the farmers have no option but to sell their produce. Since farm-gate prices average at most half of the wholesale price, the vegetable growers earn at best Rs 6,000 per tonne for their produce, and a gross income, therefore, of Rs 120,000 in the year.

Also read: Protesting Agri Reform: Why Do Farmers Feel the Deck Is Stacked Against Them?

But the procurement price fixed by the central government for both paddy and wheat is over Rs 18,000 per tonne. So four tonnes of paddy and five tonnes of wheat a year fetch the farmer a gross income of Rs 162,000, one-third more than vegetables fetch the marginal farmers. Vegetable farming is therefore not only less secure, but also pays less than cereal farming. That is the second reason why the farmers are not only insisting upon the retention of the MSP but the repeal of all the three farm bills. If the present marketing structure is weakened or destroyed, all of them, from the largest landholders to the smallest, have no place to go but down.

The bitter experience of vegetable growers has shown the farmers who are surrounding Delhi today that the market upon whose mercy Modi wants to cast them is exploitative and merciless. That is why they are not only insisting upon the retention of the MSP but the repeal of all the three farm bills as a prelude to negotiation.

If Modi wants to pull India out of the Cereals Trap, the path lies through the creation of infrastructure for agriculture that Indias governments and intelligentsia had promised to farmers when the Congress party made land reform its first national policy initiative in 1948, but subsequently forgot.

Prem Shankar Jhais a Delhi based former journalist and editor. He is the author ofManaged Chaos: The Fragility of the Chinese Miracle,andCrouching Dragon, Hidden TigerCan China and India Dominate the West.

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The Remedy to the Agricultural Crisis That No One Is Talking About - The Wire

Forward Fest public conversation series with faculty experts and alumni continues as part of A Year of Forward Thinking – Princeton University

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Princetons Forward Fest a virtual public conversation series and a monthly highlight of the Universitys yearlong A Year of Forward Thinking community engagement campaign continues Thursday, Dec. 17, with a deep-dive into the arts and humanities.

Faculty and alumni will explore the many ways a humanist perspective is critical during these challenging times, interspersed with armchair peeks into the vibrant cultural and artistic achievements of Princeton faculty, alumni and students, followed by a performing arts showcase. The streaming event highlights how the Universitys forward thinkers are using interdisciplinary research, teaching and scholarship for real-world impact.

At a moment when we are all grasping for ways to make sense of the uncertainties our society is facing from global health to social equity and environmental concerns humanistic inquiry provides us tools for understanding what it means to be human, what matters in life and how we might find meaning in our rapidly changing world, said Eric Gregory, professor of religion, director of the Program in Humanistic Studies and chair of the Humanities Council.

He continued: The humanities have long been at the core of Princetons liberal arts tradition and today across nearly 50 academic departments, programs and centers scholars continue the interdisciplinary work of engaging diverse perspectives past and present and helping us better understand the complexity and grandeur of the human condition. I am pleased that this months Forward Fest will underscore how the Universitys faculty in the arts and humanities are addressing lifes big questions and our sense of its possibilities.

Gathering a range of voices, Forward Fest aims to spark dialogue across the global Princeton community students, faculty, staff, alumni and other interested thinkers to engage with and explore big ideas and their infinite possibilities for shaping the future.

Forward Fest events are free and open to the public. All programming will be livestreamed on the Forward Fest website and on the University's YouTube channel. Registration is not required, but attendees can RSVP to receive a resource guide and event updates. Captioning will be available for all sessions. After the event, all programming will be viewable on the Universitys YouTube channel.

The first Forward Fest, Oct. 23-24, focused on public health, justice and the 2020 election. The Nov. 20 Forward Fest plumbed the promise and peril of data science and artificial intelligence. View all the sessions on Princetons YouTube channel.

Lou Chen, a 2019 alumnus and program manager for arts outreach who oversees the Trenton Arts at Princeton initiative and conducts the Trenton Youth Orchestra, which he started as a sophomore, will provide the welcome and introduction to Thinking Forward Arts and Humanities.

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Denise Applewhite, Office of Communications

In this time of physical distancing, our need to remain connected to one another is one thing that signals our humanity. Professors in a variety of disciplines will talk about how humanistic inquiry provides a useful lens for thinking about our current times and how reflecting on art and visual culture, music and literature helps us uncover connections that help us think forward new ideas in a variety of domains.

Thinking Forward Arts and Humanities

RakeshSatyal, a 2002 alumnus, will serve as moderator for the live discussion on Dec. 17. Forward Fest is free and open to the public.All programming will be livestreamed on the Forward Fest website and on theUniversitys YouTube channel.

Photo by Melisa Melling 02

The live 75-minute program at 4 p.m. will feature one-on-one conversations with four faculty members and conclude with a lively Q&A period. Attendees can engage in Q&A by emailing questions in advance to forwardfest@princeton.edu or in real-time in the chat on YouTube.

Lou Chen, a 2019 alumnus and program manager for arts outreach who oversees the Trenton Arts at Princeton initiative, will provide the welcome and introduction. Rakesh Satyal, a 2002 alumnus, novelist and executive editor at HarperCollins, will serve as moderator for the live discussion. Featured faculty panelists are:

Additional multimedia programming on Dec. 17 will highlight the creative process and societal impact of the visual and performing arts through teaching and performance in the virtual space.

Speakers in the virtual Dec. 17 event include: Rachael DeLue (left), the Christopher Binyon Sarofim '86 Professor in American Arts, and professor of art and archaeology and American studies; Beatriz Colomina, the Howard Crosby Butler Professor of the History of Architecture, professor architecture and co-director of the Program in Media and Modernity; Elizabeth Margulis, professor of music; and Autumn Womack, assistant professor of African American studies and English.

Photos (left to right): Denise Applewhite, Office of Communications; Andrew Wilkinson; and Sameer A. Khan/Fotobuddy

Arts Showcase

At 8 p.m., sit back, relax and settle into your own front row seat for a vibrant arts showcase featuring a cast of notable faculty, alumni, students and guests engaged in the performing and visual arts. Program highlights include:

Forward Fest will continue monthly throughout A Year of Forward Thinking, Oct. 2020-June 2021.

Learn more about A Year of Forward Thinking and Forward Fest on the website. Watch a video about A Year of Forward Thinking. Engage on social media with the hashtags #PrincetonForward, #ForwardThinkers and #ForwardFest, and follow Princeton University and Princeton Alumni on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

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Forward Fest public conversation series with faculty experts and alumni continues as part of A Year of Forward Thinking - Princeton University

Highlights from recent stories featuring Temple in the media – Temple University News

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Temple faculty discussed the impact the coronavirus pandemic is having on children and the economy, scientists came one step closer to an HIV cure and alumni made standout contributions in fields as diverse as politics, entertainment, business and philanthropy.

Remote learning has become a gateway to social mediaLearning on digital devices at home has exposed many children to social media much earlier than their parents had expected. Jordan Shapiro, an assistant professor of instruction specializing in intellectual heritage, believes children should be introduced to social media earlier than traditionally advised. If you want to teach people how to deal with problematic interactions within a space that is part of our lives, then you dont do it by ignoring it, he said.New York TimesDec. 10, 2020

Considering the long-term effect the coronavirus pandemic is having on childrenCOVID-19 has stopped toddlers from going to day care, parties and playdatesand parents are beginning to worry about the effect the extended isolation might be having on their children. Social interaction and physical and verbal exchanges build structure and connectivity in the brain, said Kathryn Hirsh-Pasek, a professor of psychology in the College of Liberal Arts.New York TimesDec. 9, 2020

Three Owls part of this years Martin Luther King Leadership Development InstituteArrion Bethea, CLA 96, Damon Green, KLN 03 and Taiwan Martinez, CLA 08, are among this years participants in the Martin Luther King Leadership Development Institute, which trains leaders to bring about positive change in their communities. There are no divisions of class, race, age, economic status. Participants need only have a commitment to Kingian principles and a desire to make a difference, said Joe Robinson, the institutes president.Penn LiveDec. 9, 2020

Is it safe to get a massage right now?A tense year has left many people looking for ways to relax, including visits to wellness centers and spas. Although getting a massage is considered less risky than dining out in a crowd without a mask, experts believe its important to consider the current COVID-19 rates. Its a risk-benefit scenario, but right now with the percentage of positive tests were dealing with in Pennsylvania, the risk probably outweighs the benefit, said Krys Johnson, epidemiologist and assistant professor in the College of Public Health.Philadelphia InquirerDec. 7, 2020

Few studies look at high blood pressure treatments for African AmericansHigh blood pressure affects African Americans more than any other group in the U.S. But as a new study in the Journal of the American Heart Association points out, few clinical trials have focused on Black adults with hypertension. The lack of research really thwarts our ability to deal with a problem that has more grave consequences for this population than others, said Deborah Crabbe, a professor of medicine in the Lewis Katz School of Medicine.American Heart AssociationDec. 7, 2020

Tyler professor shines in MiamiVogue chose a Kamala Harris teapot by Roberto Lugo, a potter and assistant professor at Tyler School of Art and Architecture, as one of the five most fascinating objets dart featured at Design Miami.VogueDec. 5, 2020

Owl lands a Grammy nominationWhen entrepreneur and mixing engineer Benjamin Thomas, FOX 18, graduated, he said his next stop would be winning a Grammy. Now hes one step closer to his dream, with a Grammy nomination for his work on Ingrid Andress country music album, Lady Like. I did not think this would be possible this soon. Thats why my first reaction was shock. I didnt see it coming, Thomas said.6ABCDec. 4, 2020

