November 22, 2018

News and Views

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT YOUR DATA? I’M NOT TERRIBLY WORRIED ABOUT MY DATA, THOUGH I HAVEN’T HAD A MALEVOLENT PARTY UNKNOWN TO TAP INTO MY BANK ACCOUNT YET, EITHER, AND I HAVEN’T WON THE LOTTO, WHICH WOULD GIVE BAD GUYS A GREATER INCENTIVE. I THINK THE NUMBER OF HACKERS WHO WOULD FOCUS ON ME IS RELATIVELY SMALL. I HAVE NOTICED, HOWEVER, THAT IN THE LAST THREE OR FOUR MONTHS I NOW HAVE A BRAND-NEW CATEGORY OF VIEWERS WHEN I COLLECT MY STATISTICS – AND REGULARLY ON A DAILY BASIS.

THAT IS ODD, BECAUSE THE GODS OF THE INTERNET ALWAYS KNOW WHO I AM WHENEVER I CLICK ON A WEBSITE FOR BUSINESS OR CURIOSITY. THEY KNOW IT BY THE UNIQUE IDENTIFICATION CODE OF MY COMPUTER HOOKUP. WHAT I THINK IS THAT HACKERS ARE CAPABLE OF OPERATING FROM AN UNIDENTIFIED OR BLOCKED COMPUTER SITE WHICH DOES NOT TRANSMIT ITS’ LOCATION, OR MORE LIKELY, MASKS IT. WHEN I DO MY STATS, THE AUDIENCE COUNTS REPORT UNDER NATIONAL HEADINGS, BUT LATELY THERE IS A NEW CATEGORY CALLED “UNKNOWN REGION.”

THERE ARE BETWEEN 20 AND 40 OF THOSE READERS, USUALLY, BUT YESTERDAY AND THE DAY BEFORE THEY WERE ONLY NUMBERED IN THE TEENS, AND ANOTHER DAY LAST WEEK THERE WERE 41. IT USUALLY CLUSTERS IN THE 20S. THE MOST PARANOID -- BUT GIVEN THE TYPE OF WRITING THAT I DO, IT IS NOT TOO UNLIKELY THAT I ATTRACT SOME NOTICE, IN A PARANOID COUNTRY IN A PARANOID TIME PERIOD UNDER A PARANOID LEADER, ACTUALLY TO BE WATCHED AS A POLITICALLY ACTIVE BEING. “UNKNOWN LOCATIONS” DO NOT EXIST, I AM SURE, BUT PEOPLE WANTING TO HIDE THEIR IDENTITIES DO. I’M NOT WORRIED, BECAUSE I LIVE IN A SINGULARLY SAFE HIGHRISE BUILDING WHICH HAS A GUARD IN THE FRONT LOBBY. I AM VERY INTERESTED, HOWEVER. IF I WRITE THIS PARAGRAPH TALKING ABOUT THEM, WILL THE READERSHIP FOR TODAY GO UP? ONE NEVER KNOWS, AS THE BRITS SAY. I’LL TRY IT AND SEE.

THIS 60 MINUTES VIDEO SHOWCASES SEVERAL WELL-PLACED AND KNOWLEDGEABLE COMMENTATORS ON DATA, WHO CONTROLS IT, ETC.; “FORCED CONSENT” IS BANNED IN THE NEW EUROPEAN LAW, BUT ALMOST INEVITABLE IN THE USA. IF WE DON’T “CONSENT,” WE WILL GET NO SERVICE. 13:05

60 MINUTES ON A NEW PERSONAL DATA LAW IN EUROPE

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/gdpr-the-law-that-lets-europe-take-back-their-data-from-big-tech-companies-60-minutes/
The law that lets Europeans take back their data from big tech companies
Tech companies' reign over users' personal data has run largely unchecked in the age of the internet. Europe is seeking to end that with a new law
Nov 11, 2018
Steve Kroft, CORRESPONDENT

VIDEO – YOUR DATA – 13:05

This has not been a great year for big tech; on Wall Street or in Washington. For decades, companies like Google, Facebook, and Amazon have made vast sums monetizing the personal information of their users with almost no oversight or regulation. They are still making vast sums of money, but public attitudes about their size and power and their ability, or willingness, to police themselves are being called into question. A consensus is developing that something has to change and once again the impetus is coming from Europe which is becoming the world's leader in internet privacy and data protection. With a 31-year-old lawyer as the catalyst, the European Parliament has enacted a tough new law that has Silicon Valley scrambling to comply, and pressuring lawmakers here to do something about protecting your data.

Seven times this year big tech has been called on the carpet to answer for data breaches, fake news, political meddling on the internet, and the endless amounts of personal information being gathered on Americans.

Sen. John Kennedy: I don't want to vote to have to regulate Facebook, but by God I will.

Sen. Mark Warner: The era of the Wild West in social media is coming to an end.

Sen. John Thune: The question is no longer whether we need a federal law to protect consumers' privacy, the question is what shape will that law take?

In Europe, they already have a law in place. After levying multi-billion dollar fines against Google for anti-competitive behavior, the European Union enacted the world's most ambitious internet privacy law, even winning support from the CEO of the biggest tech company in America, Apple's Tim Cook.

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Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook has spoken in support of the GDPR REUTERS

Tim Cook: This is surveillance. And these stockpiles of personal data serve only to enrich the companies that collect them.

Speaking in Brussels, Cook did not say which companies he was talking about but Apple wasn't one of them. Its business model is making and selling phones and computers, not marketing personal information for advertising like Google and Facebook.

Tim Cook: Our own information from the everyday to the deeply personal, is being weaponized against us with military efficiency. It is time for the rest of the world, including my home country, to follow your lead.

"Americans have no control today about the information that's collected about them every second of their lives."

Most people would agree that the point man in Europe has been a spikey-haired 31-year-old Viennese lawyer named Max Schrems who has been inflicting misery in Silicon Valley for the past seven years. He not only brought international attention to the issue of data privacy, he brought big tech lawyers into court. In the information age, he says data is the most important commodity. The question is who does it belong to.

Steve Kroft: Who owns your data?

Max Schrems: The legislation here says it's you that your data belongs to.

Steve Kroft: You should have control over it.

Max Schrems: You should have control over that. However, in an environment where there is no such law, basically, whoever factually has the power over it, which is usually the big tech company, owns it, in that sense.

Max Schrems was a major force in drafting the General Data Protection Regulation or GDPR. It became law in May, after a long battle with big tech, and every company that does business in Europe, including the most powerful ones in America, must comply. It was designed specifically to ensure that consumers, not tech companies, have control over the collection and use of their own personal information.

Steve Kroft: What kind of new rights does this law give European citizens that people in the United States might not have?

Max Schrems: The default under the European system is you're not allowed to use someone else's data unless you have a justification. And the result of that is that you have rights, like a right that-- you walk up to a company and say, "Delete everything you have about me." You have a right to access. So you can say, "I want to have a copy of everything you have about me." And all of these little elements in the law, overall, are meant to give you that power over your data that in an information society we should probably have.

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Max Schrems speaks to correspondent Steve Kroft CBS NEWS
And right now in the United States you have none of those legal rights.

Jeffrey Chester: Americans have no control today about the information that's collected about them every second of their lives.

Jeff Chester is the executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy. He has been a major voice on digital privacy for two decades, and says the only Americans guaranteed privacy on the internet are children under 13. He says there are some limitations on some specific medical and financial information, but the internet has rendered them obsolete.

