contact – Radio Free

Iran arrests 98 ‘citizen-journalists’ for contact with UK-based outlet

CPJ Staff — Thu, 31 Jul 2025 17:15:48 +0000

Paris, July 31, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Iranian authorities to explain the grounds on which they have summoned and arrested 98 “so-called citizen-journalists” for having contact with a London-based Persian-language television channel.

“Iranian authorities must immediately clarify the legal basis for this mass detention of its citizens and cease treating those who communicate with the media as criminals,” said CPJ Chief Programs Officer Carlos Martinez de la Serna. “Labeling ordinary Iranians as ‘operational agents’ simply for their association with a news outlet is a dangerous tactic of intimidation and a blatant escalation in Iran’s violations of press freedom.

Iran’s intelligence ministry had been monitoring “the so-called citizen-journalists of the Zionist-Terrorist International Network” – a term the government uses to describe London-based Iran International – during the June 13 to 24 Iran-Israel war, state-owned Mehr News Agency reported. The ministry then “arrested and summoned 98 affiliated operational agents,” the agency said on July 28.

The ministry provided no evidence to support its allegations and did not disclose the names, locations, or legal status of those detained or summoned.

The Islamic Republic has previously arrested Iranians working with international media on vague charges, such as for “collaborating with hostile states” or “propaganda against the state.”

Iran’s reformist Ham Mihan newspaper reported that more than 100 journalists had been fired in the aftermath of the 12-day war, as authorities have cracked down on critical voices, with hundreds of arrests and several executions.

CPJ emailed Iran’s mission to the United Nations in New York for comment but received no response.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by CPJ Staff.

Language of Domination — First Contact and Tiokasin Ghosthorse’s Intuitive Language

Paul Haeder — Thu, 17 Jul 2025 15:15:00 +0000

NOTE: Your first look at/ listen to an interview to air in October. DV readers rock!

We talked for an hour, and he’s on his journey, now discontinuing Native Voices, a 33-year run featured on over a hundred community and public radio stations, even three in Germany, this July 6.

Language of intuition, the language of dreams and visions, the language of mystery — Lakota.

“WE THANK THEREFORE WE ARE … BECOMING.” — TIOKASIN GHOSTHORSE

I deployed a few of the milestones in his life as a way to talk with him:

Tiokasin Ghosthorse is a member of the Cheyenne River Lakota Nation of South Dakota and has a long history with Indigenous activism and advocacy. Tiokasin is the Founder, Host and Executive Producer of “First Voices Radio” (formerly “First Voices Indigenous Radio”) for the last 33 years in New York City and Seattle/ Olympia, Washington. In 2016, he received a Nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize from the International Institute of Peace Studies and Global Philosophy. Other recent recognitions include: Native Arts and Cultures Foundation National Fellowship in Music (2016), National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellowship Nominee (2017), Indigenous Music Award Nominee for Best Instrumental Album (2019) and National Native American Hall of Fame Nominee (2018, 2019). He also was recently nominated for “Nominee for the 2020 Americans for the Arts Johnson Fellowship for Artists Transforming Communities”. He is the Founder of Akantu Intelligence.

The Hopi word “Koyaanisqatsi” translates to “life out of balance,” and it’s also the title of a 1982 non-narrative documentary film by Godfrey Reggio. The film, known for its stunning visuals and Philip Glass’s minimalist score, explores the relationship between nature, humanity, and technology, highlighting the impact of modern civilization on the environment.

We are out of balance, and that is difficult to understand using the language of dominance, this language of the genocidier and the extraction societies. This is the language of transactions and legal documents and of competition and of war.

Here, Tiokasin repeats this statement on the radio and in conferences and during his talks:

“I come from outside the anthropocentric view. We see an egalitarianism in nature. Everything in nature has consciousness, everything is in balance. The Western view ignores this. The concept of domination isn’t even in the original Lakota language.”

I went to an article he penned: Indigenous Languages As Cures of the Earth:

“We all rush in like fools to find more solutions, better remedies, fix-its from the profit makers, and fuzzy warm language to comfort the addicted aspects of ourselves. We make films, Facebook pages, petitions, we ask politicians to do our bidding, we cast votes virtually because we have to save our country, save the world, save the Earth, save the whales, save anything, but our own sanity.”

As Vine Deloria, Jr. stated in his seminal book, God is Red, “Unless the sacred places are discovered and protected and used as religious places, there is no possibility of a nation ever coming to grips with the land itself. Without this basic relationship, national psychic stability is impossible.”

We didn’t talk about politics or the Rapist in Chief or much about Palestine. His article (above) starts off looking at the “orange man” and his rape of language and murder of mutual aid and his domination in the way Trump uses business grifting and blackmail and theft and extortion through his ugly white man’s hopes of conquering everything and everyone.

I have done 33 years on the radio, and above all things, that is my work. That makes me an eyapaha, a voice, a communicator: I have been communicating for a long time, and honing that.

I recall in 2019 this western society’s “new” interest in indigenous language: That year, 2019, there were several special events associated with the United Nations’ declaration of 2019 as the International Year of Indigenous Languages. Language shift in Indigenous communities has been increasingly addressed in academic publications, with journals like Language Documentation & Conservation (established in 2006 and first published in 2007) recognized as outlets for such work. Language endangerment issues have also become part of Linguistics 101, the topic now a standard chapter in general linguistics textbooks.

I was a member of Cultural Survival, and used the quarterly in my college classes:

Our Mission

Cultural Survival advocates for Indigenous Peoples’ rights and supports Indigenous communities’ self-determination, cultures and political resilience, since 1972.

Our Vision

Cultural Survival envisions a future that respects and honors Indigenous Peoples’ inherent rights and dynamic cultures, deeply and richly interwoven in lands, languages, spiritual traditions, and artistic expression, rooted in self-determination and self-governance.

There is very little “regular” linguistic scholarship (i.e., research that isn’t specifically about Native American languages and people) framed through Native American protocols and ways of knowing. — by Wesley Y. Leonard [Wesley Leonard’s contribution to the “Sociolinguistics Frontiers” series argues that sociolinguistic approaches to Native American languages are best conducted as part of a project of “language reclamation.” Leonard discusses how past framings of Indigenous languages as “endangered,” while in some ways well-intentioned, replicated the distance of language communities from scholarly research. An emphasis on reclamation—“efforts by Indigenous communities to claim the right to speak their heritage languages”—highlights the role of the community members in the production of knowledge on and the revival of Native American languages.]

Language suppression was/is a key tool in the colonization and cultural domination of Native Americans. European settlers viewed indigenous languages as obstacles to assimilation, leading to policies aimed at erasing native tongues and forcing English adoption.

The boarding school era became a primary method for forced assimilation of Native American children. These schools banned native languages, punished their use, and mandated English-only education, causing profound and lasting effects on indigenous communities and their linguistic heritage.

Tiokasin went to a boarding school, which he talks about in many of his interviews.

Notice how the academics give zero Native American influences on this language of war and slavery: And so an intuitive language doesn’t fit the scale and timeline of a language of death and technology and extraction and theft

Indian Tribes and Linguistic Stocks, 1650

And, this is antithetical to what Tiokasin talks about when he expresses the intuitive language of Lakota, and when he rejects Western materialism and binary thinking and Socratic intellectual dominance and the very idea of “a Big Bang” defining life’s first flicker on earth. Always a bang, a bomb, not mother giving birth, the sound of the drum (heart) and her cooing (the flute) the language of mother earth.

The Heart of the Monster?

Or, this: SOURCE

The Europeans who arrived in Virginia discovered numerous tribes with distinct identities, but the different tribes used only three major linguistic groups: Algonquian, Siouan, and Iroquoian.

At the time of first contact in the 1500’s, Native Americans in the Western Hemisphere spoke 800-1,000 different languages. Based on similarities between them, there were 25-30 “families” of languages.

Linguists compare words for common terms in different languages, such as “child,” to identify original source languages and how they have differentiated over time. The technique offers a clue regarding how long people have been in the Western Hemisphere.

