Monthly Archives: May 2021

France said on Tuesday that there had been some progress in negotiations related to Iran's compliance on nuclear issues, but warned that there remained a lot still to do within a short time frame if efforts to revive a 2015 accord were to succeed.

Talks resumed in Vienna on May 7 with the remaining parties to the deal - Iran, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany - meeting in the basement of a luxury hotel, and the United States based in another hotel across the street.

Iran has refused to hold direct meetings with the United States on how to resume compliance with the deal, which former President Donald Trump abandoned in 2018, prompting Iran to begin violating its terms about a year later.

"The discussions that resumed on May 7 in Vienna have led to some initial progress on the nuclear issue," France's Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Agnes von der Muhll told reporters without elaborating.

"Nevertheless, major disagreements remain on some key points that must be ironed out in order to reach an agreement providing for the return of Iran and the United States and their full implementation of the JCPoA. There is still a lot to do, within very tight deadlines."

The crux of the agreement was that Iran committed to rein in its nuclear programme to make it harder to obtain the fissile material for a nuclear weapon in return for relief from U.S., EU and U.N. sanctions.

Officials have said they hope to reach a deal by May 21, when an agreement between Tehran and the U.N. nuclear watchdog on continued monitoring of some Iranian nuclear activities is due to expire.

Diplomats have said they believe there had been sufficient progress in the Vienna talks that an extension of the monitoring accord between Tehran and the U.N. agency was likely even if the modalities would still need to be worked out.

"If an agreement on Irans resumption of its commitments is not reached before the expiration of the bilateral technical arrangement between Iran and the Agency, they will have to agree on its extension," Von der Muhll said.

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In Iran talks, France sees progress on nuclear aspects, but time short - Reuters

Good Morning farm country. Davis Michaelsen here with your morning update for Tuesday, May 11. From Pro Farmers First Thing Today, these are some of the stories we are watching this morning:

Corn futures are trading high-range and split, with old-crop 1 to 5 cents higher and new-crop down roughly a penny. Soybean futures have reversed early losses to trade steady to 8 cents higher, with nearbys leading. SRW and HRS wheat futures are mostly 6 to 7 cents higher, while HRW wheat is up 2 to 4 cents. The U.S. dollar index down slightly, while crude oil futures are posting modest losses.

Following are highlights from USDAs crop progress and condition update for the week ending May 9.

Brazil will likely produce just a 97 MMT corn crop in 2020-21m forecasts South American Crop Consultant Dr. Michael Cordonnier. Thats a 3-MMT dive from his projection last week. His bias is neutral to lower going forward. Cordonnier raised his Brazilian soybean crop estimate by 1 MMT to 134 MMT, citing good yields in Rio Grande do Sul.

Gas stations along the U.S. East Coast are starting to run out of fuel as North Americas biggest petroleum pipeline fights to recover from a cyberattack. The White House said it was aware of shortages in the Southeast of the country and was trying to alleviate the problem.

Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) said yesterday he had a good meeting at the White House, as lawmakers continue to negotiate Bidens economic proposals and infrastructure priorities.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York's Survey of Consumer Expectations for April found that Americans thought prices would rise 3.4% over the next year, the highest level since September 2013.

National Cattlemens Beef Association CEO Colin Woodall met with U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai on May 7 to discuss ways to resolve issues surrounding country of origin labeling and agricultures contributions to meeting the administrations sustainability and environmental goals.

Choice boxed beef prices surged $3.23 and Select was up $3.49 on Monday, though packers moved only 71 loads of product on the day. Given strength in the wholesale beef market, strong packer margins and the rebound in futures, there is hope of higher cash cattle prices this week.

The national direct cash hog price was $1.48 lower on Monday, while the pork cutout value slipped 31 cents. Weakness in the cash and product markets could encourage traders to take some profits out of the long side of hog futures.

