Liberalising shipping and logistics: Cat out of the bag on THC too

“You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time” 

– Abraham Lincoln

Wednesday, 13 December 2017


At the 2017 Sri Lanka Shippers’ Council AGM as the outgoing chairman, I urged the Government on the need for fully liberalising the shipping sector to reap the long-term benefits for Sri Lanka.

We certainly don’t believe in agency system which is an outdated model for shipping in almost all countries if they don’t add real value in the logistics chain, but our leaders failed to understand this for a long time and offered protectionism instead of competition and innovation. I commend the courageous act by the Minister of Finance and the Government for seeing things in the right perspective.

Since the Budget announcement of the policy, we have seen a massive effort to distort the benefits of liberalisation, by misleading the public in many angles by this small group of protectionists, it seems the same false story is published repeatedly written under different names. I was truly surprised for the first time that I learnt that Sri Lanka had so many maritime consultants defending against free market, freedom of choice and promoting agency business with government protected tariffs to make Sri Lanka the hub of the Indian ocean.

They are now ridiculing the Ports Authority capacity, charges, etc. to bring a different focus against the case of liberalisation and defending third party agents’ role as one of most major areas of the country’s maritime interest which is the core of the lobby’s argument which we the exporters, industry leaders and economist have clearly dismissed.

Obviously, the interest of few who benefits from commission and fees from all sides are at crossroads. These few agents are the ones who distorted the freight market for decades until the previous Government put a stop to the anticompetitive practices (2014) introduced by these agents and in simple terms “milked” the local exporters and importers and are still trying to do the same and are trying to once again introduce charges with the new Government blaming it on the last Government.

Until 2014, we exporters/importers in addition to freight faced up to 40 surcharges on top of separate illegal charge called THC. Today we pay an all-inclusive rate from point to point, which is market driven and transparent to the sellers and buyers of freight.

I still hold the original letter issued by CASA in 1997 introducing THC as a freight surcharge. The compliance of the law comes from principals, these agents are continuously trying to manipulate and charge more from exporters, importers and from shipping lines who are their principals making the way for unproductive costs which is passed to the consumer or the manufacturer/exporter, and this is still going on where ever they can with small exporters and importers.

Interestingly they are even trying to drag the clearing and forwarding agents into this, to show a big numbers of agency houses (such as 500) to the Government and the country. Clearing agents have no bearing on this subject and they constitute over 300 numbers of small operators who work with customs and ports.

Propaganda doing

the rounds

The Government knows that five monopolised players are the ones who are blocking the country progress as stated by the Finance Minister in Parliament. Liberalisation will only help more SME and freight forwarding industry in the long run, contrary to the story published by the vested interest.

The propaganda caught my eyes to one fact which I must respond to educate the industry and the public. One of the maritime experts talking in an interview advert and explained how freight rates are determined, this statement exposes the years of lies they maintained over a separate charge called THC.

An article published on 27 November in the Daily FT says that, when determining freight costs, additional Terminal Handling Charges (THC) also constitutes part of line’s cost, and that they absorb it now. We are glad that under the fire of agency liberalisation now they have accepted the so-called THC they introduced separately as freight surcharge in 1997 was as part of a line’s freight cost. However, they then of course go on to lie again that has been absorbed by the line without passing on to the buyer or the sellers who negotiate freight. The Sri Lankan Government law does not ask anyone to absorb any cost but to charge it to the contracting party as an all-inclusive rate. This common sense is below Ordinary Level mathematics which they seem not to grasp.

Interestingly another consultant writes last week comparing the port cost. However, he has failed to say that he is not comparing apples to apples, as the examples were drawn from direct ports vs. a transhipment Port of Colombo, the agency author had purposely forgotten to mention that in Colombo the transhipment one-way load cost is less than the one-way load cost of direct ports of the countries he has cited. This is again to distort the reality, the one-way cost for transhipment in Colombo is around $37.5/TEU which are further negotiated on volume basis.

The expert had brought in the local loading cost for local exporters and importers and indicated that the SLPA should reduce it. We agree that the cost for local industry is high and wonder why these agents didn’t fight to reduce this for years if they were so concerned about the country and its exports, instead they called these Port Handling Cost (PHC) , now accepted as line’s cost, which were renamed as Terminal Handling Charges and simply milked the industry when principals on the other hand negotiated volume contracts and obtained massive reductions from the terminal operators which they never passed on to the customers for years.

In my opinion, CASA never fought for the export trade but acted against the trade always as they were only interested in the dollars they collected, but ironically called themselves the voice of shipping.

I am happy that their experts have now identified port cost incurred for loading and unloading identified as part of freight cost and are also calling it the PHC rather than THC. If they are ignorant I would like to educate them with the correct word as per global tariffs by ports including Colombo, the loading and unloading of a vessel is called “stevedoring” and is a known cost for a shipping line that can be added to freight under liner terms as published by their own tariff without crying foul and trying to avoid market forces whilst talking market forces when it comes to liberalisation.

Whenever THC was to be addressed by successive governments, CASA and few interested agency houses scared the successive governments saying ships will not come and transhipment will not grow, and freight rates will go up if the government stops and intervenes on anticompetitive practices. All these tactics have been proven beyond any doubt as utter lies.

Since the introduction of the anti-competitive laws in 2014, the port’s volumes have grown, making Colombo the second fastest growing port in the world, even with mega carriers operating larger ships, ship arrivals and new services are increasing, and the freight rates have come down as anywhere in the world due to market conditions.

These are the patriotic agents who were fighting against an all-inclusive rate against the exporters and importers who are now trying the nationalist card again to keep unproductive systems and keep Sri Lanka in the dark with its maritime aspirations for years to come. We also welcome the proposal of the Government to bring in a regulator as it is an important part of the reform structure as you liberalise the sector fully.

Government’s understanding is commendable

The Government’s understanding of this scenario is commendable. We as exporters and importers don’t want any party in between unless they are adding real value, they cannot claim the revenue that is brought through our freight payment and the ship’s payment to the port and terminal as their revenue, what they do is increase cost by sitting between and charging tariffs that are found nowhere in the shipping industry in the world and commissions that are artificially increasing cost to both the line/principal and the trade.

If they add value, liberalised or not, the ship owner will retain them and pay for the services rendered just like it is done in all other liberalised countries. No doubt the liberalisation will benefit the country, and it will help the port operators and the terminal operators to canvass for more transhipment business to Sri Lanka.

Already the world’s largest shipping line has formally conveyed this by publishing its appreciation and recognition of the Government effort to make Sri Lanka more attractive. I hope the port operator (SLPA) and the terminal operators will also inform the public of the benefits they will enjoy due to full liberalisation to their clients the shipping lines. If they are under pressure from few agents, please write to the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister extending their support, as the total export sector has endorsed this policy of the Government.

Finally, as an industry person, I would like to meet and invite Chathuranga Subasinge and Rehan Fernando and the new maritime experts to an open discussion with their views at a forum. I can be contacted via the Sri Lanka Shippers Council, I am aware that there are no such named people who I have met in my 30 years in the industry, but a gang of manipulators who are fearful to write even an article under their own name.

In closing I only can quote President Abraham Lincoln to these protectionists: “You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.”
(The writer is a Board Director of the Global Shippers’ Forum and the Immediate Past Chairman of the Sri Lanka Shippers’ Council.)

SRI LANKA FGM/FGC VICTIMS SPEAK OUT

12/12/2017

Save the Girl Child, a group of concerned citizens representing the Muslim community in Sri Lanka, Family Planning Association of Sri Lanka and Mumbai-based ‘Sahiyo,’ a transnational organization working to end Female Genital Cutting (FGC) among the Dawoodi Bohras in Asian communities, provided Ceylon Today with testimonials based on interviews conducted with females who have themselves undergone and experienced or witnessed the performing of and practice of the khatna (circumcision) ritual, which the World Health Organization (WHO) classifies as a certain type of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).

