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Headline News:

• “Trump Killed Climate.gov Last Summer. Scientists Have Just Brought It Back” • Last summer, Trump shuttered climate.gov, NOAA’s portal on climate science. Now a team of roughly eighty volunteer scientists and former NOAA staffers has resurrected climate.gov as the nonprofit climate.us, crowdfunded with over $321,000 in donations. [Gizmodo]

Atmospheric river (NOAA, public domain)

• “Power From Here: Most Of Humanity Already Lives Where Solar And Wind Are Strongest” • Most of the world is already rich in the two energy sources we need to decarbonize fast: sun and wind. The global shift to renewables is not constrained by resource scarcity, but by whether planning and investment move fast enough. [CleanTechnica]
• “Europe’s Record Heatwave Is Shifting East” • Europe is still going through its most severe heatwave on record, with all-time highs shattered by temperatures across the continent. The death toll is more than 1,300. Now the heat is shifting east towards the Balkans and Ukraine, and Ukraine’s war-damaged power grid is bracing for the heat’s next phase. [Euronews]
• “Solar Power: From Intermittent To Reliable Power” • Global solar demand is growing dramatically. China is by far the largest investor in solar PV generation and the largest producer of solar panels. In contrast to many other markets, solar truly is a global growth industry, now representing over 40% of the investment in global power generation. [McKinsey & Company]
• “Duke Energy Latest Company to Accept Trump’s Dirty ‘Deal’ to Scrap Offshore Wind” • Duke Energy accepted $129 million in taxpayer money to end an offshore wind lease. The company is the latest to accept such an offer from the Interior Department. California and northeastern states are suing the US government over such agreements. [CleanTechnica]

For more news, please visit geoharvey – Daily News about Energy and Climate Change.

Berdasarkan informasi yang beredar, ROYALGACOR memperkenalkan diri sebagai platform hiburan daring yang menyediakan berbagai kategori permainan, mulai dari permainan bergaya slot hingga layanan lain yang berkaitan dengan taruhan digital. Dalam materi yang dipublikasikan, platform tersebut mencantumkan sejumlah fitur seperti permainan kasino, sportsbook, layanan pelanggan, serta sistem transaksi bagi pengguna.

Namun, keberadaan sebuah platform daring tidak hanya dapat dinilai dari daftar fitur yang ditampilkan. Faktor lain seperti transparansi pengelola, keamanan data, legalitas operasional, serta rekam jejak layanan menjadi bagian penting yang perlu diperiksa oleh masyarakat.

Pemeriksaan Informasi Menjadi Langkah Utama

Dalam perkembangan industri layanan daring, tampilan profesional dan banyaknya fitur belum selalu menjadi indikator utama tingkat kepercayaan sebuah platform. Beberapa layanan berbasis internet dapat menggunakan strategi pemasaran yang menonjolkan kemudahan akses maupun berbagai fasilitas, tetapi pengguna tetap perlu melakukan verifikasi secara mandiri.

Salah satu pemeriksa situs pihak ketiga, ScamAdviser, memberikan catatan berbeda terhadap beberapa domain yang menggunakan nama serupa ROYALGACOR. Salah satu domain mendapatkan peringatan terkait sejumlah faktor seperti identitas pemilik yang tidak terlihat, usia domain, serta indikator yang dianggap perlu diperhatikan sebelum digunakan.

Temuan tersebut tidak secara otomatis membuktikan suatu layanan bermasalah, tetapi menjadi pengingat bahwa pemeriksaan keamanan tetap diperlukan, terutama ketika pengguna diminta memberikan data pribadi atau melakukan transaksi keuangan.

Keamanan Data dan Transaksi Jadi Perhatian

Salah satu aspek yang sering menjadi sorotan dalam platform daring adalah perlindungan informasi pengguna. Data seperti identitas akun, metode pembayaran, hingga riwayat aktivitas merupakan informasi yang memiliki nilai penting.

Pengguna disarankan memahami bagaimana sebuah platform mengelola data, apakah memiliki kebijakan privasi yang jelas, serta bagaimana mekanisme perlindungan yang diterapkan. Selain itu, penggunaan kata sandi yang kuat dan kewaspadaan terhadap tautan tidak resmi juga menjadi langkah dasar dalam menjaga keamanan akun.

Memahami Klaim dan Realitas di Lapangan

ROYALGACOR menampilkan berbagai klaim mengenai pengalaman bermain, variasi permainan, hingga layanan yang tersedia bagi pengguna. Namun, klaim promosi perlu dibedakan dengan informasi yang dapat diverifikasi secara independen.

Dalam praktiknya, setiap layanan berbasis permainan berisiko memiliki tantangan tersendiri, termasuk risiko kerugian finansial, ketergantungan penggunaan, maupun penyalahgunaan data apabila keamanan tidak diperhatikan.

Karena itu, pemahaman terhadap mekanisme layanan, aturan penggunaan, serta batasan pribadi menjadi bagian penting sebelum seseorang memutuskan menggunakan sebuah platform.

Kesimpulan

ROYALGACOR menjadi salah satu nama yang menarik perhatian dalam pembahasan mengenai platform permainan daring. Informasi mengenai fitur dan layanan memang tersedia, tetapi pengguna tetap perlu melakukan pemeriksaan lebih lanjut terkait keamanan, kredibilitas, dan transparansi sebelum mengambil keputusan.

Di tengah perkembangan layanan berbasis internet yang semakin luas, sikap kritis dan kemampuan memilah informasi menjadi faktor utama agar pengguna dapat memahami sebuah platform secara lebih menyeluruh, bukan hanya berdasarkan tampilan atau klaim yang ditawarkan.

INDIGENOUS PEOPLES have long advocated for the right to
self-government related to their children and families. On May 11, 2026, the Misipawistik Cree Nation, Black River First Nation and Pimicikamak Cree Nation achieved a major success at the Manitoba Court of King’s Bench for the recognition and affirmation of this right. 

In Cook et al v. Manitoba [Mispawistik], Chief Justice Joyal, for the Court, granted a declaration that the First Nations hold an Aboriginal right to
self-government in the area of child welfare and child and family services under s. 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982. The Chief Justice found that this includes First Nations’ right to raise their children in their culture and community, connected to their land and immersed in their languages and spiritual traditions. 

The Chief Justice also granted a declaration that Canada and Manitoba’s funding, regulation, and provision of child and family services unjustifiably infringed upon the rights of First Nations in Manitoba. The Chief Justice accepted the “rich” record of evidence of their right to self-government over children and families from over seventeen witnesses, nine expert witnesses — including Dr. Leanne Betasamosake Simpson and Elder Florence Paynter — and a substantial number of reports of inquiry and government publications. All of that evidence tells a story of how Manitoba and Canada’s conduct resulted in the apprehension of children and their removal from their communities, land, spirituality, language, and culture.

All First Nations in Manitoba can rely on Misipawistik for their right to self-government. Chief Justice Joyal explicitly confirmed that “there is a right of all Manitoba First Nations to self-government in the area of CFS” (at para 699). Additionally, this class action was certified as “opt-in,” meaning that First Nations in Manitoba can opt in and be able to rely on the Court’s declarations related to Manitoba and Canada’s infringement of that right. Based on a notice plan filed with the Court, the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs will provide information to First Nations in Manitoba. 

In this case commentary, I explore the significance of the Misipawistik case for Indigenous peoples’ exercise of their inherent right to self-government over Indigenous children and families. Although this case is directly relevant to First Nations in Manitoba, Indigenous peoples in other provinces, the territories, and Nunavut may find parts of the Chief Justice’s reasons to be helpful.

The Significance of the Misipawistik Case

Misipawistik confirms what First Nations in Manitoba have always known: they have an inherent right to self-government over their children and families, which was never surrendered by treaty or extinguished. Misipawistik is significant because, for the first time in Manitoba, the Court has recognized aspects of this right under s. 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982.

In the last twenty years, Indigenous peoples have brought actions to hold Canada and the provinces to account for the harms caused to individuals and communities. The Indian residential schools litigation and class action, and the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement, demonstrated that Canada could be sued for its conduct. The First Nations Child and Family Caring Society complaint at the Human Rights Tribunal proved that Canada’s underfunding of First Nations child and family services was discriminatory. And in the Moushoom and Trout class actions, the plaintiffs sued Canada for underfunding the Child and Family Services Program and its narrow interpretation of Jordan’s Principle. 

Misipawistik relates to another aspect of all this litigation. Those cases focused on historical and ongoing harms caused to individuals by the government’s policies and actions. In Misipawistik, the First Nations asked the Court to declare that those policies and actions also infringed upon their right to self-government under s. 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982. 

Misipawistik confirms that First Nations in Manitoba have a right to self-government over child and family services or child welfare. It also confirms that Canada and the Province’s funding, regulation, and provision of child and family services is an unjustifiable infringement of that right. 

Now, Canada and Manitoba (all the provinces, really) should have the direction they need to ensure that their involvement in Indigenous child and family services is not discriminatory or negligent, and that it does not infringe Indigenous peoples’ rights to self-government under the Constitution. Canada and Manitoba have started to take steps in the right direction by recognizing this right through legislation. Now, they have to live up to their commitments.

First Nations in Manitoba have a Right to Self-Government over Child Welfare and Child and Family Services

In Misipawistik, Canada argued that the First Nations needed to satisfy the test for proof of Aboriginal rights in Van der Peet. The Chief Justice rejected Canada’s arguments and modified the test based on changes to the law since it was first developed in 1996. Rather than strictly apply the Van der Peet test, the Chief Justice applied a modified version used by the Quebec Court of Appeal in its Reference regarding an Act Respecting First Nations, Métis and Inuit Children, Youth and Families. The modified test asks “whether the claimed right to self-government in a particular area goes to the cultural security and continuity — the cultural survival — of the Indigenous peoples claiming the right” (at para 677 in Misipawistik). 

Under the ordinary Van der Peet test, Indigenous peoples must prove a practice, custom, or tradition was integral to their distinctive culture before contact (for First Nations and Inuit) or before effective governmental control (for Métis). As the Chief Justice himself noted, the Van der Peet test is “ill-fitting” for
self-government rights because it relies on “outdated ideas about how cultures work,” focuses on “discrete, particularized” practices such as hunting, fishing, and trapping, and freezes rights in the past (para. 657, 679). The Court found that “it would be […] inefficient and inconsistent with the goal of reconciliation underlying s. 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982” to require the First Nations to prove their rights under a strict application of the Van der Peet test (para. 682). 

The Chief Justice reasoned that it was necessary to depart from a strict application of the Van der Peet test because of the evolution of the jurisprudence and legislation related to the right to self-government (paras. 654-685). First, he noted that the Court in Van der Peet and Delgamuukw had always recognized that the Van der Peet test might require adaptation and modification as new rights were claimed (para. 470, 663-667). Second, over the past few decades, the case law has increasingly supported the possibility that s. 35 protects an Aboriginal right to self-government (paras 651, 668-674). Third, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) affirms rights to self-government related to children and families and informs the Court’s interpretation of Indigenous peoples’ constitutional rights (paras. 675-676 and 704). Fourth, Canada’s federal United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act implements UNDRIP as a source of interpretation of Canadian law (para 430 and 681). And finally, and significantly, Canada and Manitoba have both recognized the inherent right to self-government over children and families through legislation (para. 693). 

There is a clear takeaway from Misipawistik: Indigenous peoples’ rights to self-government are vital to the cultural security and continuity, or cultural survival, of
Indigenous peoples.

Many other areas of self-governance are also vital to cultural security and continuity. Misipawistik is a well-reasoned starting point for future claims related to self-government in Manitoba — and throughout Canada. 

Canada and Manitoba’s Infringement on the Right to
Self-Government

Chief Justice Joyal found that Canada and Manitoba’s regulation, funding, and provision of Indigenous child and family services unjustifiably infringed the First Nations’ rights from January 1, 1992, to the present (2026). In support of his finding, he accepted Dr. Simpson’s evidence on the impact of child apprehensions on the community, and on a child’s connection to land, culture, language and spirituality. The Chief Justice quoted Dr. Simpson at length (at para. 720):

When children are removed from their First Nations family, the community and nation has no mechanism to ensure their teachings and way of life is passed down to the next generation. They have no way of fulfilling their responsibilities to mino-bimaadiziwin and this has a negative impact on their own sense of belonging and their own identity since they are no longer a link in the chain, as expressed in the concept of nindaanikoobijiganag. Removing a child from their cultural land-based context is akin to cutting their umbilical cord and disconnecting them from their community, their knowledge systems, and the land from which all meaning flows. The survival of First Nations knowledge systems and languages is entirely dependent upon the next generation of First Nations people learning land-based practices from their Elders.