How coronavirus survivors can deal with sensory lossMany people who recover from COVID-19 are left with a lingering symptom: the loss of their sense of smell and taste. Valentina Parma, a research assistant professor in the Department of Psychology at the College of Liberal Arts, and her colleagues have gathered and analyzed thousands of surveys from survivors with this issue. Although there is no known cure, the body can heal itself, eventually. Time is an important variable for recovery, she said. There is plasticity in our system, and olfactory neurons can regenerate and reestablish function. How long this process can take following a COVID infection is still under scrutiny.HuffPostDec. 4, 2020

Using martial arts to stem the tide of youth gun violenceTemple football alumnus Jeffrey Whittingham, CLA 14, took up jiu-jitsu a year ago and its taught him to step outside his comfort zone and see the world differently. Now hes offering a free weekly jiu-jitsu class for Philadelphia children and teenagers, doing his part to keep them off the street and safe from gun violence. Being in the inner city, were used to trauma, so I think mindfulness is important because a lot of these kids, unfortunately, are seeing whats going on out here, he said. So, I want them to come here and I want them to be at peace.CBS3Dec. 3, 2020

Temple researchers use CRISPR to cure the simian equivalent of HIVA team of researchers led by Kamel Khalili, Laura H. Carnell Professor and chair, Department of Neuroscience, and Tricia Burdo, associate professor of neuroscience at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine, have used CRISPR gene editing to eliminate simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV), the primate equivalent of HIV. Our technology is designed to cut out the viral DNA from the persons genetic material so once ART [antiretroviral therapy] is stopped, there is nothing there to reactivate and cause disease, Burdo said.SalonDec. 2, 2020

Owl one of Forbes 30 under 30Forbes selected David Silver, KLN 13, as one of the magazines 30 under 30 for 2021. The co-founder of REC Philly (Resources for Every Creator), which offers artists access to resources including space and education, Silver has helped build the organization into one that has raised over $3 million.ForbesDecember, 2020

From music to streetwearBrian Nadav, CLA 05, has swapped life as a touring musician, playing the guitar and oud, for one running Lapstone & Hammer, the Philadelphia-based streetwear shop. Fashion is an unspoken language, a way of expressing yourself, he said. You walk into a room, and you get a vibe about a person, by the way they dress, by the way they carry themselves, by the way they groom themselves.Jewish ExponentNov. 29, 2020

The Biden campaigns national advisor for Black engagement is Temple MadeAdjoa Asamoah, CLA 98, was part of a team that worked to galvanize African American voters for the Joe Biden-Kamala Harris ticket. I helped another Black woman ascend to the second-highest office in the land, she said. I was just so proud. The weight of the world was lifted off my shoulders.Philadelphia InquirerNov. 29, 2020

Checking in on Californias Main StreetsCOVID-19 has taken a toll on Californias Main Streets, places which were once symbols of prosperity and community. People love community. They love sidewalks. They love streets with activity, said Miles Orvell, professor of English and American studies. They love the idea of living in a place that has a sense of identity.Los Angeles TimesNov. 27, 2020

Rising coronavirus cases are putting pressure on front-line healthcare workersAs the number of COVID-19 cases continues to climb, doctors and nurses have become frustrated with people who remain reluctant to wear masks or follow basic safety measures. Our families are suffering horribly and disproportionately, said Maura Sammon, MED 99, an emergency medicine specialist at Temple Health. Of course I am feeling burned out, but I dont have the time to be burned out.Philadelphia InquirerNov. 27, 2020

Owl owns the same Dunkin store where he got his startSonny Ho, FOX 94, landed his first job in high school, working as a porter at a Dunkin store. Now he owns that store and 44 more and has donated $100,000 to the Fund for the School District of Philadelphia. I call Philly my hometown, he said. It feels great to be able to give back to my community.Philadelphia InquirerNov. 26, 2020

Temple doctors use ultrasound to detect pneumonia in COVID-19 patientsDoctors at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine, including Ryan Gibbons, MED 07, have found that a portable ultrasound device is an effective way of identifying which patients suffer from pneumonia, a common complication in those with severe COVID-19.Philadelphia InquirerNov. 25, 2020

COVID-19 vaccinations could become mandatory for healthcare workersTony Reed, executive vice president and chief medical officer for the Temple University Health System, believes institutions like Temple havent made a COVID-19 vaccine mandatory because you cant do so until you have enough supply and, since the vaccine is new, compelling people to take it might not be the best approach. However, he believes it might become a requirement for health system employees in the future. If this becomes a recurring, seasonal virus like the flu, then yes, I would see it becoming mandatory, he said.Philadelphia magazineNov. 24, 2020

Temple University Jazz Bands Covid Sessions swingsCovid Sessions, the Temple University Jazz Bands new album, was recorded, mixed and mastered during the COVID-19 pandemic. Great under any circumstances, but under the present circumstances Covid Sessions is a triumph that Temple ought to celebrate like an American [Athletic] Conference championship, said reviewer Matt Silver.WRTINov. 23, 2020

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Highlights from recent stories featuring Temple in the media - Temple University News

Fracking on Country in the NT – The Saturday Paper

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About 900 kilometres south-east of Darwin, hidden in the tropical savanna woodland of the McArthur River region, there is a sacred site, on Gundanji Country, somewhere off the Carpentaria Highway.

This land has been returned to traditional owners. Only they know how to find the site. The last seven kilometres must be covered on foot: there are no tracks.

Weve got to keep an eye out for feral pigs and buffalo because we dont carry guns when we go bush, says Rikki Dank, aKaranjini Gundanji woman.

When you come closer to the sacred site, we walk softer and our voices are lowered. We dont talk unnecessarily.

The entrance to the site itself, she says, is other-worldly. The woodland opens up onto a large body of water, fed by a waterfall, ringed by enormous paperbark trees so big that you cant wrap your arms around them.

The fallen bark from the trees floats on the water, completely covering its surface.

You dont actually walk here, you kind of sink and float, says Dank.

And there is a huge rock that you sit on and all of a sudden there is a big gust of wind, it happens all the time, this huge gust hits your face, and it feels like the old people are saying, Welcome home, youve come home.

Rikki Danks people are a matriarchal group and the most senior traditional owners are her grandmothers, Katie Baker and Peggy Lawson. In Gundanji law, Dank has been nominated as Bakers jungkayi or jungai, which gives her the responsibility of talking for the land, especially sacred sites.

It is a privilege she takes seriously. Much of the Country she calls home is part of the Mermaids Dreaming. Here, as the Dreaming story goes, the travelling ladies, or mermaids, have come down from the coastal waters.

So, theyve settled there [in Gundanji Country] and have called up the ocean, and the water has then come up over this big rock that is forming this waterfall.

Water is key to Gundanji connection to Country, says Dank. It explains the rituals and the customs, the ecosystem. Water is life itself.

But this connection is now threatened. In September, the Empire Energy Group Limited announced to the Australian Stock Exchange that it had mobilised a 27-metre-tall Schlumberger land rig to a site on Danks Country, over which the company has exploration permits.

My grandmother was out bush one day and just rocked up and has seen all of these trucks, says Dank. Shes in her mid-80s. You can imagine how stressful it was for her to see so many people and so much machinery on her Country.

The drill site, known as Carpentaria-1, is located just 30 kilometres from the sacred site.

By December, Empire Energy had drilled to a depth of more than two kilometres and is pushing ahead to hit nearly three kilometres underground in a bid to intersect the thick Velkerri shale formation.

Carpentaria-1 is the latest development in the gas rush in the Beetaloo Basin, which was spurred on by the Northern Territory Labor government ending a moratorium on fracking in 2018. It has been kicked into overdrive by the federal Coalitions push for a gas-fired economic recovery from Covid-19.

Less than a fortnight after the federal government released its delayed budget in October, the federal minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction, Angus Taylor, visited the Empire Energy drill site.

He was spruiking $28.3 million in federal funding to unlock and accelerate the development of vast gas reserves.

The Beetaloo Basin is a world-class resource, Taylor said, that has the potential to drive significant development in the Top End to create local jobs and help Australia remain a world leader in gas.

However, many traditional owners want nothing to do with the plan, and have mounted a fight that threatens to bypass the Northern Land Council (NLC).

This council manages Aboriginal land granted through native title, or freehold ownership, on behalf of 50,000 Indigenous people. They make decisions and facilitate land usage and are required by law to negotiate with, and for, traditional owners. However, some say that does not always happen.

A few weeks before Taylors announcement, the ABC reported that native title holders in the Beetaloo Basin had requested the NLC to withdraw from negotiations with gas companies. Nine land groups have joined in that request.

Until now, Rikki Dank and her family have chosen not to talk publicly about fracking. Her grandmothers discovery of the massive drilling rig changed that.

Before we realised Empire had their eyes on our place, weve been on the sideline working and quietly supporting the others because all of the fracking has been happening on their Country, she says.

We dont want to step out of line in terms of cultural protocol and speak for anyone because they have their own voices. But now it feels like we have to be included in this fight.

Empire Energy estimates the potential shale gas projects in the NT rival the prolific US Marcellus Shale, which produces about 25billion cubic feet of gas a day.

In a market update on December 14, Empires managing director, Alex Underwood, said that 2020 has been a breakout year for Empire, specifically citing the companys first well in the Betaloo Basin, Carpentaria-1.

The concern for Rikki Dank and her family is the risk Carpentaria-1 poses to groundwater aquifers, which are still being studied by researchers.

