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Editorial, This colonial mine contract

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Filos Hines protest
The women’s march against the 1947 proposed Filos-Hines Treaty, which would have made all of Panama a permanent US protectorate. In those chaotic days there was also the shootout at the university, the rise of a student generation who later negotiated the end of the Canal Zone, disagreements among the ranks, petty hustlers who saw lucrative opportunities for themselves in the deal and in the end a wise cop who said no, who insisted that there must be dignity and justice to have any hope to maintain order. Panama’s future happiness and prosperity depend on people coming forward like this now.

No sale

What might happen at the National Assembly today, or in the days that follow?

That things proceed as Nito, Gaby, Benicio et al apparently plan would be this historical disaster on a par with the 1904 acceptance of the imposed Hay – Bunau-Varilla Treaty. Panama would be colonized again.

Then there is the danger that some delusional character informed by imported “hero with a gun” fiction might introduce violence into what ought to be a serious but civil discussion. No telling who, from which side, nor where that might lead. History has lots of horror stories about that sort of thing to tell us. Multiple burdens of responsibility are placed on the police today. Let’s everyone on both sides of the line keep the peace.

Do we want to look back to the moments of wisdom and grandeur in Panamanian history? The big one was about a cop who took responsibility and did other than what he was told to do. It was in 1947, when José A. Remón stepped out of his supposed-to-be apolitical Guardia Nacional role and advised the legislature to reject the proposed Filos-Hines Treaty with the United States. Harry Truman never forgave Panamanians for it, but the deputies did the right thing and followed Remón’s advice.

A contract that gives a foreign company powers akin to those taken by Belgium’s King Leopold for mines in The Congo? That’s the ugly colonial scheme being urged upon Panama, and from ever more lines of thinking and walks of life, Panamanians are rejecting it.

The time has come for one, two, a bunch of actual patriots in the legislature to tell their parties, to tell their bosses, to tell their would-be benefactors that this deal is off, that Panama is not for sale.

 

Stranger in a Strange Land

 

Of course the game is rigged. Don’t let that stop you – if you don’t play, you can’t win.

Robert Heinlein

Bear in mind…

It’s innocence when it charms us, ignorance when it doesn’t.

Mignon McLaughlin

It is not unseemly for a man to die fighting in defense of his country.

Homer

Never refuse any advance of friendship, for if nine out of ten bring you nothing, one alone may repay you.

Madame de Tencin

 

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Ndzendze, BRICS: new members and into what they would buy

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BRICS summit

Brics expansion: six more nations are
set to join – what they’re buying into

by Bhaso Ndzendze, University of Johannesburg

One key outcome of the 15th BRICS summit, hosted by South Africa, is the decision to invite six more countries to join the group with effect from January 2024. They are Argentina, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. All six had applied for membership. The enlargement will grow the association’s membership to 11, and increase its envisaged role as a geopolitical alternative to global institutions dominated by the west.

The five current member countries – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – have argued that their size, in economic and population terms, was not represented in the world’s institutions, particularly the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The BRICS five represent about 42% of the world’s population and more than 23% of world GDP.

The enlarged grouping will account for 46.5% of the world population. Using IMF GDP data, we can deduce that it will account for about 30% of global GDP.

The disparate nature of the six new members is bound to spark debate about the real nature of BRICS.

In his welcoming remarks at the summit (22-24 August), the host, South African president Cyril Ramaphosa, stated:

BRICS stands for solidarity and for progress. BRICS stands for inclusivity and a more just, equitable order. BRICS stands for sustainable development.

The group has been remarkably consistent on these values and aspirations.

Understanding the nature of BRICS

One of the first questions about BRICS is often “what is it?” This is telling. This question does not come up, for example, about the European Union or even the G20.

BRICS is not an organization (it has no headquarters, secretariat or treaty). But it does have a formal institution that is jointly owned – the New Development Bank. Confusion about BRICS’s precise nature is understandable.

At various points it has referred to itself as a forum, a platform, a mechanism, a partnership, or a strategic partnership, to name a few. Others have called it an alliance or a bloc. It is neither.

In international relations, both terms are strictly defined. The term “alliance” refers to a mutual defense pact and implies military cooperation. A “bloc” refers to ideological consistency (political bloc) or a free trade agreement (trade bloc). BRICS has none of these characteristics.

The members also disagree on some key issues. China and Russia are noncommittal (at best) on the aspirations of India, Brazil and South Africa to become members of the UN Security Council. Their declarations have over the years reiterated the same phrase:

China and Russia understand and support the aspirations of India, Brazil and South Africa to play a greater role in the United Nations.

This shows there is some serious disagreement within the group.

As a political scientist interested in global politics, I have written about BRICS and its potential for changing the status quo. With hindsight, I can assert that certain principles have informed it since its establishment and first summit in 2009. In my view, at a material level, the 15 years of summit declarations point to four fundamental values:

  • mutual development
  • multilateralism
  • global governance reform
  • solidarity.

The association self-reportedly seeks secure sustainable development for itself and the global south, to safeguard and advance multilateralism, to institute reform for the goal of representative institutions, and to achieve solidarity among members.

Economic development

Economics comes first in the group; at its root, it is a collective of emerging economies eager to sustain and improve their economic trajectory. Their insistence on reform is, after all, based on their perceived disproportionate under-representation in global financial institutions.