…

Land-based practices when a child or children are missing are therefore filled with grief and loss because there is nowhere else that this way of life and these practices can be learned. In many regions, land-based practices are threatened and endangered practices because of the impact of colonialism, the residential and day school era, and the child welfare system. Because First Nations knowledge systems are land-based, spiritual, oral, and generated through communal practice, they cannot be learned at a desk in school or by reading books. They can only be learned by engaging in land-based practices over the course of one’s lifetime. When children are removed from First Nations communities and families by Child and Family Services, they no longer have access to this knowledge, and it becomes impossible for them to uphold their responsibilities to their community.

In his reasons, the Chief Justice considered evidence on the cumulative effect of residential schools and federal and provincial policies on the harms caused to the First Nations’ right to self-government, and the right to raise their children on the land, in their languages, cultures, and spiritualities (at para. 838). This is important, because in other cases, such as the residential schools litigation, the Court often separates these harms into distinct events, which often makes it difficult to litigate and remedy them. A cumulative approach recognizes how all of these events are related. 

Indigenous Governments May Need to Consider Claiming Remedies for “Reconciliatory Justice” for Breaches of
Aboriginal Rights

Misipawistik provides some direction on what governments should not do, but it does not provide much clarity to what governments must do when they choose to be involved in regulating, funding, or providing Indigenous child and
family services. 

As others have noted, funding is one of the main challenges related to the exercise of the right to self-government for child and family services. Shortly after Canada enacted An Act Respecting First Nations, Métis and Inuit Children, Youth and Families (2019), the Yellowhead Institute published its report on the Act. Professors Naiomi Metallic, Jeffery Hewitt, Hadley Friedland, Aimée Craft, and Sarah Morales identify five areas where the Act fell short. On funding, Canada received a failing grade. Almost seven years later, it is still unclear how funding and resources will be transferred to Indigenous governments who want to exercise their right to self-government in this area. 

In Misipawistik, the Court was asked to determine whether Canada or Manitoba had breached any duties — in common law, equity, or under the Charter — that were owed to the First Nations. Since duties specify a standard of conduct, any decision on these duties would have clarified Canada or Manitoba’s obligations, including financial, to the First Nations involved. 

Although the Chief Justice found that Canada and Manitoba had unjustifiably infringed upon the First Nations’ right to self-government over child and family services, he dismissed the First Nations’ claims that other duties had also been breached. Unlike s. 35, which acts as a negative limit on government, those other claims would have imposed a positive obligation or duty on the Crown. In turn, this would have impacted the Crown’s legislative and executive discretion and, perhaps most importantly, its budgetary choices. Because, like it or not, Indigenous governments need resources and funding to provide child and family services in the First Nation communities.

One way to read the decision is that the Court was concerned about its impact on government discretion. Suppose the government owed the First Nations a duty of care and the standard of that care meant providing services in the child’s home community. That would require the government to fund, in many cases, more extensive preventative services. Those “less expensive”— yet so-often used — short-term options, such as apprehending children and removing them from their community, would be off the table because they would fail to meet the standard of care.

So, how might Misipawistik be helpful to other First Nations? Consider that the Chief Justice accepted witness evidence and public reports about Canada and Manitoba’s funding, regulation, and provision of services. This evidence clearly demonstrates gaps, challenges, and proposed best practices. It could, therefore, offer some guidance to inform future frameworks for
moving forward.

Indigenous governments may also want to consider seeking remedies for “reconciliatory justice.” In Pekuakamiulnuatsh Takuhikan, the Supreme Court of Canada ordered compensation because the Honour of the Crown was breached. I previously wrote about this for the Yellowhead Institute:

When the Honour of the Crown is breached, compensation may be required to advance what the majority calls ‘reconciliatory justice.’ The majority explains that the purpose of the Honour of the Crown is to ‘facilitate the reconciliation of the Crown’s interests and those of Indigenous peoples, including by promoting negotiation and the just settlement of Indigenous claims.’ Where the Honour of the Crown is breached, compensation advances reconciliation by ‘repairing and maintaining the special relationship with the Indigenous peoples on whom European laws and customs were imposed.’

Although compensation is intended to remedy the harm caused to the First Nation, it may also be used by a First Nation to restore the community and prepare it for exercising the right to self-government. Compensation, however, is not a reliable source for sustaining Indigenous child and family services into the future.

What Comes Next?

The Court’s decision was the first of two stages in this litigation. The first stage addresses the certification of the plaintiffs’ claims as a class action and presents a summary judgment on the sole certified claim under s. 35. Now, the parties can negotiate and attempt to settle or proceed to the second stage. The Court’s reasons are incredibly thorough, and so the parties have been given a lot of direction. If they can’t come to a settlement, the Court will be asked to determine compensation for collective harms. Canada and Manitoba may be able to raise defences to limit their liability at the second stage. 

Canada and Manitoba will likely argue that the claim for compensation is statute-barred. This occurs when a statute of limitations restricts compensation based on the number of years between the claim being filed and when it was first known to the plaintiff. It’s unclear at this point whether Canada and Manitoba will be able to rely on statutory limitation periods to avoid paying compensation for their infringements. However, it might be argued that statutory limitation periods are unconstitutional and cannot be applied.

In addition, it is possible that compensation for “reconciliatory justice” is available. In Pekuakamiulnuatsh Takuhikan, a majority of the Supreme Court of Canada found that compensation could be appropriate for breaches of the Honour of the Crown. It would seem inconsistent with the principles of reconciliatory justice for compensation to be barred by legislation enacted by a province or Canada. That is an odd sort of justice and reconciliation, where the party that causes the harm can determine whether it is liable. 

Overall, the Chief Justice’s reasons provide significant guidance and direction to the parties. At this point, the parties might discuss how Canada and Manitoba could support First Nations in Manitoba as they exercise their inherent right to self-government over Indigenous children and families. It is clear that whatever Canada and Manitoba do, they must ensure that the First Nations are supported in the right to raise their children on the land, in their own communities, and with their own culture, languages and spiritual traditions.

Citation:

Franks, Scott. “The Right to Self-Government and Child and Family Well-Being: A Case Comment on Cook et al. v. Canada,” Yellowhead Institute. June 30 2026. https://yellowheadinstitute.org/2026/case-comment-on-cook-et-al-v-canada-the-right-to-self-government-and-child-and-family-well-being

Artwork by Dakota Brant, May Their Journeys be Gentle

https://www.dakotabrant.com/

The post The Right to Self-Government and Child and Family Well-Being: A Case Comment on Cook et al. v. Canada appeared first on Yellowhead Institute.

Austerity and neoliberalism have pushed workers across Bolivia into an indefinite general strike, with miners, teachers, and transport workers, alongside social movement groups (primarily Indigenous),...

The post “Rifle, machine gun, the people will not be silenced”: General strike and protests in Bolivia first appeared on Spring.

Milk comes out slowly. Nipples hurt after each pumping session. Many parents blame the pump, but the real problem sits in a small plastic piece. Wrong flange size cuts milk output by half and damages tender skin. A lactation specialist measures and fixes this hidden issue quickly. Calling a lactation specialist Dubai changes pumping from painful to productive in one visit.

Why size matters:

Fit determines success. If the tunnel diameter is too large, too much tissue pulls inside. This causes friction and swelling. If the diameter is too small, the nipple rubs against the sides, causing pain and blocking flow. Correct alignment allows the tissue to move freely without dragging. Proper dimensions provide comfort and protect sensitive skin from unnecessary trauma during daily use.

Signs of incorrect fit:

Watch for clear physical signals. Redness or skin irritation indicates poor sizing. Pain or burning sensations during the session point toward a bad match. If the nipple looks blanched or white after pumping, the flange is likely too tight. Conversely, if too much areola enters the tunnel, the opening is far too wide. These visual cues tell a story about comfort levels.

How to measure accurately:

Measuring requires patience. Wait until the end of a session when the tissue is most supple. Use a simple tool to measure the base diameter of the nipple. Avoid including the surrounding areola in the calculation. Add a few millimeters for movement to find the ideal diameter. Most manufacturers provide guides to help determine the starting point based on these specific measurements.

The impact on output:

Efficient emptying relies on proper suction mechanics. When the fit matches the anatomy, the cycle mimics a natural nursing rhythm. This stimulates milk production effectively. Poorly fitted parts restrict the ducts, reducing volume. Achieving the right seal helps the device work exactly as intended. Better fit leads to shorter sessions and improved overall yield without the frustration of constant adjustments or skin distress.

Adjusting as needs change:

Bodies shift throughout the journey. Tissue size fluctuates due to hormone levels and hydration. What worked during the early weeks might not suit the situation three months later. Periodically re-evaluating the fit remains wise. Small changes in size requirements are normal. Updating the equipment to match current physical needs keeps the process comfortable and productive throughout the entire duration of feeding.

In his latest Freedom 250 triumph, Pres. Fragile Snowflake launched a Great American State Fair in D.C, which is not a state, boasting tens of attendees, no shade or seats, melted ice cream, busted Ferris wheel, $25 pretzels, teenage performers, sorry-ass pavilions often sporting a mere chair, a masturbating MAGA podcaster, and a Spinal-Tap-like mini-Arc-de-Pedo that began disintegrating its first day. No wonder headliner Trump - right again! - giddily proclaimed, "This is the beginning of the golden age of America."

Fresh from miraculously transforming the iconic "reflecting lakes" into a fetid debacle, Trump launched "the most unforgettable birthday party any country has ever had," though maybe not in the way he envisioned. Many observers noted "his own Potemkin Village," billed as "a world-class exposition," sadly "sputtered out of the gate," bathed in the same "stench of kitsch and failure" as everything he touches. The “sparsely attended and shockingly boring” result was variously likened to "comedy gold," "horror movie vibes," "theater of the absurd," and a Butlins - low-rent British package resorts - "for fascists with heatstroke."

It did not have to be this way. A viral Reddit post by a former worker at the Smithsonian recalled the "millions in private philanthropy" raised years ago for a landmark 250th anniversary of what's been called "the greatest sentence ever written" declaring "all men (sic) are created equal." Planned was a month-long folk festival, "The Festival of Festivals," featuring a blend of the likes of Burning Man, Farm Aid, Grand Ole Oprey and local festivals highlighting the best of American arts, redolent of the famed Christmas Truce of World War One when "people put down their weapons and got together" in a hopeful, unifying cause.

That was before Trump "stole America's 250th birthday and threw it for himself," refusing to issue permits for the Smithsonian's version and swiftly turning what could have been a joyful historic civic celebration into a bleak, gaudy reality-TV pageant, an alleged state fair (which clearly neither he nor his minions have ever seen) without the requisite rides, games, farm animals, cotton candy, fried dough, fresh lemonade or "fun," which could be why reports surfaced of a muggy and miserable scene where bored kids were loudly complaining and at least one took to rolling in the steamy grass screaming, "I. WANT. TO. GO. HOME!!!”

Because grifters gonna grift, it also became an egregious “$100-million laundering operation" with a small Ferris wheel. Added to $80 million in our money he stole from the bipartisan, real 250 commission, he lured corporate sponsors seeking favors or contracts - Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Palantir, Oracle, ExxonMobil, United Airlines - with obscene "deals": $500,000 for “V.I.P access and seating" at all events, $1 million for a “private thank you reception” and “historic photo opportunity,” $2.5 million to be handed the mike for "a speaking role" at a July 4 event," up to $10 million for God knows what further abuse of power.

Thus did his latest round of corrupt bombastic patriotism, trailing "a sense of dread" and blaring Creed's Higher, kick off Wednesday night to a military flyover, a National Anthem badly sung by Kash Patel's girlfriend, and a speech behind bulletproof glass to a mostly empty National Mall. "I am thrilled to declare that America is back,” he said, going on to reassure himself on the greatest terror of his life. "We were a joke two years ago, but nobody's laughing at us anymore" - this, from a purported US president forced to fill in for Milli Vanilli. Then he did his cringey robot "dance" while a Marine band played YMCA. Oof.

Despite a relatively, mercifully brief speech, a viral video showed people streaming out as he droned on. Later he posted the rally was "packed to the brim with 45,000 happy people. Everybody stayed right until the end of my speech - they loved hearing about a truly successful America." Uh huh. "The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears": Most reports put the crowd at about 1,000. Sleepy Joe last week: "Whoa. What a loser." Online, people cracked about "almost dozens of people," said they'd seen bigger crowds at school fairs, family reunions, Walmart, and suggested, "They were all at Mamdani's pool party."

Grimly smiling Fox News hosts, though, toughed it out. Before a vast vista of grass dotted with maybe 14 people, they posted AI slopaganda and happily exclaimed "How great is this?" "We've got thousands celebrating!" "People are still coming!" and, "The feeling of patriotism is all in the air!" After C-listers all bailed and Vanilla Ice cancelled due to non-existent "inclement weather," performers came down to a 14-year-old singer from Arkansas and a local artist who painted an American flag live on stage; steadfast Fox chirped "so many cool people" watched him. They didn't mention, per one sage, that more people have been sexually assaulted by Epstein et al than attended this week's Fair.