In November 2019, the CSIRO, in partnership with state and territory governments and gas companies, released results from its preliminary studies of the water sources. It found that the whole area of the basins Cambrian Limestone Aquifer is at potential risk to possible contamination from surface spills from any source.

Vast swaths of the woodland, and Rikki Danks sacred site, sit above and interact with this aquifer.

The fracking will also require enormous volumes of water, and chemicals to exploit fractures in gas seams.

The NT government has not updated public chemical disclosure reports for fracking projects since 2016 but the most recent entry, for an Origin Energy project, lists surfactant F112 and sodium bromate, which carries a may cause cancer danger rating.

Other chemicals used include a product called Crosslinker J604, which combines ethylene glycol found in automotive antifreeze or household cleaners with sodium tetraborate and boric acid. Prolonged or repeated exposure may damage human organs.

We are worried about those poisonous things, and the disruption of those underground water systems will disturb our sacred site because our site, its focus is around water, says Rikki Dank.

Water is very strongly connected to this site and we are aware if this water table, these systems, are disturbed, we are worried about our sacred site and those large trees that are there supporting all of those structures.

What troubles Dank and her family the most is that they have never been consulted by Empire Energy. She tried to speak to the company but was told she had to speak with the Northern Land Council.

The NLC, Dank says, has held meetings where these matters have been discussed at short notice.

Danks land stretches across both a native title grant and freehold country that was handed back by the Commonwealth in 2000 as part of the Mambaliya Rrumburriya Wuyaliya Aboriginal Land Trust. The NLC represents this trust but did not respond to a request for comment from The Saturday Paper.

Weve got less rights over native title Country than freehold, says Dank. So that really scares me.

Earlier this month, the federal parliaments joint standing committee on Northern Australia released its interim report into the deliberate destruction of 46,000-year-old caves at Juukan Gorge in Western Australia.

In a scathing report, titled Never Again, the committee outlines its findings that the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura people were offered no support or protection from anywhere.

Not from Rio Tinto, or the Western Australian or federal governments, or their own lawyers, and not under native title law.

On the final point, the inquiry flagged a deeper look in future at the failures of native title legislation and whether the Native Title Act needs to be amended.

Underlying these problems is the vexed issue of Native Title, the inquiry said. Ironically, Native Title has become another means to destroy Indigenous heritage.

The committee, chaired by the Queensland Liberal National Party MP Warren Entsch, also found that two other laws intended to offer protection to Aboriginal sites of cultural significance the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act were so rarely invoked for this purpose as to be nearly pointless.

Both these Acts will require substantial revision to make them effective and bring them in line with community expectations and international obligations, the inquiry said.

According to the Kimberley Land Councils submission to the inquiry, negotiations with native title holders are often rendered meaningless because companies, when they dont win agreement, can apply to the National Native Title Tribunal for permission to forge ahead anyway.

Since 1994, there have been 163 such applications where native title holders did not agree. In all but three, the company was granted permission to continue either in full or with some conditions.

In Rikki Danks view, the tangle of laws favours those who want to cut traditional owners out of the approval process.

The government is primarily thinking about money, she says. And they are thinking about how much money they can get off Country and how much money they can get off blackfellas before blackfellas realise what is happening. The system from the ground up is corrupt.

Dank and her family have witnessed the degradation allowed by this system: the overgrazing of land; the development of the Glencore underground and then open-cut zinc and lead mine at the other end of the McArthur River; the rerouting of the river itself.

Like colonisation, these environmental changes are gradual but devastating.

My great-grandmother remembers when she was a little girl seeing non-Indigenous people for the first time. Its so close, Dank says.

Ive seen the pain in my grannies and my grandfathers eyes when theyve told me the stories of what has happened, and that is close enough for me. And its heartbreaking.

Empire Energy did not respond to a request for comment.

This article was first published in the print edition of The Saturday Paper onDec 19, 2020 as "Nerve fracking".

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Fracking on Country in the NT - The Saturday Paper

Herald: Letters to the editor (21 Dec 2020) – Oherald

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21 Dec 2020 | 04:57am IST

Maintain health centres, sulabh toilets

Under BJP government in Goa there are many issues which are long pending. Firstly is the government health centres in villages. Some health centres do not even have permanent houses. They keep on shifting every now and then. In some health centres there are no full time doctors and some do not have full time nurses even. No proper facilities are available for the villagers. Some villagers are forced to travel to neighbouring villages to avail facilities. Some village health centres are badly in need of renovation due to the failure of maintenance.

Government should intervene and do something to upgrade and raise the standards of these village health centres.

Secondly the Sulabh Toilets; they are so filthy and badly maintained, that no one likes to visit these places. Most of them are mostly used by migrants who leave the toilets dirty after use. Nobody is paying attention to this maintenance and upgradation. These Sulabh Toilets are built by the govt for the benefit of the people.

Thirdly the public gardens. There are many public gardens in each and every corner of Goa which are badly in need of upgradation and maintenance. These gardens are inaugurated and left just like that to rot.

So I would like Goa Government to spend some money from that hundred crores to upgrade and maintain village health centres, Sulabh Toilets and public gardens.

Natividade Fernandes, Cavelossim

Christmas celebrations with a difference

Christmas is round the corner. It is that time of the year to spread happiness and cheer all around. One way is by serenading activities when the young and the old go from door-to-door singing Christmas carols along with a person dressed as Santa Claus. There used to be a live crib moving around town on a truck. Every parish would hold Carol singing competition, crib competition, star making competition, fancy dress competition, etc. However, due to the pandemic this year Christmas celebrations will see a sea change. It may not be possible to maintain social-distancing during the programmes.

House-to-house serenading may not be possible. This year Christmas competitions could be restricted to live streaming on social media. Individuals and small carol singing groups could perform online. Parishioners could send videos of their crib made at home as well as the star to their parish where it could be judged by the parish priest. The winners could be announced at the Christmas midnight mass.

A live crib could be organised with a minimum of participants. Wishing one another after the mid-night mass could also undergo a change. Shaking hands, hugging and cheek-to-cheek kissing could be restricted to only family members.

Visiting homes during the festive season could also be restricted. All-in-all this year Christmas will be celebrated like never before in our lifetime. However, the joy of the season will never fade.

Adelmo Fernandes, Vasco

Sorrowing lies my land

The summary of the 59 years of Goa's Liberation can be summed up in four words, "Sorrowing lies my land".

On the one hand the original inhabitants of Goa have to spend sleepless nights on railway tracks and on the other hand the CM of Goa can spend Rs 100 crore of public money to entertain sanghis who have done nothing for Goa. I too support those who have asked the Sanghis to refrain from visiting Goa as they are blind to the suffering of the people not just of Goans but also the poor farmers who are dying on the cold streets of the capital of India.

The letters to the editor titled "What is left for Goans to celebrate"by Jerry Fernandes and "Portuguese colony to Delhi coalony" by DC Dias of December 19 are proof of the state in which we live in the State of Goa.

Matias Lobo, Tivim

Goa violating SC diktats

On December 18, the SC declared that the Covid 19 was spreading like wildfire across the country due to lack of implementation of national guidelines and SOPs. Terming it a world war against Covid-19 the Apex court said everybody around the world is suffering in one way or the other. Further, healthcare workers were physically and mentally exhausted and a mechanism to grant intermittent rest is needed.

And finally, the Apex Court stated, It is the time to rise to the occasion. Safety and health of the citizens must be the first priority, rather than any other considerations.Each and every citizen must ponder their wise contributions made in this reference.

In Goa:1) SOPs by tourists are violated and the Govt does nothing; 2) Govt did nothing to test people coming from States suffering a 2nd and 3rd wave; 3)Govt opened up tourism for all with no SOP implementation because safety and health of the citizens was not the first priority but the profits of TTAG; 4) Every world war had memorials for the dead: nothing is being done to build a Covid memorial in memory of the many Covid-19 deaths in Goa: many who should not have died; 5) Govt is not testing the 47,000 cured patients even though 40% may have increased risk to strokes and severe breathing problems necessitating oxygen therapy; 6) Govt is still pushing for holding of IFFI and New Year parties; 7) Govt refused leave to key frontline doctors; 8) Key failure: Safety and health of the citizens is the last priority of the Govt and businessmen of Goa.

This is the collective administration failure of the incumbent Govt. and the Opposition and Lok Sabha Members. There is a singular lack of maturity exhibited by all. If the former wishes to be excused then why hold the posts?

R Fernandes, Margao

National alternative

In the early days the Congress encompassed the liberal Hindus, the SC/STs and the minorities. Gradually the SC/STs found their own leaders like the Yadavs, Mayavati and others. Then a section of Congressmen broke away to form NCP, TMC. A chunk of liberal Hindus moved towards Hindutva.So the Congress of today is not the same force it was before.

What the nation needs is a strong counter force. For that to happen the Congress, which still has a fair presence all over, must reinvent itself. Loyalty to Party must replace loyalty to Gandhis.

JO Barneto, Margao

The climate change conundrum

The green and climate activist Greta Thunberg has taken a strong swipe at the world leaders again for inaction on the "looming" climate crisis. Handling the climate crisis is out and out about collective responsibility of everyone. There are hardly actions on this serious issue. Even serious talks have been taking place on and off. But this Swede has been pitching for green cause on and on. "Still, we all have been speeding in the wrong direction," speaks Greta Thunberg of the climate conundrum.

Besides, the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has strongly reacted to this issue, discussing the actual challenges posed by it. This news piece has caught the attention of the world community, having been highlighted by the media houses like CNN. It is time to create serious climate change talks in the world.