On the subject, a Muslim woman who wished to remain anonymous wrote “FGM is a serious problem in Sri Lanka. Almost all Sri Lankan Muslim women are circumcised. Both Moors and Malays (ethnic Muslim communities in Sri Lanka) are of the Shafi school of Islam which regards female circumcision ‘sunnat’, is compulsory. They account for 98 per cent of the local Muslim population.

The Bohras who follow an Indian leader called Syedna also practise it very strictly, as per the latter’s instructions. Local Bohras are loyal followers of Syedna. The All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama (ACJU) which is the Supreme Council of Muslims of Sri Lanka has declared female circumcision obligatory in a fatwa in Tamil (Pengalukku Khatna Seydal) and is very strict about it. Local Muslim girls are circumcised on the 40th day after birth or a little later. Bohra girls are cut between 7-10 years of age. The amount of genital cutting differs from child to child. The operator is a woman called Ostha-maami. Usually, they nick the clitoris for a little blood to come and leave it at that. Educated families get it done by lady doctors who cut off part of the foreskin of the clitoris. But more severe mutilation also takes place and has been reported to us.”

Excerpts from the testimonials of local Muslim females:

Testimony 1:

“In the room I was alone with the doctor, my grandmother, and the doctor’s wife. I was then put on the trolley bed and even up to this point I was not worried. But then they removed my pants and they spread my legs with each of the women holding down each leg really tight and then I knew something really bad was going to happen. I saw some kind of instrument, a flash of something silver in the doctor’s hand. I think at that point I passed out because I have no recollection of what happened after that. I don’t remember going home. The first thing I remember after that was a cloying and horrid smell of something, which I cannot forget to this day, of dried blood and some yellow colour ointment. And then the excruciating pain every time I wanted to pee. The smell, the clotting, and the pain were there for a week, and it seemed like there was nothing that could be done about it. As a child I guess one does not ask why. And how I felt defiled at what they had done to me and whether I would ever be alright again.” – Bohra woman aged about 40.

Testimony 2:

“I refuse to call it circumcision because what was done to me was no mere ‘prick’, ‘nick’ or ‘cut’. I did not realize the extent of the damage till I got married. My wedding night turned out to be an extremely painful experience, and the pain has not gone away. I was initially in denial because I could not remember the procedure, done when I turned seven by a qualified doctor at his clinic, as being traumatic in any way. But later I thought to connect the two and got myself examined by a gynaecologist. I was then told that part of my genitalia had been extracted and the exposed nerves had become super sensitive and thus painful to the touch.” – A local woman

Testimony 3:

“I remember bits but not the whole experience. I was put on a table and my mother was hovering over me and looking into my eyes. Looking back I guess she did this to comfort me. The doctor looked at my vagina. Even at that time the thought never occurred to me that I had been stripped down to this extent in front of a doctor or anyone other than my mother. I remember thinking that it was odd, but my mother was there, so I thought it must be alright. I can’t remember if it hurt at all. Even through this, I don’t remember my mother forcing me or anything. She was just looking into my eyes. I don’t remember anything after that. Even if it was just a nick, this still shouldn’t have even happened. I visited the gynaecologist. I knew that FGM had been done to me, but I wanted to know to what extent. I had noticed that my clitoris was a bit off – I thought maybe it was like that or maybe it did not develop when I was young, or something. The gynaecologist was shocked but calm. He examined me and told me that a bit of the clitoris and part of the labia had been taken off. In the end he said to reassure me ‘Don’t worry about it.” – A local woman

Testimony 4:

“Around 1970s, I was seven years old. I hardly have any memories of my life during this period and most of them are vague, but I do remember almost every waking minute of one particular day. I woke up, I guess like any other ordinary day, had breakfast, and then was told by my mother to get in the car and that she was taking me somewhere. Whilst in the car, my mother who was driving, told me I should not tell anyone nor talk about where I was being taken that day. I was a fairly obedient and non-confrontational child, so obviously didn’t ask too many questions. We arrived at a house, not too far from our own place, and I was taken in by my mum. My favourite aunt was there too. I was happy to see her. Next thing I remember, I was in a room, laying on a table. I remember my aunt by my side, the doctor and his wife were in the room as well (I came to know that this was the doctor and his wife, later on in my life, I didn’t know this at the time). I don’t have a memory of my mother in the room, maybe it is something I’ve blocked out, or maybe she was upset at what was going to happen and didn’t stay in the room. I remember two or more people holding down my legs. I’m not sure if I was screaming or protesting, I don’t have a memory about this, but I do remember pain, extreme pain and unbearable pain. Throughout this ordeal, my favourite aunt was by my side, obviously comforting me. My next memory of the day was arriving home, I remember there being discomfort between my legs. I was kept in my parents’ room the entire day. They were exceptionally caring and sweet to me that entire day, and my naughty mischievous brother was not allowed anywhere near me.”
“I do not have any further memories of the immediate days that followed, which obviously would have been some sort of recovery period. During my mid-teens is when I realized exactly what had been done to me that day as a seven-year-old child – circumcision, the cutting off of the clitoris, also known as FGM. As a young teenager I did not have access to much information about what a terrible act this was, but I knew enough with the trauma I went through, to know that this should never have been done to me. At this point I would like to state that although the responsibility for this act, which we call khatna in our community, lies solely with my parents’, I do know that if they had had access to the right information, that FGM was a heinous act of violation upon the female body, they would not have gone ahead with it. (After all, it was officially banned by the United Nations (UN) only some time during the 1990s, so there must have been so little awareness about this in the mid 70s). I know this, because when my daughter turned seven years old, this topic arose, and we were expected to do this for her as well. Both my husband and I were vehemently against this and were not willing to budge on our decision. We explained our case to my parents and made them aware that the UN had banned it; they realized then that they were not informed of these views and easily accepted our decision. I belong to the Bohra community which has its roots in Mumbai, India, and I am someone who has been born and bred in Sri Lanka. The practice of FGM or khatna has been in our community for many generations. The apologists in our community often argue that we in the Bohra community administer this in a hygienic sterile environment, performed by formally qualified Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) doctors in our community, thus claiming that unlike the ways it is done in Africa, where many of the cases are prone to severe infections and sometimes fatalities, we don’t have such cases. I firmly believe that FGM, regardless of how, when and where it is performed should not be done to children who have no say in it. No one has the right to violate or mutilate the body of young girls and modify them permanently. Many clerics in our community claim that this is done to cull the sexual pleasure in a woman, allowing her to be more devoted and committed to her husband’s desires. From my own experience, there is no truth to that idea. Thus the whole purpose of this practice is not achieved.” -Colombo-based Bohra woman in her 50s

Testimony 6:

“Muslim girls must be circumcised or they will grow up to be loose. I have two daughters and I got them circumcised when they were babies. The local Ostha woman came and did it. She took a large needle and pricked the clitoris till blood came. She then wiped it and put some grey powder. I think it was ash. She told me that the blood had to come out or if not the girl’s clitoris will be big, and she will always touch there and grow up to be a loose woman. I don’t regret it. All our girls must be circumcised. See Western ladies; see Princess Diana, how many men she had affairs with. Our women are much more decent. That is because we take the blood out and make it small. Then they can control themselves.” – A 40-year-old woman

Testimony 7:

“I did not know of this practice till my daughter was born. My mother said that she must undergo sunnat. I told her only boys undergo sunnat. She said no, girls also. Then she brought home the lady doctor, who cut my daughter. My baby cried a lot. The doctor put some kind of white powder on the wound and said it will heal. Later I noticed that the baby’s clitoris was pink and swollen. I got angry and asked the doctor what she had done. She said she removed the skin over it like she did for the small boys. She said there was nothing to worry about. It healed a little later. She is alright now, but I am still angry because my daughter was hurt. I don’t know why they do it. My mother said it must be done for Muslim people.” – A 33-year-old woman.