Meanwhile, generator issues caused the Ferris wheel to periodically shut down and the ice cream to melt; inexplicably, a butter sculpture of Trump and mascot cow named Melania didn't. Food vendors were few and airport-pricey: $5 water bottles, $23 turkey legs, $25 stuffed pretzels, a $27 dry burger with "limp, slimy lettuce on top.” Replicas of Trump passports, bewilderingly reading, "Welcome but be good," were gifted; invited whiteboard messages included, "A felon and predator resides at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave!!”; police arrested a MAGA podcaster dressed as Uncle Sam for masturbating to a performance by women acrobats.

Lining the Mall were slapdash, flimsy state pavilions looking like empty doctors' waiting rooms or "like something Wile E. Coyote would run into while chasing the Road Runner." Over 20% of states declined to partake in the regime's ideological project to rewrite American history into a white, male Christian saga; some sent a minimal token - state name or symbol, (welcome) chair or two. Maine is a bare room whose walls list lobster facts; Oregon, "the Beaver State," has a chair, Vermont was empty until a woman drove down with maple syrup pamphlets; Alabama has a tub of peanuts; Kansas, cut-outs of Wizard of Oz characters.

North Carolina flew a Confederate flag, later taken down. In "a small act of cultural sabotage," Florida honors anti-Trump Tom Petty and Jimmy Buffett among its famous residents. A mostly empty Faith and Family pavilion adorned with an Israeli flag hosted an evangelical pastor and drew two customers to "plunder hell and populate heaven”; other evangelicals reportedly wander the empty grounds, offering exorcisms. An empty War Department (sic) booth exhibits a cardboard cutout of George Washington, a montage of Hegseth's noble "war-fighters," and camo vests for kids to try on, get hyped and emulate them.

Overseeing it all stands a stubby, shabby plywood and vinyl mock-up of Trump’s $100 million “Arc de Trump,” aka "Arc de Mentia," "Epstein Memorial Arch," "L' Arc de Dômbfuqué," his "Triumph of the Will" vision of "democracy if it had a midlife crisis and bought a white tracksuit." Many liken it to McDonald's arches, Spinal Tap's mini-Stonehenge, or Derek Zoolander's Center for Kids Who Can't Read Good and Wanna Learn to Do Other Stuff Good Too," but the arch quickly began buckling and melting in D.C.'s humidity. Some fair-goers in search of rare shade have still sought it out. Others argue it'd get more traffic as a urinal.

- YouTube www.youtube.com

On Monday, the Fair was devoted to RFK's so-called MAHA, Make America Healthy Again program, or what has now morphed into Make America Hurl Again after organizers inexplicably decided the best way to promote better eating habits was to hold a contest in muggy-90-something-degree temps where people stuff their faces with as many pancakes as possible while gagging and trying not to throw up. Eat till you puke: Fun for the whole family! Up next, some speculate: "They will swim in some sewage and stare into an eclipse." Or mebbe snort heroin off a toilet seat? Stay classy, fascists. Trump was right: Too much winning.

America's 250th marks the signing by 56 brave men of "a flawed but aspirational document" declaring a nation's independence and asserting, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Facts owe. Most of the Founding Fathers - slaveholders, misogynists, oppressors of Native Americans - "did not live up to those words," notes one historian. "The country they created was incomplete, and the work of completing it has been the work of every generation since."

Since its inception, America has been "wrestling with the contradictions of its original sin," says Eddie Glaude, a professor of African- American studies. "This divided soul in which America imagines itself as a beacon of freedom and as a white republic (is) a kind of madness at the heart of the country. That madness evidences itself in cycles, and we happen to be in one right now." Still, every bailed musical act, court victory, voice raised in truth tells Trump, "We see you," writes Dean Blundell. "The country is not him. It has never been him. The country is the people who showed up across 250 years and did the work." And for now, it remains.

For almost century, Europe’s agriculture has been structurally reliant on chemical fertilisers. The risks of this dependence have been made amply clear by successive conflicts that have disrupted supply chains, while decades of intensive application have led to pollution and soil imbalances. Changing this trajectory will be a tough challenge.

In France, the baguette has recently become a matter of public concern. According to the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety (ANSES), staples of the French diet like bread, cereals, and even potatoes are among the main pathways of exposure to cadmium, a carcinogenic heavy metal that accumulates in agricultural soils. While cadmium is naturally present in the environment, its levels in France have become increasingly concerning over the past two decades, prompting ANSES to issue warnings that a significant share of the population is estimated to exceed health-based reference exposure values, with higher levels observed among children and adolescents. At the core of this looming public health crisis lies the intensive use of phosphate-based fertilisers. 

As the French Parliament moved to tighten cadmium limits in agricultural soils this spring – finally aligning national standards with existing European rules – the European Commission adopted a Fertiliser Action Plan designed to facilitate farmers’ access to key agricultural inputs. Like previous geopolitical shocks, the war in Iran and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a major artery for global trade, have revealed Europe’s dependence on imported fertilisers.  

These local, national, European, and global developments point to a structural vulnerability at the heart of Europe’s food system, with fertilisers lying at the intersection of ecological constraints, public health, market volatility, and external dependence.  

Vulnerable supply chains 

On 19 May, more than 200 farmers protested in front of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, carrying a large red banner declaring a “fertiliser crisis”. Just a few weeks earlier, in April, the prices of many raw materials and fertilisers had surged. Urea, the world’s most widely used nitrogen fertiliser, had climbed above 850 dollars per tonne, the highest level since 2022.  An estimated 30 per cent of globally traded volumes of urea passed through Hormuz before the war.  

Since the 1950s, synthetic nutrients have dramatically increased agricultural productivity while reshaping Europe’s food system.

The effect of the blockade was compounded by the growing importance of Gulf states in the global fertiliser market. The world’s largest urea production complex, for instance, is located south of Doha, in Qatar. In the last 10 years, Saudi Arabia has also rapidly climbed the ranks among leading producers of phosphate-based fertilisers. The broader Gulf energy industrial complex, which underpins global fertiliser production, was put under pressure following Iran’s strikes on key energy infrastructure in the region. Qatar, for instance, suspended production of urea, ammonia, and sulfur after key facilities were damaged. 

Ammonia and sulphur, two key feedstocks used in fertiliser production, are intertwined with the fossil fuels extracted in the region. Ammonia, the key feedstock for the production of urea and all other nitrogen-based fertilisers, is obtained by combining nitrogen with hydrogen, the latter typically extracted from natural gas. Although efforts are underway to produce ammonia using “green hydrogen” produced from renewables, these technologies remain marginal.  

Similarly, sulphur is largely recovered as a by-product of oil and natural gas processing. Most of it is converted into sulfuric acid, essential for producing phosphate fertilisers, whose supply chains have also been disrupted by the war: Gulf states such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates are major sulphur exporters. Iran, which exported sulphur to China, Latin America, Pakistan, India, and other Asian and African countries, halted production of both sulphur and ammonia during the conflict. In light of the crisis, countries such as China – the world’s largest producer of sulfuric acid – Turkey, and India considered export restrictions. 

An old dependency 

Europe’s dependence on imported fertilisers and their feedstocks has deep historical roots. Fertiliser use began as an innovative solution to increase agricultural productivity in the early 20th century, gradually reshaping the continent’s food system, and tying farming to industrial production and global supply chains. At the heart of this shift lies the industrial processing of three essential nutrients found naturally in the environment: nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. “It’s like a big kitchen,” a laboratory operator at Norwegian fertiliser giant Yara International, told me. “These elements are mixed together according to farmers’ needs, increasingly in tailor-made combinations.” 

One of the earliest artificial fertilisers, superphosphate (SSP), was first produced commercially in the mid-19th century by treating phosphate rock, rich in phosphorus, with sulphuric acid. With SSP, fertiliser manufacturing gradually moved from farms – where the natural manure cycle was rooted in the recycling of organic waste back into agricultural soils – into the hands of the agrochemical industry, accompanying the industrialisation of agriculture in the early 20th century.  

The expansion of phosphate use further tied agrochemistry to mining: phosphate rock is only found in a handful of countries, particularly in North Africa. Morocco alone holds more than 70 per cent of global phosphate reserves; it is the world’s largest producer and the second-largest exporter after China. With some reserves facing depletion in the coming decades, Beijing has implemented export controls on phosphate fertilisers since 2021. In 2017, the European Commission added phosphate to its list of critical raw materials, acknowledging its strategic importance and Europe’s exposure to supply risk.  

Since the 1950s, synthetic nutrients have dramatically increased agricultural productivity while reshaping Europe’s food system. Globally, fertiliser use rose from roughly 30 million tonnes in 1960 to more than 190 million tonnes today – a more than sixfold increase. According to estimates by Fertilizers Europe, the industry’s main trade association in the EU, of the roughly 180 million hectares of agricultural land in the European Union, nearly 124 million are now fertilised. The remaining areas consist mainly of permanent grasslands, fallow land, or land left temporarily out of production. 

Arable land dedicated to annual crops accounts for 57 per cent of fertilised land. Yet this broad picture masks significant regional differences. In Western Europe, a substantial share of agricultural land is devoted to permanent crops (such as vineyards, orchards, and forestry plantations) as well as fertilised grasslands. In Central and Eastern Europe, by contrast, agriculture is more heavily concentrated on large-scale annual cropping systems, particularly cereals, oilseeds such as rapeseed and sunflower, and fodder crops used for animal feed. As a result, Fertilizers Europe expects most Central and Eastern European EU member states to record higher fertiliser consumption in the coming years. 

The EU as a whole remains a key player in the global fertiliser market, with France, Poland, Germany, Spain, Italy, and Romania accounting for the bulk of phosphate fertiliser consumption. France is also the continent’s largest consumer of nitrogen fertilisers.  

However, overall consumption is contracting. In 2023, European agriculture applied 9.3 million tonnes of mineral fertilisers, marking a 3.7 per cent decrease compared to 2022 and a decline of more than 20 per cent from the 2017 peak. While producer associations point to signs of stabilisation and hope for a return to pre-2022 levels, the market still appears not to have fully recovered from the disruptions triggered by the war in Ukraine.  

But amid recurring geopolitical shocks and ecosystems reaching critical conditions, to what extent is a return to business as usual in fertiliser use necessary or desirable? 

Nutrition and pollution 

Intensive fertilisation has enabled Europe to expand agricultural production and secure millions of tonnes of food, but it has also created a dependence that goes beyond the actual agronomic needs of soils.  

Decades of continuous application have, in some cases, led to nutrient accumulation or imbalances. Numerous studies, some of them published by fertiliser producer associations themselves, suggest that fertiliser needs in many European and American production systems are increasingly oriented toward maintenance applications (keeping existing soil nutrient levels stable) rather than corrective inputs (raising deficient nutrient levels to a healthy target). Meanwhile, regions facing nutrient deficiencies, such as many African countries, still struggle to access fertilisers. 

Intensive nutrient use in the Global North has intensified concerns over soil health, water quality, and the accumulation of contaminants in agricultural land, all of which have entered public and policy debates. In recent years, discussions on fertiliser use in the EU have increasingly centred on pollution linked to eutrophication, a process in which excess nutrients in water bodies trigger algal blooms that deplete oxygen and disrupt aquatic ecosystems. The problem remains unresolved and continues to affect lakes and river deltas across Europe, despite the EU Nitrates Directive, which aims to reduce agricultural nitrate pollution. 

In Italy’s Po Delta, pollutants accumulated along the river system cause algal blooms, particularly in the summer. In Spain, civil society organisations have taken agro-industrial actors to court for eutrophication in the Mar Menor, accusing them of illegal discharges that contribute to the lagoon’s degradation. France’s recent cadmium controversy has expanded the debate on fertiliser sustainability beyond production sites to food safety and public health concerns.  

EU contradictions 

Despite the reassuring slogans of fertiliser producers, often framed in humanitarian terms – “saving lives” and “feeding the planet,” – the environmental costs of the agrochemical industry have long fuelled public debate and grassroots mobilisation. In autumn 2025, for instance, Tunisia saw large demonstrations against the Groupe Chimique Tunisien along the coastline of Gabès, following the hospitalisation of more than 200 people, mostly children, for respiratory distress and gas poisoning. 

In Europe, this tension between productivity and environmental limits gradually entered policy frameworks. In the early 2000s, the European agricultural policy framework finally acknowledged the urgency of limiting fertiliser dispersion by introducing environmental measures and, more recently, eco-schemes under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). These measures encourage farmers to return to more traditional agroecological practices, such as crop rotation with legumes and other plants capable of naturally enriching the soil. Agroecology Europe, a Brussels-based organisation, also recommends a partial return to non-chemical soil fertilisation methods.  

Geopolitical instability has added another layer of urgency to Europe’s need to reduce its dependency on mineral fertilisers. The President of the European Commission, Ursula Von der Leyen, stressed in May that the EU’s Fertiliser Action Plan isn’t just about supporting farmers in the short term but also aimed at “accelerating innovation in sustainable, home-grown solutions”. She also acknowledged that “climate leadership and economic resilience are interlinked”. 