Link:

Pro Farmer's First Thing Today: Crop Progress Report, Fuel Shortage and More - Agweb Powered by Farm Journal

Fifty years ago, the United Nations compiled a list of least developed countries (LDCs). The list is updated each year and, sadly, it hasnt changed much since 1971. Of the quarter of the worlds nations on the list, almost half of them have been on it since the beginning, with 89% on the list for 30 years or more. This deplorable fact raises the obvious question: Why have so many LDCs lagged when other formerly poor developed countries like South Korea, China, Vietnam, and Malaysia do so well during the same half-century?

Why are Haiti (the only LDC in the Western hemisphere), Niger, Burkina Faso, Chad, Guinea, Lesotho, Malawi, Nepal, and others unable to break out from the LDC list? Is there some indelible insight besides hopelessness hidden in this sad cohort? Interestingly, while the World Bank and other institutions can tell us many things about LDCs, from nutritional levels to miles of paved roads, from literacy to the average time it takes villagers to collect water from a well, they have little to say about why the light at the end of their development tunnels is so dim. Is it a lack of access to trade routes? Poor soil? Climate? Lack of natural resources? Civil strife or ethnic issues? Corruption? Why is Kenya not on the list when its southern neighbor Tanzania is? They are both large with diverse climatic zones, both have abundant coastlines, both have tourist-attracting wildlife. Even culturally and linguistically they are not that dissimilar. Why has Haitis fate been so vastly different than that of the Dominican Republics which shares the same island?

There are scores of indicators and indices to measure progress, but there is no clear consensus about what the right path to development is, even though we know some of the basic ingredients. Clearly, there need to be some basic sine qua non physical endowments (arable soil, water, a coastline, a topography that allows for movement i.e., not vast deserts and impassable mountains). Natural resources like oil can help, but not necessarily look at Venezuela and Nigeria. And it helps to have a degree of connectivity between peoples economic activities and possible markets infrastructure like roads, electricity, and communication technologies, as well as institutions like banking that enable exchange. Without these things, forward movement is unlikely. At the same time, just putting these connectivity elements in place is not enough.

All of them require maintenance and technical capacity, and that implies functioning systems, the first of which is education. There need also to be other paths through which human energy (creative, entrepreneurial) can flow freely. And stability is crucial. Civil strife, ethnic conflict, political chaos work against growth. Likewise, the lack of the rule of law, unclear property rights, and other structural matters contribute to instability, so these elements must be protected. The state or governing body must have the capacity to nourish and protect the institutions of society. We also know that policies about education, taxation, trade, labor, etc. can help move a country forward or hinder that movement.

But as to how these ingredients are acquired, helped to mature, and above all integrated into a workable whole, here we enter the murky realm of it depends. After all, if there was an effective recipe for development, there would be no LDC list. To get the cooking right a huge number of variables need to be taken into account. In every system there are informal rules and arrangements that work beneath the surface of the formal ones, hidden arrangements which can enable or disable other attributes, and which can account for unequal incomes, poor health outcomes for some, and chronic poverty. The caste system in India still exists, though officially banned. Apartheid in South Africa still exists, though officially dismembered. And, to complicate matters even more, there is the black-box-like realm of culture (peoples attitudes, beliefs, and customs), a layered mess of variables that influence how the development recipe is cooked.

As for how a country gets the dubious distinction of being on the LDC list, the UN uses multiple indicators, and other measurement systems largely corroborate the UNs ranking, such as the HDI (Human Development Index), and a relatively new alternative, the Boston Consulting Groups Sustainable Economic Development Assessment (SEDA), which combines measures of well-being and economics, taking into account governance (rule of law, corruption, property rights), infrastructure (water, sanitation, IT, etc.) and civil society (civic activism, intergroup cohesion, trust, gender equality) among many other elements.

One of the oldest (and increasingly controversial) ways of tracking progress is to look at the gross domestic product (GDP). It is telling that a few of the veteran members of the LDC list rank surprisingly high in terms of GDP growth rates (Ethiopia, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Benin, Rwanda, and Tanzania). That a poor country like Ethiopia (on the LDC list for its full fifty years), can be among the worlds fastest-growing economies, reminds us that economic growth is not the same thing as equitable development. A country can look like its improving on one dimension when it is decidedly not on many others, usually the ones that mean the most to average people.