The group’s first, and so far only, notable establishment is the New Development Bank, primarily to finance infrastructure development. There’s also a contingent reserve that members can draw from in emergencies. It is valued at $100 billion.

Multilateralism

The second value refers to the group’s concern about the use of entities outside the UN to pursue global objectives. Most notable is the use of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) to invade Afghanistan in 2001 following the 9/11 attacks in the United States, and the invasion of Iraq in 2003 by the United States and the United Kingdom, circumventing the UN Security Council.

Russian president Vladimir Putin expressed this concern in his speech to the 2007 Munich Conference on Security:

The use of force can only be considered legitimate if the decision is sanctioned by the UN. And we do not need to substitute NATO or the EU for the UN.

Global governance reform

Thirdly, the BRICS countries have long pushed for leaders of global institutions to be elected in a transparent and democratic way. For example, the president of the World Bank has always been an American, and the managing director of the IMF a European. The World Bank has 189 member states and the IMF 190.

The idea of the New Development Bank was not to substitute the World Bank but to “supplement” existing international financial institutions. BRICS still envisions a World Bank in which its members have voting rights proportional to their economic weight, and with staff drawn from across the world in a geographically balanced way.

Solidarity

Finally, the members have articulated solidarity with one another in a number of declarations, beginning in 2010. It comes down to mutual assistance in times of humanitarian disasters, respecting one another’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

In light of criticism and sanctions plans against China, for its alleged suppression of the Uyghur-Muslim population, and Russia, for invading Ukraine, solidarity has come to mean silence or nonalignment.

A blank slate

BRICS is a nebulous entity. This has proved beneficial for member countries hosting BRICS summits. They get to set the agenda and use it for their ends – without upsetting the consensus. One common pattern has been the use of summits to set overarching themes that are favorable to the host country’s domestic policy and regional leadership or foreign policy stance.

Thus, for example, all BRICS summits hosted by South Africa foregrounded Africa in their names: “BRICS and Africa: Partnership for mutually accelerated growth, sustainable development and inclusive multilateralism” in 2023. Brazil and Russia have inserted issues that are important to their region, and often invited leaders of neighboring countries to retreats.

This shows how much clout they enjoy, as they get to funnel access to a now-renowned association that is simultaneously well established but also evades easy definition. With the addition of the six new members, such evasiveness is set to only continue.The Conversation

Bhaso Ndzendze, Associate Professor (International Relations), University of Johannesburg

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

 

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Big Three US automakers named in massive strike vote

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ON STRIKE -- SHUT 'EM DOWN!!!
“Our message to the Big Three is simple: Record profits mean record contracts,” said UAW president Shawn Fain. The union has generally chosen one of the major companies as a strike target, so set a pattern for the remaining negotiations. But all sorts of traditional deals have broken down in recent years. As has the old union leadership, the Administration Caucus which Fain defeated. UAW photo.

97% of “clearly fed up” UAW Big Three autoworkers approve strike

by Brett Wilkins — Common Dreams

Members of the United Auto Workers at General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis overwhelmingly voted to authorize a strike should negotiations for a new contract fail, the union announced Friday.

With some votes still left to be tallied, UAW said 97% of its participating members at the so-called Big Three automakers approved a strike if a deal can’t be reached with management before the workers’ current contract expires on September 14.

“Our union’s membership is clearly fed up with living paycheck-to-paycheck while the corporate elite and billionaire class continue to make out like bandits,” Shawn Fain, UAW’s new president, said in a statement Friday. “The Big Three have been breaking the bank while we have been breaking our backs.”

UAW is demanding a 40% pay raise for workers at the three automakers; the elimination of tiered wages and benefits; re-establishment of cost-of-living allowances, defined benefit pensions, and retiree healthcare; the right to strike over plant closures; increases in current retiree benefits; and more paid time off.

“Our members’ expectations are high because Big Three profits are so high. The Big Three made a combined $21 billion in profits in just the first six months of this year,” said Fain. “That’s on top of the quarter-trillion dollars in North American profits they made over the last decade. While Big Three executives and shareholders got rich, UAW members got left behind. Our message to the Big Three is simple: Record profits mean record contracts.”

Vincent Tooles, a worker at a Stellantis factory in Warren, Michigan, earns $20.60 per hour assembling Jeep Wagoneers. Tooles toldThe Washington Post he makes less hourly than his father did at the same company 20 years ago.

“What I would like to see change is just an increase in pay,” he said. “I feel like we’re the only industry probably in the country that has went down in pay over the last 30 years.”

UAW said 147,000 members took part in the vote—46,000 at GM, 57,000 at Ford, and 44,000 at Stellantis, the parent company of 16 brands including Chrysler, Jeep, and Ram in the United States.

The UAW strike vote follows this week’s ratification by an overwhelming majority of UPS Teamsters of a new contract—hailed by some as “historic” and slammed as a “sellout” by others—averting a potentially crippling strike. The UAW vote also comes as 85,000 Kaiser Permanente hospital and clinic workers are set to start voting Saturday on authorization of what could be the biggest healthcare strike in US history over what advocates say are unfair labor practices.

 

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¿Wappin? 30 days in the hole / Un mes en régimen de aislamiento

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Take him away
Note the animalistic demeanor.