One thesis is that First American (Amerind), Eskimo-Aleut, and Na-Dene are the three major groups of languages in the Western Hemisphere, and those three groups reflect three migrations via Beringia at different times. The time required for the evolution of language differences suggests people have lived in the Western Hemisphere for 50,000 years.

However, genetic evidence suggests that language differences are not based on initial “waves” of migration from Beringea. It is more likely that more than three groups moved out of Beringea into North America, and movements were not limited to three major migrations of people using separate languages.

Perhaps the first people arrived more than 50,000 years ago, but none survived and the first languages brought to North America disappeared with them. It is possible that there were additional migrations by people speaking languages not associated with First American (Amerind), Eskimo-Aleut, or Na-Dene, but languages used by those migrants completely died out.1

When the English arrived in the 1600’s, Native Americans in Virginia spoke languages associated with three major groups. Different tribes spoke different variants of Algonquian, Siouan, or Iroquoian languages

*****

Tiokasin:

I tried to go through the history that I know of and the studies that I have researched from where educational processes started. And usually, when I say young, we’re talking college age or more. And so I find I just finished a semester at Union Theological Seminary in New York and graduate and postgrad students, they either were angry or sad or just, you know, in shock that they have never heard through the whole semester, after years of study, that they’ve never heard the Native history as we know it. We’ve always been overrun with Western historical domination as they see it, that they came here for benevolence, they were brought a civilization, they brought us cars and tech, you know, all these things. It was the ships that came while we stood on the shore, watching the ships come, welcoming, abundance, giving. And then they came and they took what we offered, but they took more. And that’s where we’re at. And now we’re seeing a whole abandonment of spirit and put into the ideas of a dogmatic soul. So when I approach these peoples in these educational institutions often come with those two perspectives, knowing that Native people also are forgetting our own perspective and mimicking the Western educational process.

Again, I’ll go with cultural etymology of this language English. And the word education where does it come from? Well, it comes from scholars and whatever, but the etymology of the word education, what does it mean? It means to adduce or seduce. And there’s different evolutions of the word, and in one dictionary I saw before 1940 says, of course, to adduce or seduce, but it also says “to draw out or lead away from” – and get this – “to lead away from spirit.” And what has it done? Replaced, draw out, or lead away from spirit. So what that’s done is replace it with information and knowledge. And that’s control by domination. Here’s how: So schools started out in the Catholic churches, because the monks, they drew the monks away when they were boys to read and script and to keep this educational process moving. So they were away from nature and only of men’s minds. And so this is how it’s been proceeding since then. So it’s a controlled education where you’re instructed mechanically to get the right answer. Where in Native is that we are shown the possibilities, and we’re able to choose freely about what we’re shown. We’re never told to do this or say that or we were shown because it was a living and is a living language. Learning is a living, it’s not a stagnant informational data bank. So this is how education is to me, and how I view it and how I try to explain it to college age, grad, and post grad.

I’ll insert here some contextualization on language that we did not talk about in the interview.

He did bring up John Taylor Gatto [Gatto envisioned an education system that placed freedom and justice above technology and efficiency], one of my go-to sources:

John Gatto, who won the New York State Teacher of the Year award in 2008, upon his retirement, specifically said, “It takes 12 years to learn how to become reflexive to authority.” And who is the authority? Who is controlling information? Who’s controlling education? Who’s controlling knowledge? And now they want to control Wisdom, and all wisdom means is common sense.

Origins of language suppression (source)

Language suppression emerged as a tool of colonization and cultural domination in Native American history
European settlers viewed indigenous languages as obstacles to assimilation and control
Suppression of native languages became a key strategy in the broader campaign of cultural erasure

Pre-colonial linguistic diversity

North America boasted over 300 distinct indigenous languages before European contact
Language families included Algonquian, Iroquoian, Siouan, and Uto-Aztecan
Many languages had complex grammatical structures and rich oral traditions
Linguistic diversity reflected the cultural and ecological diversity of Native American societies

European attitudes toward languages

Colonizers often viewed indigenous languages as primitive or uncivilized
Some European scholars attempted to document native languages for academic purposes
Missionaries sometimes learned indigenous languages to facilitate religious conversion
Many settlers saw native languages as barriers to economic and political integration

Early policies on native languages

Initial colonial policies varied from tolerance to outright suppression
Some early treaties recognized the right of tribes to use their own languages
Gradual shift towards English-only policies in government interactions
Missionaries established schools that taught in both native languages and English

Boarding school era

Boarding schools became a primary tool for forced assimilation of Native American children
Language suppression was a central component of the boarding school system
The era lasted from the late 19th century through much of the 20th century

Forced assimilation programs

Government-funded boarding schools removed children from their families and communities
Schools aimed to “civilize” Native American children by immersing them in Euro-American culture
Children were often forbidden from speaking their native languages or practicing cultural traditions
Assimilation programs extended beyond language to include dress, hairstyles, and religious practices

English-only education policies

Boarding schools mandated English as the sole language of instruction
Native languages were banned from classrooms, dormitories, and all school activities
English proficiency became a measure of students’ progress and assimilation
Curriculum focused on Western subjects with little regard for indigenous knowledge or perspectives

Punishment for native language use

Students caught speaking their native languages faced severe consequences
Punishments included physical abuse (corporal punishment, mouth washing with soap)
Psychological tactics involved public shaming and isolation from peers
Some schools implemented reward systems for students who reported others speaking native languages

Impact on native communities

Language suppression had profound and lasting effects on Native American societies
Loss of language often coincided with erosion of traditional knowledge and cultural practices
Many communities experienced a generational gap in language transmission

Loss of linguistic heritage

Many indigenous languages became endangered or extinct due to suppression policies
Unique concepts and worldviews embedded in native languages were lost or diminished
Traditional stories, songs, and ceremonies tied to specific languages became harder to maintain
Loss of language diversity reduced the overall linguistic and cultural richness of North America

Cultural disconnection

Language barriers emerged between elders and younger generations
Traditional knowledge systems became harder to access and understand
Cultural practices and ceremonies lost nuance when translated into English
Many Native Americans experienced a sense of alienation from their heritage

Intergenerational trauma

Forced separation and language suppression created lasting psychological impacts
Many survivors of boarding schools struggled to reconnect with their families and communities
Shame and stigma associated with native languages persisted across generations
Trauma manifested in various social issues (substance abuse, domestic violence)

Resistance and preservation efforts

Native communities developed strategies to maintain their languages despite suppression
Resistance efforts often operated in secret to avoid punishment
Language preservation became a key aspect of cultural revitalization movements

Underground language practices

Families and communities continued to speak native languages in private settings
Secret language lessons were conducted away from the watchful eyes of authorities
Code-switching and mixing languages helped preserve vocabulary and grammar
Some communities developed new forms of communication to maintain cultural ties

Elder-led teaching initiatives

Elders took on the role of language keepers, preserving vocabulary and stories
Informal language classes were organized within communities
Elders worked to document languages through oral histories and recordings
Mentorship programs paired fluent speakers with younger learners

Community language revitalization programs

Tribes established language immersion schools and after-school programs
Community-wide events promoted the use of native languages
Language camps and cultural retreats provided intensive learning environments
Partnerships with linguists and educators helped develop teaching materials and curricula

Government policies and legislation

Shifts in federal policy gradually recognized the importance of native languages
Legislation aimed to support language preservation and revitalization efforts
Implementation and funding of policies remained challenging

Indian Reorganization Act

Passed in 1934, marked a shift away from assimilation policies
Encouraged tribal self-governance and cultural preservation
Provided some support for native language use in tribal affairs
Did not fully address the damage done by previous language suppression policies

Native American Languages Act

Enacted in 1990, officially recognized the right to use native languages
Declared U.S. policy to preserve, protect, and promote Native American languages
Required federal agencies to consult with tribes on language matters
Lacked substantial funding mechanisms for implementation

Language immersion program funding

Various federal grants became available for language preservation efforts
Administration for Native Americans provided funding for language programs
Department of Education supported bilingual education initiatives
Challenges remained in securing consistent and adequate funding for long-term programs