Catching up is harder than ever

Perhaps the most important lesson (and the least damning) from the persistent stagnation of the LDCs is that besides the need to acquire and nurture many of the elements noted above, the speed with which the cooking process must take place has increased almost exponentially. What might have been enough to get one moving forward 40 years ago, is now barely enough to keep from going backward. As Thomas Friedman recently said in a New York Times op-ed, its harder to be a viable country today. Globalization and demographics have played a role in making the climb steeper and the road bumpier. Peoples expectations have risen due in part to social media and telecommunications advances. People everywhere are less patient and a steady increase in migration is one result.

To achieve that speed of convergence today, the developing countries would need to grow about 8 percentage points faster than the U.S. (or about 11 percent per year) nonstop for 40 to 50 years.

A more recent view of convergence tempers even that dismal timeline. A February paper by the Center for Global Development entitled The New Era of Unconditional Convergence, states:

Whereas Barro and Sala-i- Martinsuggested a rate of catch-up of about two percent every year within advanced economies, and Sachs and Warnerfind a similar speed of convergence across open economies, we estimate a much smaller magnitude across all countries since 2000. At this pace, the average developing country will close half the gap between its current and steady-state income in only about 170 years.

Is there, then, anything that could make a difference?

The perennial answer has been foreign aid. But with the need for speed added to the other complex requirements, it would seem foreign aid can do no more than provide a prop at best, and at worst may even prevent the poorest countries from developing, and this for two reasons. First, dependency, a killer disincentive for self-reliance, and second, the nature of the aid industry, which has for decades focused on helping to deliver a whole host of missing things like water wells, latrines, food, seeds, tools, roads, medical equipment, condoms, etc. rather than on the infinitely more complex task of figuring out how best to enable poor countries to find their own way to development.

In any case, it seems clear that conventional aid has made little more than a dent in the LDCs chronic poverty. The LDCs have been huge recipients of foreign aid (in most of them aid comprises half or more of their national budgets), yet they remain on the LDC list.

In a country like Malawi, foreign aid may be the biggest industry; scores of players from the big bilateral agencies like Americas USAID, or Britains FCDO (formerly DFID) along with NGOs like Save the Children, World Vision, and Mercy Corps have been operating there for years, teaching farmers zero-grazing, providing improved livestock, training midwives, running microfinance projects, drilling water wells, and delivering capacity building training workshops at all levels, from government on down to the smallest village. With few exceptions, even the positive results of these efforts dont last.

A different aid system, smarter, more nimble, more committed to longer and more collegial relationships, prepared to spend much more time sorting through the complexities of culture, social structure, and political economy, more oriented to teaching rather than doing, less about delivering things and more about fostering processes, would surely help. But the prospects for real change in foreign aid are slim. In most donor countries the general public is not interested in the plight of the LDCs, and with mounting crises in the advanced economies, even less so now.

And when they and their congresses, parliaments, and philanthropic sectors do manage to allocate money to development aid, everyone expects value for money which means short term measurable results (aka quick wins), which in turn lead to the kinds of ineffective projects that have plagued the LDCs for years. As Andrew Natsios, the former head of USAID has put it, those development programs that are most precisely and easily measured are the least transformational, and those programs that are most transformational are the least measurable.

Yet despite this dismal track record, both for LDCs and those who try to help them, governments, foreign policy pundits, and the leaders of the aid industry annually paint optimistic pictures of forward movement for LDCs. But the persistent presence of so many countries on the LDC list, along with the increasing difficulty in catching up, suggests that a sanguine view of LDC progress seems misplaced. Would it not be better now, on this 50th anniversary of the LDC list, to face unblinkingly the reality of their dilemma and our past failure to be of much help? The resulting humility might be the impetus needed for a radical re-thinking of what ails the LDCs and what can be done in the future.