The factors like carbon dioxide-greenhouse gases contributing to the climate crisis have to be dealt with in a proper way as chalked out at climate change summits so far.

Volatile weather patterns and climate change impacts have started eating into the growth of the world.

Therefore, the international community should get ready to handle the climate challenges through mutual cooperation and strong green strategies.

PS Saravana Durai, Mumbai

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Herald: Letters to the editor (21 Dec 2020) - Oherald

2020 Was the Year of Indigenous Activism in Canada – Foreign Policy

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In late March, just after COVID-19 was declared a pandemic, a couple from Quebec, fearing the end was nigh, sold everything they owned and flew to the remote Indigenous community of Old Crow in the Yukon territory. When the couple arrived in the fly-in-only village of about 250 people, they sought temporary accommodations and offered to work. But they were astounded to discover the community didnt have sufficient housing or jobs available for its own residents, let alone pandemic refugees from Quebec.

The peculiar story was quickly forgotten as coronavirus cases spiked, but it speaks to the uneasy coexistence of two Canadas: one Indigenous, one not. The non-Indigenous Quebecers were so ill-prepared for life in the Arctic, they were an immediate imposition, the villages chief said. The thoughtless couple put the entire community at risk of infection, since, like many Indigenous communities, Old Crow has no doctor or resources to handle a deadly outbreak.

The relative isolation of Indigenous communities has been both a blessing and a curse. It has preserved languages and customs the Canadian government once tried to eliminate, but its also kept the lived experiences of more than 1.6 million Indigenous people and the issues they face largely out of Canadians sight and mind for most of the countrys history.

For all that was unexpected about 2020, few analysts could have anticipated the wave of Indigenous-led protests that swept across Canada this year. Since protests against the construction of a natural gas pipeline through Wetsuweten territory began in January, demonstrations have erupted countrywide on a variety of Indigenous issues, from lobster fishing in New Brunswick to trophy hunting in Quebec wildlife reserves. The largest and most significant since the Wetsuweten protests are the ongoing demonstrations over a residential subdivision proposed to be built on Indigenous territory in Southwestern Ontario.

In the past, Canadian prime ministers have too often relied on arms-length government agencies or provincial governments to address such complaints. But as the protests have shown, the federal government needs to take a more active role in conflict resolution. Indigenous people may make up only about 5 percent of Canadas population, but vast swathes of the country are 25 to 90 percent Indigenous. And the Indigenous population is growing rapidly, at roughly four times the speed of the rest of the population.

Since more than 600 recognized Indigenous governments are spread out across the country, the Indigenous in Canada are hardly a homogenous voting bloc. Yet while this may have made coordinated action hard in the past, their collective issues, over 150 years in the making, have become increasingly difficult for Canadas leaders to ignore. Not only is Indigenous participation in federal elections increasing, but so has the number of Indigenous people elected to parliament in recent years. In close races, the Indigenous vote may be the deciding factor.

Amid these shifts in Canadian politics, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promoted himself as a pro-Indigenous candidate, but has, for the most part, shied away from direct federal government intervention in conflict resolution and failed to deliver on campaign promises. Trudeau and his government have publicly committed to reconciliation, the sustained improvement of relations between Canadas federal government and the countrys Indigenous communities based on the recommendations of Canadas Truth and Reconciliation Commission. But despite this commitmentand his campaign sloganeering that promised a brighter day for Indigenous people in CanadaTrudeau has underdelivered.

He has failed to ratify the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), a long-standing campaign promise, and has been accused of prioritizing the needs of a moribund oil and gas sector over Indigenous land rights. Thats no longer enough for Canadians. It would be difficult, if not inopportune, for Trudeau to continue to sideline Indigenous issues. The prime minister, who built his political reputation as a centrist who can appeal to leftists and progressivesand doubtless more than a few Indigenous voters at one time or anothermust become a more ardent defender of Indigenous interests.

Solidarity with Indigenous communities is growing among voters, but its also a key platform of the New Democratic Party (NDP), whose support Trudeau desperately needs. Since Trudeaus Liberal party became a minority government in 2019, Trudeau has generally needed to work with the NDP to pass legislation, such as annual budgets. Without the NDP, hed lose the confidence of Canadas parliament and Canadians would likely head back to the polls.

Trudeau can reasonably depend on NDP support for the foreseeable future, especially through the pandemic, since its the major federal party thats most closely aligned with the Liberals. But hell likely have to cater more to NDP desires, and NDPs strong advocacy for Indigenous rights may finally push Trudeau from his middle-of-the-road approach.

The influence of the NDP on Trudeau is promising, but in order to enact change, the stumbling block Trudeau is facing isnt so much Canadas parliament, but rather the relationship between its federal and provincial governments.

One of the main reasons Trudeaus government has not made sufficient progress on Indigenous affairs is because they often throw the federal government into conflict with provincial ones over jurisdictional powerand particularly over resource management. In addition, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) is responsible for law enforcement in rural areas in seven out of ten provinces, where most Indigenous people live. The RCMP is the direct descendant of the North-West Mounted Police, which was created in 1873 to police Indigenous peoples and force them from their land.

Thereafter, Mounties were used to remove Indigenous children from their parents and place them in Canadas infamous residential schools, in a scandal thats been called a cultural genocide. More recently, the force has come under fire for its systemic inaction (and in some cases possible involvement) in the unsolved disappearances of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Indigenous women and girls. Despite its history, provincial governments continue to routinely call upon the RCMP for Indigenous policing. Throughout 2020, Trudeaus strategy has been to not cross these jurisdictional lines, even when provincial governments have instigated crises or fumbled their responses.

Trudeaus reluctance to act is at least partly due to the shadow of his father, former Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau. Because Pierre Trudeau promoted a strong central government, in some parts of the country, the Trudeau name is synonymous with federal overreach. And since Trudeaus election in 2015, several of the more powerful provinces have elected populist premiers who have vowed to protect provincial interests against a perceived return of Trudeauism.

In practice, this has left Indigenous people caught between a rock and a hard placetheir interests are often at odds with provinces keen to develop natural resources and too politically sensitive to warrant federal government assistance much of the time. This dynamic played out amid the Wetsuweten protests, and its partly what has left negotiations there so unsatisfying.

Widespread protests began in in Wetsuweten Territory in January after the British Columbia government called on the RCMP to enforce a court injunction and dismantle a largely symbolic Indigenous barricade. Indigenous land defenders and water protectors from the WetsuwetenFirst Nation hereditary government opposed the construction of a natural gas pipeline through their unceded territory, as they had not been consulted and have legitimate concerns about potential environmental degradation.

Soon enough, photographs of heavily armed police in tactical gear pointing submachine guns at elderly protesters made the rounds. Those images, along with the detention and arrest of journalists, reminded the Canadian public of police brutality in the United Stateseven as Canadian politicians have been quick to dismiss police violence and systemic racism as an American problem.

Indigenous communities across Canada responded with solidarity protests targeting key pieces of infrastructurenamely railways that were deliberately built through Indigenous territories so that they wouldnt disrupt non-Indigenous communities. These actions, in turn, sparked non-Indigenous solidarity protests in major cities across the country.

The Wetsuweten crisis exposed the public, perhaps for the first time, to the interconnectedness of several long-standing problems in Canada, such as excessive force used by police against Indigenous people; the governments failure to consult with Indigenous communities over energy projects that are potentially harmful to the environmental sanctity of both their territory and the planet; and the expansion of natural gas and oil pipelines despite global warming and Trudeaus commitments to reaching Paris Accord carbon-reduction targets of net-zero emissions by 2050.

As the blockades and street protests gained steamand were accused of affecting the economyTrudeau was forced to intervene. Conservative politicians and pundits blamed the demonstrations for shuttering two major energy projects, although proof of these claims was less than compelling. Regardless, the national perception of political and economic instability was sufficient enough to merit direct federal intervention.

For now, the issue has been patched over: Though the pipeline remains controversialand its construction is still opposed by Wetsuweten hereditary chiefsafter three days of negotiations in May between the chiefs, the provincial authorities, and the federal government, the Canadian government recognized land-title rights that set clear protocols to a court decision reached 23 years ago. Though hereditary chiefs and Indigenous councils are now recognized as parties who need to be consultedwhich may avoid issues of Indigenous consent in the futurethe decision is not retroactive to ongoing projects such as the Coastal GasLink pipeline project at the center of the dispute.

So while the negotiations were productive, the central tension in Wetsuweten remains: The hereditary chiefs are still opposed to the pipeline, while the British Columbia government is committed to seeing it completed. And while both the pandemic and successful negotiations in March and April curtailed the protest movement, work on the pipeline slowed but never came to a full halt. Protests recommenced in mid-October at the drill site as pipeline developer TC Energy resumed construction.

This years unrest is a far cry from the Indigenous protests of the 1990s, nearly all of which involved violentand occasionally fatalclashes instigated by the police. The Kanienkeh:ka (Mohawk) resistance outside Montreal in July 1990, for instance, began with a botched Quebec provincial police raid over Mohawk protests about the planned expansion of a golf course into their territory, and continued throughout the summer with blocked bridges and anti-Indigenous counterprotests. A police officer was likely killed by friendly fire in the initial raid, and an elderly Indigenous man was struck and killed by a brick during an evacuation. The 78-day-long standoff culminated in the Canadian armys occupation of Indigenous territory.