Modern language revitalization

Contemporary efforts focus on reversing the effects of historical language suppression
Technology and new educational approaches play key roles in revitalization
Challenges persist in creating new generations of fluent speakers

Technology in language preservation

Digital archives store recordings of native speakers and traditional stories
Language learning apps and online courses increase accessibility to language resources
Social media platforms allow for language practice and community building
Virtual reality and augmented reality technologies create immersive language environments

Bilingual education programs

Schools on reservations increasingly offer bilingual curricula
Some public schools in areas with large Native populations introduce indigenous language classes
Dual language immersion programs aim to create balanced bilingualism
Teacher training programs focus on developing qualified bilingual educators

Challenges of language revival

Many languages have few or no remaining fluent speakers
Limited resources and funding for comprehensive language programs
Competing priorities within Native communities (economic development, healthcare)
Balancing traditional language use with modern vocabulary and concepts

Legacy of language suppression

The effects of historical language suppression continue to shape Native American experiences
Language revitalization efforts are seen as crucial for cultural healing and empowerment
Ongoing debates about language rights and education policies persist

Effects on cultural identity

Many Native Americans struggle with questions of authenticity and belonging
Language proficiency often viewed as a marker of cultural connection
Efforts to reclaim language tied to broader movements of cultural revitalization
Multilingual identities emerging as Native Americans navigate between cultures

Linguistic diversity today

Of the estimated 300 pre-colonial languages, about 175 remain in use
Many surviving languages have only a handful of elderly speakers
Some languages (Navajo, Cherokee) have seen successful revitalization efforts
New forms of indigenous languages emerging through creolization and mixing

Ongoing struggles for language rights

Advocacy for increased funding and support for language programs
Push for recognition of indigenous languages in public spaces and government
Efforts to incorporate native languages into mainstream education curricula
Legal battles over language use in voting materials and public services

*****

Again, back to this violent rather immature language, English:

In the Lakota/Dakota/Nakota nations we have no word or concept of domination. You look at Mother Earth and the concept applied to her is domination, and that’s patriarchy. It is basically not in touch with Mother Earth.

Patriarchy destroys our ability to have any intimacy with her. Any other kind of thinking is shoved aside, and distanced, and called indigenous—which means poor people over there. Indigent is poor and genus is race or people, and that is the etymology of the old Latin word. The new meaning of the word indigenous was glossed over to mean, oh, it’s the place that you are from.

There are 427 words in the English language to describe self, and in Lakota, there are maybe one or two, and those are in relationship with something. With English, we have so many layers we have to peel off to get back onto the Red Road of relationship. When you say “I” that is the first word that separates.

Here’s an article I used in one of my writing classes: Countering Dominant Native American Narratives and Re-Imagining Community Development

Quoting: To give some context here:

What first piqued my interest in using narratives was the reaction I felt after watching the documentary “The Canary Effect.” The film, which addresses a myriad of issues that continue to pervade the Native American community presents an image of Native Americans in a single facet: people dealing with alcoholism, poverty, and the lasting effects of the boarding school era. While this information is critical for people to know, this image is often the only one presented to the majority. As I began to think of an approach to give a more comprehensive overview of modern Native American life, I quickly thought of the “Under My Hood” spoken word event we attended the previous weekend. Inspired by the various stories, I was immediately drawn to this type of storytelling and hope to implement it within my own community–I want my peers and the general community to have the opportunity to hear multiple facets that make up the modern Native American experience and identity. From that night, I was able to come up with my own narrative that chronicles my journey as a Navajo woman using the “Under My Hood” format.

Under my hood is frustration

It is frustration that spans several generations

I carry the pain felt by my ancestors, for I continue to be told my culture is subpar and my history irrelevant. I am frustrated that my people are seen as relics of the past, as imaginary figures in headdresses and buckskin that only exist in western films and dusty textbooks. If only they knew, I tell myself. If only the world could see what I have been privileged to experience would they finally realize how entrenched we are in modern society while still maintaining our unique identities and culture. This frustration is often exacerbated by comments like “You don’t look Native American” or the idea that my education, perspective, and experiences somehow makes me different from other Native Americans. Under my hood is pride. It is pride in everything society tried to make me feel ashamed of. When I look at my hair, hair my people were forced to cut because it was seen as the mark of savagery, I don’t see shame but wisdom. I see the wisdom passed down from my mother and grandmother. I see my traditions, my history, language, and culture society has tried to erase but has failed to do because their greatest mistake is not realizing my people are indestructible. It is a future where my generation stands up and says, “We have had enough!” and we reclaim our own stories that have often been told for us instead of by us.

Finally, under my hood is hope. It is hope that I can use my education to empower my community, give a voice to the silenced, and use this gift to help my people break the chains of colonial oppression. As I continue to navigate this chaotic world I carry the hope that I will be able to successfully walk the tightrope between tradition and modernity, but I am not walking this path alone. I have my ancestors beside me, for I am their greatest dream. — Emily McDonnell

We have a saying that we kind of reinterpret into all my relations, it’s called mitakuye oyasin, and really mitakuye oyasin, you cannot feel, you cannot think in dualism, you can think only in inclusion. And if there is no word for exclusion in our languages, then you see how further along we’ve come in that process of evolving our spirits into understanding the transformation, the complexity, the simplicity, that is complexity, because people want to think that they have to down dress the idea of complexity so it’s simple. But yet, if you’re speaking the languages of the Earth, like I said, Earth doesn’t lie. And so your languages are along the complexities of the Earth and you see how many, so many variants of species and how to deal with the weather, in all of that is to not think that we’re in control of it, or even that God made this for us. You see.

So once we let go of those domination thought processes, that more than two dimensional thought process, you wake up and they come and you’re like, “Wait now, we can’t know all of this, we’re spending our time gathering information without ever experiencing it.” So we are stuck with the ideas of information and knowledge and then we refer to “Well, someone who’s tenured in educational processes is wise now because he’s tenured, he’s older, she’s older. And so they’re wise.” And yet those textbook knowledge keepers are not ever experienced. They may go out and study here and there, but when you have Indigenous peoples always in the rhythm of the Earth, they’re not educated. But yet, in a sense of taking this concept of education and trying to put it on Native people, it’s like injecting with them with something, right, and they’re not ever going to understand it, because they’re already too far ahead of education that this system requires in order for you to get ahead, but with the Indigenous processes of Earth, it doesn’t need education, it needs experience with and that way, we spend all of our time trying to reinterpret something, that we can’t wrap around our minds, and we’re stuck in the same cycle of cause and effect. How do you do this? And what do you do? And that’s a point of privilege that we come from is that, I have a question, you answer it for me and you tell me how to do something so I can take it easy the rest of my life type of thing. But yet we avoid the suffering, we avoid the pain, we avoid the grief, as you said. — Tiokasin Ghosthorse

Globalization is mainly driven by the sole superpower now – the United States and its ally the United Kingdom. The result is that English has become the first truly global language in human history. This global language and other lesser international languages are causing language shift and death at an unprecedented scale.

Overtly violent words that are used with admiration and mean “being successful”:

Slaying
Dominating
Crushing it
Nailing it
Killing it
Conquer
Blowing them away/Blowing it out of the water
Kicking ass and taking names

Dark ways we talk about ourselves and life:

“It kills me.”/”It’s killing me.”
Kicking yourself
Beating yourself up — Wow. I just really don’t think we think about what we’re actually saying. Giving yourself bruises, a black eye, maybe cuts or scrapes. I do think verbally abusing yourself is incredibly serious, so maybe this expression gets a pass for an appropriate level of gravitas.
Pain in my ass — Often said of children, unfortunately.
No pain, no gain
“I’m a hot mess.”
“I’m dying to go there.”
“If he texted me back, I’d just die!”
“It’ll be the death of me.”