Testimony 8:

“I was married to an aalim (religious scholar). A few days after my wedding night, he said he wanted to see my private parts before having sex. Then he got angry and said I was not circumcised. He even shouted at my mother. My mother kept saying that she had got me circumcised as a baby, but he did not listen. He brought home an old Ostha-Maami in a taxi and ordered her to cut me. My husband held one leg and forced my mother to hold the other leg while the Ostha-Maami cut me. My mother was crying and told me not to scream as the neighbours could hear. It was very painful. I wish my mother had got it done properly when I was a baby.” – A 29-year-old woman.
By Ruwan Laknath Jayakody/ Courtesy of Ceylon Today.

Alleged attack on NUW supporter: Court orders arrest of Thondaman’s son

2017-12-12

Hatton Magistrate T. Saravanaraja yesterday ordered the Maskeliya Police to arrest Jeevan Thondaman, the son of CWC General Secretary and Parliamentarian Arumugam Thondaman and produce him in courts regarding an alleged attack on a National Union of Workers’ (NUW) supporter who had participated in a funeral in Maskeliya.

Police earlier arrested four CWC suspects who had surrendered to the Police over this incident and produced them in courts. The Hatton Magistrate ordered that the case be taken up again on April 4 while releasing the four suspects including the CWC Vice President and Central Provincial Council Minister M. Rameshwaran on cash bail.

The others who were released on bail were Wellayan Dinesh, M. Pichchamoorthy and S. Baskaran.

Maskeliya Police told the Magistrate that another suspect named Jeevan Thondaman was to be arrested and hence these suspects be remanded till December 13. However the lawyers who appeared for the suspects said this complaint had been made with an ulterior motive and requested that they be released on bail. (Ranjith Rajapakse)

Crop insurance approved by govt: some farmers haven’t even heard of it

by Sanath Nanayakkare-December 12, 2017, 8:00 pm 

The third reading of Budget 2018 was passed by the House last week approving, among other things, a crop insurance coverage for farmers amounting to Rs. 3 billion. This measure is meant to provide insurance to farmers on damage to their crops in the event of extreme weather conditions. However, some farmers The Island Financial Review (IFR) met recently in Norochcholai, Kilinochchi and Kankasanthurai haven't even heard of it.

Thathiseeran Senadhirajah and Premakumar, two farmers (father and son) in Kankasanthurai who work in a farming community in KKS are a strong link of the Cargills Ceylon's islandwide fresh produce supply chain. They told the IFR that they hadn't even heard of this insurance scheme for farmers. Several farmers the IFR met in other areas too said they had no clue about it.

Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera during his budget speech said that this insurance coverage and financial support to the farmers would help them stabilize their losses in the event of natural calamities.

This insurance coverage is expected to provide Rs. 40,000 per acre in the event of a weather calamity for six crops, namely; maize, soya, big onion, potato, chilli and paddy. According to Budget 2018, part of this Rs. 3 billion insurance payout would be financed by tax payers' money.

Whether the farmers in these areas were aware of it or not, the IFR found that they were quite happy and optimistic about their livelihood as Cargills Ceylon has secured their future by building a strong market network.

"We can say that Cargills is sort of our crop insurer. For our fresh-produce basket of onion, pumpkin, brinjal, snakegourd, ginger, sour plantain and so on, Cargills Ceylon pays us the best market rates. Cargills comes to our farms and buys our produce so that we are not exploited by middlemen any more. Cargills' buying policy is transparent and consistent, so selling our agricultural produce to them is something we do with great pleasure. Cargills' Sarubima programme accumulates funds which are disbursed for our children's education as well as our community work. Cargills agricultural instructors guide us to adopt progressive farming practices minimizing the use of agro-chemicals and on how to use modern technology in agriculture. Also, the Cargills Bank provides us with micro loans to facilitate and expand our farm work which no other bank ever dared do. Annually we sell vegetables worth Rs. 2 million to Cargills and we make a profit of Rs. 1 million. With the steady cash-flow from our business with Cargills we have built three houses for the members of our family and have bought a Landmaster tractor for our farm work. All this means that Cargills Ceylon is sort of our crop insurer", the two agri-entrepreneurs said.

Asked whether peace followed by the end of 30-year- war helped their farm business, they said," Absolutely yes. During the conflict, we'd relatively low production and sales with a bleak future ahead of us. After peace dawned, the whole outlook changed and our farm business started thriving. Our living standard has got a lot better now", they said.

Haridas Fernando, deputy group manager, agri-business Cargills Ceylon says,"As you have seen for yourself, our farm-produce production and handling standards already meet a lot of requirements of the organic products fact sheet. We should be able to get the organic certification and have our produce labeled 'organic' in another six months or so".

Towards sustainable green automobile beyond 2018

Wednesday, 13 December 2017

In the National Budget proposals for the year 2018, the Government has taken positive steps to promote the electric car segment, discouraging IC engines (Internal Combustion Engines) which are running on fossil fuels. This definitely is a positive initiative to direct the country towards the ‘Green concept’ and a commendable initiative taken by the policymakers despite the expected high friction from local auto importers who are largely dependent on IC engine automobiles.

It is of high importance to drive this initiative towards sustainable technology establishment, ensuring long term goals of shifting the entire county’s transportation to green automobiles by the year 2040. The Government has already given the signal that all Government-owned vehicle fleets will be shifting to full electric or hybrid systems by the year 2025.

Being an entirely new concept and a challenging drive, it is important to expose this proposal for national level discussions in terms of feasibility, infrastructure, costing, after sales management, impact on environment etc. to ensure a sustainable technology transfer on electric vehicles, simply known as EV.

As I have 16 years of related industry experience in automobile and related technology transfer, I wish to share the experience on change of phase of technology to electric cars, in terms of prevailing issues, anticipated future problems therein, and strategies to overcome such. The content and arguments developed below are of an industrial nature and a result of the experiences gathered by me through my association with a leading electric car manufacturer on diffusing electric drivetrain technology in Sri Lanka.

EV technology transformation

In the EV technology transformation, Sri Lanka is more familiar with Japanese car manufacturers, hence studying and sharing of Japanese EV manufacturers’ experience of technology diffusion in tropical and Asian countries will be of more relevance.

The global automobile industry is considered the most rapidly-developing industrial sector next to information technology. In early 2010, extension of ‘Mechatronics in Automotive’ has been shifted to hybrid systems then to plug-in hybrid, now to full electric vehicles, where the drivetrain of the vehicle is fully run by synchronised motor through friction belts or gear coupling. In EV vehicles, IC engines have been replaced by synchronised motor, powered by lithium-iron batteries.

EV technology is led by Nissan and Tesla while Nissan is leading in volume-based markets and sells more than 300,000 EV across the world. Tesla is creating more exiting models in sport and high-end markets. As per latest industry information, Indian car manufacturers are progressively entering the EV market following the Indian State policy vision of converting India to being a fully electric automobile user by year 2030.

It was witnessed that the Indian Modi Government has recently announced the world’s largest electric car tender, calling for the supply of 10,000 electric cars to the Indian Government by July 2018. Technology shifting of neighbouring auto manufacturers will influence the Sri Lankan auto industry to positively shift to being fully electric by 2040.

In EV manufacturers’ or EV patent right holders’ point of view, current EV technology in the world is at a developing stage, where extensive research work is carried out focusing on improvement of battery bandwidth, (millage per full charge), life time of the battery, reducing the production cost of the battery and recycling process of used batteries, etc., which are considered as the hindering factors of technology diffusion on EV.