However, the EU is rolling back climate and environmental measures to placate farmers and pursue economic competitiveness. In early 2026, under pressure from the agrochemical sector, the European Commission proposed an amendment to its Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), allowing for the temporary exclusion of certain products – particularly fertilisers – in the event of “serious harm to the EU internal market.” Meanwhile, the signing of the EU-Mercosur trade agreement with South American countries in January 2026 angered the agricultural sector, particularly in France, with farmers fearing unfair competition from imported products.  

These conflicting interests show that reversing a century-long trajectory of agricultural intensification and supply fragmentation won’t be easy, particularly in the current political climate. In this context, the EU appears to be advancing the liberalisation of agricultural policy under the banner of “sovereignty”. However, the declining productivity of soils and mounting ecological pressures both point to the need to transform this trajectory. 

In Pakistan, small-scale farmers allege that International Monetary Fund (IMF)-driven policies are dismantling the support structures that sustained them. Women bear specific weight in this crisis.

The post Pakistan: Peasant Women Organize Against IMF-driven Agrarian Policies appeared first on La Via Campesina - EN.

What is a heatwave?

It’s hot. Very hot. Hotter than it should be. It’s not for too long, just a few days or weeks, but everyone feels it, and everyone talks about it. We don’t give it fancy names, like we do with hurricanes, but you hear about it in the news. Or not.

Right now, in the summer of 2026, Europe is living through one of its most severe heatwaves on record, with all-time temperature highs broken in France, Spain, the UK, Germany, Belgium, Austria and beyond, and hundreds of deaths already linked to the heat in France alone. Meanwhile, India has spent much of its pre-monsoon season under extreme heat, with cities like Delhi, Nagpur and Akola pushing past 45°C and even 46°C, and nighttime temperatures rising faster than daytime ones across nearly every Indian state. This is what the climate crisis looks like in real time, not a future projection.

The problem with heatwaves is that they are very relative. It’s not the same to register 30 ºC in the summer or in the winter. And it’s not the same to register 30 ºC in Greenland or in the Middle East. Each place has its average temperature for each time of the year. We call it a heatwave when a particular region goes well above that average for a number of days. How much above it, and for how long, varies from region to region. In many parts of the world, these events are already increasing in frequency, duration and intensity, and will increase even more as a result of the climate crisis.

The silent killer

 Unlike more spectacular climate impacts such as tropical storms, floods or wildfires, heatwaves come up without a bang. For most people, heatwave days are just annoyingly hot and media sometimes even portrays them as something nice. But, actually, heatwaves are as dangerous a climate impact as it gets.

According to a recent academic study, heatwaves killed at least 157,000 people between 2000 and 2020 (only storms are deadlier, with around 200,000 victims). However, the authors of the report warn that this figure is very likely underestimated: many countries don’t monitor heatwaves and some times don’t even have a definition for them. To illustrate that point, only 6.5% of those casualties were registered in Asia, Africa, the Caribbean and South and Central America, despite those regions concentrating 85% of the global population.

The toll keeps mounting. The World Health Organization has described Europe’s current heat emergency as a public health crisis, estimating that heat has contributed to roughly 200,000 deaths across the continent over just the past four years.

Heat can be behind a number of health conditions. The most concerning is heat stroke, which occurs when the body is too hot and loses its ability to cool down. Children, the elderly and low-income communities are more vulnerable to heat stroke, as are people with chronic diseases, pregnant women and outdoor workers. The poorer a community is, the less access to cooling it has, which exacerbates inequality and injustice. Heatstroke is more likely in high humidity conditions.

In India, this inequality is stark: around three-quarters of the country’s workforce, roughly 380 million people, works in heat-exposed sectors like agriculture and construction, often informally and without basic protections, while only about 8% of households have air conditioning. Rising humidity is compounding the danger, since high humidity stops the body from cooling itself through sweat, turning conditions that were once merely uncomfortable into something deadly.

More than just heat strokes

The dangers of heatwaves, however, go way beyond heat stroke. High temperatures are associated with lower air quality, which causes and aggravates respiratory diseases such as asthma. They are also related to cardiovascular and kidney diseases.

Extreme temperatures affect agriculture, stunting plant growth or directly killing them. Livestock is also affected, as animals can also see their growth, milk production and reproduction rates reduced. These impacts disproportionately affect communities who depend on agriculture for survival and don’t have any other social safety nets, which increases climate injustice. Heatwaves also affect infrastructure such as airports, roads and bridges, and any economic activity that requires outdoor work.

Is it hotter?

Heatwaves are a statistical occurence. They are relative to the average conditions, so by definition we can find it in any time and any place in history. But that doesn’t change the fact that climate change is making them worse in absolute and relative terms. Or, in other words: yes, it’s hotter than ever, more often, and yes, it will get hotter.  Scientists have concluded that it is virtually certain that global heating drives that increase in the duration and intensity of heatwaves at a global level. That means, in climate science terms, above 99% certainty.

Heatwaves happen when a mass of high-pressure air remains stationary (still) for long enough to get warmed up by the sun. Greenhouse gases such as CO2 have the capacity to absorb heat, so a stationary mass of air will get warmer in the same amount of time if it contains a higher concentration of these gases. These phenomena are geographically uneven and their likelihood at a specific location depends on many factors, such as orography, tree cover, aerosol pollution, soil moisture or distance to the sea.

One of the clearest examples of this mechanism in action is the heat dome. You’ll hear the term a lot now, so it’s worth explaining. A heat dome forms when a large, stationary zone of high pressure traps hot air over a region for days or weeks, acting almost like a lid: air sinks within it, keeping surface pressure high and suppressing cloud formation, so the sun bakes the ground relentlessly with no relief. Sometimes that high-pressure system gets wedged between two other weather systems and becomes “locked in,” barely moving — a pattern known as an Omega block for the shape it traces on weather maps. This is exactly what’s been driving Europe’s 2026 heatwaves: a stubborn Omega block parked over the continent, dragging in hot, dry air from the Sahara and refusing to budge, before slowly shifting from Western Europe toward Germany, Poland and the Balkans. And heat domes themselves are becoming more frequent and more intense as the planet warms, since warmer baseline temperatures mean the same stagnant weather pattern now produces far more extreme spikes than it used to. See how the 2021 heat dome in Canada impacted lives. 

According to the IPCC, the average temperature of the extremely hot days in land will increase by 3ºC if we contain global warming under 1.5ºC, and by 4ºC if we stay under 2ºC. Keep in mind that this is an average! Some areas are already becoming uninhabitable during heat waves within this century.

The climate footprint

Heatwaves are one of the deadliest expressions of the climate crisis. We are seeing how they increase in frequency and intensity as the concentration of greenhouse gases mounts. And it is the greed of the fossil fuel industries and its allies what is pushing that increase. Let us retrace their steps.

Global heating is caused by an increase in the concentration of greenhouse gases, mostly (but not only) CO2 and CH4. These are found naturally in the atmosphere, but since we started massively burning fossil fuels, the concentration has been growing exponentially.

The increase in concentration of CO2 is linked to fossil fuels. There isn’t any other possible source (not volcanos, not clouds, not solar cycles, nothing). CH4 is also massively linked to fossil fuels and land use change. Studies and data have widely proven that: the debate is over.

The coal, oil and gas industries have massively profited from it and they continue to profit from an economic model that forces people to use fossil fuels. Reports have proven that they knew the damage they were causing since at least the 1970s, and that, instead of abandoning their business model, they actively worked to disinform the public. They still do. We keep burning fossil fuels because they choose (and they chose then) to use their power for that purpose.

But even if we cannot stop heatwaves completely, we can stop the fossil fuels industry. People around the world have been fighting to keep coal, oil and gas in the ground, to cut the financial flows that allow this industry to still exist and to push for a more equitable and clean future. If you haven’t yet, join us!

More from the Fossil Fuels Did This series:

• Fossil Fuels Did This: Tropical Cyclones
• Fossil Fuels Did This: Floods
• Fossil Fuels Did This: Drought

The post Fossil Fuels Did This: Heatwaves appeared first on 350.

Queenslanders could be left to pay for mine clean-ups if the Queensland government uses its review of the Financial Provisioning Scheme to weaken safeguards that ensure mines pay for rehabilitation. 

As Canada’s auto industry grapples with the fallout from Donald Trump’s erratic and mutually-damaging tariffs, the union representing auto workers has opened its triennial round of major bargaining with the major North American automakers. First up will be talks with Ford, which has invested $5 billion in its Canadian operations despite the tariffs. In this commentary, originally published in the Toronto Star, Centre for Future Work Director Jim Stanford discusses the importance of this bargaining in enhancing stability for both workers and the automakers, and showcasing the advantages of Canadian auto manufacturing – advantages which, he argues, will outlast Trump.

Despite Trump tariffs, Unifor talks with Ford the perfect moment to showcase Canada’s auto sector By Jim Stanford

Canada’s auto industry is reeling from Donald Trump’s trade war. His 25% tariff on vehicles and some auto parts had immediate impact on Canadian vehicle production, employment, and exports, which all slumped badly after he imposed it last year.

But the longer-run threat facing auto is even worse. The tariff destroys the business case for making cars in Canada, given that 90 percent of our output goes to the U.S. – a geographic reality that has been true since the 1960s.

And that is exactly Donald Trump’s goal. He wants all North American production to relocate to the U.S. His Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick put it bluntly: “Car assembly is going to be in America and there is nothing Canada can do about it.” Last month U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer echoed that view, asking “Why do we make cars in Canada?”

Into this turbulent arena marched two negotiating teams last week: bargainers for Unifor, the auto union, and Ford Motor Company. The two sides kicked off triennial contract talks in Toronto, hoping to reach a new collective agreement for Ford’s 5000 Canadian workers by a July 10 deadline.

One might think this is a terrible time to negotiate a labour contract – with many workers on layoff, and uncertainty hanging thick. But given the unfortunate reality of Trump’s tariffs, stakeholders must deal with the world as it is, not how they wish it was.

In fact, these talks are an opportunity to remind businesses and governments on both sides of the border why Canada is a great place to build cars.

Both the union and the company emphasized these negotiations as an opportunity to impart some badly-needed stability to an industry beset by Trump-induced chaos. The union, of course, puts priority on job security for its members at Ford’s operations: the Oakville assembly plant, two major engine factories in Windsor, and three parts distribution centres.

But the company needs stability, too. The Oakville plant is launching a new generation of pickup trucks. This represents a massive investment by Ford, which has pumped $5 billion of capital into Canadian plants despite Trump’s actions.

Any vehicle launch is a complex, sensitive moment for an assembly plant. But the Oakville launch is particularly fine-tuned: the company will produce several specialized variants of large trucks on the same assembly line.

Ford is also launching a new high-feature engine at its Essex plant in Windsor. These two simultaneous product launches underscore the value to Ford of a smooth round of bargaining.

That the two sides have set an internal bargaining deadline two months before the current contract expires (when a strike or lockout would become legal) is a clear indication they aim to reach agreement without a work stoppage, if possible.

The intricate cross-border nature of Ford’s supply chain serves as a parable for the whole industry. Ford’s Canadian-built engines flow to 12 different U.S. and Mexican assembly plants (as well as Oakville). And its Oakville trucks encompass hundreds of different parts made across the U.S. and Mexico. A disruption in any of those cross-border flows (whether from a tariff or anything else) hurts everyone.

That’s why the automakers themselves are dead-set against Trump’s destructive strategy: it’s cost them billions in needless costs, lost efficiency, and supply-chain uncertainty.

Despite recent tribulations, auto is still Canada’s most important manufacturing sector. 120,000 Canadians are directly employed in auto and parts production – and that many again in the upstream supply chain that feeds auto plants with an incredible array of inputs, materials, machinery, and services.

These are high-productivity jobs, supporting good wages and benefits, and anchoring billions of dollars in GDP, downstream consumer spending, and government revenues. Canadian auto plants have higher productivity, better quality, and lower labour costs than in the U.S.

So to answer Greer’s insulting question, we make cars in Canada because we’re better at it than Americans. Not to mention because we spend $100 billion buying 2 million new cars every year, and hence deserve a fair share of the jobs that come with that demand.

A fair and productive round of bargaining, nailing down new investment and securing jobs, would be a powerful and tangible demonstration that this industry is here to stay – long after Trump is gone.

The post Auto Talks a Chance to Reinforce the Canadian Industry’s Lasting Potential appeared first on Centre for Future Work.

Originally published by Mongabay. 

VJOSA-NARTA, Albania — In late April, heavy machinery began moving into the Pishë Poro-Narta protected landscape on Albania’s Adriatic coast without permits or public notice. Bulldozers and excavators felled coastal pine trees, flattened sand dunes, and cut new roads through previously untouched habitat. Then, barbed wire fences went up along the shoreline.