What sets this year apart is both the relative restraint of the police and provincial governments, and how widespread the protests have been. Its clear that its no longer politically tenable for provincial governments and their police forces to take a tough law and order approach to Indigenous concerns. Now, more Canadians are refusing to ignore the abuse suffered by generations of Indigenous people for more than four centuries at the hands of French and British colonial officials, and then Canadas federal, provincial, and territorial governmentsas well as police forces and religious organizations.

Whether Trudeaus election-season commitmentsincluding implementing UNDRIP, bringing safe drinking water to all Indigenous reserves, and reducing the number of Indigenous children in foster carewere sincere or merely more lip service may not to matter anymore: Protests, blockades, and other forms of direct action secured negotiations with the government. And, because of the protests this year, Canadas non-Indigenous population may be slightly more aware of the systematic racism Indigenous communities face and have started to support them in their demands for change.

That Indigenous people in Canada can appeal toand possibly count onnon-Indigenous support is a hopeful sign that Canada has passed an important milestone. Now, official reconciliation efforts may not be limited to initiatives by the federal government alone. The clear racism suffered by Indigenous people in Canadasuch as the verbal and physical abuse recorded by an Atikamekw woman as she lay dying in a Quebec hospital in Septemberhas pushed even the most obstinate of Canadians to reconsider their adamant belief that racism doesnt exist in their country. In some cases, major Canadian cities are even pushing forward on their own reconciliation initiatives, such as Montreal, when provincial or federal support is lacking.

Canada is a nation built on unceded Indigenous territory. This historical truth is finally making its way into public discoursewhether thats in town hall meetings or university lectures. If Trudeau wishes to leave his mark as the prime minister who pushed the needle forward on reconciliation and raising Indigenous quality of life, he will have to accept this fully. That means preparing himselfand the country he leadsto acknowledge that many of the nations future power brokers wont be found in the skyscrapers of Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, or Calgary, but in remote corners of the worlds second largest country.

Many will be women, some will be elders, and most likely wont be too interested in building pipelines or logging old-growth forests. Indigenous people in Canada have always been the rightful stewards of the land. If Trudeau is serious about his commitment to reform a post-pandemic Canada into a greener, cleaner, and more equitable and just version of its former self, hell need to recognize that the balance of power is beginning to shift towards those who have been denied it for so long.

The rest is here:

2020 Was the Year of Indigenous Activism in Canada - Foreign Policy

Green MSP quits party with claims of tension over trans rights – Belfast Telegraph

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One of the Scottish Greens most prominent MSPs has resigned from the party, citing tension around transgender rights.

ndy Wightman announced on Friday that he is leaving the party after more than 10 years as he claimed there is intolerant dialogue within it on questions of sex and gender.

The party, whose Holyrood group has now decreased to five MSPs, said it is deeply disappointed by Mr Wightmans resignation.

Put simply, I cannot operate in this kind of environmentAndy Wightman

In a letter to the partys co-leaders Lorna Slater and Patrick Harvie, Mr Wightman said he will continue to support Green politics despite leaving the party.

The Lothians MSP said he feared expulsion from the party due to his support of an amendment to a Bill passed at Holyrood last week.

The Greens and the Liberal Democrats opposed an amendment from MSP Johann Lamont to the Forensic Medical Services Bill.

The amendment sought to allow victims of sex crimes to be able to choose the sex, rather than the gender, of the person who examines them afterwards.

Mr Wightman said he had been minded to support the move but faced strong opposition from within his party.

In his letter, he wrote: For some time now, since I was admonished for attending a public meeting at Edinburgh University in June 2019, I have been saddened by the intolerance shown by some party members to an open and mature dialogue about the tensions and conflicts around questions of sex and gender in the context of transgender rights and womens rights.

He went on to say he had been threatened with possible suspension, deselection or expulsion if he voted in favour of Ms Lamonts amendment.

He continued: I understand that the Scottish Green Party has a strong commitment to equalities and trans rights.

However, some of the language, approaches and postures of the party and its spokespeople have been provocative, alienating and confrontational for many women and men.

It has become evident to me that the sort of open-minded public engagement I would like to see take place on this topic is incompatible with a party that has become very censorious of any deviation from an agreed line.

Put simply, I cannot operate in this kind of environment and Thursdays vote and the discussions that took place around it were the final confirmation of that.

Mr Wightman said he will continue to work constructively with Green MSPs ahead of next years Holyrood election.

Close

The resignation of Andy Wightman, centre, reduces the Scottish Greens Holyrood group to five (Andrew Milligan/PA)

PA

Responding to his resignation, a spokesman for the party said: The Scottish Greens are focused on building a greener and fairer Scotland that tackles the climate emergency, so Andy Wightmans decision not to be part of our movement anymore is a matter of deep disappointment.

Land reform, empowering local democracy and community empowerment are core Green issues, and Andys contribution has been very important, but the Greens remain committed to carrying on this agenda without him.

The Scottish Greens wish Andy well in whatever he decides to do next.

PA

Originally posted here:

Green MSP quits party with claims of tension over trans rights - Belfast Telegraph

Market News: Marine Valve Remote Control System Market Size, Latest Trends, Growth and Share 2020 to 2025 – Farming Sector

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Market News: Marine Valve Remote Control System Market Size, Latest Trends, Growth and Share 2020 to 2025 - Farming Sector

These reads could be gifts that keep on giving – The Philadelphia Tribune

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The holidays this year are going to be, well, unique.

Some family members wont be there. Others are coming, regardless of whatevers going on in the country. Still others are sending their regards and a box of presents, which is something you might do, too. And heres the good news: books are easy to wrap, easy to box, and easy to ship. Why not try one of these great books for that person who cant make it to your table this holiday season? This is the first of two parts of gift recommendations. Sundays Leisure section will include biography/memoir, self-help, business and books for younger readers.

Fiction

Does anybody need another book about a natural disaster? Ha, of course they do! So thats why you should look for The 2084 Report: An Oral History of the Great Warming: A Novel by James Lawrence Powell. Yes, its set in the future. You can hope so, anyhow ...

If your giftee would love a good, multilayered novel about family and best-forgotten memories, then look for Hieroglyphics by Jill McCorkle. When Lil and Frank move back to Franks childhood hometown, the past moves in with them. Wrap it up with True Story: A Novel by Kate Reed Petty, the story of childhood trauma and the chance for those who lived it to recover from it.

For the giftee whos about to pack up and move across the country, The Exiles by Christina Baker Kline might be a good choice for a gift. Its a novel about three women who are exiled to Australia more than a century ago when exile was punishment. Fans of Orphan Train, listen up. Wrap it up with this: Flyaway by Kathleen Jennings, a dark twisted tale of vanishings and family horror in Australia.

Surely, theres someone on your gift list whos wished at some point this year that they could be cloned. Wrap up The Mirror Man by Jane Gilmartin with a careful what you wish for note. Wrap it up with The Operator by Gretchen Berg, the story of a woman who wishes shed never overheard what she did.

For the giftee who loves to be surprised, wrap up The Book of Hidden Wonders by Polly Crosby. Its the story of a girl whose father entertained her with a story in which shes a character, and it becomes a big bestseller. Good for her, right? Or not so much. Wrap it up with The Falling Woman by Richard Farrell, a book about a woman who supposedly died in a plane crash only she didnt, but she wants to stay dead.

The person on your list who loves a good family drama will want The Lost Orphan by Stacey Halls under the tree this year. Its the story of two women and one little girl, and a secret that wont be able to be kept for long. Pair it with The End of the Day by Bill Clegg, a novel of friendship, relationships, and the resolution of long-buried secrets.

No doubt, theres a historical fiction fan on your list, so theres no doubt that youll want to wrap up Bonnie: A Novel by Christina Schwarz. Yep, its a fictionalized tale of Bonnie Parker, and how she became one of the early 20th-centurys most iconic outlaws. Wrap it up with The Big Finish by Brooke Fossey, a novel about two outlaws that youd never put together and their great escape.

MysteryThrillerCrime

The giftee who loves a good historical mystery will relish The Streel: A Deadwood Mystery by Mary Logue. Set in Deadwood, South Dakota, this story sees a teenage Irish immigrant whose brother is involved in a kerfuffle and shes got to clear his name. The problem? He has a golf claim and it aint no small thing. Historical mystery lovers will also love The Day Lincoln Lost by Charles Rosenberg, a thriller-type novel that asks What if...?

If theres someone on your list who likes smart crime-solvers, youll be glad you wrapped up The Revelators by Ace Atkins. This novel features one of Atkins best-loved sheriffs, Quinn Colson and a crime syndicate thats threatening everything he holds dear.

General nonfiction

Give your historian something a bit different this year by wrapping up Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio by Derf Backderf. Written entirely in graphic-novel style, its a look the event that changed America more than 50 years ago. Wrap it up with The Hardhat Riot by David Paul Kuhn, a book about a little-remembered event that happened four days after the Kent State shootings.

What do you get for the person who loves reading about boats and submarines? You wrap up Under Pressure: Living Life and Avoiding Death on a Nuclear Submarine by Richard Humphreys, thats what. When the author was just 18, he joined the Royal Navy and served underwater. What more can an adventure-lover want to read about? Cant go wrong when you pair it with Whatever It Took by Henry Langrehr and Jim DeFelice. Its the story of an American paratrooper at the end of World War II.

The new or about-to-be parent on your gift list will love having Calm the Hck Down by Melanie Dole. Its filled with common-sense parenting that will help your giftee take a big and much-needed breath. Wrap it up with How Babies Sleep by Sofia Axelrod, PhD. And wish them a nighty-night.