Due to these sustainability issues on EV technology, even leading car manufacturers are slow in entering markets like Sri Lanka, in offering “brand new EV cars” though there is high market potential.

Macro technical environment

The most prominent factor to come across with respect to electric car usage is the unavailability of adequate charging points. This will open up an attractive business opportunity which requires only a moderate technology with a nominal investment, with guaranteed returns.

Therefore, this can be considered as a short-term issue. Sufficient charging points will be immerged countrywide with the familiarisation of EV cars, pushed with customer demand.

Due to the change of climatic patterns in the country, more often power is generated through burning fossil fuel or coal. This in turn makes using domestic power for charging EV not very viable. (As per energy transformation principles, direct burning of fossil fuel in IC engine and produce power to run a car is more economical than generating electricity by burning fossil fuel and then charging a battery to run a car.)

Wiring systems of domestic households and commercial buildings in Sri Lanka lack basic safety standards and there is no system of certifying the safety before connecting to the National Grid (CEB power). After connections have been taken, modifications/alterations to the existing wiring systems are not adequately monitored by authorities.

It is evident that the reason for most fire hazards in buildings are due to faulty electrification. This is one of the key issues that policymakers should pay attention to. More weight should be given to the fact that EV battery charging in primitive wiring systems are highly dangerous, as overcharging or short-circuiting can cause the battery to explode releasing high energy and radiation elements to the environment. Also irregularity in power factor, voltage fluctuations and mostly batteries being charged during peak hours (6 p.m. to 11 p.m.), etc. will affect the quality of charging, hindering the expected benefits to the user.

In the long run, this has to be addressed formulating energy policy framework for the country, introducing low cost renewable energy sources, ensuring quality of national grid power, and introducing tariff structures considering the demand and supply.

But in the short term, introduction of solar power for EV charges have been identified as the best solution to Sri Lanka, as an equatorial country. Enhanced solar energy through an inverter is the most economical methodology to ascertain the EV technology diffusion.

In line with Government green energy policy, “Sooriyabala Sangramaya”, there are ample opportunities to familiarise solar energy through various subsidies and soft-loan schemes. In this scenario, policy makers should take initiatives to synchronise the introduction of green automobiles with green energy policy, “Sooriyabala Sangramaya” towards achieving the common goals, without working in isolation.

Hence in conclusion, Sri Lanka is on favourable grounds vis-à-vis macro-economic and technical infrastructure to introduce electrical driven automobiles by introducing solar power.

 Micro technical environent

 Micro technical capability is the sustainability measure of EV technology, where manufactures have proven their high concern before launching brand new EV cars into new markets.

The EV battery pack contains air-cooled, stacked laminated lithium iron manganese oxide. The battery and control module together weigh an average 230 kg, the heaviest part of EV. Performance of the battery is highly influenced by the ambient (atmosphere) temperature, to get rated millage all the time and expected full life time. In general, these cars are manufactured targeting Europe, and USA markets, where ambient temperature is maintained at 18 C to 26 C maximum.

In countries like Sri Lanka, ambient temperature varies at 26 C to 35 C, which has resulted in reducing the life time of EV battery by 40%. These cars are mostly used for short distance running and during day time are mostly parked in open yards facing direct sunlight/or in sheds. There is a high possibility of batteries heating up during the daytime, and charging takes place mostly at night, leaving no time for the battery to cool down (less chemical settlement time).

As this is an unavoidable scenario, reputed EV manufacturers have concerns in offering warranty for the lifetime of the battery (10 years).They recommend to add a cost of an additional battery at the initial vehicle costing, if the local agent expects to offer the same standard of international warranty. Eventually this increases the buying price of a brand new EV.

Secondly, the most important factor is disposing of used batteries. EV use lithium-iron batteries which consist of highly hazardable radiation elements. These are not just “electronic waste”, but are “radiation active electronic waste”. In the disposing process, battery deactivation, removing cells and re-cycling without harming the environment is essential.

In the tracer study, it was revealed that there is no technology for disposing used lithium-iron batteries available in Sri Lanka, and disposing technology is highly expensive to acquire, and capable technicians are essential for handling them. Hence for disposal, these batteries have to be re-exported to a destination where the disposal technology is available. For Sri Lanka, the most economical place is Belgium. Hence in brand new EV costing, manufacturers demand the factoring of an additional $400 to the costing and to ensure the re-export of used batteries to Belgium.

Accordingly, with the expansion of the local market for EV cars, national policies and regulatory measures should be introduced and implemented on importing and handling of lithium-iron batteries with vehicles and as a spare part. A proper national inventory should be maintained (probably at Central Environmental Authority (CEA) or an Atomic Energy Board (AEB) to ensure 100% disposal as per international safety and environment standards. Strong environment policies should ensure that EV batteries will not be exposed to the environment at any instance.

Aftersales management safety measures

In aftersales management, as a safety measure, if there is any abnormality or malfunction of the EV battery, Engine Management System (EMS) (a mechatronic competent in the vehicle) triggers out and indicates on the dash board as “Safe mode drive,”, where vehicles can be driven at a maximum millage of 40 KMPH for a limited period with limited features.

In order to rectify the vehicle back to the normal running condition, proper diagnostic and re-programing of the battery circuit unit is required. This is highly confidential literature that is available only with specific EV car manufacturers. There are many customers who are facing software programming issues of EV vehicles which were imported through indirect (second hand) importers due to inadequacy of technical support on high-end diagnostics.

Unfortunately in Sri Lanka, technological policymakers and financial policymakers work in isolation without proper coordination. A recent example is the import tax benefits given two years back to the EV segment to encourage EV, which resulted in dropping out the competent authorised vehicle agents out of the market and irresponsible second hand importers entering the market.

These importers have no responsibility towards the above factors, thus greatly affecting sustainability, whereas local agents who represent EV manufacturers are bound to comply with International regulations. As a result, the cost of a second hand imported EV is 30% less than a brand new status EV which is imported through local agents, which obviously means there is no market for brand new importers as tax benefits given at the point of import are common.

In Sri Lanka, there are an average 6,000 EV cars which were imported through indirect channels, with no manufacturer or a local agent attending to product updates, responsible for warranty, after sales services, battery disposal after usage, etc. Further a number of technological issues are rising in these vehicles as these cars are not manufactured targeting tropical usage.

According to the 2018 National Budget proposals, initial benefits on EV car imports were proposed for authorised agents who represent EV manufacturers, which is a good sign towards sustainable technology enhancement. But later, the media reported that the policy was changed, allowing the import of used old EV cars through indirect channels. Change of the original policy decision and allowing non agents to import EVs will lead towards irresponsible technology management, exposing the country to risk from all aspects!

Take the correct

decisions today

EV technology is at a developing stage where a number of product updates can happen from time to time, with a high degree of environmental hazard if badly managed. Therefore strict regulatory measures on battery disposal, and active involvement of local agents on after sales management is required for sustainable EV technology diffusion. Officials who are involved policymaking and alter them without being prudent should be responsible on the consequences therein.

In conclusion, as a country we have had bad experiences during the 1960s vis-à-vis technology shifting from self-sustained agriculture to commercial agriculture by introducing fertilisers and insecticides. After 50 years of bad management, today we witness that a larger segment of the valuable farming community is suffering with chronic kidney diseases. Hence, steps taken towards green automobiles should not end up with similar experiences, allowing future generations to suffer. Today, if we do not take the correct decisions, we will all be responsible for the future consequences!


[The writer is Mechanical Engineer (BSc Eng. University of Peradeniya, MBA – Management of Technology, University of Moratuwa), trainer in automobile mechatronics with 16 years’ experience on automobile after sales management and technology transfer.]

Will Trump push mainstream media to overcome fear of Palestine?