2024 additions:

Onslaught — Dictionary definitions 1 and 3 are “a violent attack” and “an attack; an onset; esp. a furious or murderous attack or assault.” We mostly use definition 2: “an overwhelming outpouring.” Just a few minutes ago I went to mention “an onslaught of information” and thought, better add it to the article.
Ramming/shoving something down your throat (like an idea) See also:
Shoving your face in it/rubbing your nose in it
Overkill — “The destructive use of military force beyond the amount needed to destroy an energy,” “excessive use of force in killing,” “elimination… by hunting or killing.” Maybe this phrase is overkill?
Butchering — When we retell a story or joke in a way that’s not quite faithful to the original, we use an analogy about how we’ve dismembered it, ripped it limb from limb as its blood drains away
Letting someone off the hook — because… they were squirming on a hard, sharp piece of metal like a worm, damaging their soft skin and internal organs until we changed our mind and decided to free them?
Demolished — If you eat your food fast, you might say you demolished your burger (demolish: to tear down, raze, or break something to pieces, or to do away with or destroy something)
Head off at the pass — synonyms include ambush, block, or thwart
It hit me like a freight train/ton of bricks
Broke — in every other context than financial, this means broken/damaged/harmed

Master gets its own paragraph. This one I primarily think of in terms of gender. It’s unambiguously male and I don’t know of any corresponding positive female term in our society that would make sense and be understood as a substitution for mastering a skill, masterclass, mastermind, mastery. But there’s also a sense of domination and forced subjugation with this word. A master is what we call someone who commands others to do things and can punish them if they don’t. It’s the main English word used for an owner of slaves, who are controlled by violent force. A master doesn’t partner with, co-create, or negotiate. Though there are surely exceptions, the core of being a master is violent. (from, The casual ultra-violence of the English language)

*****

One of the recent broadcasts of his show on this radio station, KYAQ, was with a returning guest: Steven Newcomb.

“We give it names such as: civilization, empire, imperial, conquest, conquer, conqueror, invade, capture, vanquish, subjugate, enslavement, slavery, subjection, domestic violence, and so forth, but each of those names simultaneously maintains and yet hides or cloaks the domination. Steven Newcomb is a syndicated columnist, film producer and author of Pagans in the Promised Land: Decoding the Doctrine of Christian Discovery.”

The doctrine of discovery is the international legal principle that Europeans used to claim the lands of Indigenous peoples and nations and to assert sovereign, commercial, and diplomatic rights over Indian nations. The doctrine has been a part of Euro-American law in North America from the beginning of Spanish, French, and English exploration and settlement. Not surprisingly, the English colonies, the American states, and the United States adopted this legal tenet as the guiding principle for their interactions with Native nations. The US Supreme Court expressly accepted discovery in 1823 in Johnson v. M’Intosh. As you might imagine, this case and the topic of discovery have been written about and analyzed extensively.

The basic message I glean from Newcomb’s analysis of cognitive theory and metaphor is that Europeans just made it up, and that discovery was just an excuse for Euro-Americans to do what they already wanted to do: confiscate all the lands and assets of the Indigenous peoples of the New World. I agree 100 percent with that statement. The doctrine of discovery is nothing more than an outright and bald-faced attempt to justify claims of superiority and domination due to differences in religion and culture. I disagree, however, with Newcomb on one minor point. He states that most federal Indian law commentators have ignored or are unwilling to address the religious aspects of discovery. He spent a decade trying to engage federal Indian law experts in meaningful discussions on the religious dimensions of Johnson and found most of them unwilling to focus on religion and the implications of Christianity in Johnson (xvi, 139n3). That was obviously his experience. However, in my experience, many Indian law commentators have addressed the relationship of Christianity and discovery at length. (review)

Listen to that one, too: LINK.

I hope to bring you all another show with Tiokasin.

The post Language of Domination — First Contact and Tiokasin Ghosthorse’s Intuitive Language first appeared on Dissident Voice.

This content originally appeared on Dissident Voice and was authored by Paul Haeder.

Attempted Contact with the Sentinelese Tribe

Survival International — Thu, 03 Apr 2025 14:15:12 +0000

The Sentinelese, Andaman Islands. © Christian Caron – Creative Commons A-NC-SA

Reports that a US national has been arrested after landing on North Sentinel Island in the Indian Ocean to make contact with the uncontacted Sentinelese people are “deeply disturbing”, Survival International’s Director Caroline Pearce said today.

“It beggars belief that someone could be that reckless and idiotic. This person’s actions not only endangered his own life, they put the lives of the entire Sentinelese tribe at risk. It’s very well known by now that uncontacted peoples have no immunity to common outside diseases like flu or measles, which could completely wipe them out.

“The Sentinelese have made their wish to avoid outsiders incredibly clear over the years – I’m sure many remember the 2018 incident in which an American missionary, John Allen Chau, was killed by them after landing on their island to try to convert them to Christianity.

“It’s good news that the man in this latest incident has been arrested, but deeply disturbing that he was reportedly able to get onto the island in the first place. The Indian authorities have a legal responsibility to ensure that the Sentinelese are safe from missionaries, social media influencers, people fishing illegally in their waters and anyone else who may try to make contact with them.

Map showing the remote location of the Andaman Islands. Map from traveltwins.dk

“Uncontacted Indigenous peoples around the world are experiencing the invasion of their lands on a shocking scale. Countless uncontacted peoples in the Amazon are being invaded by loggers and gold-miners. The uncontacted Shompen of Great Nicobar Island, not far from North Sentinel, will be wiped out if India goes ahead with its plan to transform their island into “the Hong Kong of India.” The common factor in all these cases is governments’ refusal to abide by international law and recognize and protect uncontacted peoples’ territories.”

The post Attempted Contact with the Sentinelese Tribe first appeared on Dissident Voice.

This content originally appeared on Dissident Voice and was authored by Survival International.

Want to contact the Georgia Public Service Commission? Here’s how.

Lyndsey Gilpin — Fri, 10 May 2024 19:59:49 +0000

The five members of the Georgia Public Service Commission are publicly elected officials. That means anyone can attend their meetings, offer public comments, and give feedback on energy affordability, justice, and policy in the state.

Follow and reach out to the PSC

All commission hearings and meetings are open to the public and anyone can attend. You can find a calendar of meetings here. It meets at 244 Washington St. SW, Atlanta, Georgia, 30334-9052

Contact information:

Toll-free in Georgia (outside Metro Atlanta): 800-282-5813

Metro Atlanta: 404-656-4501

Fax: 404-656-2341

Email: gapsc@psc.ga.gov

Commission hearings and meetings also are livestreamed on the PSC YouTube channel, though viewers cannot ask questions or pose comments online. You can also follow the PSC on social media.

Before reaching out to or engaging with the commission, familiarize yourself with the roles and responsibilities of the commissioners, and initiatives the agency is working on so you can frame your request or response appropriately.

Grist and WABE, Atlanta’s NPR member station, are engaged in an ongoing project demystifying energy policy and affordability in the state. You may find these resources may be useful.

Want clean electricity? These are the overlooked elected officials who get to decide.
Your guide to electricity and energy policy in Georgia (a glossary of terms)
Resources (fact sheets, websites, and more)

Send a complaint, inquiry, or opinion

Public comments are heard during the first hour of hearings and the last 15 minutes of committee meetings. Sign-up sheets are provided and speakers are called on a first-come, first-served basis.

You can learn more about filing a complaint, inquiry, or opinion to the PSC here. Comments must conform to certain guidelines, including a limit of three minutes at the lectern. Submit written comments here. People who regularly address the PSC say don’t be discouraged if you don’t receive a response right away. Follow up respectfully as time allows, and if you still aren’t satisfied reach out to commissioners through other means, such as calling their offices.

Get involved through community organizations

If you aren’t interested in or comfortable with testifying before the commission, several organizations regularly engage with the PSC and Georgia Power, which is the state’s largest electric utility and regulated by the commission. They include Georgia Conservation Voters, Black Voters Matter, Georgia WAND, and Georgia Watch, all of which offer volunteer opportunities for residents to participate in advocacy.

Local chambers of commerce also send comments to the PSC, as do city and county governments. You can also look into whether your employer is involved, as major employers sometimes appear in front of the PSC or go through trade groups like the Georgia Association of Manufacturers.