For the parent of older kids, wrap up What Girls Need by Marisa Porges, PhD, a book about raising strong, resilient future women; and And Then They Stopped Talking to Me by Judith Warner, a book about surviving middle school and the mean kids there.

Its been an unusual year. So show your giftee that its possible to buck up and survive by wrapping Why Fish Dont Exist by Lulu Miller. Its the story of an early 20th-century scientist and the day he watched his lifes work as it literally shattered. What he did was astounding, and a great lesson for 2020. Wrap it up with another book on whats underwater: Monsters of the Deep by Nick Redfern. This book is more cryptozoology than biography, but for fishing fans, thats fine.

Heres a fun read: Sealand by Dylan Taylor-Lehman is the story of a micronation called Sealand, which is just off the British coast, and the Royal Family that rules it. With a little of everything in this book history, pirates, battles, kings and even an attempted coup your historian and the travel fan will love it. Pair it up with We Have Been Harmonized: Life in Chinas Surveillance State by Kai Strittmatter. This book is a little more serious, and adds a nice balance.

The reader who loves quick essays will want to unwrap This Is Major by Shayla Lawson. Its a funny-serious look at race from a Black woman who shares her thoughts on work, celebrity, names, Black Girl Magic and more. Pair it with Why Didnt We Riot? by Issac J. Bailey, a book about being Black in America today.

Heres an idea from dad to son or the other way around: A Better Man by Michael Ian Black takes a look at masculinity and what it means to be a man in the 21st century. Wrap it up for your son or son-to-be, wholl get there someday. Wrap it up for Dad, to thank him for the guidance, paired with The Toughest Kid We Knew by Frank Bergon, a story of the New West, California, and life in small towns and ranches of todays West.

Armchair scientists will be happy to see The Handy Physics Answer Book, Third Edition by Charles Liu, Ph.D. beneath the tree. This Q-and-A format is easy to read, easy to browse, and fun to use. Wrap it up with another science-y book: The Human Cosmos: Civilization and the Stars by Jo Marchant, a book about how looking at the night sky makes us human.

For the giftee who is also a conservationist or activist, Mill Town by Kerri Arsenault will be perfect beneath the tree. Its a story of a town in Maine, the local industry that may or may not be hurting the locals, and life near the mill. Consider adding these titles to your gift: Barnstorming Ohio: to Understand America by David Giffels and Perilous Bounty: The Looming Collapse of American Farming and How We Can Prevent It by Tom Philpott for a total understanding of our country now. And since this subject runs deep this year, so you might also want to look for Death in Mud Lick by Eric Eyre, a look at the opioid epidemic, set in coal country.

Do you have a person on your list who has a serious case of wanderlust? Then wrap up Spirits of San Francisco: Voyages Through the Unknown City by Gary Kamiya, drawings by Paul Madonna. Its an easy-to-browse book of things to look for when youre looking for somewhere different to visit. Pair it with The Change: My Great American, Postindustrial, Midlife Crisis Tour by Lori Soderlind, the story of one woman, one elderly dog, and a road trip to remember.

The DIY woman on your gift list (and the one who craves self-sufficiency) will love having Girls Garage by Emily Pilloton. Its a super-helpful book about using tools, fixing things, understanding do-it-herself language, tackling projects, and getting it done. Bonus: its great for women ages 16 to 96. Wrap it up with A Lab of Ones Own by Rita Colwell, PhD and Sharon Bertsch McGrayne, a book about women in science and how inequality and sexism has hurt the industry, and what women can do about it today.

If theres a traveler physically or of the armchair sort The Women I Think About at Night: Traveling the Paths of My Heroes by Mia Kankimaki is what youll want to give this year. Its a story of ten historical female pioneers, and the authors journey from continent to continent to get to know them. Pair it with Olive the Lionheart by Brad Ricca. Its the story of Olive MacLeod, who went to Africa by herself more than a century ago, in search of her fianc, whod gone missing.

Is there a scientist in your family who also loves to be in the kitchen? Youre in luck, then: wrapping up Science and Cooking by Michael Brenner, Pia Sorensen, and David Weitz is a no-brainer gift to give. It includes recipes. How can you go wrong? Wrap it up with The Rise: Black Cooks and the Soul of American Food by Marcus Samuelsson with Osayi Endolyn, Yewande Komolafe and Tamie Cook, photos by Angie Mosier. Its a look at Black cooks, heritage, and soul food. Be sure to volunteer to be the taste-tester.

For the giftee who is addicted to TV, Sunny Days by David Kamp is just right. Its a look back at childrens TV in the 1970s, but not of the cartoon-types; think Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers. Nostalgia + TV = a great gift.

Theres someone on your list who loves gardening, and will love to see The Language of Butterflies by Wendy Williams under the tree. Its the story of butterflies, why we love them, what scientists are learning about them, and how the world would be the lesser without them. Pair it with Naturalist by Edward O. Wilson, adapted by Jim Ottaviani & C.M. Butzer, a graphic-novel-type biography about Wilson, who is a science-expert on ants and bugs.

The giftee who looks toward the future, always, will love to unwrap A Womans Influence by Sheri Gaskins and Tony A. Gaskins Jr. Its a book for women who want to take better control at work, at home, and in their relationships. Wrap it up with Ready for Anything by Kathi Lipp, a book about resilience amid crises of any size.

Is your political animal a little sorry to see the election over? Then wrap up Fight House by Tevi Troy, a book about the back-stabbing, fang-baring tumultuousness and rivalries inside the White House in the last century or so. Pair it with another great history book: Union: The Struggle to Forge the Story of United States Nationhood by Colin Woodard.

For the writer on your gift list, you want to choose right ... so choose Mastering the Process: From Idea to Novel by Elizabeth George. You may know George as a novelist and if you do, you know the advice in this book is solid.

Wanna see your scientist smile? Here: wrap up The Next Great Migration by Sonia Shah. Its a sweeping, vast look at us: where weve been, where we went, when we left, and how we got to where we are. For your armchair biologist, this is a no-brainer. Pair it with The Sum of the People by Andrew Whitby, a book about why countries take a census and how its shaped the world.

And if youve got a science-minded someone youre looking to gift, look for Exploring the Elements: A Complete Guide to the Periodic Table by Isabel Thomas, pictures by Sara Gillingham. Its seriously lighthearted and makes this branch of science easy and fun to understand. Wrap it with Can People Just Burst into Flames? by Larry Scheckel, a great book of science trivia, questions and answers for any scientist (or anyone whos curious), ages 12 and up.

Sports

If youve got a biker on your gift list this year, Revolutions: How Women Changed the World on Two Wheels by Hannah Ross is the book to give. Its a history of bicycling mixed with feminist history. Wrap it inside a new helmet for a great gift, and add Mobile Home by Megan Harlan, a book about travel and the things we call home.

For the lover of sports, sort of, Loving Sports When They Dont Love You Back by Jessica Luther and Kavitha A. Davidson is the right book to wrap up. It explores and discusses all the sports-related things that make your giftee take pause: loving teams that lose, racist mascots, paying for that new stadium, owners who are unethical ...

Read the rest here:

These reads could be gifts that keep on giving - The Philadelphia Tribune

Genetic mutation increases one’s susceptibility to mesothelioma – UH System Current News

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Postdoctoral research fellow and collaborator Angela Bononi in Carbones lab.

New research has found that individuals born with inherited mutations of the BLM gene are more susceptible to developing mesothelioma, especially upon exposure to asbestos. The study was conducted by University of Hawaii Cancer Center researcher Michele Carbone and collaborators, and was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Individuals who inherit two mutated copies of the BLM gene are affected by the rare Bloom Syndrome, characterized by short stature, a red rash over the nose and cheeks, mild immune deficiency and an increased susceptibility to develop various cancers. However, approximately one in every 900 individuals is born with only one inherited mutation of the BLM gene. The cells of these individuals produce only half of the normal amount of BLM protein, which was suspected, and has now been proven, to increase their risk of developing cancer.

Carbones previous discovery of the BAP1 mutation, which signifies an increased susceptibility to cancer, led to the investigation of other genetic mutations with similar functionsincluding those of the BLM gene. This resulted in the establishment of a specific clinical trial at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland, that addresses the potential future healthcare needs of carriers of germline mutations, who have a high risk of developing mesothelioma. In this trial, individuals born with genetic mutations are followed for prevention, early detection and personalized therapy when they develop cancer.

To further this research, the National Institutes of Health has awarded Carbone a grant to study a population in northern Nevada, a population at risk of exposure to asbestos and to other harmful mineral fibers and carcinogens present in the natural environment.

The project is in collaboration with Haining Yang of the UH Cancer Center, and Joe Grzymski of the Desert Research Institute. The studys goal is to identify carriers of genetic mutations who may be more susceptible to developing cancer when exposed to these carcinogens. The investigators have already found that 80 out of the 28,553 northern Nevada residents have inherited these BLM mutations, and should benefit greatly from prevention and early detection approaches.

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Genetic mutation increases one's susceptibility to mesothelioma - UH System Current News

Making Cents of Mesothelioma – Curetoday.com

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Finances can become the deciding factor in which treatment a patient with cancer chooses to receive, where they receive it and if they can keep on that treatment regimen for an extended period of time.

Its crucial for all patients to find the right treatment team and that may mean traveling further from home for days or even weeks. For patients with mesothelioma, being treated at a large academic cancer center is key since this disease is rarer than other cancer types.