The incursion was the realization of a luxury resort development backed by Jared Kushner, U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law. The development plans of Kushner’s Affinity Partners, a private equity fund, stretch from the uninhabited Sazan Island into the Vjosa-Narta Protected Landscape, the delta region of Albania’s Vjosa River that includes Pishë Poro-Narta.

Roughly twice the size of Paris, the Vjosa-Narta area shelters flamingos, Dalmatian pelicans (Pelecanus crispus), loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) and more than 70 endangered species, among them the Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus).

Neither Affinity Partners nor the office of the prime minister of Albania responded to Mongabay’s requests for comment.

Aerial drone video of demonstrators gathering at Dalan Beach on June 6 for a rally near the site of the original resort-construction site. Footage by Stefan Lovgren for Mongabay.

When protesters arrived at the site, security guards confronted them. Video of a demonstrator being dragged across the dunes on May 30 near the village of Zvërnec went viral. Soon demonstrations erupted in Tirana, the Albanian capital, in what has since been dubbed the Flamingo Revolution. The protests have grown larger every day, with tens of thousands demanding accountability for corruption, an end to environmental abuses, and the resignation of Edi Rama, Albania’s prime minister.

On June 6, hundreds of demonstrators made their way to Dalan Beach for a symbolic rally near the site of the original incursion. The barbed wire fences had been taken down a few days earlier and the machinery was gone. But no one there believed the battle was done.

Protesters spell out “Save Narta” in the sand at Dalan Beach during a symbolic rally June 6 near the original resort-construction site, as the Adriatic Sea and surrounding hills frame what demonstrators are fighting to protect. Image by Stefan Lovgren for Mongabay.

Vjosa-Narta is one of the last intact delta wildernesses in the Mediterranean. Only 4% of the region’s deltas remain in a relatively undisturbed state, and this is the largest and most biodiverse. More than 2,300 species have been documented across a mosaic of lagoons, reed beds, salt flats and coastal dunes that formed over millennia.

“I call it the place where I go to meet the gods,” Hanais Mhilli, a 36-year-old baker and part-time hiking guide living in Vlorë, a city south of the delta, told Mongabay as he joined other protesters there who were boarding a bus to the beach.

At the heart of the delta lies the Narta Lagoon, a vast, shallow body of brackish water stretching more than 40 square kilometers (15.4 square miles) where the Vjosa River meets the Adriatic Sea. It hosts more than 20,000 wintering waterbirds and ranks among the most important wetlands on the Adriatic Flyway, the migration corridor along which millions of birds travel each year between Africa and Europe.

 

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“Here we are not just fighting for Albania’s natural heritage, we are fighting for the natural heritage” everywhere, Aleksandër Trajçe, executive director of the Protection and Preservation of Natural Environment in Albania, told Mongabay. “Italy and Spain have destroyed miles and miles of coastline and now they’re trying to restore what they lost. Albania doesn’t have to make the same mistakes.”

Protesters carry an Albanian flag along the beach in the Vjosa-Narta delta after a rally on June 6. Image by Stefan Lovgren for Mongabay. A Biosphere Reserve

For more than a decade, the Vjosa River — flowing from the Pindus Mountains in Greece through southern Albania to the Adriatic Sea — was at the center of one of Europe’s fiercest conservation battles. Though dammed near its headwaters in Greece, it runs entirely free through Albania, its channels shifting and braiding across gravel beds in patterns that once characterized rivers throughout Europe.

When the river faced a cascade of proposed hydropower projects, campaigners organized and won a landmark victory in 2023 as the Vjosa became Europe’s first Wild River National Park, pioneering a conservation model in which the river itself, not just the surrounding land, is protected from development.

The Vjosa River braids freely across a wide gravel floodplain in southern Albania. The Vjosa is one of the last major rivers in Europe to flow largely unimpeded by dams. Image by Stefan Lovgren for Mongabay.

But the delta was left out. Campaigners feared that pushing to include it would jeopardize the entire agreement, and it remained under a weaker designation, the Vjosa-Narta Protected Landscape. Where the national park carries the strictest level of protection under international conservation standards, the protected landscape category permits limited development and human use.

Warning signs quickly stacked up. Maps had already been redrawn to accommodate a new international airport near the lagoon. Then, in early 2024, the Rama government amended the law on protected areas to allow construction of what it vaguely describes as high-end tourism projects, even inside protected zones. Three weeks later, Kushner’s Affinity Partners announced its plans.

“The delta was intentionally left out of the national park,” Trajçe said. “It was part of a political agenda.”

Albania hopes to join the European Union by 2030, a goal that requires closing the environment chapter of accession negotiations. This in turn requires repealing the very amendment that created the high-end tourism exception.

What Trajçe and other conservationists see unfolding now is a race against that deadline. “It’s a rush for development before they change the law,” he said. “It defies the whole purpose of a protected area.”

A cut-out flamingo rises above the crowd at a protest June 9 in Tirana, where the bird has become the unlikely symbol of a movement that Albanians have dubbed the Flamingo Revolution. The ongoing protests were sparked by a planned luxury resort development in the country’s Vjosa-Narta delta region. Image by Stefan Lovgren for Mongabay.

In September 2025, the delta received an additional layer of protection when it was included in the newly designated Vjosa Valley UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, a status the EU had supported as part of Albania’s accession process. But in January, Ivanka Trump, Kushner’s wife, visited Albania with architects and met with Rama, a trip widely interpreted as a signal that the Kushner project was moving toward construction.

Rama has made his position clear. Speaking on the sidelines of the EU-Western Balkans Summit in Montenegro on June 5, he dismissed the international attention the project has drawn. “If it wasn’t Jared, they wouldn’t give a shit,” he told Politico.

From Source to Sea

Conservationists say the Albanian government has also failed to honor its legal obligations under the management plan for the wild river national park. While the park has delivered important results — most of all, stopping the dam projects — violations have mounted.

Large quantities of water have been diverted from the Shushicë River, a major tributary within the national park, for irrigation, in direct violation of the plan, with further plans to pipe its water to the coast for tourism development. Crude oil has spilled into the Vjosa near the town of Poçem, where 150 active oil wells line the river’s middle stretch.

Excavators work in September 2025 to divert water from the Shushicë River, a protected tributary of the Vjosa River within the Vjosa Wild River National Park, seemingly in violation of the park’s legally binding management plan. Image by Stefan Lovgren for Mongabay.

Ulrich Eichelmann, a German conservationist who heads the Vienna-based NGO RiverWatch and was a key driver behind the park’s establishment, said the government has treated the designation primarily as a marketing tool. Almost none of the activities required under the management plan have been implemented, he told Mongabay. “All they focus on is getting more tourists into the area,” Eichelmann said. “Three years after the national park was created, the river system is in a worse state than before.”

The threat to the delta is part of a broader global crisis. Deltas are among the most biologically productive ecosystems on earth, the place where freshwater and saltwater mix to create conditions of great fertility. But many deltas have been relentlessly exploited, drained for agriculture and built over for ports and other infrastructure. A 2024 assessment of all 258 river deltas discharging into the Mediterranean found that no large delta — except those in Albania — still qualifies as relatively intact.

“The delta is an integral part of the wild river,” Besjana Guri, founder of LUMI and winner of a 2025 Goldman Environmental Prize for her work to protect the Vjosa River, told Mongabay. “Ecologically, you cannot divide them.”

A sea of protesters fills one of Tirana’s main boulevards on June 9, with crowds calling for the resignation of Albania’s prime minister, Edi Rama. The ongoing protests were sparked by a planned luxury resort development in the country’s Vjosa-Narta delta region. Image by Stefan Lovgren for Mongabay. Euro Leverage

The Flamingo Revolution shows no sign of losing momentum. The demonstrations have remained largely peaceful, drawing people of all ages — young couples, parents with children, elderly Albanians who lived through decades of communist rule — united by something that has rarely mobilized this society before.

The movement has also attracted the attention of Albania’s anti-corruption authority. SPAK, the independent prosecutorial body that has pursued high-profile corruption cases since its establishment in 2019, has opened a formal investigation into the project, examining not only environmental violations but reportedly extending into questions of land ownership changes and government decisions made in 2024 that cleared the way for development in the protected area.

The EU’s position has sharpened significantly, too. The European Commission has publicly and repeatedly warned Albania that it must terminate the strategic investments law that gives favored projects fast-track treatment, bypassing environmental safeguards. Failure to do so, the commission made clear, could put Albania’s path to EU membership at risk.

“Can the EU really allow Albania to destroy this unique ecosystem on the last stretch before it becomes a member state?” asked Eichelmann before heading out to join other demonstrators on the ninth day of protests in Tirana. “I don’t think so.”

 

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Citations

Miho, A., Bego, F., & Beqiraj, S. (2023). Overview of the Vjosa Delta (Pishe Poro – Narta Landscape Protected Area) – Natural Values and Threats. Albanian Journal of Natural and Technical Sciences, 59(XXVIII), 43–68.

Schwarz, U. (2024). Mediterranean Deltas: Assessment of General Intactness Based on Hydromorphological Criteria and Land Use Obstruction. EuroNatur & Riverwatch, Radolfzell/Vienna.

Schwarz, U. (2025). The State of Balkan Rivers 2025: Hydromorphological Assessment and 13-Year Trends. EuroNatur & Riverwatch, Radolfzell/Vienna.

The post Albanian ‘Flamingo Revolution’ Aims to Stop Kushner-Backed Resort on Protected Delta appeared first on The Revelator.

Perkembangan Teknologi Mengubah Wajah Permainan Digital

Transformasi teknologi telah membawa perubahan besar dalam industri hiburan digital. Jika dahulu permainan berbasis internet hanya mengandalkan tampilan sederhana dengan fitur yang terbatas, kini berbagai platform menghadirkan pengalaman yang jauh lebih interaktif, cepat, dan responsif. Salah satu istilah yang semakin sering muncul dalam pembahasan dunia permainan digital adalah Slot Maxwin, yang dikenal sebagai bagian dari evolusi permainan modern dengan dukungan teknologi terkini.

Istilah Slot Maxwin sendiri merujuk pada permainan digital yang menawarkan peluang hadiah besar melalui sistem permainan yang telah dirancang menggunakan teknologi mutakhir. Popularitasnya tidak hanya dipengaruhi oleh potensi hadiah, tetapi juga oleh kualitas visual, stabilitas sistem, hingga kemudahan akses melalui berbagai perangkat digital.

Seiring meningkatnya penggunaan smartphone, jaringan internet berkecepatan tinggi, dan komputasi berbasis cloud, pengalaman bermain kini menjadi lebih lancar dibandingkan beberapa tahun lalu. Inilah yang membuat permainan digital modern mampu menjangkau lebih banyak pengguna dari berbagai kalangan.

Teknologi Modern di Balik Slot Maxwin Digital

Perkembangan Slot Maxwin tidak terlepas dari berbagai inovasi teknologi yang terus diperbarui oleh pengembang perangkat lunak. Setiap elemen permainan dirancang agar mampu memberikan pengalaman yang nyaman sekaligus menarik bagi pengguna.

1. Grafis Berkualitas Tinggi

Salah satu perubahan paling mencolok adalah peningkatan kualitas grafis. Permainan modern kini menggunakan teknologi visual beresolusi tinggi dengan animasi yang lebih halus. Setiap detail mulai dari karakter, efek kemenangan, hingga latar permainan dibuat sedemikian rupa agar menciptakan pengalaman yang lebih imersif.

Teknologi rendering terbaru memungkinkan tampilan tetap tajam baik dimainkan melalui komputer maupun perangkat seluler.

2. Audio Interaktif

Selain visual, kualitas suara juga mengalami perkembangan signifikan. Efek audio dirancang mengikuti setiap aktivitas pemain sehingga permainan terasa lebih hidup.

Musik latar yang dinamis dipadukan dengan efek suara khusus ketika fitur bonus atau kemenangan muncul mampu meningkatkan suasana bermain secara keseluruhan.

3. Sistem Responsif Multi-Platform

Saat ini sebagian besar permainan Slot Maxwin telah menggunakan desain responsif. Teknologi ini memungkinkan permainan berjalan optimal pada berbagai ukuran layar tanpa mengurangi kualitas tampilan.

Baik menggunakan Android, iPhone, tablet, maupun komputer desktop, pengguna tetap memperoleh pengalaman bermain yang relatif konsisten.

Peran Random Number Generator (RNG)

Salah satu teknologi yang menjadi fondasi permainan digital modern adalah Random Number Generator (RNG). Sistem ini bertugas menghasilkan kombinasi angka secara acak dalam setiap putaran permainan.

Dengan adanya RNG, hasil setiap putaran bersifat independen sehingga tidak dipengaruhi oleh hasil sebelumnya maupun berikutnya. Teknologi ini digunakan untuk menjaga konsistensi mekanisme permainan sesuai desain yang telah ditetapkan oleh pengembang.

Keberadaan RNG juga menjadi salah satu indikator bahwa permainan modern memanfaatkan sistem komputasi yang lebih kompleks dibandingkan permainan digital generasi awal.