This story was originally published by Grist with the headline Want to contact the Georgia Public Service Commission? Here’s how. on May 10, 2024.

This content originally appeared on Grist and was authored by Lyndsey Gilpin.

Armenia Says Maintaining Regular Contact With Ankara, Erdogan

News - Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty — Thu, 07 Mar 2024 19:12:00 +0000

WASHINGTON -- In a high-profile televised address, U.S. President Joe Biden ripped his likely Republican challenger Donald Trump for "bowing down" to Russian President Vladimir Putin and urged Congress to pass aid for Ukraine, warning that democracy around the world was under threat.

In the annual State of the Union address, Biden came out swinging from the get-go against Putin and Trump -- whom he called "my predecessor" without mentioning him by name -- and on behalf of Ukraine, as he sought to win over undecided voters ahead of November’s election.

The March 7 address to a joint session of Congress this year carried greater significance for the 81-year-old Biden as he faces a tough reelection in November, mostly likely against Trump. The president, who is dogged by questions about his physical and mental fitness for the job, showed a more feisty side during his hourlong speech, drawing a sharp contrast between himself and Trump on a host of key foreign and domestic issues.

Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine

RFE/RL's Live Briefing gives you all of the latest developments on Russia's full-scale invasion, Kyiv's counteroffensive, Western military aid, global reaction, and the plight of civilians. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war in Ukraine, click here.

Biden denounced Trump for recent remarks about NATO, the U.S.-led defense alliance that will mark its 75th anniversary this year, and compared him unfavorably to former Republican President Ronald Reagan.

"Bowing down to a Russian leader, it is outrageous, dangerous, and unacceptable," Biden said, referring to Trump, as he recalled how Reagan -- who is fondly remembered by older Republicans -- stood up to the Kremlin during the Cold War.

At a campaign rally last month, Trump said that while serving in office he warned a NATO ally he "would encourage" Russia "to do whatever the hell they want" to alliance members who are "delinquent" in meeting defense-spending goals.

The remark raised fears that Trump could try to pull the United States out of NATO should he win the election in November.

Biden described NATO as "stronger than ever" as he recognized Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson in the audience. Earlier in the day, Sweden officially became the 32nd member of NATO, ending 200 years of nonalignment. Sweden applied to join the defense alliance after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Finland became a NATO member last year.

Biden called on Congress to pass a Ukraine aid bill to help the country fend off a two-year-old Russian invasion. He warned that should Russia win, Putin will not stop at Ukraine's border with NATO.

A group of right-wing Republicans in the House of Representatives have for months been holding up a bill that would allocate some $60 billion in critical military, economic, and humanitarian aid to Ukraine as it defends its territory from Russian invaders.

The gridlock in Washington has starved Ukrainian forces of U.S. ammunition and weapons, allowing Russia to regain the initiative in the war. Russia last month seized the eastern city of Avdiyivka, its first victory in more than a year.

"Ukraine can stop Putin if we stand with Ukraine and provide the weapons it needs to defend itself," Biden said.

"My message to President Putin...is simple. We will not walk away. We will not bow down. I will not bow down," Biden said.

Trump, who has expressed admiration for Putin, has questioned U.S. aid to Ukraine, though he recently supported the idea of loans to the country.

Biden also criticized Trump for the former president's attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 election, saying those efforts had posed a grave threat to democracy at home.

"You can't love your country only when you win," he said, referring not just to Trump but Republicans in Congress who back the former president's claim that the 2020 election was rigged.

Biden "really strove to distinguish his policies from those of Donald Trump," said Kathryn Stoner, a political-science professor at Stanford University and director of its Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law.

By referencing Reagan, Biden was seeking "to appeal to moderate Republicans and independents to remind them that this is what your party was -- standing up to Russia," she told RFE/RL.

The State of the Union address may be the biggest opportunity Biden has to reach American voters before the election. More than 27 million people watched Biden’s speech last year, equivalent to about 17 percent of eligible voters.

Biden's address this year carries greater importance as he faces reelection in November, most likely against Trump. The speech may be the biggest opportunity he has to reach American voters before the election.

Trump won 14 of 15 primary races on March 5, all but wrapping up the Republican nomination for president. Biden beat Trump in 2020 but faces a tough reelection bid amid low ratings.

A Pew Research poll published in January showed that just 33 percent of Americans approve of Biden's job performance, while 65 percent disapprove. Biden's job-approval rating has remained below 40 percent over the past two years as Americans feel the pinch of high inflation and interest rates.

Biden, the oldest U.S. president in history, has been dogged by worries over his age. Two thirds of voters say he is too old to effectively serve another term, according to a recent Quinnipiac poll.

Last month, a special counsel report raised questions about his memory, intensifying concerns over his mental capacity to run the country for four more years.

As a result, Biden's physical performance during the address was under close watch. Biden was animated during the speech and avoided any major gaffes.

"I thought he sounded really strong, very determined and very clear," Stoner said.

Instead of avoiding the subject of his age, Biden took it head on, saying the issue facing our nation "isn’t how old we are, it’s how old our ideas are."

He warned Trump was trying to take the country back to a darker period.

"Some other people my age see a different story: an American story of resentment, revenge, and retribution," Biden said, referring to the 77-year-old Trump.

This content originally appeared on News - Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty and was authored by News - Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty.

Border guards who fled Myanmar tell of losing contact with commanders

Sharif Khiam and Abdur Rahman — Fri, 09 Feb 2024 20:25:13 +0000

Myanmar border guards and soldiers fled into Bangladesh earlier this week after losing contact with their commanders during fierce fighting in Rakhine state, an interpreter present during their conversation with Bangladesh officials told BenarNews on Friday.

Many of these Burmese members of the junta-affiliated border police and army who have been sheltering with the Border Guard Bangladesh said they wished to return to their homes, according to an interpreter who spoke to BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated news outlet, near the BGB outpost in Teknaf, Cox’s Bazar.

As many as 330 members of the Myanmar Border Guard Police (BGP) and soldiers crossed the border after abandoning their posts in Rakhine, next door in Myanmar, amid fierce fighting with Arakan Army rebels, who have been making advances in gaining control of territory in battles with junta forces.

The BGP members told the interpreter, Mohammad Saiful Islam, that they were attacked around 4 a.m. on Feb. 4. They fought back before fleeing on Feb. 6.

“They said the Arakan Army encircled from three sides and launched attacks on them. Before the attack, the Arakan Army severed all means of communication with their senior officials,” Saiful Alam told BenarNews. “But they continued their resistance for two days. Ten of their members died while the Arakan Army lost at least 20 of their members.

“They had no way to contact their commanding officers to get instructions.”

As the fighting crept closer to the border this week, at least three civilians on the Bangladesh side were reported killed by artillery and gunfire from the fighting.

Saiful Islam said he talked to 17 army officers linked to Myanmar’s border guard along with 147 BGP members who fled from the Rakhine state. They told him they crossed into Bangladesh to survive.

“‘If we proceeded in other directions, they would apprehend and kill us,’” he quoted an unnamed soldier as saying.

Saiful Islam said BGB leaders gave him questions to ask the Myanmar forces, adding most were reluctant to provide any details. They were more interested in asking about how they would be returned to Myanmar.

“The common answer I get from them is ‘we came under attack and we fled,’” he said.

Border Guard Bangladesh members gather in the Ukhia sub-district where they are unable to rescue victims because of ongoing shelling across the border in Myanmar, Feb. 9, 2024. [Minhaj Uddin/BenarNews]

Earlier this week, officials reported that 330 Myanmar troops crossed into Bangladesh and surrendered their weapons to the BGB.

Maj. Gen. Mohammad Ashrafuzzaman Siddiqui, BGB’s new chief, said Bangladesh had followed international norms by allowing the Myanmar border guards and soldiers to cross into Bangladesh on humanitarian grounds.

Bangladesh ambassador to Myanmar Md. Monowar Hossain said he spoke to a Myanmar deputy foreign minister who expressed his government’s desire for the BGP to be returned. Bangladesh agreed to repatriate them by sea.