A TV camera shrouded in tear gas fired by Israeli occupation forces, amid confrontations with Palestinian youths near the Beit El checkpoint in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah, 8 December.Oren ZivActiveStills

Michael F. Brown-11 December 2017

The most openly racist and ignorant American president the world has seen in recent years is leading some in the news media to look with fresh eyes at Israel’s actions against Palestinians.

Cognizant of how dangerous and mean-spirited President Donald Trump is on an array of domestic issues, journalists seem more inclined to question what is being done to Palestinians by the US and Israel.

They are dreadfully late. Some are reluctant. And many are still inclined to exclude Palestinian voices. Nevertheless, there is more discussion at the moment because Trump’s outrages receive more attention than Democratic “resistance” leaders supporting positions similar to his.

Cable network MSNBC pushed ahead of CNN domestic with reporter Ayman Mohyeldin raising for American viewers the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement and the struggle for one democratic state.

But even MSNBC too frequently falls back on old arguments and biased American diplomats of the past quarter century such as Dennis Ross.

Ross, a fixture of failed American “peace” efforts, has for decades been through a revolving door linking senior government posts with positions at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a think-tank tied to the Israel lobby group AIPAC.

And MSNBC continues to show Syria’s occupied Golan Heights as part of Israel while CNN at least designates it with a separate color, though that is not ideal either.

No Palestinians Radio finding a voice?

One example of modestly more vigorous journalism came Thursday. Rachel Martin, a host of NPR’s Morning Edition, challenged Nir Barkat, Israel’s mayor of Jerusalem, on his practices toward the city’s Palestinian residents.

“There are many Palestinians who feel marginalized in your city … many have had their residency permits revoked so they don’t feel as you think they feel. Many of them do feel excluded,” she said.
“How do you address their concerns as their mayor?” Martin asked, seemingly oblivious to the reality that the vast majority of Palestinians in Jerusalem would never identify Barkat as their mayor.

Under international law, Israel’s annexation of East Jerusalem and its imposition of its laws on the city is “null and void.”

Unchallenged lie

Barkat, whose views and policies violently discriminate against Palestinians, knows the facts on the ground. Nevertheless, he initially lied in response to Martin before backtracking to express uncertainty and ignorance.

“I am not aware of anybody that his residency was revoked,” claimed Barkat. He then added, “I think factually this is probably not true.”

But, as he surely knew, it is true.

Israel has revoked the residency cards of thousands of Palestinians on grounds including that they moved away to marry, work or study, as if they were temporary migrants in Jerusalem, rather than indigenous people.

As the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem notes: “Since 1967, Israel has revoked the permanent residency of some 14,500 Palestinians from East Jerusalem under such circumstances.”

The real impact is much greater than the numbers suggest: Israel may revoke the residency of only one person, but that often upends the life of an entire family which must face the choice of living apart or leaving the city altogether.

“Israeli policy in East Jerusalem is geared toward pressuring Palestinians to leave, thereby shaping a geographical and demographic reality that would thwart any future attempt to challenge Israeli sovereignty there,” B’Tselem states.

Entrenched discrimination

Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch, said in August: “Israel claims to treat Jerusalem as a unified city, but the reality is effectively one set of rules for Jews and another for Palestinians.” She added, “Entrenched discrimination against Palestinians in Jerusalem, including residency policies that imperil their legal status, feeds the alienation of the city’s residents.”

None of this stopped Barkat. But this is no surprise. Earlier this year, he threatened the wholesale destruction of Palestinian homes if he didn’t get his way in protecting residents of the Israeli settlement of Amona which was founded on private Palestinian property and violates international law.

“Unless Amona is legalized,” Barkat declared, “we’ll have to destroy hundreds or thousands of houses in Jerusalem too.” Shameless, he added, “The Amona verdict leaves us no discretion to legalize building offenses.”

Palestinian “building offenses” are typically the result of Israeli authorities – who exercise illegitimate authority – systematically denying building permits to prevent Palestinian growth in the city.

Residents of Amona have since been removed to the new colony of Amichai, which is also illegal according to international law.

Barkat’s policies already include regular home demolitions, such as this one in September, that left eight Palestinians, including four children, homeless in Jerusalem’s Ras al-Amud neighborhood:

Israel’s violent dispossession of Palestinians from homes in East Jerusalem may now expand in light of Trump’s Jerusalem announcement.

NPR does sometimes push back on falsehoods or unconfirmed reports, especially now that mainstream media have found an easy way to pose as courageous defenders of the truth by challenging Trump.

While Martin is to be commended for asking a relatively tougher question, there was no pushback to Barkat’s false response. Martin and NPR did not respond to The Electronic Intifada when asked if an online and on-air correction would be issued.

Long criticized in activist circles as “No Palestinians Radio,” listeners will be paying careful attention to see whether NPR has turned a corner following the contentious battles over reporting biased against Palestinians during the second intifada.

Fear of equal rights?

Despite the modest progress MSNBC has shown courtesy of the work of Mohyeldin, who was briefly transferred out of Gaza in 2014 following his powerful reporting on the deaths of four children on a beach with whom he’d played soccer minutes earlier, there is still antiquated analysis that reflects a different era and insinuates Palestinians and Muslims are to be feared.

On 8 December, the 30th anniversary of the start of the first intifada, MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell stated, “A one-state solution, according to a lot of more liberal Israelis, means the end of the state of Israel as we know it because the Palestinian population very quickly, if there’s one state, if there’s one person, one vote, would overwhelm the Israeli Jews. So clearly that’s not going to happen, but what it means is the end of any kind of diplomacy.”

This kind of casual racism – where Palestinians are viewed as a dangerous and undesirable population who would “overwhelm” Jews merely by demanding full and equal civil and political rights – is common in discussions of the region, though it would be rejected in other contexts.

Mitchell is not altogether clear whether she is attributing fear of the one-state solution to liberal Jews or expressing some of her own misgivings when she says the idea is clearly not “going to happen.”

Citing “liberal Israelis” – presumably excluding Palestinian citizens of Israel – is meant to signal to progressive viewers that the idea is out of bounds.

“Pragmatic” racism

But in substance, it’s little different from the rejection, even by “liberal” white South Africans a generation ago, of the one person, one vote system that eventually replaced apartheid – despite white fears and opposition.

Though rejection of a one person, one vote system in the context of South Africa or the American South is widely and correctly viewed as racism, insisting that equal voting rights is a non-starter when it comes to Palestinians and Israelis is “pragmatic” conventional wisdom routinely repeated by Democratic Party politicians, European diplomats and TV pundits alike.

MSNBC should host a real discussion of what one state with equal rights would mean and how the actions of Trump, his presidential predecessors and Israel have closed off the two-state solution over the past 25 years.

This past week Trump has inadvertently moved forward one state. Further discussion hinges in part on whether journalists are equipped to dive into the idea or too fearful of it to give a fair hearing.

If they’re too fearful, Americans will continue to turn in droves to alternative sources of information to learn about the BDS – boycott, divestment and sanctions – movement and the anti-colonial struggle against Israeli occupation, dispossession and denial of rights.

That mainstream media shortcoming, after all, is why many of you are here.

ANALYSIS: Erdogan, champion of Palestine and player to the Arab street

 

Turkey's president has spent years honing a reputation for leading the Muslim and Arab worlds

 

This picture, released by the Turkish presidential office, shows Erdogan, preparing to speak on Palestine (Reuters)

 

Suraj Sharma-Tuesday 12 December 2017

 

ISTANBUL, Turkey - On a cold winter's night in January 2009, in a plush Swiss resort in the Alpine town of Davos, Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan hit upon political gold dust. Overnight he had become the Muslim and Arab world's champion.