If you're interested in writing for International Policy Digest - please send us an email via submissions@intpolicydigest.org

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Imperiled Progress: 50 Years of Stagnation for Least Developed Countries - International Policy Digest

Weve reached the point in the Oakland As ballpark project cycle where the threat of relocation gets floated, and just like everything else in this latest iteration of the teams recurring storyline, this time it feels slightly more real.

Major League Baseball has instructed the Athletics to explore other markets amid their ongoing quest for a new ballpark at Howard Terminal, per a league statement on Tuesday, first reported by Jeff Passan of ESPN.

The full statement makes clear that the league doesnt see the current Coliseum site as a viable option moving forward:

MLB is concerned with the rate of progress on the As new ballpark effort with local officials and other stakeholders in Oakland. The As have worked very hard to advance a new ballpark in downtown Oakland for the last four years, investing significant resources while facing multiple roadblocks. We know they remain deeply committed to succeeding in Oakland, and with two other sports franchises recently leaving the community, their commitment to Oakland is now more important than ever.

The Oakland Coliseum site is not a viable option for the future vision of baseball. We have instructed the Athletics to begin to explore other markets while they continue to pursue a waterfront ballpark in Oakland. The Athletics need a new ballpark to remain competitive, so it is now in our best interest to also consider other markets.

As team owner John Fisher also made a statement, per Matt Kawahara of the S.F. Chronicle:

The future success of the As depends on a new ballpark. Oakland is a great baseball town, and we will continue to pursue our waterfront ballpark project. We will also follow MLBs direction to explore other markets.

And finally, the team itself sent the following email to fans:

As Fan,

Today, Major League Baseball instructed the As to begin exploring other markets while we continue to pursue the Oakland waterfront ballpark project. This is not an easy directive for our fans to hear. We believe in the vision we have presented for a waterfront ballpark; it is a project that will create jobs, housing, open parks, and countless community benefits for Oakland residents, and it will set the stage for more World Series titles for our fans. After four years of work, MLB is concerned with the rate of progress with local officials and other stakeholders on our new ballpark efforts. The time is here for a decision on our future, and it is unclear to us and MLB whether there is a path to success for the As in Oakland.

A new ballpark is needed for the As continued success. We agree with MLBs position that the Coliseum location is not a viable option for the future of the franchise. While we remain committed to succeeding in Oakland and will continue to work toward our waterfront ballpark, we will also follow MLBs direction and immediately begin the process of exploring a new home for the As.

Please know that one of our top priorities is continuing to create the best experience possible for our fans this season and beyond. We have the best fans in baseball. Your passion for this franchise is truly unmatched, and we are deeply grateful for your continued support of our organization.

Play ball,

Dave Kaval

After multiple unsuccessful attempts at building a new stadium in the Bay Area, the As unveiled plans for a new waterfront park at Howard Terminal in Nov. 2018, with a goal of opening in 2023. Were now partway through 2021, and progress has not kept up with that timeline, between opposition obstacles, political complications, and further effects from the coronavirus pandemic.

In February, the City of Oakland released a Draft Environmental Impact Report for the project, a major step we hadnt seen in previous ballpark pursuits. But by the end of April the team was still waiting for the city council to take a vote on their proposal, and the city reacted negatively to pressure. While the stadium itself would be privately financed, the overall project would include public contribution from taxpayers.

If moving does become the next step, then Passan suggests Las Vegas as the likeliest destination, while noting that MLB has also considered cities including Portland, Vancouver, Nashville, Charlotte, and Montreal.

Analysis: Now the whole thing comes to a head. Weve seen ballpark plans before, and periodically we hear the idea of relocation floated. None of this is new in concept.

But this current project, while far from complete, has made it further than any of the past ones, and exploring relocation is usually more of a talk-show topic and has now advanced to the level of an official league directive. Could they actually leave? That depends what you think the chances are of Howard Terminal working out. If that plan falls through, then maybe the conversation actually starts about the VegAs.