Jeffrey Chester: There are no rules, there's not a government agency really protecting them. Any-- the companies can do whatever they want in terms of gathering our information and using it in any way they see fit.

Steve Kroft: How did the big tech companies come to collect all this information?

Jeffrey Chester: No one ever told them they couldn't collect it all. There've been no limits at all ever established.

Steve Kroft: And that's what's going on with GDPR, somebody saying, "You can't?"

Jeffrey Chester: That's exactly right. GDPR says you can't collect it without permission.

The big tech companies have always argued that consumers have given them permission to take their personal data in exchange for using the product. It's buried in the fine print on those long impenetrable online privacy agreements that you have to click on. Max Schrems says it's not free choice but constitutes coercion under the new European law.

On the day it was enacted Schrems' nonprofit group "None of Your Business" took action against Facebook and Google for allegedly violating European privacy laws.

Max Schrems: It's this take it or leave it approach. You know it whenever you open an app it says, "agree, or don't use the app" and your choice is basically not existent because either you go offline – or you have to agree.

Schrems cited the example of Google's Android operating system, the software which runs up to 80% of the world's smartphones. But to use one, you must first activate it and give Google consent to collect your personal data on all of its products.

Max Schrems: You paid $1,000 right now and you're not allowed to use your $1,000 phone unless you agree that all the data goes to someone else. And that is basically forced consent.

Steve Kroft: The tech companies say, "Look, you, the user, you gave us permission to take this information to use it the way we wanted to. You agreed to it."

Max Schrems: And that--

Steve Kroft: "You signed on. You made the deal."

Max Schrems: The individual doesn't have the power, the time, the legal expertise to understand any of that. And then you're sitting at home at your desk and have the option to only say yes. This is not what any reasonable person would consider a fair deal.

Schrems has been waging this battle since 2011 when he spent a semester in California at Santa Clara University School of Law. A lawyer from Facebook told his class that big tech didn't pay any attention to European privacy laws because they were rarely enforced and that the fines were very small.

Max Schrems: it was obviously the case that ignoring European privacy laws was the much cheaper option. The maximum penalty, for example, in Austria was 20,000 euros. So just a lawyer telling you how to comply with the law was more expensive than breaking it.

At the time most people had no idea how much personal information was being collected on them, so when the 23-year-old Schrems returned to Austria he decided to ask Facebook if he could see what they had collected on him. By mistake or miracle, someone at Facebook sent him this stack of information, lifting the veil on the extent of the company's interest in him.

Max Schrems: And after a while I got a PDF file with 1,200 pages after using Facebook for three years and I'm not a heavy user or anything like that.

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Max Schrems CBS NEWS

Facebook had created a dossier of max's life. That included his location history, events he attended, all of his contact information and his private Facebook messages, even the ones he thought he had deleted.

Steve Kroft: So these were personal conversations you had that you thought were between yourself and the other person?

Max Schrems: Yeah.

Steve Kroft: And they're all here?

Max Schrems: They're all here, and they're basically undeletable.

It created a huge stir at the time, but it's nothing compared to what's being gathered now. Today, Facebook collects information on people who don't even have an account. Google's Android software knows whether the user is walking, running, or riding in a car. And Amazon has patented algorithms that could be used on its Echo smart speaker to listen in on continuous conversations, and even read the mood of people in the room.

Max Schrems: The reality is that this industry is so fast-moving right now, even if you have perfect enforcement mechanisms, usually they will get away with it. Unless there is a serious penalty.

Today, if one of the big tech companies chooses to ignore Europe's new data protection law it could cost them 4 percent of their global revenues, which for the biggest companies would mean billions of dollars.

Those decisions will likely be made here in Dublin, the busiest of Europe's 28 data protection centers, and the place where most American tech companies have their European headquarters. They flocked here years ago because of Ireland's low corporate taxes and its reputation for relaxed regulation.

Ireland's data protection commissioner Helen Dixon says it's not going to be business as usual.

Helen Dixon: U.S. internet companies have no doubt that this law is serious, it has serious bite; And all of them are eager to avoid any engagement with that.

Steve Kroft: How would you describe your relationship with these companies right now? Is the relationship cooperative or contentious?

Helen Dixon: It's all of those things in any one week.

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Helen Dixon CBS NEWS

Dixon says tech companies are spending tens of millions of dollars hiring lawyers, compliance officers and engineers to make sure they are operating within the law. The data protection authorities have only a few thousand employees in Europe to police some of the most powerful companies in the world, but they have subpoena power, can conduct raids, and even shut down operations.

Steve Kroft: You think the big tech companies, the people in Silicon Valley are taking this seriously?

Eoin O'Dell: I think they have to.

Eoin O'Dell is a law professor at Trinity College in Dublin and a leading expert on European privacy law. He says Europe has now established an international standard for internet privacy, and companies like Facebook, Google and Amazon are not about to retreat from a $17 trillion market.

Eoin O'Dell: We have safety standards in cars, but that hasn't stopped us driving cars. We have emissions standards for – for the gas in the cars but that hasn't stopped us using the gas in the cars . The data companies are – going to comply in the same way as the – car companies have complied

Steve Kroft: To stay in business.

Eoin O'Dell: To stay in business.

Since the European privacy law was passed, at least ten other countries have adopted similar rules. So has the state of California.

Perhaps sensing the inevitable, Facebook, Twitter, Google and Amazon are now saying they could support a U.S. privacy law if they were given considerable input. The Internet Association, which lobbies for big tech, and its president Michael Beckerman say they would support giving Americans reasonable access to their information and some privacy rights now enjoyed by the Europeans.

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Michael Beckerman CBS NEWS

Steve Kroft: From your point of view, who owns the data that's collected?

Michael Beckerman: I think individuals should have complete control over their information. You should have access to it, both how you're giving it in the online world and offline world, and full transparency on who has the information and what you're getting for it.

Steve Kroft: But who owns it?

Michael Beckerman: People should have control over it. I don't view it as an ownership, you know, the way you're-- the way you're asking. But I think the individual--

Steve Kroft: The Europeans do, the Europeans says it's a right. You own your information. You have a right--

Michael Beckerman: We have--

Steve Kroft: --to go to the companies and say, "I want this information."

Michael Beckerman: Under the law that we're pushing, and the rules that we're pushing, and what our companies already do, people can download the information-- their personal information that they've shared with the sites, and delete it if they want, and cancel their accounts.

Privacy advocate Jeff Chester says the industry wants people to believe that it's cooperating and open to change, but that it won't do anything until it's forced to by law.

Jeffrey Chester: This is simply a bait and switch in terms of protecting privacy in America today. The companies have no intention of supporting a privacy law that actually would stop them from collecting our information and give Americans the same rights the Europeans now have.

Produced by Maria Gavrilovic. Associate producer, Alex Ortiz.

© 2018 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Steve Kroft
Few journalists have achieved the impact and recognition that Steve Kroft's 60 Minutes work has generated for over two decades. Kroft delivered his first report for 60 Minutes in 1989.