Sí, todos tenemos que purgar nuestro tiempo
Yes, we all have to do our time

Humble Pie – 30 Days in the Hole
https://youtu.be/sdXjm8pZMws?si=DGrfekC7wiMmAHZw

Bessie Smith – Send Me to the ‘Lectric Chair
https://youtu.be/EC9fDrjz8xM?si=R7ikNIx6nytfyKTR

Archie Shepp – Attica Blues
https://youtu.be/ZVyy8bvv3dg?si=r3fCaeYaSkBUzUd3

10,000 Maniacs – I’m Not the Man
https://youtu.be/5YUg1QZ3sWY?si=7tdvK08MbcoRbpAR

Nelson Ned – El Preso Número Nueve
https://youtu.be/d6nGHb6NQRc?si=IzgAKFy7v2-MFvy_

Peter Gabriel & Playing for Change – Biko
https://youtu.be/jWNEr4eHL18?si=29_i8fRlGiIZPzSu

Roberta Flack – Oh Freedom
https://youtu.be/nDP3fST_vjM?si=I1GqqTLFMv07c7Tw

BB King, Joan Baez et al – Sing Sing Prison Concert
https://youtu.be/v8zbGvP218k?si=IdtMLyTjaW_rjN0G

Andre Williams – Jailbait
https://youtu.be/hjpNpRPJqhs?si=Ug6qAEBL6A0snykV

Alice Cooper – Mr. and Misdemeanor
https://youtu.be/1U4p4xWsfSw?si=hBae4XiTb2nXTTBM

Rolling Stones – Citadel
https://youtu.be/n1UHOC16VCk?si=5J72IkiSQ5RJ8JqM

Flora Purim – Casa Forte
https://youtu.be/JN9ZsDIasZU?si=OYJpzjFNGLHzpAk5

Third World – 1865
https://youtu.be/IC3C1qzoYa8?si=dSZg_NfqGXUnGh4C

Los Mozambiques – El Presidiario
https://youtu.be/7FMC5aNrL1g?si=qpugy52dNGkRABUf

Holly Near & Ronny Gilbert – Hay Una Mujer Desaparecida
https://youtu.be/TZkhUT1IBBs?si=6BVm4Mu1_5ZVV8Az

Mon Laferte – Sola con mis monstruos concierto 2023
https://youtu.be/2joDQ8vHGyE?si=YOSvKY1jlud69qnV

EJ in animalistic mode
Been there, done that – but not what HE did. You really don’t know freedom until you have lost it.

Contact us by email at / Contáctanos por correo electrónico a fund4thepanamanews@gmail.com

 

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STRI, Los bosques tropicales se están acercando a un umbral crítico

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Un nuevo estudio publicado en Nature, que combina datos térmicos obtenidos por satélite y datos de calentamiento in situ, revela que un porcentaje de las hojas tropicales están experimentando temperaturas a las que ya no pueden funcionar. En el Martijn Slot Lab en Cerro Jefe: La ex pasante de STRI, Daniela Cala, ahora estudiante de posgrado en la Universidad de Indiana, realizó algunos de los análisis que ayudaron a determinar la tolerancia al calor de las hojas, en un artículo de 2020 en Plant, Cell & Environment. Foto por Jorge Alemán.

Los bosques tropicales acercan a un umbral crítico
de altas temperaturas, pero aún hay tiempo para actuar

por STRI

Tras la semana más calurosa registrada en el planeta Tierra, un nuevo estudio en el que participaron científicos del Instituto Smithsonian de Investigaciones Tropicales (STRI) encontró que las copas de los bosques tropicales podrían estar más cerca de lo que se pensaba a umbrales críticos de altas temperaturas, pero que lograr una mitigación moderadamente ambiciosa del cambio climático podría evitar alcanzar estos peligrosos umbrales. 

El nuevo estudio combina datos térmicos obtenidos por satélite y datos de calentamiento in situ de todos los bosques tropicales del mundo, incluyendo datos de tolerancia térmica y de temperatura de las hojas obtenidos en Panamá por el laboratorio del científico de STRI Martijn Slot, para analizar la variación de las temperaturas de las hojas en las copas de los bosques.

“Mis estudiantes y yo dedicamos mucho tiempo a medir cuidadosamente la temperatura de las hojas y las temperaturas críticas para su supervivencia”, dijo Slot. “Ver esto utilizado para apoyar las predicciones de los efectos del cambio climático a largo plazo en los bosques tropicales es emocionante”.

El equipo descubrió que algunas hojas del dosel pueden estar mucho más calientes que la temperatura media del dosel. Es decir, un pequeño porcentaje de hojas tropicales ya está alcanzando y, en ocasiones, superando las temperaturas a las que ya no pueden funcionar. Esto sugiere que copas enteras podrían morir a medida que avance el cambio climático. Estos hallazgos tienen graves implicaciones porque los bosques tropicales albergan la mayor parte de la biodiversidad mundial y son reguladores importantes del clima.

En el pasado, medir con precisión las temperaturas de las hojas y del dosel de los bosques tropicales ha sido difícil y ha llevado mucho tiempo. Sin embargo, gracias a la combinación de mediciones terrestres de la temperatura de las hojas tropicales, experimentos de calentamiento de hojas en tres continentes y datos de alta resolución de un nuevo instrumento de imágenes térmicas de la NASA instalado en la Estación Espacial Internacional, el Dr. Christopher Doughty, autor principal del estudio, y sus coautores pudieron desarrollar una comprensión exhaustiva de la temperatura actual de las hojas de los bosques tropicales y modelar los cambios que podrían esperarse en función del calentamiento global antropogénico.