An alternate headline for today could be, MLB tells Oakland City Council to take a vote already. If theyre gonna do this thing, then get on with it. If theyre not gonna play ball, and theyre willing to let their third and final pro sports franchise walk away in the span of less than a decade following the Warriors and Raiders, then get on with that. But no more sitting around thinking about it while the 55-year-old Coliseum continues to fall apart, and no more blue-ribbon committees.

Meanwhile, the first-place As open a series in Fenway Park tonight against the Boston Red Sox, if anyone is interested.

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MLB instructs Oakland As to explore relocation options amid slow progress on Howard Terminal ballpark - Athletics Nation

Touting mobile clinics, incentives like free sports tickets and fishing licenses, and other efforts to reach people not yet vaccinated against COVID-19, a handful of governors who joined President Biden for a livestreamed call on Tuesday stressed the need to continually adapt vaccination strategies and to seek people out where they are.

Gov. Charlie Baker was among the participants.

"I guess I would say that I think the transportation issue is a big deal and the decision to include folks like Lyft and Uber in this can make a big difference," Baker said, joining the call from Polar Park ahead of an afternoon event marking the Worcester Red Sox home opener.

After Baker wrapped up his remarks, Biden told him, "You're doing a hell of a job."

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, a Republican, said states need to be flexible as they shift their approaches from serving the "vaccine ecstatic" who got their shots early to the "vaccine busy" and "vaccine curious."

In Maine, where reaching rural communities presents a challenge, Democrat Gov. Janet Mills said people who get a first shot between now and Memorial Day can receive vouchers for gift cards to L.L. Bean, Portland Sea Dogs tickets or free fishing or hunting licenses.

"We're calling this Your Shot to Get Outdoors," Mills said. "It's corny, I know, but we know that people in Maine have found refuge and relief in Mother Nature throughout the pandemic."

During the call, Biden officially announced that Lyft and Uber will provide free rides to and from vaccine sites from May 24 through July 4 and that the Federal Emergency Management Agency will provide additional supports for states' on-the-ground vaccine promotion efforts.

Governors Mike DeWine of Ohio, Tim Walz of Minnesota, Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico also took part in the call.

Massachusetts, Hawaii and Vermont are the only three states in the country where over 70% of adults have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine.

"It's basically to talk about how to reach and deliver vaccines to either folks that are part of what we would call the hesitant community, or folks who are part of communities that are just hard to reach and need more help to get vaccinated," Baker said Monday afternoon, after touring the Manet Community Health Center vaccination site in Quincy, where they have vaccinated 26,000 people.

The initial rollout of the vaccine in Massachusetts was plagued with problems, from the lack of call center to field questions and help book appointments, to a website that couldn't handle the traffic from eager residents.

More recently, however, the state has featured at or near the top of all states with more than 5 million people in a variety of vaccine distribution metrics.

On Saturday, the White House's top COVID-19 advisor Andy Slavitt gave kudos to Massachusetts, Hawaii and Vermont for becoming the first three states with more than 70% of adult residents at least half-vaccinated.

Like Baker, Vermont Gov. Phil Scott is a Republican, while Hawaii is governed by a Democrat Gov. David Ige. Massachusetts has vaccinated 73% of its adult population and 60% of all residents with at least one dose.

With the state on track to reach its goal of 4.1 million people fully vaccinated by early June, Baker visited Quincy on Monday to highlight the role community health centers will play in reaching the remaining quarter of adults. Cynthia Sierra, the CEO of Manet, said the health center is experimenting with walk-ins, extended hours and mobile and pop-up clinics at basketball courts, high schools, food pantries and other locations.

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Baker To Mark Vaccination Progress With Biden - WBUR

Washington, D.C. Unions help ensure that working people earn decent pay and benefits and have a voice in American democracy. Unfortunately, decades of attacks on unions, as well as a changing economy, have eroded the power of unions in the United States. As a result, workers wages and well-being have declined, and society has become much more unequal.