TODAY WHEN I GOOGLED “BERNIE SANDERS NEWS” I GOT ONE NOT WRITTEN ABOUT HIM, BUT BY HIM. THAT’S A BONUS.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/democrats-need-a-bold-agenda-heres-what-they-should-do-in-the-first-100-days-of-congress/2018/11/21/dc80ddd6-ed07-11e8-96d4-0d23f2aaad09_story.html
Opinions
Democrats need a bold agenda. Here’s what they should do in the first 100 days of Congress.
By Bernie Sanders
November 21 at 5:56 PM

PHOTOGRAPH -- Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is in line to regain the speaker’s gavel when the new Congress convenes in January. (Susan Walsh/AP)

Bernie Sanders, an independent, represents Vermont in the U.S. Senate.

As a result of the recent midterm elections, Democrats flipped nearly 40 congressional seats and will control the House of Representatives. Impressively, nearly 6 million more Americans voted for a Democrat to represent them in the House than who did for a Republican. Further, Democrats took over seven governor’s seats and won hundreds of legislative races in statehouses across the country. To a significant degree, the American people rejected President Trump’s agenda benefiting the wealthy and the powerful, as well as his racism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia and religious bigotry.

But let me be clear: It is not good enough for Democrats to just be the anti-Trump party. If they want to keep and expand their majority in the House, take back the Senate and win the White House, Democrats must show the American people that they will aggressively stand up and fight for the working families of this country — black, white, Latino, Asian American or Native American, men and women, gay or straight. This means addressing the crisis of a broken criminal-justice system and reforming inhumane immigration policies. But it also means fighting to expand a middle class that has been disappearing for more than 40 years, reducing inequality in both income and wealth — which has disproportionately hurt African Americans and Hispanics — and aggressively combating climate change, the most urgent threat facing our planet.

Twenty-three years ago, after the Republicans took control of Congress for the first time in four decades, House Republicans led by Speaker Newt Gingrich (Ga.) passed a series of bills through the House that had been on their wish list for years. Their guide was the so-called Contract with America, a radical right-wing agenda full of tax breaks for the wealthy, massive cuts to programs vital to working families, and racist and cruel bills to “reform” welfare and our criminal-justice system.

While I strongly disagree with Gingrich on virtually every issue, the House Democratic leadership should take a page from his playbook by passing a bold agenda through the House. Starting on the first day of the new Congress, the Democratic leadership in the House, supported by their colleagues in the Senate, should be just as bold in passing an agenda that reflects the needs of working Americans — centered on economic, political, social, racial and environmental justice.

Specifically, during the first 100 days, Congress must pass a legislative agenda that includes:

Increasing the minimum wage to $15 an hour and indexing it to median wage growth thereafter. The current federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour is a starvation wage that must be increased to a living wage — at least $15 an hour. This would give more than 40 million Americans a raise and would generate more than $100 billion in higher wages throughout the country.

A path toward Medicare-for-all. The Medicare-for-all bill widely supported in the Senate has a four-year phase-in period on the way to guaranteeing health care for every man, woman and child. Over the first year, it would lower the Medicare eligibility age from 65 to 55, cover dental, hearing and vision care for seniors, provide health care to every young person in the United States and lower the cost of prescription drugs.

Bold action to combat climate change. The report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has made it clear we have just 12 years to substantially cut the amount of carbon in our atmosphere, or our planet will suffer irreversible damage. Congress must pass legislation that shifts our energy system away from fossil fuels and toward energy efficiency and renewable energy. We can lead the planet in combating climate change and, in the process, create millions of good paying jobs.

Fixing our broken criminal-justice system. We must end the absurdity of the United States having more people in jail than any other country on Earth. We must invest in jobs and education for our young people, not more jails and incarceration.

Comprehensive immigration reform. The American people want to protect the young people in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program and to move toward comprehensive immigration reform for the more than 11 million people in our country who are undocumented. And that’s exactly what we should do.

Progressive tax reform. At a time of massive and growing inequality in both income and wealth, Congress must pass legislation which requires wealthy people and large corporations to begin paying their fair share of taxes. It is unacceptable that there are large, extremely profitable corporations in this country that do not pay a nickel in federal income taxes.

A $1 trillion infrastructure plan. Every day, Americans drive to work on potholed roads and crumbling bridges, and ride in overcrowded buses and subways. Children struggle to concentrate in overcrowded classrooms. Workers are unable to find affordable housing. The structures that most Americans don’t see are also in disrepair — from spotty broadband and an outdated electric grid, to toxic drinking water and dilapidated levees and dams. Congress should pass a $1 trillion infrastructure plan to address these needs while creating up to 15 million good-paying jobs in the process.

Lowering the price of prescription drugs. Americans pay, by far, the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs because, unlike other countries, the United States doesn’t directly regulate the price of medicine. The House should pass legislation to require Medicare to negotiate for lower drug prices and allow patients, pharmacists and wholesalers to purchase low-cost prescription drugs from Canada and other countries. It should also pass legislation to make sure that Americans don’t pay more for prescription drugs than citizens do in other major countries.

Making public colleges and universities tuition-free and substantially reducing student debt. In a highly competitive global economy, we must have the best-educated workers in the world. Every young person in America, regardless of income, must have the opportunity to receive the education they need to get a decent job and make it into the middle class. The House should pass the College for All Act to make public colleges and universities tuition-free and substantially reduce student debt.

Expanding Social Security. When 1 out of 5 seniors is trying to get by on less than $13,500 a year, we must expand Social Security so that every American can retire with dignity and security. The House should pass legislation to expand Social Security benefits and extend its solvency for the next 60 years by requiring that the wealthiest Americans — those making more than $250,000 a year — pay their fair share of Social Security taxes.

Here is the bottom line: Instead of us having a Congress that listens to wealthy campaign contributors, it is about time we had a Congress fighting to create an economy and a government that works for all of us, not just those on top.

Read more:
Karen Tumulty: How we can fix the problems of our electoral system
Dana Milbank: Nancy Pelosi is the best person to lead the House Democrats. That’s why she should retire.
Kathleen Parker: The new normal isn’t normal at all
Katrina vanden Heuvel: How Democrats can turn up the heat on Trump — and win the battle of ideas


Bernie Sanders
Bernie Sanders, an independent, represents Vermont in the U.S. Senate. Follow Stories from The LilyThe Lily, a publication of The Washington Post, elevates stories about women.

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TODAY’S STORY IS ONE OF THE TRUMPIAN TWEETS FIRING BACK AT ROBERTS IN ANGER. THAT ONE IS BELOW. THE FIRST POSTED IN YESTERDAY’S BLOG, IS FROM ALJAZEERA. THEY’RE BOTH GOOD STORIES WITH OVERLAPPING BUT DIFFERENT FACTS. NO, I DO NOT MEAN “ALTERNATIVE FACTS,” BUT ADDITIONAL FACTS.

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/chief-justice-john-roberts-rebuts-trump-obama-judge/story?id=59344259
November 22, 2018
After rare rebuke from Chief Justice John Roberts, Trump fires back on Twitter
By CHEYENNE HASLETT MERIDITH MCGRAW Nov 22, 2018, 9:55 AM ET

WATCH ABC NEWS VIDEO – JUSTICE ROBERTS REBUTTAL, CHIEF JUSTICE DEFENDS INDEPENDENT JUDICIARY, Chief justice responds to Trump's judiciary criticism

After Chief Justice John Roberts rebutted President Donald Trump's recent criticism that a ruling against the administration's asylum policy on migrants was issued by an "Obama judge", the president fired back on Twitter.