El estudio, titulado “Tropical forests are approaching critical temperature thresholds”, se publicó el 23 de agosto en la revista Nature.

Uno de los principales resultados es la estimación de la proporción de hojas que podrían acercarse a temperaturas críticas en caso de futuros aumentos de la temperatura del aire de 2, 3 o 4 °C (bajo distintos escenarios de calentamiento por el cambio climático). Para ello, el estudio reunió datos de experimentos de calentamiento de las hojas de las copas de los árboles de Brasil, Puerto Rico y Australia.

“Nos sorprendió mucho que cuando calentábamos las hojas 2, 3 o 4 °C, las temperaturas más altas de las hojas aumentaban por 8 °C. Esto muestra una preocupante reacción no lineal que no esperábamos”, afirma Doughty, profesor asociado de Ecoinformática en la Universidad del Norte de Arizona. El resultado es que más del 1% de las hojas de los experimentos de calentamiento del dosel superaron los umbrales críticos de temperatura, estimados en 46.7 °C, al menos una vez al año, lo que supera en dos órdenes de magnitud el porcentaje de hojas que superan este umbral actualmente. 

Los autores también midieron las temperaturas máximas de las copas de los árboles en todos los bosques tropicales de Sudamérica, África y el Sudeste Asiático utilizando un nuevo satélite de la NASA, el ECOsystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station (ECOSTRESS), que brinda la mayor combinación de imágenes térmicas de resolución espacial y temporal jamás obtenida, y descubrieron que durante los periodos secos y cálidos copas enteras podían superar los 40 °C.

“Históricamente, hemos estudiado árboles individuales para recopilar datos a pequeña escala o hemos utilizado instrumentos de satélite para recopilar datos a gran escala. Lo que faltaba era una forma de recopilar datos a pequeña escala a través de los trópicos”, explicó el coautor del estudio, el Dr. Joshua Fisher, que ayudó a lanzar el satélite ECOSTRESS mientras trabajaba como científico de la NASA en el Laboratorio de Propulsión a Reacción (JPL) hace 5 años y ahora es profesor asociado de Ciencia y Política Medioambiental en la Universidad de Chapman. “Ahí es donde recurrimos a la teledetección por satélite. Pudimos medir directamente la temperatura de los árboles con una resolución increíblemente alta, desde el espacio, utilizando la teledetección infrarroja térmica.”

Con los datos de alta resolución sobre la temperatura de las hojas y las copas, el estudio simuló el destino de los bosques tropicales en futuros escenarios de calentamiento global. Los autores analizaron el impacto del aumento en la temperatura del aire y tuvieron en cuenta la posibilidad de una mayor frecuencia de sequías, que elevaría aún más la temperatura del aire y reduciría la capacidad de enfriamiento por evaporación de las plantas, acelerando la mortalidad de los árboles. A medida que las hojas morían en el modelo, ya no podían ofrecer enfriamiento adicional, acelerando aún más el calentamiento.

Bajo los escenarios más probables, el modelo predijo que los bosques tropicales podrían soportar hasta 3.9 °C de calentamiento adicional provocado por el cambio climático antes de que las hojas experimentaran un cambio en su función metabólica y una posible muerte. Se prevén temperaturas superiores a los 3.9 °C en los escenarios de cambio climático global “si no hacemos nada”.

Los investigadores señalaron que sus proyecciones podrían variar, ya que tanto los patrones climáticos como la sequía o las actividades humanas como cambios en el uso del suelo influyen sobre los factores clave que determinan la muerte de las plantas.

“Las proyecciones de nuestro modelo no son el destino”, dijo el Dr. Doughty. “Pero sugieren que los trópicos podrían evitar este destino con algunas medidas básicas de mitigación del cambio climático. Además, ayuda a señalar algunas áreas clave que necesitan más investigación, como entender si los árboles tropicales pueden cambiar sus umbrales máximos de temperatura”. Aunque los ecosistemas forestales tropicales ya son relativamente cálidos, investigaciones anteriores sugieren que no están aclimatados a grandes oscilaciones de temperatura.

Además, la investigación descubrió que, dado que el Amazonas ya experimenta temperaturas ligeramente más altas que la cuenca del Congo, corre un riesgo mayor. De hecho, investigaciones anteriores han demostrado que los árboles están muriendo a un ritmo acelerado en el Amazonas, en comparación con África Central, lo que sugiere que las altas temperaturas podrían ser parcialmente culpables de este aumento de la mortalidad.

“Romper los umbrales de viabilidad térmica de los biomas forestales tropicales, que albergan la mayor parte de la biodiversidad del planeta, podría considerarse un importante punto de inflexión para la biosfera terrestre”, dijo el coautor, Yadvinder Malhi, profesor de la Universidad de Oxford.

Dado el papel clave de los bosques tropicales para albergar la diversidad de especies y regular el clima, entender lo que les depara el futuro podría ayudarnos a comprender la trayectoria de nuestro planeta.