Kesimpulan

Slot Maxwin digital mencerminkan bagaimana kemajuan teknologi telah mengubah pengalaman bermain menjadi lebih modern, interaktif, dan mudah diakses. Berbagai inovasi seperti grafis berkualitas tinggi, sistem Random Number Generator (RNG), komputasi awan, kecerdasan buatan, desain responsif, serta penguatan keamanan digital menjadi fondasi utama yang mendukung perkembangan permainan saat ini.

Dengan terus berkembangnya teknologi informasi, permainan digital diperkirakan akan menghadirkan pengalaman yang semakin personal, efisien, dan inovatif. Bagi pengguna, memahami teknologi di balik permainan tidak hanya menambah wawasan, tetapi juga memberikan gambaran mengenai bagaimana industri hiburan digital terus beradaptasi mengikuti kemajuan zaman.

Headline News:

• “Booming Air Tourism Could Fuel European Rent Hikes Of Up To €250 A Year” • With unchecked growth in tourism and air traffic growth, there is a housing crisis in Europe. Some of the most popular destinations, like Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Greece, have seen protests from residents in the summer months due to the strain on affordable housing. [CleanTechnica]

Home in Greece (Dimitris Kiriakakis, Unsplash, cropped)

• “Swiss Glaciers Melting At Alarming Rate” • The snow and ice that fell on Swiss glaciers last winter is expected to be completely melted away by June 29, Glacier Monitoring in Switzerland has reported. Melting from now to October will shrink the size of the glaciers. The drastic loss is due to the heatwaves that swept over Europe this month. [Euronews]
• “French Deaths Soar As Extreme Heat Breaks European Records” • France saw around 1,000 additional deaths last week at the height of its record-smashing heat wave, the country’s public health agency said. The head of the WHO warned that Europe is now the fastest-warming continent and needs to do more to protect its citizens. [ABC News]
• “‘Insane’ Shortage Of Computer Hardware?” • In the face of the huge demand for computer hardware for data centers, we got news that Apple is raising prices on a bunch of products. Apple CEO Tim Cook said raising prices was “unavoidable.” Elon Musk also chimed in, saying the price surge is unlike anything he has seen “in any area in over 40 years.” [CleanTechnica]
• “Three Firefighters Killed And Two Injured Responding Wildfire On Utah-Colorado Border” • Three firefighters were killed on Saturday while responding to the Snyder Fire, a wildfire burning along the Utah-Colorado border, the US Wildland Fire Service announced. Two other firefighters are being treated for burn injuries, the service said. [ABC News]

For more news, please visit geoharvey – Daily News about Energy and Climate Change.

Headline News:

• “A ‘strategic mistake of colossal proportions’ Why Trump is losing the war on renewables” • Despite the Trump regime, solar overtook coal in the US electricity mix for the first month on record in May. According to energy think tank Ember, sunlight supplied a record 12.8 % of US electricity, while coal fell to 12.2%, its fourth-lowest monthly share ever. [Euronews]

Protest sign (Leo_Visions, Unsplash, cropped)

• “Climate-Tech Claims Need A Red-Flag Pass Before They Get Money” • Climate-tech claims usually arrive with a promise of a solution for some hard part of decarbonization and a request for support. Sometimes the claim deserves serious diligence. Other times it deserves a narrow demonstration. And there are times it deserves a polite but firm no. [Cleantechnica]
• “The Next Frontier: Offshore Wind Power” • Besieged by high electricity costs and heavy reliance on fossil fuels, the Philippine archipelago is positioning itself as a prime destination for Asian offshore wind investment. With massive coastal wind resources, the Philippines recognizes that offshore wind offers the path to energy independence with lowest cost. [MSN]
• “Europe Is Still Sweltering With Record-Breaking Heat” • The brutal heatwave is still griping Europe. Paris banned drinking alcohol in public over the weekend, while the city’s Pride March has been postponed, and the Louvre museum and the Eiffel Tower are closing early. Temperatures in the French capital has touched 39°C (102°F). [Euronews]
• “China Is Quietly Winning The Clean Energy Trade War” • China’s clean energy dominance is growing. Buoyed by fast rising energy needs and the projected demands of the artificial intelligence boom, clean energy projects are getting greenlit at a breakneck pace. Beijing has near-total control of global supply chains for clean energy tech. [OilPrice.com]

For more news, please visit geoharvey – Daily News about Energy and Climate Change.

Salah satu alasan yang paling sering dikemukakan pengguna adalah kemudahan mengakses permainan kapan saja. Berkat dukungan teknologi berbasis web maupun aplikasi seluler, pemain tidak lagi dibatasi oleh perangkat tertentu ataupun lokasi tertentu. Selama tersedia koneksi internet yang stabil, permainan dapat dinikmati dengan praktis.

Selain itu, proses navigasi yang semakin sederhana turut meningkatkan kenyamanan. Antarmuka modern dirancang agar mudah dipahami oleh pengguna baru tanpa mengurangi pengalaman bagi pemain yang telah berpengalaman. Perpaduan antara desain responsif dan performa yang stabil menjadikan aktivitas bermain terasa lebih efisien.

Visual Interaktif yang Menambah Daya Tarik

Aspek visual memiliki peran penting dalam mempertahankan minat pengguna internet. Slot Maxwin umumnya menghadirkan grafis berkualitas tinggi yang dipadukan dengan animasi halus serta efek suara yang mendukung suasana permainan.

Beragam tema juga menjadi nilai tambah tersendiri. Mulai dari nuansa petualangan, budaya klasik, mitologi, hingga futuristik, setiap permainan menawarkan identitas visual yang berbeda. Variasi tersebut membuat pengguna tidak mudah merasa jenuh karena selalu tersedia pilihan baru yang dapat dicoba.

Di sisi lain, perkembangan teknologi grafis memungkinkan pengalaman bermain menjadi semakin imersif. Detail warna, transisi animasi, serta kualitas ilustrasi yang terus meningkat menciptakan kesan profesional yang mampu menarik perhatian berbagai kalangan pengguna.

Sistem Permainan yang Lebih Dinamis

Tidak sedikit pengguna internet menyukai permainan yang menawarkan variasi mekanisme. Slot Maxwin menghadirkan berbagai fitur tambahan seperti putaran bonus, pengganda hadiah, simbol khusus, hingga mode permainan tertentu yang membuat setiap sesi memiliki dinamika berbeda.

Keberagaman fitur tersebut menciptakan pengalaman yang tidak monoton. Setiap putaran dapat menghadirkan kemungkinan yang berbeda sehingga pengguna terdorong untuk terus mengeksplorasi berbagai kombinasi yang tersedia.

Selain menghadirkan tantangan, sistem permainan yang variatif juga memberikan sensasi tersendiri bagi mereka yang menikmati unsur strategi sederhana dalam menentukan waktu bermain maupun memilih jenis permainan yang sesuai dengan preferensi masing-masing.

Pengaruh Komunitas Digital

Fenomena meningkatnya popularitas Slot Maxwin tidak dapat dipisahkan dari berkembangnya komunitas internet. Forum diskusi, grup media sosial, hingga platform berbagi video menjadi tempat pengguna saling bertukar pengalaman, berbagi informasi, maupun memberikan ulasan mengenai berbagai permainan.

Rekomendasi dari sesama pengguna sering kali memiliki pengaruh yang cukup besar. Ketika sebuah permainan memperoleh banyak ulasan positif, rasa penasaran calon pemain pun ikut meningkat. Efek ini menciptakan penyebaran informasi yang berlangsung secara organik.

Tidak hanya itu, konten kreator juga berkontribusi memperluas jangkauan informasi melalui pembahasan fitur, ulasan visual, hingga pengalaman bermain yang mereka bagikan kepada audiens. Kehadiran berbagai sumber informasi tersebut membantu pengguna memperoleh gambaran sebelum mencoba sebuah permainan.

Inovasi yang Terus Berkembang

Industri hiburan digital dikenal sebagai sektor yang bergerak sangat cepat. Pengembang terus menghadirkan pembaruan agar pengguna memperoleh pengalaman yang lebih menarik dibandingkan sebelumnya.

Inovasi tidak hanya terlihat dari sisi tampilan, tetapi juga pada peningkatan performa sistem, optimalisasi kecepatan loading, kompatibilitas dengan berbagai perangkat, serta penyempurnaan antarmuka. Langkah tersebut dilakukan untuk menjaga kenyamanan pengguna sekaligus mengikuti perkembangan teknologi yang terus berubah.

Kemampuan beradaptasi inilah yang menjadi salah satu faktor penting mengapa Slot Maxwin mampu mempertahankan daya tariknya di tengah persaingan hiburan digital yang semakin ketat.

Fleksibilitas dalam Menyesuaikan Preferensi Pengguna

Setiap pengguna internet memiliki karakter dan kebiasaan yang berbeda. Ada yang menyukai permainan singkat sebagai hiburan di sela aktivitas, sementara sebagian lainnya lebih menikmati sesi bermain yang berlangsung lebih lama.

Keberagaman pilihan permainan memberikan fleksibilitas kepada pengguna untuk menentukan pengalaman yang sesuai dengan preferensi masing-masing. Faktor tersebut membuat Slot Maxwin mampu menjangkau berbagai kelompok pengguna dengan kebutuhan yang beragam.

Di samping itu, perkembangan teknologi personalisasi memungkinkan rekomendasi permainan menjadi lebih relevan. Pengguna dapat menemukan pilihan yang sesuai dengan minat mereka tanpa harus menghabiskan banyak waktu melakukan pencarian.

Peran Teknologi dalam Meningkatkan Pengalaman Bermain

Perkembangan infrastruktur digital turut memberikan dampak positif terhadap kualitas layanan. Kecepatan internet yang semakin baik, perangkat dengan spesifikasi tinggi, serta teknologi komputasi modern membuat permainan berjalan lebih lancar dan responsif.

Pengalaman pengguna juga semakin meningkat berkat optimalisasi pada sisi keamanan data, stabilitas server, dan efisiensi sistem. Kombinasi tersebut menciptakan lingkungan digital yang lebih nyaman sehingga pengguna dapat menikmati hiburan dengan gangguan yang lebih minim.

Selain aspek teknis, inovasi pada desain pengalaman pengguna (user experience) terus menjadi perhatian utama. Tata letak yang intuitif, navigasi yang jelas, dan waktu respons yang cepat memberikan nilai tambah yang semakin diapresiasi oleh pengguna internet masa kini.

Kesimpulan

Popularitas Slot Maxwin di kalangan pengguna internet lahir dari perpaduan berbagai faktor yang saling mendukung. Kemudahan akses, tampilan visual yang menarik, variasi mekanisme permainan, perkembangan komunitas digital, hingga inovasi teknologi menjadi elemen penting yang membentuk daya tariknya.

Seiring meningkatnya kebutuhan masyarakat terhadap hiburan digital yang praktis dan interaktif, kategori permainan ini diperkirakan akan terus memperoleh perhatian. Meskipun demikian, setiap pengguna tetap perlu menjadikan aktivitas bermain sebagai bentuk hiburan yang dilakukan secara bijak, dengan mengutamakan pengelolaan waktu dan penggunaan yang bertanggung jawab agar pengalaman digital tetap positif dan seimbang.

Tempest: Thanks, Izzy, for taking the time to talk with me about your work with the group of activists that have been resisting the detention, and building solidarity with the detainees at the Delaney Hall facility in Newark, New Jersey. Could you start by describing, first of all, what’s happening on the inside and why people have been mobilizing in support on the outside?

Izzy: So, at Delaney Hall some of the people being held there, the hostages, went on a hunger strike and a work strike because they’re being paid less than a dollar a day to maintain the facility, and this is intolerable. Their demands are posted on Cosecha NJ’s site — they are specifically demanding the release of the elderly and minors and people whose health is in jeopardy. And they want [New Jersey] Governor Mikie Sherrill to come and see their conditions. Their demands boil down to freedom, right? Everyone needs to be free.

But it is not only a hunger strike, it is also a labor strike. And the operator of the facility is GEO Group, which is a for-profit operator that the federal government is paying to hold these people. And so the activists have gone on site to support the strikers in their resistance to GEO Group and their exploitation by the people who are holding them in detention.

Tempest: Can you say any more about why activists have chosen to come out in solidarity and mobilize outside the facility? What does this particular struggle represent for people? What motivated you to go out and what’s it been like out there?

Izzy: I was actually quite motivated by seeing friends who have gone there and the way that we can physically manifest this kind of resistance, to these kinds of totalitarian moves, with our physical presence. The people inside Delaney Hall don’t have a choice about being there, but we can choose to be there and be present with them, and that feels better to me than staying far away and consuming news about it. Seeing people report from on the ground just became harder and harder for me to stay away. If the question is, why was I out there, I felt like I had to be.

The people inside Delaney Hall don’t have a choice about being there, but we can choose to be there and be present with them, and that feels better to me than staying far away and consuming news about it.