“We do not have Obama judges or Trump judges, Bush judges or Clinton judges," according to Roberts, who originally responded to the Associated Press, via a statement issued from the Supreme Court's press office. "What we have is an extraordinary group of dedicated judges doing their level best to do equal right to those appearing before them. That independent judiciary is something we should all be thankful for.”

(MORE: President Trump blasts judge's ruling blocking asylum restrictions, predicts he'll win in Supreme Court)

The president responded directly to the comments in a pair of tweets Wednesday afternoon. "Sorry Chief Justice John Roberts, but you do indeed have 'Obama judges,' and they have a much different point of view than the people who are charged with the safety of our country," Trump said.


Donald J. Trump
✔
@realDonaldTrump
Sorry Chief Justice John Roberts, but you do indeed have “Obama judges,” and they have a much different point of view than the people who are charged with the safety of our country. It would be great if the 9th Circuit was indeed an “independent judiciary,” but if it is why......

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3:51 PM - Nov 21, 2018
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Donald J. Trump
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@realDonaldTrump
.....are so many opposing view (on Border and Safety) cases filed there, and why are a vast number of those cases overturned. Please study the numbers, they are shocking. We need protection and security - these rulings are making our country unsafe! Very dangerous and unwise!

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4:09 PM - Nov 21, 2018
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The president returned to the topic Twitter about an hour later, calling the 9th Circuit a "terrible, costly and dangerous disgrace. It has become a dumping ground for certain lawyers looking for easy wins and delays. Much talk over dividing up the 9th Circuit into 2 or 3 Circuits. Too big!"


Donald J. Trump
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@realDonaldTrump
“79% of these decisions have been overturned in the 9th Circuit.” @FoxNews A terrible, costly and dangerous disgrace. It has become a dumping ground for certain lawyers looking for easy wins and delays. Much talk over dividing up the 9th Circuit into 2 or 3 Circuits. Too big!

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5:17 PM - Nov 21, 2018
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Thanksgiving morning the president posted to Twitter that if law enforcement can’t do their jobs there will only be “bedlam, chaos, injury and death.”


Donald J. Trump
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@realDonaldTrump
Justice Roberts can say what he wants, but the 9th Circuit is a complete & total disaster. It is out of control, has a horrible reputation, is overturned more than any Circuit in the Country, 79%, & is used to get an almost guaranteed result. Judges must not Legislate Security...

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7:21 AM - Nov 22, 2018
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Donald J. Trump
✔
@realDonaldTrump
....and Safety at the Border, or anywhere else. They know nothing about it and are making our Country unsafe. Our great Law Enforcement professionals MUST BE ALLOWED TO DO THEIR JOB! If not there will be only bedlam, chaos, injury and death. We want the Constitution as written!

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The president has previously claimed that the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals is the most overturned court in the system, but while it is often overturned it doesn’t have the highest rate as the president claims, according to SCOTUS blog counts.

Roberts originally responded when Trump on Tuesday blasted a federal judge's ruling that blocks new restrictions on asylum that he announced earlier this month, calling the court "not fair" and predicting he would win in the Supreme Court.

He called the judge as an "Obama judge" and then lit into the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, the judges who would consider an appeal of the district judge's order.

PHOTO: Chief Justice of the United States John G. Roberts sits for an official photo in the Supreme Court in Washington, June 1, 2017.AFP/Getty Images, FILE -- Chief Justice of the United States John G. Roberts sits for an official photo in the Supreme Court in Washington, June 1, 2017.

"The 9th circuit is something we have to take a look at because it is not fair," Trump said. The appeals court, which has jurisdiction over a swath of California, has previously ruled against the Trump administration on a number of immigration policies.

"People should not be allowed to immediately run to this very friendly circuit and file their case -- and you people know better than anybody what is happening is a disgrace, in my opinion, it is a disgrace what happens with the 9th Circuit. We will win that case in the Supreme Court of the United States," Trump said.

The president's travel ban for majority-Muslim countries was blocked by judges in the 9th Circuit, but the Supreme Court later ruled the action was within the president's authority.


ABOUT THAT CARAVAN, TRUMP HAS MADE A FURTHER DANGEROUS SOUNDING THREAT -- TO HAVE THE SOLDIERS AT THE BORDER HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO USE LETHAL FORCE. THERE WAS ANOTHER INTERVIEW WITH GENERAL MATTIS, THOUGH, THAT SAID THE SOLDIERS WILL DEFINITELY NOT HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO USE "LETHAL FORCE," UNDER THE CURRENT SITUATION. I HOPE THAT CONTINUES.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-46308586
MIGRANT CARAVAN
Trump renews threat to close Mexico border over migrants
November 22, 2018 9 hours ago

PHOTOGRAPH -- Trump and the facts about the migrant caravan

Donald Trump has threatened to close the whole US-Mexico border, including halting trade with Mexico, if the arrival of migrants from central America there leads to disorder.

He also said he had given troops at the border the go-ahead to use lethal force if needed.

On Monday the US briefly closed a busy crossing to install new barriers.

Thousands of migrants are at the border after travelling more than 4,000km (2,500 miles) from Central America.

Migrant caravan: What is it and why does it matter?
A river of people: The migrant caravan in pictures
They say they are fleeing persecution, poverty and violence in their home countries of Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador.

Mr Trump has deployed about 5,800 troops to the border and has previously described the migrants as an "invasion".

What did Trump say?
"If we find that it gets to a level where we are going to lose control or where people are going to start getting hurt, we will close entry into the country for a period of time until we can get it under control," he told reporters.

"The whole border. I mean the whole border. Mexico will not be able to sell their cars into the United States where they make so many cars," he added.

Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES
Image caption
The migrants say they are fleeing poverty, violence and persecution

Mr Trump's reference to lethal force came after Defence Secretary James Mattis said military police at the border would be unarmed.

"They don't have guns in their hands, there is no armed element going in," he told reporters on Wednesday.

On Thursday Mr Trump also warned that the US government could shut down next month if no more money was provided for a wall between the US and Mexico.

"Could there be a shutdown? There certainly could and it will be about border security, of which the wall is a part," he said.

What has Trump said about the judiciary?
He has renewed his attacks after earlier saying a federal judge who blocked his executive order to deny illegal migrants the right to seek asylum was an "Obama judge".

"Judges must not legislate security and safety at the border. They know nothing about it and are making our country unsafe," he said in a tweet.

It comes after Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts took the unusual step of rebuking Mr Trump's criticism, telling the Associated Press that "We do not have Obama judges or Trump judges, Bush judges or Clinton judges".

Image Copyright @realDonaldTrump@REALDONALDTRUMP
Report
Image Copyright @realDonaldTrump@REALDONALDTRUMP
Report
Where are the migrants now?

Almost 3,000 Central American migrants have arrived in the Mexican border city of Tijuana after crossing Mexico and parts of Central America. More than 2,750 have sought refuge in a shelter set up by the mayor's office.

Hundreds of Tijuana residents have protested against the migrants' presence and urged them to leave.

Media caption Anti-migrant protesters clashed with a pro-migrant demonstrator in the Mexican city of Tijuana

The town's mayor has said he expects the number of migrants in the city to reach 10,000 in the coming weeks.

US officials have warned that anyone found entering the country illegally will face arrest, prosecution and deportation.

What do the migrants want?
The migrants say they are leaving their respective countries in the hope of building a better future for themselves and their families.