El Dr. Doughty subrayó que los peores escenarios son más que evitables, y que el mundo tiene la oportunidad de actuar ahora. Dijo: “Evitando las altas emisiones y la deforestación, podemos proteger el destino de estos territorios críticos para el carbono, el agua y la biodiversidad”.

heat scan?
Con datos de alta resolución sobre la temperatura de las hojas y las copas, el estudio simuló el destino de los bosques tropicales en futuros escenarios de calentamiento global. Foto por Kali Middleby.

 

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To fend off hackers, organized trolls and other online vandalism, our website comments feature is switched off. Instead, come to our Facebook page to join in the discussion.

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Jackson, Deputies suspend debate on the copper mine contract

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Escorcia tweet
Sandra Escorcia’s tweet, not so much a threat as a reasoned expectation.

Reality sets in, legislators run away

by Eric Jackson

Does architect and independent feminist activist Sandra Escorcia have any particular gift of prophecy? Probably not, but she does recognize fear when she encounters it among politicians. Yes, the mining company bused in some of their employees to demonstrate FOR the new copper mine contract, and when they were treated with much disrespect by people in the large crowd that showed up to protest AGAINST the contract various media that sell ads promoting the mine dutifully reported the day’s event as this argument between those for and those against the proposition.

Actually, the crowd mobilized on short notice on a Monday afternoon when it rained was a clear manifestation of how unpopular the copper mine and its proposed extension and expansion really are. That the Cortizo administration had to back the proposal with the threat that people on retirement or disability pensions not only failed to impress, it injected anger into the process. The argument has moved beyond environmental objections and skepticism about the business aspect of the deal to a matter of people questioning the motives and patriotism of its supporters.

The way that the legislative process works here is that most proposals that prosper come from other branches of government — usually the Presidency, sometimes the Electoral Tribunal or the Supreme Court, get assigned to a committee for consideration and perhaps amendment, and if passed on first reading by the committee go on to the plenum of the National Assembly for votes on first and second readings, which sometimes get things sent back to committee for revision. Passed on three readings the president can sign it, veto it, or use a line-item veto to strike certain things. In the event of a full or partial veto the legislature can override it with a two-thirds super-majority — but if there is any argument over constitutionality it goes right to the Supreme Court for a ruling on that.

Here, it’s a contract rather than an organic or ordinary law, so any modification would be not only subject to a presidential veto but also to renegotiation with the company that’s the other party.

The court could be and has been a problem, as this process is where it is now because the magistrates previously ruled, years after the transaction, that the original mining concession was unconstitutional because it wasn’t put out for bids. During the process of formulating a new contract proposal, the original sin was not cured — no bidding took place — but some much more serious constitutional matters were raised in the new document. The company’s option to expand the geographic reach of its activities sets off alarm bells among already furious environmentalists. The nation’s cession of part of Panama’s airspace to the company, so that nobody can fly a plane, helicopter or drone over the mine to observe what is taking place on the ground provokes nationalists from several different directions.

So, what are Benicio Robinson’s goons in the National Assembly to do? FIRST, call the cops to set up barricades and the riot squad around the Justo Arosemena Legislative Palace. Surely, two other things:

  1. Watch what’s going on outside as the committee meeting time approaches; and
  2. Count heads to see if a PRD caucus with splits, defections, primary defeats and wimps in the room would hold steady to muster the votes to push this thing through.

Ordinarily the PRD would need its MOLIRENA allies’ votes. Cambio Democratico leader Rómulo Roux said that he supports the contract, but most of the CD caucus follows Ricardo Martinelli rather than Roux. Don Ricky,, sentenced to more than 10 years in prison but appealing, would surely like to embarrass the PRD.

Without regard to anything that Martinelli may say, do or want, and with full knowledge and expectations the party holding the presidency always gets voted out in the next elections, President Cortizo’s party has a special problem in this instance arising from its chosen 2024 standard bearer, Gaby Carrizo.

Carrizo had been the corporate lawyer for Petaquilla Gold, from which the Miinera Panama concession was partitioned off and sold. That was a sordid mess of environmental horror stories, insider trading scandals, workers from whose paychecks Seguro Social payments had been deducted but pocketed by the management, thuggish court decisions and shameless hype. The original concessionaire, Richard Fifer Carles, awaits a September 19th trial after the Supreme Court’s Penal Bench revoked a lower court’s decision to throw out the charges for theft from the Social Security Fund. A one-time main shareholder, Ricardo Martinelli, is trying to get his more than 10-year prison sentence on another matter reversed on appeal, but never faced insider trading charges for the international pump-and-dump scheme in Petaquilla’s Canadian shares via Denmark and South Korea. How did the former president do THAT? He got a ruling from a guy who was on the Supreme Court at the time, was once Noriega’s goon in charge of shutting down the opposition press, once unsuccessfully prosecuted this reporter for criminal defamation, ended up getting impeached and sent to prison and, having served his time, is now practicing law again. Alejandro Moncada Luna is the name. The shill in that scheme, one Donald Kent Winner? He fled back to the USA as soon as prosecutors started to ask questions about it. The Vancouver stock exchange put Petaquilla Gold out of its misery by delisting it, but the Moncada Luna ruling that insider trading is legal in Panama unless the shares are traded on Panama’s Bolsa de Valores lives on in the sense that other securities exchanges in the region and around the world shun the Bolsa.