Fight for control

Myanmar’s security forces and the rebel Arakan Army (AA), founded in 2009, have been fighting for control of Rakhine state, which borders Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar and Bandarban districts.

In recent months, the AA has intensified attacks on the Myanmar military and the BGP.

On Friday, the AA claimed it captured the final major junta territory in Mrauk U, effectively taking control of the town in Myanmar’s northern Rakhine state, according to Radio Free Asia, a news service affiliated with BenarNews.

Previously, the AA captured two key military units in western Rakhine state, seizing control of Minbya. This came after AA rebels captured a BGP camp in Maungdaw township last weekend.

As fighting intensified between the junta forces and the Arakan Army, the civilian population of Rakhine state – including Buddhist Chakma and minority Rohingya Muslims – has been displaced. Hundreds of people have been trying to cross into Bangladesh, but the BGB was put on alert to stop any influx of Myanmar residents.

In Dhaka, Obaidul Quader, a senior minister and spokesman for and general secretary of the ruling Awami League party, said the government would not allow people from Myanmar to take shelter in Bangladesh.

Lt. Col. Mohiuddin Ahmed, BGB Teknaf battalion commander, said many people were trying to enter Bangladesh at different spots along the border.

“As of today, we have apprehended 137 people who attempted to enter,” he told BenarNews on Friday.

Two days earlier, Quader told journalists that Rohingya would not be allowed to cross over from Rakhine.

“The Rohingya people have become a big burden for Bangladesh … the international assistance has fallen. How long can we support them,” he asked.

About 1 million Rohingya live in refugee camps in and around Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar – most have fled Myanmar since a military crackdown against their stateless minority group in August 2017.

On Friday, residents of Tombru, Gundam, Teknaf and Ukhia in Bangladesh told BenarNews correspondents that the intensity of fighting near the border has been reduced.

BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated news outlet.

This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Sharif Khiam and Abdur Rahman.

North Korea bars contact between soldiers and civilians

By Moon Sung Hui for RFA Korean — Thu, 30 Nov 2023 18:40:02 +0000

North Korea is barring even casual contact between soldiers and civilians, apparently to keep soldiers from smuggling military goods to the public, residents in the country told Radio Free Asia.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the two groups were able to interact, and in fact North Korean propaganda portrays a unifying bond between the military and ordinary people.

But soldiers stole military supplies such as food, fuel and Chinese cell phones and smuggled them to civilians, who then sold them in the markets.

When the pandemic struck in early 2020, authorities banned contact between the military and public for health reasons – to keep the disease from spreading.

And authorities found that the theft and smuggling of military goods plummeted, residents said.

So the government wants to continue to keep soldiers and civilians separate even though the worst of the pandemic is over – despite hopes that normal interaction would be allowed again, they said.

Last month, the Korean People’s Army issued instructions to each unit saying that soldiers who contact residents without the unit's permission would be punished.

A similar notice was sent to neighborhood watch units on Nov. 9: “Those who attempt to contact soldiers or invade soldiers’ security areas without any special reason will be severely punished.”

Not even casual chatting

Even bumping into a soldier that you know on the street is a no-no, a resident of the northern province of Ryanggang told RFA Korean on condition of anonymity for security reasons.

“You can’t even ask him how he is doing,” he said of such interactions. “If you are caught talking to the soldier, he will be taken to the military police, and the resident will be taken to a nearby police station for investigation.”

North Korean men, women and soldiers walk and push their bicycles past apartment blocks in Pyongyang, North Korea, April 13, 2017. (Wong Maye-E/AP)

The soldier and the civilian will be investigated separately, the resident said.

“[They] must fill out a fact-check form detailing the circumstances in which they met each other and the conversations they had when they met,” he said. “The police officers compare the facts and if the information matches, they will be released. If the information is different, they will have to undergo an investigation for several days.”

Undermines propaganda

The decision to limit interaction between soldiers and residents is part of Kim Jong Un’s “new ruling style,” another Ryanggang resident, who requested anonymity for safety reasons, told RFA.

She said Kim wants to “completely destroy the traditional relationship between soldiers and residents by controlling any contact between them” as a way of stopping goods intended for the military from appearing in the local market.

“Everything in the marketplace, from the medicine to gasoline and diesel fuel, food, military uniforms, and even salt were all items stolen from the military units by soldiers who were in close contact with the residents,” she said. “It would be difficult to run the market without the goods stolen by the soldiers.”

Soldier-civilian relationships also facilitate cross-border smuggling and information sharing with contacts in China, she said.

“Kim Jong Un’s determination and ruling method is to break this vicious cycle even if the tradition of military-civilian unity is damaged,” she explained, referring to prevalent propaganda campaigns suggesting the two groups are one and the same.

When the country’s nascent market economy was in its infancy during the rule of Kim Jong Un’s father Kim Jong Il, the elder Kim had enacted policies to eliminate marketplaces from emerging, but he was not successful, she said.

“Since the close relationship between soldiers and residents is a means of survival that goes beyond the marketplace, it remains to be seen whether Kim Jong Un can break it off through the force of his will,” she said.

The first source explained how different government-aligned organizations can catch civilians having contact with soldiers if they are not careful.

“The organizations that monitor encounters between soldiers and citizens include the youth crackdown group under the Socialist Patriotic Youth League, the inspection unit under the Worker-Peasant Red Guards, and the Ministry of Social Security’s patrol task force and strike force,” he said.

“In addition, there are state security agents and social security agents in charge of each region. There is also a resident reporting system.

Translated by Claire Shinyoung Oh Lee. Edited by Eugene Whong and Malcolm Foster.

This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By Moon Sung Hui for RFA Korean.

Government lost control of Covid when it stopped contact tracing, BMA says

Laura Oliver — Wed, 04 Oct 2023 16:42:51 +0000

British Medical Association has criticised inadequate PPE, poor public health messaging and Test and Trace failures

This content originally appeared on openDemocracy RSS and was authored by Laura Oliver.

NZ election 2023: Better ways than taxation to bring down living costs – Hipkins

APR editor — Tue, 12 Sep 2023 08:18:52 +0000

From RNZ’s Mata with Mihingarangi Forbes

Labour leader Chris Hipkins believes there are better ways to bring down the cost of housing, electricity and groceries than new taxes.

But in at least three of those areas – electricity, banking and groceries – a third-term Labour-led government would not rule out taxes on excessive profits, should other measures fail to rein them in.

“Tax is not the only way you can tackle inequality,” Hipkins — whose grasp on the prime ministership is looking shakier with every poll — told Mata this week.

PUBLIC INTEREST JOURNALISM FUND

“The policies that we are introducing and implementing as a government are actually I think making a meaningful difference on inequality.”

An IRD document released in April, the High-Wealth Individuals Research Project Report, found the wealthiest New Zealanders pay an effective tax rate about half that the rest of us do, largely through untaxed capital gains.

TE MĀNGAI PĀHO

Despite this, support for the idea from his former revenue minister and it being a key plank of likely coalition partner the Greens’ platform, Hipkins has ruled out implementing any kind of wealth tax, should Labour lead the next government.

He has also ruled out a comprehensive capital gains tax, despite the recommendation from the Tax Working Group to target capital gains to ease the burden placed on wage and salary earners.

Housing
Currently, the bright-line test means residential property — aside from the family home in most instances, and a few other situations — attracts a capital gains tax if it is sold sooner than 10 years after purchase. National wants to lower this to two years.

Hipkins said other suggestions — such as a land tax, as proposed by The Opportunities Party — were not on the table.

“It’s not something we’re looking at at the moment,” Hipkins told Mata host Mihingarangi Forbes.

“The main form of land tax we have at the moment is local government rates, which are levied on a combination of land and asset value — whatever sits on top of that land — so we already have that at the moment. We’re not proposing to expand that further.

“The one area where I have seen proposals is around transport infrastructure — that’s what’s called ‘value capture’, which is effectively a form of land tax or land levy, based on where you’re building new roads and who’s capturing the value from those.