Some say they have been threatened or mistreated by criminal gangs operating in their home towns. Many are travelling with their children whom they say they do not want to fall prey to the gangs.

Others hope to get jobs abroad which will pay enough for them to send money to their relatives who stayed behind.

Image copyrightREUTERS
Image caption
Migrants, part of the caravan, en route to the Mexican border city of Tijuana

Many say their dream is to reach the US. Some of them have relatives there already whom they hope to join; others have chosen it as their destination because they think they will earn higher salaries there than in Latin America.

While Central Americans have long fled their homelands for the US and have sometimes joined forces along the way, the organised nature of this caravan is relatively new.

Migrants are often kidnapped by people traffickers and drug gangs which force them to work for them. A large group such as this one is harder to target and therefore offers more protection.


WHAT IS A GUARDIAN? THIS IS A VERY INTERESTING IDEA WHICH WOULD HELP OUR HOUSING PROBLEMS IN THE USA AS WELL.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/article/2b0453a7-d353-4b80-828d-50274799d5c6
The hidden faces of the housing crisis
29 October 2018

PHOTOGRAPHER – SOPHIE WEDGWOOD

Photographer Sophie Wedgwood's latest series takes us into the sparse, damp bedrooms of property guardians. These are the people who, struggling to pay rising rents, opt to live in big abandoned buildings. We spoke to Sophie about some of the people she met in them.

Guardian scheme propertySophie Wedgwood

What is a guardian scheme?

A guardian scheme is where a tenant or "steward" supervises and looks after a deserted property in return for a place to stay. For property developers applying for planning permission, having tenants in on a site protects the site from squatters and vandals. For the occupiers, it's often a great alternative means of cheaper housing, but there are some downsides. Sometimes, these non-residential sites can fall short of the minimum standards for tenants. Developers require vacant possession as soon as they can convert the property, so the guardians have to agree to be licensees without much legal protection. Most properties are commercial - schools, garages, office blocks with limited domestic amenities.

East London guardian scheme propertySophie Wedgwood

What kind of people live in them?

All sorts of people, although the developers don’t welcome the unemployed. Most are starting their careers or are low paid and unable to afford to rent a standard flat in London. For many, guardianships are the dream ticket, providing cheap, no-strings accommodation in expensive locations, but for those who see it as their only option, the housing insecurity can be a burden.

A lot of people I photographed were in their 20s with various jobs; Isabel is a record label manager, James and Lili work as a grave digger and a fashion stylist and Zac is a carpenter. Zac had lived in a scheme before and said that they had increased the rent to match current property prices, so he had move to a less desirable property. Isabel had lived in a co-op with a boyfriend, but had been evicted because of a rule against couples. She now pays more rent to live in a scheme. Both said the schemes were strict, that you had to inform the manager if you wanted visitors. Some had little privacy, unexpected checks and strict cleaning rotas for the tenants.

Man with baby in guardian schemeSophie Wedgwood

James and Lili (pictured above), who have just started their family and since moved out of a guardianship property, told Sophie that the schemes used to be better but when their provider realised the profit potential, they imposed strict rules and higher rents. Lili says living there whilst pregnant was hell and she was struggling to find a good council flat until the baby was born, so it was either sign up to a scheme or couch surf.

Guardian scheme propertySophie Wedgwood

What are the terms?

With many guardianships, you're not allowed to speak to the media, you're not allowed to live there on benefits or allowed overnight visitors. You can be dismissed without lawful notice and find yourself out on the street in a matter of weeks. This is a real problem that many going into these schemes do not appreciate.

Man who lives in guardian schemeSophie Wedgwood

What did you learn about the housing market?

The fact that people in reasonable jobs are giving up legal rights to live in spartan conditions shows how much people are struggling with rent prices. Homelessness is rising and the ending of a short-term rental contract now accounts for nearly one in three new cases of homelessness, which is the highest since records began nearly 20 years ago. The real problem is the unregulated speculators and middlemen who have pushed up accommodation costs.

I started exploring live-in guardians after I had seen a lot of press about how positive the schemes were.

Guardian Property in South LondonSophie Wedgwood

Professor Green: Hidden and Homeless is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

Originally published 22 March 2016.


THIS PRACTICE OF HIRING "GUARDIANS" TO LIVE IN DISUSED BUILDINGS IS VERY INTERESTING TO ME. WE HAVE DISUSED BUILDINGS IN AMERICAN CITIES TOO, WHICH JUST DECAY AND BECOME A DANGER TO THE COMMUNITY -- HARBORING UNVACCINATED ANIMALS LIKE RACCOONS AND POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS HUMANS SUCH AS DRUG ADDICTS. THEY ALSO ARE USED BY THE HOMELESS SOMETIMES IN LIEU OF A SHELTER HOUSE. THE GUARDIANS GET A ROOM OF THEIR OWN FOR A CHEAPER RENT, ON THE AGREEMENT THAT THEY WILL PROTECT THE PROPERTY AND REPORT REPAIR WORK THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE, ETC.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-46179010
'I live in disused buildings for cheaper rent'
By Becky Morton
BBC News
NOVEMBER 22, 2018 32 minutes ago

PHOTOGRAPH -- Bella has lived in this former retirement home in east London since January

Between them Bella and Rex have both lived in former retirement homes, empty schools and even an old pub.

They are property guardians - people who live in disused buildings to keep squatters away in exchange for cheap rent.

Supporters say ministers should embrace such schemes so empty buildings can offer thousands more affordable homes across the UK.

But critics argue that this form of housing can be insecure and of poor quality.

'Living off plain rice'

Bella lives in a former retirement home in east London with 30 other people.

"It's a bit eerie," she says. "You can tell what it used to be as soon as you walk in - the carpeted floor, the railings, the creepy artwork."

But for her the unusual living arrangements are worth the savings.

"If I wasn't a guardian I would probably be in a box room living off plain rice," she says.

The hidden faces of the housing crisis

Guardians: The school we lived in

The 25-year-old previously lived with friends and family in East Sussex. Working as a model and actress, there were few opportunities for her locally.

Media caption Living in an old nursery school
Becoming a property guardian was an affordable way for her to move to London.

For £500 a month she gets her own bedroom, living space, kitchen and bathroom. The average monthly rent for a one-bedroom flat in her area is £1,450, according to BBC analysis.

"Without us these buildings would be empty. So we protect them for the owners and get cheap rent - it's a win-win situation," she says.

Missed opportunity?

There are approximately 5,000 guardians in the UK, according to the Property Guardian Providers Association, and it says that number is rising.

Some live in privately-owned properties and increasing numbers of local councils are also using them to secure their empty buildings.

A BBC Freedom of Information request, answered by 404 councils across the UK, found that 73 of them used property guardians last year.

That number has increased over the past five years. Of those councils who held data, only 43 made use of them in 2013/14.

Being a guardian is legal but the government does not endorse their use, warning that buildings can be in poor condition and in some cases unsafe.

Guardians are normally considered licensees rather than tenants so are not entitled to the same safeguards as ordinary renters.

Their deposits are not protected and they can be asked to leave with only a month's notice.

Image copyright PHIL COOMES
Image caption
Rex's bedroom is a classroom in an old school

But Green Party peer Baroness Jones says ministers are missing an opportunity to make use of the hundreds of thousands of empty buildings across the country.