With Gaza on fire as Israel fought a bitter and uneven war against Hamas, Erdogan lashed out at fellow panellist Shimon Peres, Israel's then-president, who had spent his allotted time defending Israel's incursion.

You kill people. I remember the children who died on beaches

- Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Shimon Peres, 2009

"Mr Peres, you are older than me," Erdogan said. "Your voice comes out in a very loud tone. And the loudness of your voice has to do with a guilty conscience.

"You kill people. I remember the children who died on beaches. I remember two former prime ministers in your country who said they felt very happy to enter Palestine on tanks."

It marked a turning point for Erdogan, then Turkey's prime minister, and his country. The adulation he received from the Islamic and Arab "street" - Gazans are calling their children Recep - gave him a clear direction: defending the Muslim world and its causes at every opportunity. 

Almost eight years on, the now President Erdogan is back on the cause of the Palestinians, trying to take ownership of the Islamic world's response to Donald Trump's decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

His major initiative has been to call an emergency meeting in Istanbul on Wednesday of the 57-member Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), of which Turkey is the current rotating president.

Erdogan has not stated what his expectations are from the OIC summit but Bekir Bozdag, a Turkish deputy prime minister, over the weekend suggested a mere condemnation would not suffice and more was needed.   

But his foreign minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, on Tuesday said they were against a call for sanctions and that they would call for the recognition of Palestine.

"What kind of sanctions can you impose against the United States? We expect the US to rectify its mistake. We recognise East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine with 1967 borders. This will be in the text tomorrow," Cauvusoglu told a private Turkish broadcaster.

He also said the attendance of the Saudis and Egyptians remained uncertain while the United Arab Emirates would attend at foreign ministerial level.  

 

Turks rally in support of Palestine in the Turkish capital, Ankara (Reuters)

Mr Popular

The defence of Muslim and Arab causes is in harmony with Erdogan's personal religious beliefs, and also with the desire to see the return of the glory days of the Ottoman empire, and Turkey's position as leader of the Islamic world restored.

The Islamic and Arab world, plagued for decades with rulers who are either secular despots, dictatorial monarchs or theocratic autocrats – all of whom pay no more than lip service to furthering the wellbeing of Muslims, is quick to revere anyone who is willing to publicly speak on their behalf, even if it fails to result in firm action.    

Erdogan's government since Davos has been quick to mobilise Turkish resources and dispatch aid to various places where Muslims have become imperilled, whether it be to Somalia or to the Rohingya in Burma.

Critics would say a few planeloads of aid is a minor investment in return for such high political returns.

During its time as a rotating member of the UN Security Council from 1 January 2009 to 31 December 2010, Turkey promoted the view of the Muslim world at various sessions involving the region. 

Perhaps even more importantly, championing the cause of the world's Muslims has also helped Erdogan bolster his reputation among his major constituents domestically – the Muslim conservatives.

The latest survey by the US-based Pew Research Centre shows that even with mixed reviews Erdogan fares much better in terms of popularity region-wide than other leaders. 

Yet, it also raises the question of whether Erdogan is sincere or just being an astute politician and playing to the "Arab street" for personal adulation and potential domestic political gain.

'Emotional exploitation'

Levent Gultekin, an author, journalist and former Islamist, told Middle East Eye that judging sincerity was an impossible task but that the entire Islamic world, including Erdogan and Turkey, were engaged in hypocrisy.

"The entire Islamic world – if such a concept even exists – is only engaged in emotional exploitation of its people. And this now includes Turkey as well," said Gultekin.

"Shouting loudly and making threats without any real action doesn't cost anything. The Saudis, Iranians, Turks, all of them have just been shouting and making the same threats for 50-60 years now with no results whatsoever. This is nothing but hypocrisy," he said.

Yildiz Ramazanoglu, a conservative author, believes Erdogan is sincere in his outrage over Palestine and developments in the Muslim world, but that contradictory statements with political and other interests in mind lead to doubts.

"I think the president is sincere. But unfortunate remarks which are contradictory create doubt," 

Ramazanoglu told Middle East Eye. "The plight of Palestinians since 1917 is as clear as can be. Other interests and considerations need to be put aside. The government needs to take a resolute stand whatever the price."

Conflicting statements have become a common theme in many incidents post-Davos.

 

An Israeli commando boards the Mavi Marmara relief ship to Gaza (screengrab)

Corrections and clarifications

Developments following the Mavi Marmara incident of 2010 were a clear indication of such contradictory positions.

The Turkish government minimised relations with Israel after its commandos boarded the Turkish vessel in international waters and killed 10 Turkish citizens.

The Mavi Marmara was the lead vessel in an international six-vessel flotilla looking to breach the Israeli blockade on Gaza and deliver much-needed aid.

The Turkish part of the expedition was organised under the umbrella of the Islamist charity IHH, which is widely believed to operate with the blessing of Erdogan and his government.

The families of the victims and IHH administrators were in for a shock in 2016 after Turkey repaired ties with Israel.

In return for a lump sum compensation of $20m, the Turkish government agreed no charges would be pursued or filed against Israel and its citizens involved in the incident anywhere. Cases in Turkish courts were dismissed.

Erdogan was quick to wash his hands off the entire affair, and in a speech, lashed out at enraged Islamists and asked "if they consulted him before the Mavi Marmara set sail".

"That was yet another unfortunate remark," said Ramazanoglu.

 

Palestinians protest outside the Noble Sanctuary in Jerusalem over the US recognition of the city as Israel's capital (Reuters)

Popularity contests

Another condition that Turkey has set for restoring ties with Israel was the lifting of the Gaza blockade – which never happened.

Ankara was only permitted to send controlled aid via the Israeli port of Ashdod, the same situation that existed before the Mavi Marmara attack.

Gultekin sees the inability to be realistic as the reason for these contradictions.

"Turkey and all these other countries have shown that their leaderships are incapable of being realistic. They only play on emotions to maintain popularity," he said.

If he were acting, people both in Turkey and outside would see through him quickly

- Yildiz Ramazanoglu, author

"You can shout at Israel as loudly as you want but none of them can match it in terms of technology, militarily or any other field. It shows such claims of leadership have no substance."    

  

Yet, said Ramazanoglu, Erdogan's actions have to be seen as well-intentioned and sincere.

"As Muslims it is a matter of principle and a responsibility we have to be the voice of the innocent, not just of Muslims either.

"We might not have the financial and military might but we have to assert moral authority and that is what Erdogan is doing," she said.

"If he were acting, people both in Turkey and outside would see through him quickly."

Will Saudi Arabia endeavor to globally re-programme Muslims?

By Dr. M. A. Mohamed Saleem-December 11, 2017, 8:57 pm 

Since King Salmanbin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud came to power in 2015 Saudi Arabia has seemingly become aggressive domestically and internationally. This new posture is mostly attributed to Mohamed Ibn (son of) Salman (MBS) who cleverly has manipulated his father to elevate himself to crown prince sidelining many others(-including the one already designated to succeed Salman-). They had more claims to that position through a consensual selection mechanism that the Royal inner circle had adopted over many decades. Ironically since inception,King Salman, an ailing octogenarian, had relied on MBS to run his affairs and,by default, MBS has now become the dominant decision maker in the country. The consensual arrangement for transferring power, enforcing Islamic values as a common binding factor across all tribes and assuming custodianship of the holy shrines in Mecca and Medina have thus far provided the Saudi Arabian monarchs relative stability and respect globally for the country as the leader of all Sunni Muslims.