“We have left that open. The National Party are promising they’re effectively going to do it — we’ve left it open as an option, but we’re not proposing to go further than that.”

Asked why the average Kiwi had to pay about 20 percent of their income in tax (on average) while landowners making money that way did not, Hipkins said the gains should be “realised” before they were taxed.

“Levying people based on assets they own that they may never realise the gain from, it wouldn’t be an equitable way of taxing people.”

He gave the example of a family-owned farm which might be “worth millions”, but the present owners would not necessarily have the income to pay a land tax.

Ultimately, the key to making homes affordable for both buyers and renters was increasing supply, Hipkins said.

“The fundamental challenge around housing in New Zealand is we haven’t built enough houses over a long period of time — we’re talking decades — to keep up with population growth that we have. No matter how you fund it, it’s never going to be possible to turn that around overnight because building the volume of houses that we need to build takes time.

“We’ve really ramped up our house building programme and we’re seeing real results coming out of that now. My message is really, we can’t afford to turn back. We can’t afford to stop . . . we’ve got to keep it going.”

Mihingarangi Forbes on Mata. Image: Mata/RNZ

Labour originally promised 100,000 homes by 2028 under its KiwiBuild plan. Hipkins said so far it had only managed about 3000.

“It’s not hit the targets we had originally envisaged for KiwiBuild, but we’ve found other ways of actually delivering on the overall approach. For example, scaling up our state house build programme . . . actually in terms of targeting the demographic who are homeless and the most vulnerable, that’s actually going to reach that demographic faster than KiwiBuild would be able to reach them.”

He said about 13,000 new state homes had been built since 2017 with “more coming”, and the private sector had also become “very active” too. Stats NZ figures showed consents peaked at over 50,000 for the first time in 2022, and have slightly slipped since then.

Electricity and banking
In the last financial year, the big four energy companies — Contact, Genesis, Meridian and Mercury — reported a combined $2.7 billion in profits.

The big banks have also reported near-record profits of late, as interest rates rise.

Asked if they could be subject to an excess profits tax, Hipkins said his preference would be to use regulatory measures and increased competition to keep prices in check.

“[The electricity] market is in a period of significant transition as we move away from burning fossil fuels to a much greater reliance on renewable energy, which will mean prices ultimately don’t grow as fast as they would if we were still going to be relying on fossil fuels.

“Some of that money will be money that’s reinvested, for example, to actually make sure we actually have the renewable electricity generation assets that we need to be able to meet that demand.”

That lines up closely with what the power retailers themselves have said, Contact Energy chief executive Mike Fuge saying there was an “incredible amount of investment that’s going in to the industry at the moment to decarbonise”.

Hipkins left the possibility of taxing excess profits in both industries on the table, however.

“I would never rule out … that if companies continue to make excessive profits, the government might do more in that area. But my first port of call would be more in the regulatory space to make sure they aren’t making those kind of big, unjustifiable profits in the first place.”

He placed the blame for rising electricity prices on the market reforms of the late 1990s, despite Labour being in power — either alone or in coalition — for about 15 of the past 23 years.

“The challenge is you can’t unscramble an egg — once that’s been done, it’s been done . . . I want to see us focused on creating a renewable energy electricity market, which includes the ability for people to generate their own electricity — more solar and more initiatives like that . . . that is actually going to be cheaper.”

As for the banks, which do not have any need to invest in overhauling the entire way they do business, Hipkins said there had been some “pretty robust conversations”.

“It is not an area where I’m not ruling out doing more things in the future, but my focus really is on making sure that that market is competitive, rather than necessarily introducing new forms of taxation.”

He blamed some of the profits the banks had made on the pandemic, and that did not mean “those profits are going to continue” in the post-pandemic environment.

Groceries
Food prices have been rising faster than inflation generally, between 9 and 12 percent annually over the past couple of years. Labour has promised to combat this by cutting GST off fruit and veges, a policy widely panned by economists and tax experts.

Even if retailers did pass the savings on to customers, fruit and veges would likely still be more expensive on average than they were a year ago.

The Commerce Commission in 2022 estimated the supermarkets were making about $430 million a year in excess profits.

Hipkins said the government had been doing more to help rein in grocery prices, such as appointing a grocery commissioner and breaking up the supermarket duopoly on wholesale supply chains.

“The work that we’re doing to change wholesale distribution supply chains – at the moment they’re locked up by two big companies – so that more competitors have access to that, that will actually make a difference in making the market more competitive, so that those kind of excess profits that we’ve seen cannot be generated in the first place.

“It won’t happen overnight, but I think we will see progress over the next year or two.”

Produced for RNZ and TVNZ by the Aotearoa Media Collective. Made with the support of Te Māngo Pāho. Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air. This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.

Family celebrates as Lao man who lost contact while working in Malaysia returns home

By RFA Lao — Fri, 25 Aug 2023 20:30:22 +0000

A Lao rubber plantation worker who was jailed for a year in Malaysia and was presumed dead by relatives returned home to his family in Laos’ Attapeu province this week.

Aloun Phommalath, 24, worked on plantations in Malaysia for four years before he was arrested on drug charges in August 2021.

He was released in late 2022, but relatives in Attapeu’s Sanamxay district didn’t know how to contact him. Phommalath lost his phone in jail and didn’t remember his family’s phone number.

Family members told Radio Free Asia that they worried that the lack of contact meant he had died.

But Phommalath eventually sent a letter to them through a co-worker who was on his way back to Laos. His family then sent a text message to RFA asking for assistance in bringing him home.

An RFA reporter then emailed the Lao Embassy in Malaysia alerting them to Phommalath’s situation. Phommalath returned to Laos on Wednesday.

“We are so happy. Nothing compares. It’s like he’s born again,” his brother said. “I never dreamed that he would return home after we lost contact with him for so long.”

One of Phommalath’s sisters said she ran toward the airplane after it landed and wheeled to the terminal.

“All relatives came to visit when he returned home,” another sister said. “All of them asked why he was so fat and dark. They have been waiting for him to come home for a long time.”

An official from the Lao Embassy told RFA that Phommalath’s criminal case was related to the drug “Kratom,” an herbal substance that can produce opioid- and stimulant-like effects. He was jailed for one year, the official said.

Exploitation risk

The Lao Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare estimated last year that about 2,000 Laotians had traveled illegally to Malaysia for jobs in the fishing industry.

During the pandemic, 700 Lao migrants returned home from Malaysia, but most eventually went back once economic conditions in Laos worsened due in part to high inflation, the ministry said.

Though the pay is sometimes better there than what they could earn in Laos, illegal migrants are often exploited by their employers, a Lao fisherman who has been working in Malaysia’s Pahang state told RFA on condition of anonymity for safety reasons.

To ensure their rights are protected, the Lao government is working on finding ways for more migrants to go to Malaysia legally.

Despite the risks, Malaysia is attractive to migrants because it is a relatively easy country to work in, the fisherman said.

“The main reason so many choose to come here is because we don’t have money. Most of us don’t even have enough to make a passport,” he said.

Translated by Sidney Khotpanya. Edited by Matt Reed.

This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Lao.

Dalai Lama says Chinese officials want to contact him over Tibet issues

By Lobsang Gelek and Lobe Socktsang for RFA Tibetan — Mon, 10 Jul 2023 20:15:10 +0000

Tibet’s foremost spiritual leader the Dalai Lama has revealed that Chinese officials have sought contact with him, either “officially or unofficially” to discuss Tibet issues.

The Dalai Lama, who lives in exile in Dharamsala, India, addressed reporters there on Saturday as he was about to depart for the Indian capital, New Delhi, and then a month-long sojourn in Ladakh.

“I am always open to talk, and Chinese officials have now realized that Tibetan people’s spirits are very strong, so in order to deal with Tibetan problems they want to contact me. I am also ready,” he said.

The Dalai Lama, who celebrated his 88th birthday on June 6, did not specify when or how Chinese officials requested contact. He said that Tibetans are not seeking independence and have decided to remain part of the People’s Republic of China.

China annexed Tibet in 1951 and maintains a tight rein on the western autonomous region.