She recently led a House of Lords debate that called for improved rights so guardians can become part of the UK's housing strategy.

Rex has been one in London for 10 years and has seen the best and worst of the industry.

The 37-year-old says he has lived in some fantastic buildings but he has also been threatened with evictions and put up with terrible conditions, including living with mould and raw sewage.

"Some of the agencies are good but others are making it up as they go along," he suggests.

"I'm not scared of being evicted illegally because I know my rights but a lot of people don't have a clue what these companies can and can't do."

Image copyrightPHIL COOMES
Image caption
Living in a school means Rex's home has some unconventional features

Rex has campaigned for clearer guidance on the issue of rights and wants greater protection such as an independent mediation service for disputes.

The government has so far been reluctant to act but seven of the biggest property guardian companies have formed an industry association.

Acting chairman Graham Sievers says the group hopes to drive up standards, for example through independent inspections of buildings.

Baroness Jones says ministers need to work with the industry to improve conditions.

With greater protection, she says guardian schemes could even help tackle homelessness, providing affordable housing to people who would otherwise be sofa-surfing or on the streets.

"It's a tiny part of the solution. But for the government to bang its head and say it's nothing to do with us is just pathetic," she says.

Image copyrightPHIL COOMES
Image caption
Rex became a property guardian to save money but he has also enjoyed living in unusual buildings

For Rex, however, the attraction of being a guardian has waned.

When he started a decade ago he was paying as little as £350 a month but he says the monthly cost has increased by around £200 since then.

Rex hopes to eventually move into an ordinary home when he can afford it.

"I don't think many people choose to live in places like this unless there's a big financial incentive," he says.

"It's not really a lifestyle you want to have forever."


A GREAT MANY AMERICANS SIMPLY HAVE NO INTEREST IN GROUPS LIKE THESE ANDAMAN ISLANDERS. OF COURSE, TOO MANY OF US HAVE VERY LITTLE INTEREST IN ANYTHING MUCH – WITH THE RESULT THAT WE MAY NOT LEARN MUCH ON A SUBJECT LIKE THE LIVES OF ISOLATED HUMAN BEINGS. EVEN MORE HAVE VERY LITTLE HUMAN EMPATHY EITHER, ESPECIALLY ABOUT THOSE WHO ARE NOT "OUR PEOPLE."

THE MISTAKE THAT THIS YOUNG MAN MADE, WAS TO GO AMONG THEM, PROBABLY WITH LITTLE KNOWLEDGE OF WHAT WOULD OFFEND OR FRIGHTEN THEM, AND I THEORIZE THAT HE MADE A TRAGIC FAUX PAS OF SOME KIND. MAYBE HE FLIRTED WITH A GIRL, OR EVEN TOUCHED HER SEXUALLY. IT HAD TO HAVE BEEN A SERIOUS MISSTEP FOR THE TRIBE TO HAVE SHOT HIM TO DEATH. WHAT WILL HAPPEN AFTER THIS OCCURRENCE? IT’S SAD BECAUSE HE PROBABLY “MEANT NO HARM.” FLIRTING IN THIS COUNTRY IS COMMONPLACE, BUT MAYBE NOT IN SUCH A GROUP AS THIS WHO ALREADY DIDN’T TRUST OUTSIDERS MUCH.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-46286215
American 'killed in India by endangered Andamans tribe'
21 November 2018

PHOTOGRAPH -- INDIAN COASTGUARD/SURVIVAL INTERNATIONAL
Image caption
The Sentinelese have always resisted outside contact

An American man has been killed by an endangered tribe in India's Andaman and Nicobar islands.

Fishermen who took the man to North Sentinel island say tribespeople shot him with arrows and left his body on the beach.

He has been identified as John Allen Chau, a 27 year old from Alabama.

Contact with the endangered Andaman tribes living in isolation from the world is illegal because of the risks to them from outside disease.

Estimates say the Sentinelese, who are totally cut off from civilisation, number only between 50 and 150.

The sad truth about uncontacted tribes
Last survivor: The story of the 'world's loneliest man'
Isolated Peruvian tribe pictured

Seven fishermen have been arrested for illegally ferrying the American to the island, police say.

Image copyrightINSTAGRAM/JOHN CHAU
Image caption
On 21 October, @johnachau posted that he was travelling to the region
Local media have reported that Chau may have wanted to meet the tribe to preach Christianity to them.

But on social media the young man presented himself as a keen traveller and adventurer.

Who was US man killed in remote islands?

"Police said Chau had previously visited North Sentinel island about four or five times with the help of local fishermen," journalist Subir Bhaumik, who has been covering the islands for years, told BBC Hindi.

"The number of people belonging to the Sentinelese tribe is so low, they don't even understand how to use money. It's in fact illegal to have any sort of contact with them."

In 2017, the Indian government also said taking photographs or making videos of the aboriginal Andaman tribes would be punishable with imprisonment of up to three years.

Image copyrightCHRISTIAN CARON - CREATIVE COMMONS A-NC-SA
Image caption
The Sentinelese stand guard on an island beach in 2005

The AFP news agency quoted a source as saying that Chau had tried and failed to reach the island on 14 November. But then he tried again two days later.

"He was attacked by arrows but he continued walking.

"The fishermen saw the tribals tying a rope around his neck and dragging his body. They were scared and fled," the report added.

Chau's body was spotted on 20 November. According to the Hindustan Times, his remains have yet to be recovered.

"It's a difficult case for the police," says Mr Bhaumik. "You can't even arrest the Sentinelese."

Image copyrightSURVIVAL INTERNATIONAL
Image caption
Few images of the endangered tribe exist

Two Indian fisherman fishing illegally off North Sentinel Island were also killed by the tribe in 2006.

Firing arrows at helicopters
Geeta Pandey, BBC News, Delhi

I first heard of the Sentinelese in 2004 just after the devastating Indian Ocean tsunami.

I was at the daily press briefing by the authorities a few days later when we were told that the members of the isolated tribes had survived.

A navy helicopter on patrol had flown over the North Sentinel island of the archipelago where the Sentinelese live to check on them.

As they descended a bit to take a closer look, members of the tribe began firing arrows at them.

"So we knew that they were safe," the pilot told us.

Eyewitness: Andaman tragedy
Image copyrightSURVIVAL INTERNATIONAL
Image caption
An aerial shot shows North Sentinel Island that the tribe inhabit

Global organisations like London-based Survival International have been campaigning to protect the indigenous tribes living in the Andamans.

The tribe live on their own island, roughly the size of Manhattan, but most of what is known about them comes from viewing them from a distance.

'Understandable' fear

The group's international director, Stephen Corry, called the incident a "tragedy" that "should never have been allowed to happen".

"The Sentinelese have shown again and again that they want to be left alone, and their wishes should be respected," he said.

"The British colonial occupation of the Andaman Islands decimated the tribes living there, wiping out thousands of tribespeople, and only a fraction of the original population now survive. So the Sentinelese fear of outsiders is very understandable."

First Andaman dictionary a 'linguistic treasure trove'
India arrests Burmese fishermen for endangering tribes
Battle over resort 'threatening Andamans tribe'

The two endangered aboriginal Andaman tribes - the Jarawa and the Sentinelese - are hunter-gatherers, and contact with the outside world would put them at risk of contracting disease.

The Sentinelese are particularly vulnerable: their complete isolation means they are likely to have no immunity to even common illnesses such as flu and measles.