At a time when stronger unions are sorely needed, David Madlands new bookRe-Union: How Bold Labor Reforms Can Repair, Revitalize, and Reunite the United Statesexplains how to design a new labor system for todays economy with enhanced rights for workers, incentives for union membership, and greater sectoral bargaining to complement worksite-level bargaining. The new labor system draws on examples from U.S. history and countries around the world as well as state and local reforms spearheaded by innovative labor leaders and progressive policymakers to build power for workers and address the fundamental economic and political challenges facing the country.

Please join the Center for American Progress for a discussion on the future of labor policy with David Madland, Mary Kay Henry, and Dorian Warren.

WHO:

Distinguished panelists:Mary Kay Henry, International President, Service Employees International UnionDavid Madland, Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress

Moderator:Dorian Warren, President, Community Change

WHEN:May 18, 202110:00 a.m. 11:00a.m. ET

WHERE:You must RSVP to watch the livestream event by clicking thislink.This event will be live captioned in Zoom, and closed captioning-enabled video will be posted following the conclusion of the event.

For more information or to speakwith an expert,please contact Julia Cusick at gro.ssergorpnacirema@kcisucj.

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EVENT ADVISORY: Labor Unions and the Future - Center For American Progress

Posted on May 11, 2021

By Harold C. Ford

This communitys perseverance has been remarkable and your success has been remarkable. Michael Harris

Five years ago, Flint was in the middle of one of our nations greatest drinking water crises in our nations history. Understandably, trust in leadership and government was just as corroded as the pipes that tainted your drinking water. Flint has turned the corner and is on the brink of completely removing all lead service lines throughout the city and also rebuilding its water infrastructure from the ground up. This communitys perseverance has been remarkable and your success has been remarkable, reflectedMichael Harris, Director of the Enforcement and Assurance Compliance Division of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from Region 5 in Chicago.

Photo source: EPA

On May 6, 2021, Flint Mayor Sheldon Neeley issued a progress report on his administrations plans to address Flints notorious water crisis at its seven-year mark. Information about ongoing efforts to mitigate and repair damage caused by the crisis can be accessed at http://www.cityofflint.com/ProgressReport.

Flint Water Plant located on N. Dort Hwy., Flint. (Photo by Tom Travis)

Flints municipal water source was switched to the Flint River in 2014. A human health crisis resulted when anti-corrosive additives did not accompany the switch causing pipes to corrode and leach lead into public drinking water.

The water crisis should never have happened, said Neely. These actions are designed to make sure it never happens again.

Partnership is key to make sure were moving our community forward. Mayor Neeley

The City is partnering with the EPA, Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE), and the Michigan Department of Environment to address infrastructure needs.

EGLE Director Liesl Clark announced her agencys commitment to completion of a water pipeline from Lake Huron to Flint. Were looking forward to seeing major projects like a second pipeline to Lake Huron, said Clark. She also signaled nearing completion of lead service line replacements and modernization of the citys water treatment and distribution system.

Liesl Clark, EGLE Director. (Photo source: michigan.gov)

During his update, Neeley introduced Michael Brown as the citys new Department of Public Works director. Its not the face youll usually associate with Mike Brown, he said referencing the Mike Brown who served as the citys acting mayor from February, 2009 to August, 2009 and as emergency manager from December, 2011 to August, 2012.

City of Flints Department of Public Works director, Michael Brown. (Photo source: The City of Flint)

Weve been battling bad information. Mayor Neeley

One thing weve been battling is bad information being disseminated throughout the community, contended Neeley. We want to make sure you have good information, in real time, as we move forward, as we go through this crisis.

Some information currently posted at the progress report webpage:

The City of Flints Water Progress Report website reports the current water quality status is six ppb (parts per billion). The Federal level is 15 ppb or less. (Graphic source: City of Flint Water Quality Report website.)

Citizens with questions or concerns about Flints water can call the following numbers:

EVM reporter, Harold Ford, can be reached at hcford1185@gmail.com.

Related

Excerpt from:

Mayor Delivers Progress Report on Flint Water with members of EPA, Michigan EGLE, and Michigan Department of Environment - East Village Magazine