And it felt risky, and it felt legally risky. It felt physically risky, and nowhere near as dangerous as what the hostages inside are enduring. And seeing for myself what that physical situation is. It’s an industrial strip. I understand that there was an action filed today for a health inspection at the location because there’s not supposed to be human habitation out there. When city and state actors…are now trying to get access to the space in court in order to check that it is actually reasonable to hold human beings there, like that really resonates for me. It is not an easy place to be.

Tempest: Along those lines, it’s striking to me that both Governor Sherrill and Newark Mayor Ras Baraka are progressives or liberal leaders in a so-called blue state. They’re Democratic Party figures with a national profile, which echoes some of the dynamics in Minneapolis, where there was also liberal Democratic Party leadership. And now, in Newark, it’s Baraka who’s imposed the curfew and Sherrill that’s decided to call in the state troops to enforce it and police the protesters. What does that say to you both personally, and what does it possibly suggest for the Left in terms of strategy?

Izzy: What upsets me most coming from these electeds is the misinformation that they are promoting coming from whatever law enforcement is telling them about what’s happening there and why. What they are describing doesn’t match what I saw. When I saw violence, it was violence coming from law enforcement. And when I was injured, it was law enforcement putting their hands on me. What the electeds are saying about what was happening to me and the other activists there just isn’t truthful. Strategically, what to do when politicians are lying is a really good question. But knowing the truth for ourselves is at least a starting place.

What upsets me most…is the misinformation that the [electeds] are promoting coming from whatever law enforcement is telling them…What they are describing doesn’t match what I saw. When I saw violence, it was violence coming from law enforcement. And when I was injured, it was law enforcement putting their hands on me.

Tempest: It’s striking that some of the major confrontations with ICE have happened in liberal states, that the Trump administration has thrown down a gauntlet to these “blue states.” So then the question becomes, what do we as a movement make of that, what lessons do we draw from that?

Izzy: Yeah. What I would say is, while I live in a blue state, I have loved ones in red states, and what I draw from that is you organize where you are, and you hold space where you are. When DHS is bringing this level of violence right here in our neighborhoods, then this is where we confront them.

Tempest: Can you say a few things about what it looked like outside Delaney Hall when you were there and what you experienced?

Izzy: The Delaney Hall facility is out in an industrial park outside of Newark. Supplies have to be shuttled in. At the south end of the facility, there is a driveway where hostages are brought in and out of the building. And one of the strategic goals…was to witness and potentially disrupt the transfer of hostages in and out of Delaney Hall, especially hunger strikers. At least one organizer [from inside the facility] was removed from Delaney Hall to some other location. Having an understanding, on the part of those outside, about what might be happening to the organizers and to the hunger strikers is one of the goals. When I was there, there was a focus on that access point where we’ve seen buses and vans coming in and out and wanting to have a sense of whether people are being moved.That’s what I was working on while I was there, observing vehicles coming in and out to have a sense of how people are being moved around. And so the night I was there, the protesters were occupying the lane of traffic facing Delaney Hall, and then the other lane of traffic was being held open for the trucks…And there were activist marshals that were working to try to slow the trucks down and keep the activists safe from trucks and cars racing through. I’d been told that the previous night that ICE agents had tried to push activists into the traffic as it came through. And I saw a situation where an activist was…on the ground very near a truck, and for a moment it looked like maybe their leg had been run over.They were okay. But it was a dangerous situation.

And law enforcement was not trying to keep anybody that I could see safe. They were creating even more dangerous conditions on top of semis barreling down on us on the road and we didn’t know when they were going to try to push us out into that lane of traffic.

And there’s a lot of preparation for those mobilizing outside at Delaney Hall because the support is not really there on the ground other than what [people bring to the family tent] and what activists bring, and the New Jersey police have been destroying the water, supplies and first aid supplies that activists have brought, as part of the police clearing the area.

Tempest: And to what extent are activist and family member networks being built, where ties of solidarity are being created and connections made on the ground to help strengthen the organizing going forward?

Izzy: It’s very clear that this is a moment, out at Delaney Hall, where activists from all over the region are finding each other and finding a common project to work on, building connections and building trust. And that’s happening out there on this desolate and dangerous road, and that feels important.

Tempest: So what opportunities might be offered here, in building on these connections and those movement spaces?

Izzy: Well, I don’t really want to frame a hunger strike for release from appalling and inhumane conditions as an opportunity.

Tempest: You can see this in campaigns in solidarity with people behind bars, that there’s a synergy and comradeship between what those who are incarcerated are struggling to achieve behind bars and what people are doing on the outside. There’s potentially an opportunity to build cohesive movements and to shine a light on what people behind bars have experienced.

Izzy: My understanding is that the hunger strikers are taking our presence there as supportive and as following their lead. And it is a bigger need than just, like, the North Jersey folks should be expected to shoulder. We’re a big city and we can get to Newark, to the extent we can, to show our support. We know that the people inside could see the activists out their windows, and I think one of the reasons that law enforcement demanded that the governor clear the activists out was so that the hunger strikers couldn’t see that they had support.

And what I saw on the ground, makes me think that the law enforcement actions with the horses and the mass arrests was about characterizing the activists in certain ways and about making us invisible to the leaders of this particular action [inside Delaney Hall].

Tempest: So where do you see the struggle going, the movement for justice for the strikers, the detainees and their families, and also for the activists on the inside. Clearly elected officials – with the curfews and armed troopers — are trying to shut down the solidarity protests. But at the same time, the hunger strikes have spread nationally. At Delaney Hall, there was a teenage hunger striker who was just released [and others have followed since the interview took place]. What are your thoughts on where this might be going, both locally and more broadly?

Izzy: I think that this kind of activism works. I think that by shining a light out there we continue to build the case to abolish ICE right now. The electeds who think that they can successfully characterize this protest as disorderly or violent or any of that without accounting for the disorder and violence of ICE, and ICE agents, and the abductions on our streets, in our neighborhoods, I don’t know why they think we’re going to be that easily deceived because it’s perfectly obvious who the perpetrators are here.

I was thinking today about how I have survived a cancer diagnosis. I have survived parenting a child through junior high. If these goons think that I’m impressed by whatever fascist ethno-state they think they’re building for my benefit as a middle-aged white woman, they don’t have any idea what middle-aged white women want, what we’re capable of, and what is pissing us off right now. What I’ve been through, I was not afraid of what they had to offer, which was just dumb brutality.

If these goons think that I’m impressed by whatever fascist ethno-state they think they’re building for my benefit as a middle-aged white woman, they don’t have any idea …what we’re capable of…I was not afraid of what they had to offer, which was just dumb brutality.

Tempest: It feels to me right now like Delaney Hall represents or is reverberating for people the way Minneapolis did,  almost a shorthand for police violence, racism and standing up to ICE. It seems likely that people will continue to be in the streets.

Izzy: Yeah, if they’re gonna keep giving us these symbolic moments, I think they are vastly overestimating their ability to wear us. So, look up the families of the strikers, learn about what they’re facing and how to support those families. There’s fundraising for commissary. Connect with your friends and neighbors and let them know that this is something you care about. You may be surprised that they care about it too. And whatever your local strategy is for building something that resists all of this, that’s the thing you should be chasing.

Opinions expressed in signed articles do not necessarily represent the views of the editors or the Tempest Collective. For more information, see “About Tempest Collective.”
Featured Image credit: Jwswikiuser191; modified by Tempest.

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Headline News:

• “Solar And Wind Each Produced More Electricity Than Coal In USA In April” • Solar and wind power plants are growing rapidly in the US, as coal keeps declining despite the federal government putting its thumb so heavily on the side of coal. In April alone, wind and solar each produced more electricity than the nation’s coal plants. [CleanTechnica]

Solar, wind, and coal (Arno Senoner, Unsplash)

• “Rooftop Solar Systems Can Provide Five Hours Of ‘Free’ Air Conditioning Per Day. But Is It Green?” • AC has consistently been proven to reduce heat mortality during heatwaves. The 2021 Lancet Countdown report estimated that cooling units prevented nearly 200,000 premature deaths in 2019. But with greater demand comes greater emissions. [Euronews]
• “Iron-Air Battery Project Aims To Cut Emissions And Boost Renewable Power” • Dutch startup Ore Energy secured what could be Europe’s largest iron-air battery agreement. The firm has signed a deal with energy supplier Budget Thuis to deploy 1 GWh of long-duration energy storage, starting with 400 MWh to be delivered in 2028. [Energy Live News]
• “The Nuclear Renaissance Is Missing One Key Ingredient” • The Trump administration is all-in on nuclear energy. It has committed to loaning a total of $17.5 billion to companies that build new reactors. But utilities don’t appear to have much interest. Their investors are too worried about the high cost and long delays of nuclear construction. [MSN]
• “Swiss Nuclear Plant Shut Down As River Temperature Rises Amid Heatwave” • In Switzerland, the Beznau nuclear plant, the world’s oldest active nuclear power facility, was temporarily shut down due to high water temperatures in a river used for cooling, the operator said. The water temperature in the Aare river has been measured at 25°C (77°F). [Yahoo]

For more news, please visit geoharvey – Daily News about Energy and Climate Change.

How one contaminated stream exposed Maryland's failure to investigate PFAS pollution from fire training facilities.

By Pat Elder
June 26, 2026

PFAS-contaminated water from the old Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Training Academy in Rockville flows nine miles downstream through Muddy Branch before entering the Potomac River immediately adjacent to Pennyfield Lock (Lock 22) on the C&O Canal, shown here.

‍Muddy Branch Exposed a Statewide Failure to Investigate PFAS Contamination from Fire Training Facilities across Maryland.

‍The “discovery” of severe PFAS contamination in Muddy Branch was entirely predictable. The former Montgomery County Public Safety Training Academy used carcinogenic firefighting foams for 40 years. The training academy had direct hydrologic connections to nearby streams and stormwater ponds.

Across Maryland, there are well over a hundred locations like Muddy Branch where firefighting foams containing PFAS were historically used. These sites include military bases, civilian airports, municipal fire stations, and firefighter training grounds. These locations are expected to have contaminated nearby surface waters, groundwater, sediment, fish, and wildlife in much the same way that we are witnessing the contamination unfold in Muddy Branch.

‍The Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) has not publicly acknowledged the likely PFAS contamination associated with the Maryland Fire and Rescue Institute (MFRI)  regional fire training centers across the state, despite the well-established history of aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) use at fire training facilities across the staate and nationwide. ‘

The regional training centers are listed here.

Similarly, the MDE has ignored the contamination flowing from the county-owned and operated fire training facilities statewide, at these locations.

The old Montgomery County Public Safety Training Academy was located at the intersection of Great Seneca Highway and Darnestown Road, immediately adjacent to the Muddy Branch watershed. It closed in 2016 when operations moved to the new academy at 8751 Snouffer School Road.

The Montgomery County Public Safety Training Academy at 8751 Snouffer School Road contains multiple live-fire training structures where Class B AFFF was likely used for flammable-liquid fire training before Maryland prohibited such training uses in 2021. Because the academy is situated immediately adjacent to the Cabin Branch watershed, PFAS released during historical training activities would be expected to migrate through stormwater runoff and shallow groundwater into nearby Cabin Branch. PFAS in the watershed may ultimately reach the Potomac River at Riley's Lock, about 16 miles away.

Maryland has not undertaken a systematic statewide investigation of either the Maryland Fire and Rescue Institute's regional training centers or county-operated fire training academies, despite decades of PFAS-containing firefighting foam use and the recognition of fire training areas as high-priority PFAS source areas nationwide.

PFAS-containing firefighting foam sits in a storage area at the Mechanicsville Volunteer Fire Department in St. Mary’s County, MD. (Photo Courtesy of Joseph Guyther)  Maryland Matters

Maryland also has hundreds of municipal and volunteer fire stations. Most are believed to have historically stored and used Class B aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) for vehicle fires, fuel spills, aircraft incidents, and training. While most are not "training academies," they may represent a much larger number of potential PFAS source areas than the academies themselves.

Firetrucks were commonly equipped with AFFF storage tanks, proportioning systems, hoses, and foam nozzles that required routine operational testing. These activities often involved discharging foam onto designated testing pads, training grounds, gravel lots, or other outdoor areas. In addition to emergency responses and firefighter training exercises, decades of routine nozzle testing, system flushing, and accidental releases likely resulted in repeated PFAS discharges at fire stations throughout Maryland. These testing locations have never been investigated and may be heavily contaminated, particularly where runoff flowed into storm drains, ditches, streams, ponds, or groundwater recharge areas.

Airports and Military Bases

The MDE ought to be investigating all major airport and military firefighting training areas.

The Department of Defense has already identified numerous Maryland installations where AFFF was used during emergencies, testing, or routine training.

Here’s a list of military sites that the DOD has identified as having used AFFF during emergencies and routine practice.