"It's not impossible that the Sentinelese have just been infected by deadly pathogens to which they have no immunity, with the potential to wipe out the entire tribe," said Mr Corry.

Groups have also voiced concern about the Jarawa - a tribe that has some contact with the outside world, including a road that cuts through their territory that is used by some tourists for "safari" trips.

Related Topics
India United States



THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN ADVANCED CULTURE DOESN’T DEPEND ON THE INTELLIGENCE OF THE PEOPLES AS MUCH AS THEIR CONTACT WITH OUTSIDERS OVER A LONG PERIOD OF TIME AND WITH CONSIDERABLE MIXING – TRADING GOODS, SHARING STORIES AND BELIEFS, ETC. NOT ENOUGH HAS BEEN DONE IN THIS CASE, WITH THE RESULT THAT THIS TRIBE IS DWINDLING TO DANGEROUS NUMBERS.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8568566.stm
Page last updated at 08:22 GMT, Monday, 29 March 2010 09:22 UK
Battle over resort 'threatening Andamans tribe'

The Indian Supreme Court is currently considering whether a controversial tourist resort in the Andaman islands should close. The resort is near a forest reserve, which is home to the endangered Jarawa tribe. The BBC's Geeta Pandey, who has visited the area, reports from Delhi.

Jarawas

Jarawas resemble African bushmen (Photos: Survival International)
A handful of Jarawa tribesmen recently broke into a house in the village of Mathura in the Andaman islands. They left after taking away rice, sugar and coconut.

The first people to successfully migrate out of Africa, the Jarawas came to the Andaman islands 60,000 years ago, scientists believe.

Essentially hunter-gatherers, the tribespeople have traditionally survived on the raw meat of wild boar.

But in the 1970s, a road (the Andaman trunk road or ATR) was built, cutting through the 1,000 sq km forest reserve in which they live. It has brought momentous change to their lives.

"Till as late as the 1980s, the Jarawas would kill people if challenged or threatened. But in the 90s, they started to come out of the reserve and now they have developed a taste for cooked rice and sugar," says Govind Raju, editor of The Light of Andamans newspaper.

To get rice and sugar, the Jarawas often invade villages and settlements on the outskirts of their habitat.

'Guinea pigs'

"Tribals don't believe in property rights. From their point of view, there is nothing wrong in taking food from the villagers. They don't think they are committing any crime," Mr Raju says.

The Jarawas are just one of the indigenous tribal groups living in the Indian archipelago of Andaman and Nicobar.

map

Short, with dark skin and curly hair, they resemble African bushmen in appearance. Today, however, the tribe is on the verge of extinction with only about 320 of them left.

Tribal rights activists say immediate measures must be taken to prevent any further decline in their numbers.

For that, they say, the Jarawas should be totally isolated from human habitation and no commercial activity be allowed near their habitat.

Activists and the government have never been able to agree on a course of action in the past 15 years, and the Jarawas are seen by some to have become "guinea pigs".

Authorities sometimes say there should be no outside intervention in Jarawa affairs, but at other times, they give them rations and clothes.

In a move to expand the Jarawa habitat, the authorities created a 5km-wide buffer zone around the reserve forest in 2007.

That put the spotlight on the Barefoot resort which had been set up the previous year.

Originally 3km outside the reserve, it now fell within the newly-created buffer zone.

'Not practical'

The decision was clearly not well thought-out, says Mr Raju.

"There are at least 16 villages and settlements in the buffer zone. And it's the livelihood of the villagers which is at stake here. Their fields and plantations are now in the buffer zone. Where will the government re-settle them? It's not a practical idea at all," he says.

JARAWA FACTS
Part of first successful human migration from Africa, scientists say
Nomadic hunter gatherers
About 320 Jarawas alive today
Resisted contact with outsiders until 1990s

One of five endangered tribes left on Andaman and Nicobar Islands
Samit Sawhney, managing director of Barefoot, believes the company is being penalised unfairly. He says many other operators are also taking visitors along the Andaman trunk road.

"Initially, we closed our resort after the government order," Mr Sawhney told the BBC by telephone from the southern Indian city of Madras (Chennai).

"But then we realised that hundreds of tour operators in the buffer zone continued to do business and 500 tourists were passing through the reserve forest area every day through the ATR."

Barefoot challenged the order in a local court which ruled in its favour. But after the Calcutta high court rejected the government's appeal, the authorities went to the Supreme Court.

Earlier in March it said "all high court orders are inoperative" until it had decided the case.

"The resort is shut until further notice," Mr Sawhney says.

Some environmentalists and anthropologists have welcomed the move, but they say a much bigger threat to the tribespeople is from the road.

Law prevents any photography of the tribespeople or any interaction with them, but a drive along the trunk road shows how the law is routinely flouted, with officials turning a blind eye to them.

"A number of illicit tour operators take tourists through the area every day only with the purpose of seeing the Jarawas," Miriam Ross of Survival International told the BBC.

"The authorities have ignored a 2002 Supreme Court ruling to close the road. It brings poachers, tourists and other outsiders into daily contact with the Jarawas, putting them at serious risk of disease," she says.

Dilemma

Ms Ross points to the outbreak of measles among the tribespeople in 1997 and 2006 which infected scores of Jarawas.

Jarawas (Photo: Survival International)

There are only a few hundred Andaman tribespeople left
Today, they can often be seen hanging around near the highway and begging for food from tourists.

Many of the youngsters have learnt popular Bollywood songs and Hindi slang with which they entertain visitors.

The tribespeople, who used to roam naked in the jungles, have now begun to dress in jeans and T-shirts.

At a recent meeting with senior state administration officials, a Jarawa spokesman asked for schools and mobile phones.

"The older generation does not like mingling with outsiders. But the new generation knows the benefit of mixing with the settlers. And they have become aspirational," says Mr Raju.

The big dilemma for policy makers then is whether there should be total isolation of the Jarawas or not?

Also, many ask if the policy of total isolation will work at all?

Some say it may be already too late.

"We did not intervene when we should have," Mr Raju says. "The dilemma now is - should they be brought into modern-day reality? Or should they be pushed back in time?"

It's a tough call to make, but unless a "very serious last attempt" is made to protect them, the Jarawas may soon become history.

Part of first successful human migration from Africa, scientists say
Nomadic hunter gatherers
About 320 Jarawas alive today
Resisted contact with outsiders until 1990s
One of five endangered tribes left on Andaman and Nicobar Islands


THIS FASCINATING BLOG IS ABOUT THE JARAWAS IN PERSON, AND THEIR CULTURE, WHO ARE DESCRIBED HERE AS “ENDANGERED.” THEIR CURRENT POPULATION IS ABOUT 400. TRYING TO BLEND THEM IN AS STUDENTS AT A MEDICAL SCHOOL FAILED. THEIR LANGUAGE AND MATH SKILLS WERE EITHER MISUNDERSTOOD, OR NOT APPLICABLE TO THE SCHOOL’S TESTING; THEY FAILED AND WERE “EXPELLED.”