Carrizo’s role? He said that he just worked there, got cheated like the Petaquilla mine workers and had misgivings about Fifer’s and Martinelli’s practices at the time. A golden anchor to pull the presidential nominee under? More like a toxic lead one. This problem with the standard bearer might not bother the PRD deputies in the legislature — as they figure that Carrizo is a loser anyway — but this mine contract issue living on as a campaign issue between now and next May directly threatens many of their jobs. It might not get Robinson kicked out of his seat in the legislature, but his position as de facto boss of his party and of the National Assembly does get put at risk.

It would be an extraordinary revelation for the party whips’ vote counts to become known to the public. One day we might know. However, on August 21:

The Commerce Committee was an hour and a half late in starting its deliberations, and:

  1. They ended up suspending the debate, with further sessions to take place in out-of-the-way Donoso, at the western end of Colon province where they would not expect crowds to gather.
  2. It sure looks like the committee ran away, and that it would be even harder for the company to mobilize the votes to win before the entire legislature.

And all of a sudden, by popular demand, the centerpiece of the PRD economic platform has collapsed. Or so it appears.

 

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Lombana, Notas sobre un intento de vender la patria

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Bernie Sanders: Let’s not have a US cold war with China

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Bernie Sanders was a strong opponent of the Vietnam War, but in Congress he has worked for years to defend and expand veterans’ benefits, and for his state of Vermont he’s been one to coordinate federal efforts with the Vermont National Guard in response to natural disasters. Here he visited a NATO training mission in Afghanistan, back in 2011. Sanders says he’s not a pacifist, but his record in office is that of a war skeptic. “International cooperation is not only in the best interests of all countries, but is absolutely necessary for the survival of the planet,” the senator argues. US Navy photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Ernesto Hernandez Fonte.

Sanders warns new cold war with China “could doom our planet”

by Jake Johnson – Common Dreams

US Senator Bernie Sanders warned Monday that hawks in both his country and China are pulling the two superpowers into a “disastrous cold war” that threatens to undercut the possibility of cooperation against the worsening global climate emergency.

Sanders (I-VT), whose home state suffered catastrophic flooding last month, wrote in an op-ed for The Guardian that “if the United States, China, and other industrialized countries do not come together to dramatically decrease greenhouse gas emissions, the world we leave our children and future generations will become increasingly unhealthy and uninhabitable.”

“Now is the time for a radical rethinking of geopolitics to reflect the reality that international cooperation is not only in the best interests of all countries, but is absolutely necessary for the survival of the planet,” wrote Sanders.

Tensions between the United States and China have risen steadily in recent years as the two nuclear-armed nations have intensified trade restrictions and repeatedly exchanged warnings and threats over Taiwan, which the US arms. Earlier this year, China voiced outrage over US plans to sell nuclear-powered submarines to Australia as part of a new military partnership.

After US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Beijing in June, China’s foreign ministry said the relationship between the two nations was “at the lowest point since its establishment” and “in a downward spiral.” A survey released last week found that 43% of Americans believe it is likely that the United States and China will be engaged in “direct military conflict” within the next five years.

“The science is clear: If the US, China, and the rest of the planet do not act with greater urgency to dramatically cut carbon emissions, our planet will face enormous and irreversible damage.”

In his op-ed, Sanders argued that a deteriorating US-China relationship is disastrous for the world, particularly given that the countries are the two largest contributors to planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions, which are fueling extreme weather that has impacted both the United States and China in recent months.

US and Chinese officials revived bilateral climate talks in July, but they did not come to any concrete agreement.

“The science is clear: If the US, China, and the rest of the planet do not act with greater urgency to dramatically cut carbon emissions, our planet will face enormous and irreversible damage,” wrote Sanders.

While expressing opposition to China’s treatment of the Uyghurs and other policy actions, Sanders argued that “organizing most of our national effort around a zero-sum global confrontation with China is unlikely to change Chinese behavior and will alienate allies and partners.”

“Most importantly, it could doom our planet by making climate cooperation impossible between the world’s two largest greenhouse emitters,” the senator added. “We need to move in a bold new direction.”

Sanders noted that both the United States and China have exploding military budgets, spending close to $900 billion and $300 billion per year respectively—an “insane dynamic,” according to the Vermont senator.

“So here’s a ‘radical’ idea,” Sanders added. “Instead of spending enormous amounts of money planning for a war against each other, the US and China should come to an agreement to mutually cut their military budgets and use the savings to move aggressively to improve energy efficiency, move toward sustainable energy, and end our reliance on fossil fuels,” Sanders wrote. “They should also provide increased support for developing countries who are suffering from the climate crisis through no fault of their own.”

Acknowledging that establishment figures would likely dismiss such a policy recommendation as “naive and unsophisticated,” Sanders responded: “Go talk to the people in Vermont who have lost their homes because of unprecedented flooding and the families in Hawaii who lost loved ones in the recent fires. Go talk to the more than one million people in China who have been displaced by catastrophic floods. Go talk to the people in southern Africa who are starving because of the terrible drought and floods they are experiencing or farmers around the world who can no longer grow their crops because of water shortages.”

“Perhaps most importantly, go talk to the hundreds of millions of young people in every country on Earth who are losing hope, wondering whether they should even have children of their own, given the enormous challenges the climate crisis poses for a normal life,” he added. “If we are to save the planet, now is the time for bold action. Let’s do it.”