Army

Aberdeen Proving Ground
Adelphi Laboratory Center
Fort Detrick
Fort Detrick - Forest Glen
Fort Meade – BRAC
Fort Meade – Active
Fort Meade – Phoenix
Phillips Army Airfield
Weide AASF

Navy

Annapolis Naval Academy
Annapolis Surface Weapons Center BRAC
NSWC Carderock – West Bethesda Campus
Bainbridge
Naval Research Laboratory Chesapeake Bay Detachment
Indian Head Naval Surface Weapons Center
Patuxent River Naval Air Station
Solomons Naval Recreation Center
Webster Field Annex – Patuxent River NAS

Walter Reed National Military Medical Center
White Oak- NSWC Dahlgren DIV

Air Force 

Joint Base Andrews
National Guard Martin State

Maryland Airports       

Aside from the clearly documented use of AFFF during fire training at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport in Baltimore over the years, Maryland’s regional Airports have likely trained with the toxic foams.

‍Baltimore Washington International Airport participates in annual Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting recertification training. The foams used to douse this recent blaze likely cccontained fluorine-free foams, but decades of practice likely involved the deadly foams.  - IAFF Local 1742

‍Regional Airports that likely used the toxic foams

Martin State Airport        ‍

Wicomico Regional Airport     

Hagerstown Regional Airport  

‍Greater Cumberland Regional Airport

‍Frederick Municipal Airport    

‍St. Mary's County Regional Airport   

‍Easton Airport

‍Cambridge–Dorchester Regional Airport     

‍Carroll County Regional Airport       

‍Garrett County Airport   

‍Montgomery County Airpark   

‍Ocean City Municipal Airport  

‍Bay Bridge Airport        

‍Crisfield–Somerset County Airport    

‍Tipton Airport‍‍ ‍

MDE’s botched “take-back” program

The MDE also dropped the ball in implementing the PFAS “take-back” program that the General Assembly had ordered and funded in 2022. Maryland banned PFAS-containing firefighting foam in 2022 and directed MDE to establish a  program to collect and dispose of legacy AFFF.

The department received $500,000, a tiny amount in state funding, to carry out that mandate, yet by May 2026—roughly four years after passage of the law—fire departments across Maryland were still storing drums and containers of banned foam in closets, storage rooms, and apparatus bays while awaiting state action.

MDE's delay in implementing the state's AFFF take-back program created more than a bureaucratic problem. For years after Maryland banned PFAS-containing firefighting foam, thousands of gallons of the material remained stored at firehouses throughout the state. These stockpiles were often kept in plastic containers, storage rooms, apparatus bays, and outdoor locations vulnerable to weather, flooding, punctures, equipment failures, and accidental releases. The continued storage of large quantities of AFFF at hundreds of fire stations increases the likelihood of additional PFAS contamination events long after the state had recognized the hazards posed by the foam. Rather than promptly removing and securely disposing of the material, Maryland allowed it to remain scattered across local communities while the state struggled to establish the take-back program required by law.

The state’s unwillingness to dispose of legacy PFAS-containing firefighting foam raises questions not only about environmental risk but also about cost. Maine's Department of Environmental Protection recently estimated that approximately 50,000 gallons of aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) remain available for collection across that state. Using a planning estimate of roughly $100 per gallon—derived from New Hampshire's statewide program, Maine projected that collection and disposal alone could cost at least $5 million. In the meantime, MDE recommends facilities “properly” store PFAS-containing Class-B foams, while regularly monitoring for storage system leaks and maintenance needs is necessary.

Maryland faces an even larger challenge. The state has a much larger population than Maine and contains hundreds of potential AFFF-use locations. If Maryland's legacy AFFF inventory is comparable to or greater than Maine's estimated 50,000 gallons, disposal costs could easily reach $5 million to $10 million or more.

‍The estimate does not include the costs of environmental investigation, “remediation”, or long-term monitoring at contaminated sites. These costs could reach several billion dollars at a hundred sites. “Cleanup” would require decades of groundwater extraction, multiple pump-and-treat systems, treatment plants using granular activated carbon or ion exchange, excavation and disposal of contaminated soils, installation of extensive monitoring well networks, repeated sampling of groundwater, surface water, fish and wildlife, replacement of contaminated drinking water supplies, engineering investigations, CERCLA oversight, and decades of long-term operation and maintenance.

‍Scientists cannot agree on what PFAS cleanup ultimately looks like. EPA acknowledges significant uncertainties surrounding the destruction of PFAS through high-temperature incineration, while landfilling merely transfers the chemicals to another location where contaminated leachate must be managed for decades. In many cases, "cleanup" means moving PFAS rather than eliminating it.

Who Bears the Burden?

‍This reality raises a difficult ethical question. When Maine shipped thousands of gallons of legacy firefighting foam to the hazardous waste facility in Emelle, Alabama, it reduced one state's environmental burden by transferring it to another community. Emelle is a predominantly Black community that has long hosted one of the nation's largest hazardous waste landfills. As states confront growing stockpiles of PFAS waste, policymakers must decide not only how to manage these chemicals, but also who will bear the environmental risks associated with their disposal.

‍WSSC prompted MDE to get to work

‍The testing process at Muddy Branch wasn’t initiated by MDE. Testing occurred only after the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC) requested additional PFAS investigation in the Muddy Branch watershed. Following WSSC's request, the MDE conducted more extensive sampling of streams and stormwater ponds in the area. MDE's investigation subsequently identified elevated concentrations of PFAS in surface waters near the former Montgomery County Public Safety Training Academy.

If there is a hero in this story, it is WSSC. Private citizens have tested tap water throughout Prince George’s and Montgomery Counties and found levels of PFAS well under federal guidelines. While WSSC limits drinking water to levels under 4 parts per trillion for PFOS and PFOA, the MDE allows Smallmouth Bass with 574,000 parts per trillion of PFOS to be consumed in the Potomac north on Montgomery County and Largemouth Bass south Montgomery County with 94,200 ppt of PFOS to be consumed by the unsuspecting public. ‍ ‍

The Media Missed the Larger Story

Maryland's major news organizations have not treated PFAS contamination from fire training areas as the statewide story it plainly is. The Washington Post and The Baltimore Sun have failed to investigate the broader pattern of PFAS contamination from fire training academies, county training centers, municipal fire stations, airports, and military installations across Maryland.

‍ Local television and radio outlets reported the initial Muddy Branch advisory, but the story stopped there. Initial reports focused public attention on the county's announcement that PFAS had been detected at about 1,600 parts per trillion near the former Montgomery County Public Safety Training Academy. But the fuller MDE data later showed a much broader chemical picture, including 4,465 ppt total PFAS at MB8 near the stormwater pond. That follow-up story—the one that changed the public's understanding of the scale and complexity of the contamination—was ignored.

Maryland's news media have reported on PFAS legislation, fish advisories, military cleanup efforts, and the state's delayed foam take-back program. What has been largely absent is sustained investigative reporting into the contamination of Maryland's fire training facilities themselves—the places where PFAS-containing firefighting foams were routinely discharged for decades.

‍The result is a distorted public record. Residents were told there was PFAS in Muddy Branch, but it was never explained that Muddy Branch is part of a much larger statewide pattern tied to decades of firefighting foam use. When major news organizations fail to explain that pattern, public agencies face less pressure, elected officials face fewer questions, and residents are left with the impression that this is an isolated event rather than a predictable consequence of Maryland's long failure to investigate fire training sites.

‍The failure of the press to follow the evidence allows public misunderstanding to flourish.

‍Still, Muddy Branch will ultimately prove to be the first clear demonstration of a much larger statewide problem.‍ ‍

Bucking a decades-long trend of sidelining questions of international solidarity and silencing Palestine liberation, delegates to the 39th UAW Constitutional Convention in Detroit, Michigan voted June 18 to divest from Israel bonds. The UAW reportedly holds at least $400,000 in these investments. Delegates from Unite all Workers for Democracy (UAWD), the class struggle movement of the UAW, representing UAW members across the country, led the effort to divest.

UAW members have been fighting to divest dues money from Israel bonds for over fifty years. In the 1970s, the UAW Arab Workers Caucus picketed UAW events, struck, and organized for the 1974 UAW Constitutional Convention demanding divestment. Workers redoubled their efforts after the apartheid state escalated its genocide in October 2023.

UAWD developed and organized to advance a class struggle program of Constitutional amendments, grounded in UAWD’s principles of rank-and-file militancy, workers’ democracy and workplace control, international working class solidarity, and political independence. The program includes a stronger version of the divestment amendment to end the UAW’s complicity with Israeli genocide and end imperialist wars. UAWD members brought the amendment to membership meetings in several locals across the country. Members at locals 869, 1115, 2320, 2325, and 7902 voted to send versions of the amendment to the Convention.

UAW leadership initially excluded divestment from the Convention’s agenda. On Wednesday, June 17 UAWD member Olga Karounos, a legal services worker from New York, made a motion to call the amendment out of committee. 147 delegates stood in support, clearing the 128 required to agendize the amendment. The amendment was debated and adopted by the Convention Thursday, June 18 with 321 votes in favor and 287 against. A previous UAW Executive Board vote on divestment failed on May 3, 2024. The vote came after sustained worker pressure and demands for action on the issue from multiple union locals.

Since its founding in 2004, Labor for Palestine has led the effort within the U.S. labor movement to honor the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) picket line. Labor for Palestine has organized protests and resolutions in the UAW and in unions across the labor movement, and many of the UAWD members who advanced the divestment amendment are also long-time Labor for Palestine members.

Earlier in the day on Wednesday, UAWD member Mike Davis, a parts manufacturing worker from Ohio, made a motion to call the stronger pro-Palestine amendment to the floor. In addition to forcing divestment, UAWD’s amendment to End Complicity With Israeli Genocide and Imperialist Wars would support workers who strike to interrupt weapons flows to Israel, set endorsement criteria for politicians, and cut ties with the apartheid Histadrut labor organization. 69 delegates stood in support of Davis’ motion, falling short of the 128 required.

The Proposed Resolutions booklet from the 39th UAW Constitutional Convention and UAWD’s class struggle unionism buttons. Photo credit: UAWD.

The stronger version of the UAWD amendment would’ve enabled weapons workers in the U.S. to take action to shut down the flow of weapons to Israel by giving them job and pay protections while striking or if they face retaliation. UAW’s divestment shows the potential for greater militancy and labor solidarity action within U.S. unions, coming as the working class around the world has mobilized to fight genocide. The pro-Palestine movement in the United States has won the divestment of public investment funds in Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, and New York City. Workers in Belgium, France, Greece, Morocco, Spain, Italy, Sweden, and beyond have even refused to handle weapons and Israeli-bound cargo.

UAWD delegates also brought amendments to fight layoffs and ICE to the Convention. UAW leadership also excluded these resolutions from the agenda and UAWD delegates called for them to be debated. These amendments, and the stronger pro-Palestine amendment, threatened to disrupt production and labor-management agreements that maintain labor peace.

UAWD’s amendment to Fight Layoffs with Work Sharing would require UAW negotiators to bargain work sharing provisions, spreading available work across the entire bargaining unit instead of throwing some workers out of a job. The resolution notes that “thousands of UAW members have recently been laid off at John Deere, Stellantis, General Motors, Ultium, and numerous IPS facilities.” On Tuesday, June 16 UAWD member Margie Thornton, a legal services worker from Colorado, made a motion to call it out of committee. 62 delegates stood in support, failing short of the 128 required.

UAWD’s amendment to Abolish ICE and Fight State Attacks on Workers would trigger membership meetings to discuss striking in the event of ICE attacks in the area. UAW Local 2325 has already implemented a similar structure. On Tuesday, June 16 UAWD supporter Andrew Eichen made a motion to call it out of committee. 162 delegates stood in support, clearing the 128 required. Shawn Fain’s United caucus, the renamed Administration Caucus that ruled the UAW through top-down repression for decades, organized against the resolution in their Wednesday morning meeting. As has been the practice for years, delegates were urged to attend the caucus meeting to hear recommendations from top UAW leadership if they want to secure future jobs on UAW staff. The amendment was debated and ultimately voted down Thursday, June 18, following impassioned speeches about the importance of building working-class capacity to shut down production with political strikes.

This Constitutional Convention was the second attended by UAWD, and the first since UAWD split last year after a faction of former leaders’ failed attempt to dissolve the organization. At the 2022 Convention, UAWD called out three amendments from committee, a first in the modern era for the historically undemocratic UAW Convention setting. UAWD’s amendment to begin the calculation of strike pay on the first day of a strike, instead of the eighth day, passed unanimously after top UAW leadership had tried to block it procedurally.

Unite all Workers for Democracy (UAWD) is the class struggle movement of the UAW. UAWD members across the country organized in their locals to send class struggle amendments to the Convention and ran as delegates from their locals.

Opinions expressed in signed articles do not necessarily represent the views of the editors or the Tempest Collective. For more information, see “About Tempest Collective.”
Featured Image credit: Daily Struggle; modified by Tempest.

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