Certain organizations across the country have financial assistance programs to help. For instance, CancerCare, the leading national organization providing free, professional support services and information to those affected by cancer, has a new program that exclusively offers assistance to patients with mesothelioma.

Once a patient is interviewed by phone and completes a financial application, they are eligible to receive a portion of grant money from the Mesothelioma Transportation Assistance Program that can be used for services such as air travel to a treatment facility, lodging and airfare.

Francine Shuman is thankful she qualified for this help as she has to travel from Augusta, Georgia, to Atlanta, to receive treatment at Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, which requires driving two hours one way from her home to the cancer center, as well as staying overnight a few days in a hotel. Ive got bills to pay. I cant afford it, she says.

Shuman received a peritoneal mesothelioma diagnosis in February 2020 and after undergoing chemotherapy, she recently had surgery to remove the cancer that develops in the lining of the abdomen. She believes her cancer was caused by years of inhaling talcum powder that she used on her three daughters as babies. Talc is a mineral that can absorb moisture and because its found in close proximity to asbestos a known carcinogen in the earth, there is concern that talc can become contaminated.

After calling several organizations, Shuman finally connected with CancerCare and through the program, Shuman received a $1,000 grant for expenses. I was told I would get the loan and I wouldnt have to pay it back. And I just thanked the Lord because I didnt know how I was going to get back and forth, she says.

To initiate the process for the Mesothelioma Transportation Assistance Program, the person who received the diagnosis or a caregiver can call CancerCares HOPEline at 1-800-813-4673 or email Charlotte Ference, a social worker, at cference@cancercare.org.

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Study Confirms Benefits of Extended Pleurectomy Decortication for Patients with Mesothelioma – Mesothelioma.net Blog

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Published on December 16, 2020

Though malignant pleural mesothelioma remains one of the most challenging types of cancer to treat, physicians continue to refine surgical approaches and improve patient outcomes. A recently conducted retrospective study has confirmed the benefits of extended pleurectomy decortication as a surgical approach in the treatment of the rare, asbestos-related disease, indicating that patients who opt for this approach have a low risk of postoperative mortality. The study confirms that the surgery leads to prolonged overall survival when successful removal of all cancerous tissue is achieved.

The study was published in theAnnals of Surgeryand was a retrospective chart review of the records of 355 consecutive patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma. The patients had all been treated at a single facility between 2007 and 2015. All underwent thoracotomy for planned pleurectomy decortication and were evaluated for both short and long-term outcomes, as well as associated prognostic factors.

Pleurectomy decortication is a lung-sparing surgery that removes the pleura and visible tumor masses, while the extended version of the surgery also removes the pericardium and part of the diaphragm. Both procedures are considered less invasive than extrapleural pneumonectomy, a mesothelioma surgery that removes all of these organs as well as the lung. In all cases the surgery is recommended to be used in combination with systemic approaches to address metastatic disease and optimize outcomes.

The results of the study were encouraging for mesothelioma patients opting for the lung-sparing surgery. Most patients experienced only low-grade complications, with a thirty-day mortality of 3% and a 90-day mortality of 4.6%. The most striking difference in overall survival existed between those for whom the surgery successfully removed all malignant tissue, with a median overall survival of 23.2 months, while for those whose surgery did not remove all malignancies the overall median survival was just 11.6 months. Other factors shown to negatively impact survival were male vs female and higher tumor stage, while use of chemotherapy, intraoperative heated chemotherapy and epithelioid histology were shown to positively impact survival.

If you have been diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma and need more information on treatment options and other resources, the Patient Advocates at Mesothelioma.net can help. Contact us today at 1-800-692-8608.

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Immunotherapy Finds a Role in Frontline Small Cell Lung Cancer and Mesothelioma – OncLive

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Checkpoint inhibitors have failed to improve progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) as second-line therapy and maintenance therapy in small cell lung cancer (SCLC), but this class of agents continue to show encouraging activity worthy of a paradigm shift up front.

The frontline role with immunotherapy has extended to patients with mesothelioma, as well.

SCLC and mesothelioma have been difficult cancers to treat, and immunotherapy has not made an impact until very recently, where, in the first-line setting, we have improved outcomes and new standards of care for the treatment of SCLC and mesothelioma, said Naiyer A. Rizvi, MD, Price Family Professor of Medicine, director of Thoracic Oncology, and co-director of Cancer Immunotherapy at Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbia University Medical Center, said in a presentation during the 5thAnnualInternational Congress on Immunotherapies in Cancer.

The first robust trial that demonstrated the potential for immunotherapy up front was the phase 3 IMpower133 trial. In the trial, patients with extensive-stage SCLC were randomized 1:1 to 1200 mg of intravenous atezolizumab (Tecentriq) plus carboplatin or etoposide for four 21-day cycles, or placebo plus carboplatin or etoposide followed by maintenance atezolizumab and placebo, respectively.

At a median follow-up of 13.9 months, the median PFS was 5.2 months in the atezolizumab arm vs 4.3 months in the placebo arm (HR, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.62-0.96; P = .017).1 The 6-month PFS rate was 30.9% in the atezolizumab arm vs 22.4% in the placebo arm. The 12-month PFS rates were 12.6% and 5.4%, respectively.

At a median follow-up of 22.9 months, the median OS was 12.3 months with atezolizumab vs 10.3 months with placebo (HR, 0.76; 95% CI, 0.60-0.95; P = .0154).2 The 18-month OS rates were 34.0% and 21.0%, respectively. The 24-month OS rates were 22.0% and 16.8%, respectively.

The median duration of response (DOR) was 4.2 months in the atezolizumab arm vs 3.9 months in the placebo arm (HR, 0.70; 95% CI, 0.53-0.92). However, more than half of patients in the placebo arm experienced ongoing response in the atezolizumab arm at last follow-up (n = 7 vs n = 18, respectively).

In the subgroup analysis, all patients except those with brain metastases (HR, 1.07; 95% CI, 0.47-2.43) derived benefit from atezolizumab.

IMpower133 is really the first study in over 20 years to really show a meaningful improvement in OS vs standard of care in first-line SCLC. These data led to the adoption of chemotherapy plus immunotherapy as a first-line standard of care for extensive-stage SCLC, said Rizvi.

These data were recapitulated in findings from the phase 3 CASPIAN trial, said Rizvi. In the trial, patients with extensive-stage SCLC were randomized 1:1:1 to 1500 mg of durvalumab (Imfinzi) plus etoposide every 3 weeks for up to 4 cycles, etoposide every 3 weeks for up to 6 cycles, or durvalumab plus 75 mg of tremelimumab plus etoposide for up to 4 cycles, followed by durvalumab, optional prophylactic irradiation, and durvalumab, respectively.

At over 2 years of follow-up, the median OS was 12.9 months in the durvalumab/etoposide arm vs 10.5 months in the etoposide arm (HR, 0.75; 95% CI, 0.62-0.91; P = .0032). The 24-month OS rates were 22.2% and 14.4% respectively.3

The median PFS was 5.1 months in the durvalumab/etoposide arm vs 5.4 months in the etoposide arm (HR, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.66-0.96). The 24-month PFS rates were 11.0% and 2.9%, respectively.

The trial was not powered to compare durvalumab plus chemotherapy vs durvalumab plus tremelimumab plus chemotherapy, but these 2 arms did perform fairly similarly, and both did perform similarly to chemotherapy alone, said Rizvi.

In an exploratory analysis, tumor mutational burden was not shown to be predictive of an improvement in OS for durvalumab plus or minus tremelimumab/etoposide vs etoposide alone, indicating that the marker should not be used to select patients for treatment.4

Despite the progress that has been made, there is room for improvement, said Rizvi, who cited the phase 3 SKYSCRAPER-02 trials as 1 study that could push the needle further.

In SKYSCRAPER-02, patients will be randomized to 1:1 to 1200 mg of atezolizumab plus chemotherapy plus 600 mg of tiragolumab every 3 weeks for 4 cycles or atezolizumab plus placebo in the same schedule, followed by atezolizumab/tiragolumab or atezolizumab/placebo, respectively.

Immunotherapy has also been subject to research in mesothelioma, explained Rizvi, who pointed to the phase 3 CheckMate 743 trial, where patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma will be randomized 1:1 to 3 mg/kg of nivolumab (Opdivo) every 2 weeks plus 1 mg/kg of ipilimumab (Yervoy) every 6 weeks or cisplatin or carboplatin plus pemetrexed for 6 cycles.

Initial results from CheckMate 743 demonstrated a median PFS of 6.8 months with chemotherapy vs 7.2 months with chemotherapy (HR, 1.00; 95% CI, 0.82-1.21). The 24-month PFS rates were 16% and 7%, respectively.5

OS data, when broken down by subtype, revealed a significant improvement with the combination vs chemotherapy in patients with non-epithelioid tumors, at 18.1 months vs 8.8 months, respectively (HR, 0.46; 95% CI, 0.31-0.68). The 24-month OS rates were 38% and 8%, respectively.

In epithelioid tumors, the median OS was 18.7 months with the combination vs 16.5 months with chemotherapy (HR, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.69-1.08). The 24-month OS rates were 42% and 33%, respectively.

These data are really meaningful, supporting immunotherapy only as first-line therapy [in mesothelioma], said Rizvi.

Additionally, although OS favored the combination vs chemotherapy, irrespective of PD-L1 expression, patients who had greater than 1% expression derived more benefit from the combination (HR, 0.69) vs those with PD-L1 expression less than 1% (HR, 0.94).