ALLOWING A PROBABLY EXPLOITATIVE TOURIST BUSINESS TO COME AMONG THEM, PLUS CHANCE ENCOUNTERS SUCH AS THE YOUNG MAN WHO RAN AFOUL OF A TABOO PERHAPS AND WAS SHOT WITH ARROWS, ALL ARE SIGNS OF FAILURE. IT’S A DIFFICULT THING TO BRING A GROUP LIKE THIS “UP TO DATE,” SO THE GOVERNMENT DECIDED TO ISOLATE THEM AGAIN BY FORBIDDING ANY OUTSIDERS’ TRESPASSING ON THEIR LAND. THAT DIDN’T WORK, BECAUSE THOSE TOURIST DOLLARS ARE PRECIOUS TO THE ORGANIZATION CALLED “BAREFOOT.”

IT SEEMS TO ME THAT AUTHORITIES COULD PLANT FRUIT TREES, YAMS, PEAS OR BEANS, OR OTHER USEFUL FOOD SOURCES, BECAUSE THERE ARE SIGNS THAT THEY MAY BE GOING HUNGRY, STEALING FOOD AND BEGGING.

THEY ALSO COULD INTRODUCE OTHER KINDS OF UPDATING AND CULTURAL SHARING SUCH AS ART, STORY SHARING, WORK SKILLS, WRITING IF THEY DON’T HAVE ANY, BUILDING SOCIAL BRIDGES SUCH AS A COMMUNITY HALL FOR DANCING, GAME PLAYING, CONVERSATION. OBVIOUSLY, THOSE THINGS REQUIRE IN-DEPTH DEVELOPMENT ONE ON ONE AND AS A GROUP – A SCHOOL BASED NOT MERELY ON LANGUAGE AND MATH, BUT ON WHOLE CULTURE INTERACTIONS.

THEY SHOULD NOT BE FORCED TO GIVE UP ALL OF THEIR OWN CULTURE IN ORDER TO “BLEND IN,” THOUGH. IT’S A PROBLEM. AMERICANS WHEN THEY DECIDED TO “CIVILIZE” THE AMERICAN INDIAN CHILDREN BASICALLY DID SOME REALLY BAD THINGS LIKE WHIPPING THEM FOR SPEAKING THEIR OWN LANGUAGE.

AHMED, A JOURNALIST AND BLOGGER, WRITES LIKE AN ANTHROPOLOGIST IN THIS BLOG. LOOK AT HIS OTHERS ON DIFFERENT SUBJECTS, FOR A LOOK AT THE ANDAMAN ISLANDS. THE ONLY HINT OF A DATE THAT I FOUND WAS THIS: POSTED BY ZUBAIR AHMED AT 9:10 AM. SINCE THAT IS PROBABLY A COMPUTER DATE, I’M GOING TO ASSUME IT WAS TODAY, WHICH ON THIS SIDE OF THE GLOBE IS NOVEMBER 22, 2018.

http://lightofandamans.blogspot.com/
indianexpress.com/article
Power to the Native
The Jarawas in the Andamans need to be protected as well as empowered to choose their own modernity. A new, more imaginative policy framework might help.
BY ZUBAIR AHMED

The advent of the British colonialists in 1858 to set up a penal settlement in Andaman Islands posed a challenge to the tribals inhabiting the islands. The Jarawas resisted attempts to colonise their land and lives. Even after Independence, Jarawas were seen as a threat to settlers. To keep the tribe at bay, bush police forces were engaged until the Jarawas themselves realised their vulnerability and shed hostilities, and came out of the forests in 1998. The hand of friendship they extended towards the outside world has proved to be disastrous for the tribe, who lived in the forest for the last 50,000 years or more and now number around 400.

A policy of “isolation with minimal intervention” was brought into force in 2004, an important contemporary watershed. With the passage of time, and an ineffective implementation of the policy, the Jarawas remain caught between two worlds — and secure in neither.

While the murder of a Jarawa child by a fellow tribesman in Tirur and the associated legal conundrum is making headlines worldwide, one pertinent question not being dealt with is the ongoing sexual exploitation of the Jarawa women by outsiders. It obscures the fact that first, a crime has been committed by someone who breached the reserve and sexually exploited a Jarawa woman.

In all these years, the state has failed in securing the reserve against poachers, who exploit the tribe as well as prey on forest resources. More unfortunate has been the inability to sensitise the settlers living along the fringes of the Jarawa Tribal Reserve and even the islanders about the rich “human heritage” and the particular vulnerabilities of the Jarawa community. This has been an opportunity missed to rope in the large settler population of the islands as the protectors or at least well-wishers of the tribe.

In contrast, the level of illicit contact has increased manifold in all three sectors — Middle Strait and Kadamtala in Middle Andaman and Tirur in South Andaman, where several cases of sexual exploitation of women have been reported. With poachers becoming the contact points for the Jarawas, alcohol and drugs have made inroads into the reserve. Several poachers have been charged with luring the Jarawas with alcohol and food to part with forest produce.

The changed realities and the bad press the Andaman and Nicobar administration got from across the world, particularly after a video of Jarawas dancing for tourists in lieu of food surfaced in 2012, did force a re-look into the policy. A committee of experts set up in 2011 went on to make the rules, regulations and laws governing the tribal reserve more stringent to ward off “undesirable” elements. An overenthusiastic administration tied itself up in knots in creating an unrealistic 5-km buffer zone for the tribal reserve. It turned the settlers firmly against the administration and also the Jarawa community.

The appointment of anthropologist Vishvajit Pandya as the director of the Port Blair-based Andaman and Nicobar Tribal Research Institute (ANTRI) in 2013 was a significant one. Pandya not only convinced the reluctant and over-cautious administration of the islands to look beyond the existing policy framework, but he also played an important role in bringing drastic changes in the tribal welfare agency, the Andaman Adim Janjati Vikas Samiti (AAJVS), and in empowering and re-orienting the grassroots workers who deal with the Jarawas on a daily basis.

Earlier, the trained social workers of AAJVS, fairly competent in special tribal languages, were only meant to do the bidding of bureaucrats. Under Pandya, they went back to listening to the Jarawas and implementing policies with their informed consent. For instance, though the Jarawas preferred to be in their “traditional attire, when they are assisted by the AAJVS to move from one place to other by jeep or boat, they are keen to cover their body. It is, perhaps, a way of resisting the tourist experience and expectation of the Jarawa as a “naked exotic” people.

An educational project, ang-katha, was also implemented inside the tribal reserve for Jarawa children, primarily aiming to prepare them for a bi-cultural future, where a Jarawa child could operate in the “mainstream” but also be able to retain her own identity with pride and dignity.

Two additional points also need to be made here. The first is about the Indian media, which in the case of the islands and the Jarawas, always seems to be taking a cue from what the foreign media publishes. It needs to play a far more pro-active role, including that of a watchdog. The second is the lacuna in the local education system where there is little, if anything, about the local geography and history of the indigenous people. When what is proximate is made so alien from the very beginning, a long-term and meaningful resolution is not going to be easy to come by.

Looking at the current incident in a larger context will also help to identify that which is more important and relevant. We have miserably failed in dealing with the honour killings by khap panchayats of Haryana and the Dalit killings in Tamil Nadu despite a whole gambit of laws and constitutional protection. So, instead of discussing the honour killing by a Jarawa, a tribe that occupies a very special position due to its geographical, historical, cultural and social condition, the focus should be on a policy framework, where the Jarawas are protected from the evils of “civilization” and be allowed the time and space to decide their own future.

The writer is a Port Blair-based journalist and researcher.


http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/andaman-islands-jarawas-power-to-the-native/
Posted by Zubair Ahmed at 9:10 AM