“Now China is changing and Chinese officials want to contact me officially and unofficially,” the Dalai Lama said.

While in New Delhi on Sunday, the Dalai Lama visited with a delegation from the U.S. organized by the Office of Tibet in Washington. Led by U.S. special coordinator of Tibetan issues, Uzra Zeya, the delegation also included the assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian affairs, Donald Lu, and a senior USAID official.

Also attending the meeting was Penpa Tsering, leader of the Central Tibetan Administration, or CTA, the Dharamsala-based Tibetan government in exile, and Norzin Dolma, the CTA’s minister of information and international relations.

Diplomatic meetings with the Dalai Lama are controversial. In May last year, when Zeya visited the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala, Beijing protested saying that Washington was interfering in China’s affairs.

Regarding Sunday’s visit, China’s Embassy in India voiced Beijing’s objection on Twitter.

“The US should take concrete actions to honor its commitment of acknowledging Xizang [Tibet] as part of China, stop meddling in China’s internal affairs under the pretext of Xizang-related issues, and offer no support to the anti-China separatist activities of the Dalai clique,” the embassy’s spokesperson Wang Xiaojian said in the tweet.

Such a response is typical for China, Tenzin Lekshey, the spokesperson for the CTA, told RFA.

“The Chinese government has always been hostile whenever U.S. officials, or for that matter any dignitaries, meet with the Dalai Lama or Tibetan leaders from CTA, so this is not something new,” Tenzin Lekshey said.

The spokesperson denied China’s claim that the Dalai Lama and the CTA are separatist, citing the Middle-Way Approach, a CTA official policy he described as a way to “peacefully resolve the issue of Tibet and to bring about stability and co-existence between the Tibetan and Chinese peoples based on equality and mutual cooperation.”

The Chinese government must take the initiative to solve the Tibet problem,” he said.

Translated by Tenzin Dickyi. Edited by Eugene Whong.

This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By Lobsang Gelek and Lobe Socktsang for RFA Tibetan.

China crimps contact between Tibetans abroad and in Tibet, RFA survey shows

By Lobsang Gelek — Sun, 13 Mar 2022 11:17:27 +0000

Like most Tibetans who live in exile in neighboring India, Kelsang Gyatso had long relied on free social media chat apps to talk to his family members back home in Markhan county in the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR).

But that changed last year when the Chinese government stepped up its surveillance measures and restricted online communications between Tibetans and their family members and friends abroad.

“I was able to communicate with my family and relatives back in Tibet using social media chat apps, [but] the communication was completely cut off a few months back due to greater surveillance and restrictions,” Gyatso told RFA.

Part of Chamdo prefecture, Markham county (in Chinese, Mangkang) is an area rich in agricultural, water and mineral resources. Residents of depend on farming and animal husbandry to make a living.

“It’s very worrisome not having any information on how they are doing, and I’m sure it’s the same for them also not knowing about my well-being,” said Gyatso, who in 2000 fled his impoverished hometown, located in the TAR’s far west and bordering China’s Sichuan and Yunnan provinces.

Chinese authorities in the TAR and Tibetan areas of nearby Chinese provinces restrict freedoms of religion, expression, movement, and assembly, and ignore residents’ concerns about mining and land grabs by local officials, who routinely rely on force to subdue those who complain or protest, human rights groups say.

Authorities have intensified surveillance of Tibetans over the past decade under the leadership of Chen Quanguo, the TAR Communist Party chief from 2011-16 and the figure widely associated with setting up a system of mass internment camps for Muslim Uyghurs in Xinjiang, a restive region north of Tibet, where he led the party from 2016 until last year.

“Chen’s system combines hyper-securitization and militarization with efforts to accelerate the political and cultural transformation of local people. Its stated aim is ‘breaking lineage, breaking roots, breaking connections, and breaking origins’ of Tibetans and Uyghurs,” said the International Campaign for Tibet in a December 2018 report.

“Surveillance technologies that have sparked outrage internationally because of their use in Xinjiang were trialed in Tibet,” the Washington-based rights group said.

Tibet, a formerly independent Himalayan country, was invaded by China in 1950 and has been governed by China’s ruling Communist Party ever since. There are some 6.3 million Tibetans living in China and as many as 200,000 living in India, Nepal and Bhutan.

A map showing the location of Markham county in the Tibet Autonomous Region. Credit: RFA

Harassment and punishment

Human Rights Watch's latest World Report, an annual review of human rights practices and trends around the globe, noted that an announcement in November 2020 that the government was tightening controls on online communications it claimed undermined national unity was followed by an uptick in reported detentions of Tibetans in 2021 for alleged online offenses.

“Tibetans who contacted people outside China were harassed and punished, regardless of the content of their communications,” said the report by the New York-based rights group.

The authorities’ increasingly hardline policies have made it more difficult for Tibetans in exile to communicate with their families and friends back home, said Tibetan sources inside and outside the region.

RFA’s Tibetan Service recently surveyed 215 Tibetans living in India about the communication flow between them and their relatives and friends inside the TAR, with half of the respondents saying that there had been a complete breakdown in contact because of stepped-up Chinese restrictions and monitoring of residents in recent years.

Forty-four of the respondents said that maintaining contact with those inside the TAR has become very challenging in the last two years.

Tibetans in India rely mostly on the Chinese instant messaging app WeChat to communicate with their family members in the TAR.

Geshe Lobsang Yeshi, Tibet coordinator at the Kirti Monastery in Dharamsala, India, home of the Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, and the Tibetan government in exile, agreed.

“Nowadays, it’s not only politically sensitive conversations but anything you discuss with Tibetans outside that is regulated,” he said. “For instance, there is a specific office set up in [the TAR’s] Ngaba region that regulates and examines the cell phones of local Tibetans.”

To make matters worse, since June 2020, the Indian government has banned more than 200 Chinese apps, starting with about 59 popular applications in the first round, including WeChat, saying that they pose a threat to national security.

The move has hampered communication between some Tibetans in exile and people in the TAR. RFA’s survey found that only 10 percent of respondents were affected — mostly older Tibetans or those who did not know how to use a virtual private network to skirt Chinese internet censorship and blockages.

An exile Tibetan Buddhist nun uses her mobile phone as she waits with others in a line to receive free rations distributed by a Tibetan Buddhist monk during a lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus in Dharmsala, India, April 28, 2020. Credit: Associated Press

Prohibiting money transfers

China has been tracking Tibetans in Tibet communicating with those in exile to shut down the flow of information to the outside world, according to sources inside Tibet who provide information to communities abroad.

The Chinese government also has started prohibiting the transfer of money from Tibetans in the TAR to outside recipients, they said.

RFA reported in October 2020 that a Tibetan herder, Lhamo, and her cousin, businessman Tenzin Tharpa, were detained for sending money to family members and others living in India. Lhamo died after being tortured in Chinese custody, while her cousin was still being held by police.

The survey results indicated that it is even more difficult for Tibetans in exile involved in political campaigns and protests against the Chinese government, dignitaries, and journalists to communicate with their families inside Tibet.

“It is a fact that Chinese authorities specifically harass and surveil family members of Tibetans in exile who are usually actively involved in political campaigns, and journalists,” said a Tibetan journalist living in India who requested anonymity for safety reasons.

“My family members back home were also questioned many times in the past by the Chinese authorities who continue to do so,” he added.

Three survey respondents living in Qinghai province told RFA that they had received calls from Chinese authorities urging them to move to the TAR.

Authorities told them that a new Chinese government policy would allow them to reunite with their families in the TAR and that officials would take care of processing the required documents and provide other necessities, the Tibetans in Qinghai said.

“Lately, I’ve been receiving calls from Chinese officials in Tibet asking me to return home,” said a Tibetan who now lives in India.

The Chinese government also sent officials to his home in Tibet and interrogated his parents, taking photos and recording videos of them, said the man, who declined to give his name for safety reasons.

“It worries me now, and because of the growing scrutiny, I’m scared, too,” he said.

Translated by Tenzin Dickyi for RFA’s Tibetan Service. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.

This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By Lobsang Gelek.