Prior to the advent of Islam Saudi Arabia had always been a bitterly feuding tribal society. Islam in the 7th century ushered in a period of relative peace and harmony throughout the region. Over time, the religious rigour had degenerated and paganist tribal rivalries resurfaced. Mid17th Century witnessed a reformer Muhammad ibn Abd al Wahhab calling people to revert back to unadulterated practices of Islam. He secured the allegiance of a tribal leader Al-Saud to spread this (alWahab’s) reform message, and such combination of forces led to stricter interpretation of the Islamic laws. To preserve religious purity it was reasoned to eschew contacts with people of all other faiths, and had provided the rallying point for unifying different fighting factions in the country. To forge loyalty and exercise authority Saudi rulers had coveted support of the spiritual leaders and the ulema(religious scholars). Economic position however did not allow the country to undertake wide scale reform missions, and for all purposes,the changes introduced by Wahabism had largely been confined to the Arabian Peninsula. Muslims returning annually from Haj (pilgrimage) prior oil booty recall how the people of Saudi Araba lined up on either side of the streets leading to the two holy cities expecting handouts from visiting pilgrims, a large number of them then were from the Indian sub-continent. Back in their respective countries the pilgrims showed no signs being influenced by Wahabism.

Saudi Arabian history changed mainly by two events in the seventies. Iranian revolution of 1979 against the Shah of Iran,spearheaded by the Ayatollahs (clergy), consolidated people’s power against a dictatorial regime. As an alternative people enthusiastically embraced theocracy and Islamic resurgence under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Iranian revolution sent shock waves worldwide and Saudi rulers, in particular, panicked and realized the importance of reverting back to Islamic principles in a stricter form (perceived by Wahabism) as a counter weight to rival the prospects of Iran exporting Shia (revolutionary) version of Islam.By this time Saudi Arabia has also become a principal beneficiary of post 1973 Yon Kippur related oil embargo that opened up immense flow of immense petro dollars and provided ample material resources to export Wahabism globally. Special programmes were encouraged to train preachers, build mosques and madarasas (theological schools) and globally propagate Saudi version of religious reform. Dedicated religious police units empowered with additional punitive powers monitored societal reforms, check any form of dissent and enforce policies propounded on the recommendation of how the Saudi ulema interpreted the Islamic laws.

Special dress codes and gender segregation in public places were enforced, freedom of expression was curtailed, alcohol and intoxicants were banned, music and entertainment were prohibited, and questioning authority was considered a punishable offense. Although such ‘constraints’ were unique in Saudi Arabia compared to other Muslim countries in the region the new wealth-flaunting Saudi society continued to support global propagation of Wahabism.

Like many other countries Sri Lanka had also noted remarkable changes after the middle east opened up for foreign workers. Muslims, particularly women, returning from Saudi Arabia invariably adopted Saudi dress code. Sri Lankan Muslims also came under pressure from the Saudi-sponsored preachers propagating Saudi sanctioned do’s and don’ts as pre-requisites for Muslim identity. Increasingly, Muslims were talked into preferring seclusion from other communities, and Sri Lankan non-Muslims found such a behavioral changes of Muslims to beat variance with what they had known given their many centuries of friendly association with the Muslims.

Ever since MBS came to prominence he has shown signs of hastiness and lack of rationality. In 2015 he started an unprovoked war against the impoverished southern Muslim neighbour Yemen which has created the worst humanitarian crisis, and exacerbated the human suffering by blockading evenhumanitarian aid reaching the needy people. He also instigated a siege against another Muslim country Qatar on a flimsy excuse, clipped the wings of the religious authority that had long functioned as a principle support to governing the country. Recently he instigated arrest of the fellow members of the ruling family on corruption charges despite allegations levelled against him of helping himself with state funds. All these are justified as needed to his (MBS)societal transformation initiative. Many speculate that the actions of MBS smacks attempt to consolidate his authority by eliminating potential claims for power from other family members and any backlash from the displeased factions.

MBS seems to bank support for his actions from the goodwill that he seems to have earned from President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. Recent pronouncement by President Trump to recognize Jerusalem as capital of Israel seems to suggest softening of Saudi position given the new relationship that MBS has forged with USA and Israel. Admittedly, changes propounded by MBS are highly celebrated by the unemployed, restless and bored youth (under 30 years) who make up 70% of the rapidly increasing population and are aspiring to join the modern world.

Saudi Arabia is now experiencing economic problems given its oil dependency and stagnating oil market. A new ‘vision 30’ blueprint MBS introduced recently to modernize Saudi economy and society anticipates a greater role for young women and men integrated into the workforce. According to MBS Saudi Arabia so far has projected it as a conservative and religion driven society. Drastic changes to mimic Dubai style development may be unthinkable unless what the crown prince(MBS) has promised to do becomes a reality. In a recent interview MBS vowed to return the country to "moderate Islam" which is open to world and other religions and asked for global support to transform the hardline kingdom into an open society. According to MBS the ultra-conservative society, particularly over the past 30 years has been "not normal", and he blamed the rigid doctrines that have governed the Saudi society as a reaction to the Iranian revolution. What he meant by moderate Islam is reverting to what prevailed before 1979 which, according to him, was open to the world and all religions. Although the scale and scope of reforms MBS anticipates is unprecedented in the country’s modern history measures he has recently taken to weaken the authority and role of religious police and the ulema point to the seriousness of his plans. This means that MBS is also acknowledging that Saudi Arabia should not have globally been sponsoring its brand of Islam over the last three decades.

Fundamentally, Wahabism does not encourage political involvement. However, in many parts of the world, wherever theological reforms occurred with Saudi support have led to some form of intolerance, extremism and violence. Reflections of this can be seen even in Sri Lanka. Saudi Arabia now seems to recognize the ‘fallacy’ of the ‘hardline Islam’ it had advocated for its people over the past 30 years. As MBS has called world support for his reform programme it is logical to expect him to also re-programme Saudi religious overseas propaganda machines to alter the focus that will reflect the new vision of ‘moderate Islam’. As MBS has now publicly pressed the restart button aiming a ‘moderate course’ for his own people he may as well be having reform plans for Muslims in other countries if Saudi Arabia wishes to continue its religious leadership. Should Muslims in other parts of the world expect such a reprogramming, and how will those Muslims respond to getting re-programmed?

This big development in the Mueller probe could put Trump in danger


(Susan Walsh/Associated Press)

By Greg Sargent December 11 at 10:09 AM

THE MORNING PLUM:


On Jan. 24, President Trump’s former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, lied to the FBI about his contacts with the Russian ambassador during the transition. On Jan. 26, the White House was informed that Flynn had misled top Trump officials about those contacts. On Feb. 13, Trump fired Flynn.

One big question now is: Did any of Trump’s top officials — or Trump himself — direct Flynn to lie to the FBI about these contacts? This question appears to be of interest to special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, according to new NBC News reporting out this morning.

The NBC News story reports that Mueller is trying to “piece together a timeline” of the 18-day period between Jan. 26, when the White House was told by then-acting Attorney General Sally Yates that Flynn had misled Vice President Pence and other top officials by claiming he hadn’t discussed sanctions with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak, and the Feb. 13 firing of Flynn.

Lying to the FBI is bad, but Michael Flynn was accused of worse. Post editorial writer Quinta Jurecic on what she thinks is behind his Russia probe guilty plea. (Adriana Usero, Kate Woodsome/The Washington Post)

As NBC reports: “Trump’s legal team and senior White House aides are refusing to say when and how the president first learned that Flynn had lied to the FBI.” After the news broke that Flynn had made a plea deal admitting to these lies, Trump tweeted that he’d fired Flynn because he lied to the FBI, suggesting he knew of this lying at the time, though his attorney has since insisted that this isn’t what he meant. This has raised questions as to why Trump would press his former FBI director to drop the investigation into Flynn (as James B. Comey has testified, and Trump denies) in the apparent knowledge that he’d lied to the FBI, which could constitute obstruction of justice.