The response rates were comparable in the combination and chemotherapy-alone arm, at 40% and 43%, respectively. The median DOR was 11.0 months and 6.7 months, respectively. At 2 years, 32% of patients in the combination arm were still in response vs 8% in the chemotherapy-alone arm.

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Immunotherapy Finds a Role in Frontline Small Cell Lung Cancer and Mesothelioma - OncLive

Researcher Delivers Promising News on Immunotherapy Role in Mesothelioma – Mesothelioma.net Blog

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Published on December 15, 2020

Immunotherapy represents real hope in the fight against malignant mesothelioma, as well as in other types of cancer. A presentation delivered at the 5thAnnual International Congress on Immunotherapies in Cancer reinforced the sense of optimism, as a top researcher indicated improvements in the results being seen.

Though much of the focus on the use of immunotherapy in malignant mesothelioma has been on its application as a second-line or maintenance therapy after initial treatment with chemotherapy, the latest research is pointing to its role as a frontline protocol. According to Naiyer A. Rizvi, MD, Price Family Professor of Medicine, director of Thoracic Oncology, and co-director of Cancer Immunotherapy at Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbia University Medical Center, immunotherapy agents are increasingly yielding better results as an initial application.

SCLC and mesothelioma have been difficult cancers to treat, and immunotherapy has not made an impact until very recently, where, in the first-line setting, we have improved outcomes and new standards of care for the treatment of SCLC and mesothelioma, he told a gathering of researchers.

Dr. Rizvi detailed the use of immunotherapy in the phase 3 CheckMate 743 trial, where patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma are being randomized between doses of Opdivo and Yervoy or the more traditional cisplatin or carboplatin plus pemetrexed treatment. He explained that thus far, the progression free survival rates and the overall survival rates both demonstrate significant improvement with the immunotherapy combination when used in patients with non-epithelioid tumors, and less dramatic results in those with epithelioid tumors. These data are really meaningful, supporting immunotherapy only as first-line therapy [in mesothelioma], said Rizvi.

As researchers continue exploring innovative treatments for malignant mesothelioma, having access to up-to-date information becomes more important than ever. For access to the resources you need, contact the Patient Advocates at Mesothelioma.net today at 1-800-692-8608.

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Researcher Delivers Promising News on Immunotherapy Role in Mesothelioma - Mesothelioma.net Blog

Kiromic Announces Submission of Two IND Applications for PD1 Gamma-delta CAR – T cell Therapy with the FDA – BioSpace

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Dec. 17, 2020 17:45 UTC

HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Kiromic BioPharma (the Company) (NASDAQ: KRBP), a target discovery and gene-editing company utilizing artificial intelligence and its proprietary neural network platform with a therapeutic focus on immuno-oncology, announced today the submission of two investigational new drug (IND) applications with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the initiation of:

--- Phase 1 clinical trial of an intravenously (IV) administered allogenic CAR-T for epithelial ovarian carcinoma (EOC) and malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) and

--- Phase 1 clinical trial of an intrapleural/intraperitoneal (IP) administered allogenic CAR-T for EOC and MPM.

Kiromics proprietary PD1 Gamma-delta CAR (PD1-GDT CAR) T cell therapy is a novel method for off-the-shelf allogeneic CAR T cells derived from healthy donors. We believe our proprietary gamma-delta T cell manufacturing and distribution will offer significant advantages over competitive manufacturing technologies.

The initial dose escalation component of each CAR-T trial is projected to enroll approximately 12 patients over 4 months at two sites.

The first in-human dosing is targeted for 1Q-2021.

"It's an exciting time to see our technology go into the clinic. This is the culmination of +25 years of research and development which has spanned the globe with international contributions and scientific collaborations from the sharpest minds of our time. Our gamma-delta T-cells are designed to offer clinicians a treatment option with:

-- higher efficacy,

-- higher safety (reducing graft vs. host risks), and

-- lower manufacturing and distribution costs vs. cellular therapy technologies of the past," says Dr. Maurizio Chiriva-Internati, PhD, CEO of Kiromic.

"This first in-human off-the-shelf allogenic gamma-delta chPD1 CAR-T cell therapy trial will mark a major milestone, not only for Kiromic, but also for clinicians who have been frustrated with the lack of CAR T cell treatment options for solid malignancies, since current CAR T cell therapies are only approved for hematologic malignancies, with all of the drawbacks of autologous based platforms, commented Dr. Scott Dahlbeck, MD, Chief Medical Officer of Kiromic.

"The cGMP suite consists of 5 clean rooms which will be used to manufacture the Companys off-the-shelf allogeneic therapies during clinical trials. The Company is fully ready for this IND filing and has the clinical manufacturing capability to supply its clinical trials," commented Mr. Tony Tontat, CFO, COO of Kiromic.

"Kiromics proprietary PD1 Gamma-delta CAR (PD1-GDT CAR) T cell therapy is a novel method for off-the-shelf allogeneic CART T Cells derived from healthy donors. As we continue to grow our targets and our clinical programs, our IP portfolio is continually being fortified in all major geographies, and we look forward to updating our investors in upcoming presentations and filings," commented Mr. Gianluca Rotino, Chief of Strategy and Innovations of Kiromic.

About Epithelial Ovarian Carcinoma

Ovarian tumors grow rapidly and metastasize early with a very aggressive disease course, either through direct extension from the ovarian/fallopian tumor to neighboring organs (bladder/colon), or by detaching from the primary tumor, and then spreading and adhering to intraperitoneal organs.

Epithelial ovarian carcinoma represents the vast majority of ovarian cancers and the most common histologic subtype is high grade serous epithelial ovarian carcinoma. Unlike most other cancers, ovarian carcinoma rarely disseminates through the vasculature, although pelvic and/or para-aortic lymph nodes can be involved. When ovarian cancer spreads to the mesothelium of the organs within the peritoneal cavity, it can result in encasement of these organs with significant pain and eventual obstruction of the stomach, large, and small intestines.

Despite advances in surgical techniques and intensive combination chemotherapy approaches, the survival rate substantially decreases after ovarian cancer has metastasized to pelvic organs (such as the uterus, fallopian tubes, bladder, and rectum), metastasized across the pelvic cavity to the abdominal organs and tissue (such as the omentum, small intestine, and retroperitoneal lymph nodes), or metastasized beyond the peritoneal cavity to distant parenchymal organs such as the liver and lung.

The ovarian cancer tumor microenvironment (TME) within the peritoneal cavity is a key element in the support of ovarian cancer growth, and only by addressing the TME, along with the ovarian cancer tumor cell itself, will significant advances be achieved.

Since ovarian cancer 5 year survival statistics have improved only slightly over the last few decades, innovative approaches such as Kiromics administration of a PD1-GDT CAR, which is designed to address the TME of EOC, are desperately needed.

About Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma

Patients with a diagnosis of mesothelioma are generally considered to be incurable, and typically present late, with multiple signs and symptoms such as shortness of breath, chest pain, cough, hemoptysis, dysphagia, weight loss, fatigue, night sweats, and face/arm swelling which often precludes surgical options. Chemotherapy and radiation therapy are also options but are often only palliative, with or without an attempted surgical resection.

If the patient is one of the few considered to be a surgical candidate, the surgical objective will be to obtain a maximal cellular reduction (MCR), followed by chemotherapy +/- radiation therapy. Yet even with an MCR and adjuvant therapies, the vast majority of patients still experience a recurrence, most of which are local, and when the tumors do recur, second line treatments are essentially palliative.

Hence, the majority of patients suffering from this disease need innovative and novel treatment options, as most patients will ultimately die of their disease with a poor remaining quality of life due to symptoms such as severe shortness of breath and chest pain, due to hardening of the pleura associated with the inevitable disease progression. Innovative approaches such as Kiromics administration of a PD1-GDT CAR, which is designed to address the tumor microenvironment (TME) of MPM are urgently needed.

About Kiromic

Kiromic BioPharma, Inc. is a preclinical stage biopharmaceutical company which is focused on discovering, developing, and commercializing novel immune-oncology applications through its robust product pipeline. The pipeline development is leveraged through the Companys proprietary target discovery engine called "DIAMOND." Kiromic's DIAMOND is big data science meeting target identification, dramatically compressing man-years and billions of drug development dollars to develop a live drug. The Company maintains offices in Houston, Texas.

For more information, please visit the companys website at http://www.kiromic.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. We make such forward-looking statements pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and other federal securities laws. All statements other than statements of historical facts are forward-looking statements. These statements relate to future events or to our future financial performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about:

In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as "may," "could," "will," "should," "would," "expect," "plan," "intend," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "predict," "potential," "project" or "continue" or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. These statements are only predictions. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements because they involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which are, in some cases, beyond our control and which could materially affect results. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, among other things, those listed under the heading "Risk Factors" included in our Registration Statement on Form S-1 (file no. 333-238153) , originally filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on May 11, 2020, as amended, and elsewhere in this press release. If one or more of these risks or uncertainties occur, or if our underlying assumptions prove to be incorrect, actual events or results may vary significantly from those implied or projected by the forward-looking statements. No forward-looking statement is a guarantee of future performance.

The forward-looking statements made in this press release relate only to events or information as of the date on which the statements are made in this press release. Except as expressly required by the federal securities laws, there is no undertaking to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, changed circumstances or any other reason. You are advised, however, to review any further disclosures we make on related subjects in our Forms 10-Q, 8-K and other reports filed with the SEC.

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Kiromic Announces Submission of Two IND Applications for PD1 Gamma-delta CAR - T cell Therapy with the FDA - BioSpace