 

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Editorials: The mine contract; and Violence on Via Israel

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anti-mining

Reject that obnoxious copper mine contract

Yeah, yeah. It’s supposed to generate all this fabulous wealth for Panama. All we have to do is sign away our land, our water and part of our airspace – the latter so that we’re not allowed to see what’s being done.

Who gets which wealth? How much did we get from those concessions granted to the politically connected convicted criminal Richard Fifer Carles – from which the present court-declared unconstitutional copper mine concession derives – in the years that the operation, and the Petaquilla gold mine, have been digging metal out of the ground? Who got the money?

Once upon a time there was a deal, in many ways similar, signed with the US government. Its consequences were oppressive to Panama, and after decades chipping away to get modications, 75 years later that deal was rescinded. But people died for that to happen.

Those who want to make this deal? Perhaps some of them will personally benefit in one way or another. The notion that this fire sale of a gash taken out of Panama will save our public pension system if only approved would be laughable were it actually funny. It’s a fraud pitch.

Panama should do what Ecuador just did with respect to oil drilling in its part of Amazonia. It should put the mine contract to a public vote on next year’s national elections ballot, and the Panamanian people should vote it down. Plus, run the whole lot of hustlers and shills who have been promoting this deception out of public life.

 

Good to hear the indignation and solidarity, awful to hear the excuses

Did the police call the person beaten in this fashion a man dressed as a woman? Did the victim’s mother describe the child to whom she gave birth as a son? Did wave after wave of Twitter troll call the person was kicked and stomped on the heat and now barely clings to life in the hospital a prostitute?

So what.

Estrella is a transgendered woman, according to how she wants to be called and known. It’s who she is and she has a right to be that.

A prostitute? It may be disreputable, but it’s a legal occupation in Panama.

The law does not allow people to beat up or kill prostitutes here. Are there some self-professed born-again Christians who differ, and explain away such violence? Didn’t Jesus Christ himself weigh in on that, when a mob proposed to stone a woman to death?

And then there are those who say that while there should not be such beatings in the streets, those who protest are trying to pervert young people with “gender ideology” and should shut up. But Panamanians should be proud that we have a generation of high school kids who intervened in defense of human life. Call their sense of justice and order by whatever imported from foreign neofascists slogan the hateful trolls will, those kids thought and did the right thing, as best they could. SOMEBODY taught them a healthy sense of decency along the way.

Let’s also not hear the hatemongers protest about the anti-violence protests from the US and other diplomatic missions. For one thing, it was a defense of those countries’ citizens who live here and might end up as the targets for such abuse. Plus it’s an expression of a growing world consensus about human rights.

 

Emmaline Pankhurst
British women’s suffrage leader Emmeline Pankhurst.

I come to ask you to help to win this fight. If we win it, this hardest of all fights, then, to be sure, in the future it is going to be made easier for women all over the world to win their fight when their time comes.

Emmeline Pankhurst

 

Bear in mind…

You can’t make up anything anymore. The world itself is a satire. All you’re doing is recording it.

Art Buchwald

Only false gods are laughed off their pedestals.

Agnes Repplier

Men show their characters in nothing more clearly than in what they think laughable.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

 

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IA y el conflicto laboral de cine y televisión

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ON STRIKE -- shut it down
Sindicxalistas del SAG-AFTRA en huelga. Foto de la cuenta de Twitter del sindicato.

Cómo la IA está cambiando el negocio del cine y la televisión

por Holly Willis, University of Southern California

El conflicto entre actores, guionistas y otros profesionales y los grandes estudios de cine y televisión representa un punto álgido en la transformación radical que sacude a la industria del entretenimiento. Las huelgas en curso del Sindicato de Guionistas de Estados Unidos y del Sindicato de Actores fueron provocadas en parte por la inteligencia artificial y su uso en la industria cinematográfica.

Tanto los actores como los guionistas temen que los grandes estudios utilicen la IA generativa para explotarlos. La IA generativa es una forma de inteligencia artificial que aprende de textos e imágenes para producir automáticamente nuevas obras escritas y visuales.

Entonces ¿a qué temen concretamente los guionistas y actores? Soy profesora de cine y he realizado un breve ejercicio que ilustra la respuesta.

Escribí la siguiente frase en ChatGPT: “Crea un guion para una película de cinco minutos en la que aparezcan Barbie y Ken”. En unos segundos apareció un guion.

A continuación, pedí un desglose de todas las tomas de cámara necesarias para la película. De nuevo, apareció una respuesta casi al instante, que incluía no sólo un “montaje de actividades divertidas”, sino también un elegante flashback. El cierre sugería un plano general que mostrara a “Barbie y Ken alejándose juntos de la playa, cogidos de la mano”.

A continuación, en una plataforma de conversión de texto a vídeo, escribí estas palabras: “Plano cinematográfico de Margot Robbie como Barbie caminando cerca de la playa, luz de primera hora de la mañana, rayos de sol rosas iluminando la pantalla, hierba alta y verde, detalle fotográfico, grano de película”.

Aproximadamente un minuto después apareció un vídeo de tres segundos. Mostraba a una esbelta mujer rubia caminando por la playa. ¿Es Margot Robbie? ¿Es Barbie? Es difícil saberlo. Decidí añadir mi propia cara en lugar de la de Robbie sólo por diversión y en cuestión de segundos el cambio estaba hecho.