[The attacks on Mueller push us closer to the precipice]

But beyond that important question, there is also the question of what Trump knew about the lying itself and when. And Mueller is looking at this, per NBC:

Mueller is trying to determine why Flynn remained in his post for 18 days after Trump learned of Yates’ warning, according to two people familiar with the probe. He appears to be interested in whether Trump directed him to lie to senior officials, including Pence, or the FBI, and if so why, the sources said. 

If Trump knew his national security adviser lied to the FBI in the early days of his administration it would raise serious questions about why Flynn was not fired until Feb. 13, and whether Trump was attempting to obstruct justice when FBI Director James Comey says the president pressured him to drop his investigation into Flynn.

Bob Bauer, a former White House counsel, emailed me this about the NBC News report:

“This is a potentially serious development in this investigation. Should there be evidence that the president directed or encouraged Flynn to lie, he faces an obstruction charge, and the constitutional defenses his supporters have been claiming are irrelevant. Of course, this legal exposure extends to any other officials who were involved in a decision to have Flynn make these false statements.”

That line about “constitutional defenses” is a reference to an argument that prominent Trump supporters have made: that Trump cannot by definition obstruct justice if he is simply exercising his constitutional authority, as he was when he fired Comey. That argument is itself questionable, since, as some experts have noted, he might have done this with corrupt intent. But beyond this, directing Flynn to lie to the FBI would not constitute such a legitimate exercise of authority and could constitute obstruction of justice.

“This would mean we’re now looking at potential criminality that cannot be justified as an exercise of the president’s authority,” Paul Rosenzweig, a senior counsel on Ken Starr’s investigation into Bill Clinton who is now a lecturer in law at George Washington University, told me today. “That could be obstruction of justice, or aiding and abetting a false statement to the FBI, or conspiracy to do the same.”

Another possibility, Rosenzweig noted, is that Trump or other top officials may have merely been made aware of Flynn’s lying soon after the fact. If so, the question would be why they did not try to correct the record with the FBI, which might not be criminal but could potentially be “impeachable,” Rosenzweig says. A third possibility, he says, is that Trump or top officials tacitly approved of this lying beforehand, which could constitute “a conspiracy to obstruct justice.” The bottom line, as Randall Eliason, a professor of white-collar criminal law at GWU, told me, is that if the NBC News story is true, “Mueller may be looking at possible obstruction of justice by Trump.”

[The mounting attacks on Mueller are misguided and dangerous]

To be clear, it is possible that Flynn freelanced in lying to the FBI, and that no one else either directed him to do it or was made aware of it at the time. So this could end up meaning little. Of course, it appears that Flynn was in touch with top transition officials about his contacts with Kislyak, so it’s possible that he discussed his testimony to the FBI with them, too.

Regardless, now that Flynn is cooperating with Mueller, it seems very plausible that Mueller is leaning on Flynn to detail exactly who ordered him to do what and when, and who was aware of the lies he told to the FBI, and when. “You ask Mike Flynn two questions,” Rosenzweig said of Mueller’s investigators. “First, did somebody tell you to lie? And second, who?”

It appears that these are the questions that Mueller is indeed asking Flynn.

Now that the Senate and the House have passed two tax bills, there are some crucial differences they need to resolve in conference. (Video: Jenny Starrs/Photo: Melina Mara/The Washington Post)

* BAD FAITH ROTS AWAY AT TAX BILL IN FINAL DAYS: The Post’s Erica Werner reports on the remarkably rushed and sloppy process by which the GOP tax bill is coming together:

Questionable special-interest provisions have been stuffed in along the way, out of public view and in some cases literally in the dead of night. Drafting errors by exhausted staff are cropping up and need fixes, which must be tackled by congressional negotiators working to reconcile competing versions of the legislation passed separately by the House and the Senate. And the melding process underway has opened the door to another frenzy of 11th-hour lobbying as special interests, including President Trump’s rich friends, make one last dash for cash….

Seems legit. All of this is because Republicans want to do this with zero Democratic votes (the only way to pass something this monstrously regressive) and because Trump needs something to boast about right now, dammit!
* AMERICANS KNOW THE GOP TAX BILL IS A SCAM: A new USA Today-Suffolk poll finds that only 32 percent of Americans support the GOP tax plan, while 48 percent oppose it. And:

A 53 percent majority of those surveyed predict their own families won’t pay lower taxes as a result of the measure, and an equal 53 percent say it won’t help the economy in a major way. …  only 35 percent believe that the bill will boost the economy, and 31 percent that their own families’ tax bills will be lowered as a result. Nearly two-thirds, 64 percent, say the wealthy will get the most benefits; just 17 percent say the middle-class will.

USA Today also notes that this comprises the lowest level of public support of “any major piece of legislation enacted in the past three decades.” Who says President Trump isn’t making history?
* ROY MOORE’S LATEST: CNN reports that Roy Moore told an extremist radio station in 2011 that getting rid of all the constitutional amendments after the 10th would “eliminate many problems” with our “form of government.” Historian Eric Foner emails me his thoughts:

The judge is ignorant and utterly retrograde. The 14th amendment is the basis of laws and other initiatives to protect the essential rights of all Americans. Evidently he feels it is okay if the states violate Americans’ rights so long as the federal government doesn’t. Let’s also not forget that the women’s suffrage amendment would be eliminated if his ideas prevailed. … One would have thought a judge would know better.

A Moore spokesman told CNN that he does not favor eliminating those amendments and was merely expressing concern about the “historical trend” favoring “federal empowerment over state empowerment.”
* A BIG PUSH TO GET OUT THE BLACK VOTE: The New York Times reports on Democrat Doug Jones’ big final push to get out the African American vote in the Alabama Senate race:

Mr. Jones’s campaign … has deluged black radio stations with commercials … one of which describes Mr. Moore as “backed by the racist alt-right groups” and brands him “a birther, still insisting that Barack Obama was born in Kenya and isn’t an American.” … Mr. Jones’s campaign has bought a huge file of cellphone numbers for African-Americans, which it plans to use for a get-out-the-vote appeal via text message, two people familiar with the plan said.

The campaign is also highlighting his prosecution of Ku Klux Klan members who bombed a Birmingham church. He needs African Americans to represent at least 25 percent of the electorate.

* ROY MOORE GOES UNDERGROUND: The Associated Press sums up Roy Moore’s approach in the final weeks:

He’s appeared at only a handful of rallies in front of friendly audiences and steadfastly has shunned reporters from the mainstream media. … his relative absence from the spotlight this time around is nearly unheard of for a major party candidate. Moore has focused on meeting with small groups of supporters and an aggressive social media campaign out of camera range.

Nothing screams innocence like steadfastly avoiding the very reporters who are most likely to ask him about the believable allegations against him.
* QUOTE OF THE WEEKEND, YES-THERE-WAS-COLLUSION EDITION: Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), on CNN’s “State of the Union,” spelled it out plainly:

“We do know this. The Russians offered help. The campaign accepted help. The Russians gave help. And the president made full use of that help. And that’s pretty damming, whether it is proof beyond a reasonable doubt of conspiracy, or not.”

Collusion happened. What remains to be seen is just how serious the misconduct really was.
* AND OUR MUELLER MOMENT IS FAST APPROACHING: E.J. Dionne Jr. warns us to take very seriously indeed the escalating attacks on special counsel Robert S. Mueller III from Republicans and Trump’s media allies:

Because we are inured to extreme partisanship and to the political right’s habit of rejecting inconvenient facts, we risk overlooking the profound political crisis that a Trumpified Republican Party could create. … Only recently, it was widely assumed that if Trump fired Mueller, many Republicans would rise up to defend our institutions. Now, many in the party are laying the groundwork for justifying a coverup. … We are far closer to the edge than we want to think.

To reiterate, this is an effort to goad Trump into trying to remove Mueller, and we need to get Republicans on record now as to whether they will view this as an impeachable offense.