Ahora tengo un clip de imagen en movimiento en mi escritorio que puedo añadir al guion y a la lista de tomas, y estoy más cerca de crear un cortometraje protagonizado por alguien parecido a Margot Robbie como Barbie.

El miedo

Nada de este material es especialmente bueno. Al guion le falta tensión y gracia. La lista de planos es poco inspirada. Y el vídeo es simplemente raro.

Sin embargo, la posibilidad de que cualquiera –aficionado o profesional– cree un guion y utilice la imagen de un actor existente significa que las habilidades que antes eran específicas de los guionistas y la imagen que un actor podía llamar suya están ahora disponibles –con una calidad cuestionable, por cierto– para cualquiera que tenga acceso a estas herramientas gratuitas en línea.

Dado el ritmo del cambio tecnológico, la calidad de todo este material creado mediante IA generativa está destinada a mejorar visualmente, no sólo para personas como yo y los creativos de las redes sociales en todo el mundo, sino posiblemente para los estudios, que probablemente tengan acceso a ordenadores mucho más potentes. Además, estos pasos separados –preproducción, guion, producción, postproducción– podrían ser absorbidos en un único sistema racionalizado que no tuviese casi nada que ver con el oficio actual de hacer películas.

Los guionistas tienen miedo de que, en el mejor de los casos, se les contrate para editar guiones redactados por la IA. Temen que su trabajo creativo sea transformado en bases de datos que alimenten a las herramientas de escritura. Y temen que sus conocimientos específicos queden relegados a un segundo plano en favor de los expertos en trabajar con herramientas de IA.

Y los actores temen verse obligados a vender su imagen para que los estudios la utilicen una y otra vez. Temen que las tecnologías deepfake se conviertan en la norma y que no se necesiten actores reales. Y les preocupa que no sólo sus cuerpos, sino también sus voces sean tomados, sintetizados y reutilizados sin una compensación continua. Y todo esto se suma a la disminución de los ingresos de la gran mayoría de los intérpretes.

En el camino hacia el futuro de la IA

¿Están justificados sus temores? Más o menos. En junio de 2023, Marvel presentó en Disney+ los créditos iniciales de la serie Invasión Secreta en parte creados con herramientas de IA. El uso de la IA por parte de un gran estudio suscitó controversia debido al momento elegido y al temor a que la IA desplace a personas de sus puestos de trabajo.

El 26 de julio, el desarrollador Nicholas Neubert publicó un tráiler de 48 segundos de una película de ciencia ficción realizada con dos IA: imágenes de Midjourney y movimiento de Gen-2 de Runway. Tiene una pinta estupenda. No se contrató a ningún guionista. No se utilizaron actores.

Además, a principios de este mes, una empresa llamada Fable lanzó Showrunner AI. Los usuarios envían imágenes y voces, junto con una breve indicación, y la herramienta responde creando episodios completos que integran al usuario.

Los creadores han utilizado South Park como ejemplo, y han presentado episodios que incluyen a los espectadores como personajes de la historia. La idea es crear una nueva forma de participación de la audiencia. Tanto para los guionistas como para los actores, la IA de Showrunner debe ser algo realmente escalofriante.

Por último, Volkswagen acaba de producir un anuncio en el que aparece una reencarnación en IA de la cantante brasileña Elis Regina, fallecida en 1982. Dirigido por Dulcidio Caldeira, muestra a Regina cantando a dúo con su hija. Para algunos, la canción creó un conmovedor reencuentro entre madre e hija.

Sin embargo, para otros, la regeneración por IA de alguien que ha muerto suscita inquietudes sobre cómo podría utilizarse su imagen después de la muerte. ¿Qué ocurre si uno se opone moralmente a un determinado proyecto cinematográfico, programa de televisión o anuncio publicitario? ¿Cómo podrán mantener el control los actores?

Mantener a los actores y guionistas en los créditos

Los temores de guionistas y actores podrían apaciguarse si la industria del entretenimiento desarrollara una visión integradora que reconociera los avances de la IA, pero que contara con guionistas y actores, por no hablar de directores de fotografía, directores, diseñadores artísticos y otros.

Por el momento, los desarrolladores están creando y mejorando rápidamente las herramientas de IA. Es probable que las productoras las utilicen para reducir drásticamente los costes, lo que contribuirá a un cambio masivo hacia una economía orientada a los trabajos por encargo. Si se mantiene la actitud desdeñosa hacia los guionistas y actores de muchos de los grandes estudios, no sólo se tendrán poco en cuenta las necesidades de los guionistas y actores, sino que el desarrollo tecnológico dirigirá la conversación.

Sin embargo, ¿qué pasaría si las herramientas se diseñaran con la participación de actores y guionistas? ¿Qué tipo de herramienta crearía un actor? ¿Qué crearía un escritor? ¿Qué tipo de condiciones en materia de propiedad intelectual, derechos de autor y creatividad tendrían en cuenta los desarrolladores? ¿Y qué tipo de ecosistema cinematográfico inclusivo, con visión de futuro y creativo podría aparecer? Responder a estas preguntas podría dar a actores y guionistas las garantías que buscan y ayudar a la industria a adaptarse a la era de la IA.The Conversation

Holly Willis, Professor of Cinematic Arts, University of Southern California

Este artículo fue publicado originalmente en The Conversation. Lea el original.

 

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