1581: Quippy

Aloha Adam,

I haven't listened to Thursday's show yet. Just wanted to give you some boots on the ground from Lahaina. Been evacuated since Tuesday.

Fire started in the morning, Fire Department claimed it to be 100% contained. And left with huge winds. I drove the road where it restarted around noon and there was no fire.

Anonymously, my husband's work sent a water truck to the site that morning and was told by the fire fighters to leave and that they did not need him. He asked them if they were sure and they said that it was 100% contained. This whole apocalypse on Maui could have been completely avoided. There will be lawsuits.

The older fire chiefs all retired in the last couple of years and the new ones are all budget conscious. I think a water truck would've cost a couple thousand and here we sit with billions worth of damage.

Attached is a screen shot from the coconut wireless.

We've got a lot of conspiracies going on over here. You can check them out on @hawaii.rules.for.thee on Instagram: laser started it, 15 minute city, the state met a month before to try and turn Lahaina into a smart city.

The town is completely gone. My condo building is one of two in our complex still standing. My mom's building burned in her complex. There's basically nothing from the bypass down to water. My family is safe, my pets are safe.

Mahalo Ke Akua,

Dame Jesi Lee

Aloha Crackpot & Buzzkill,

I just wanted to give you guys some boots on the ground info on the Lahaina (La-hi-nah) fires from a 14 year Maui resident. Your analysis on Thursday show of the fires in Maui not having anything to do with climate change was pretty much spot on.

First some background about the area where the worst fires took place, the west coast of Maui (specifically the town of Lahaina). The town is located on the very western edge of the island, in the shadow of the west Maui mountains (which block almost all of the moisture the comes from the east), and is a hot, dry desert almost all year long. The town of Lahaina was once the capital of Hawai'i and when the hawaiian royal family lived there (mid 1800's) they would spend their summers in the near by olowalu area because it was just too hot to be in town. The word Lahaina roughly translated to English means unrelenting sun so this has been a hot dry place for hundreds if not thousands of years.

In the mid 1800's/ early 1900's Lahaina became a hub for sugar cane production and Lahaina harbor became a center for whaling the whaling industry. Hundreds of wooden homes were built to house whalers and sugar cane workers and many more large wooden structures were built along the world famous Front street and used as stores, restaurants, and hotels to supply the town.

Fast forward to present day and Lahaina is a busy tourist destination and all those old wooden buildings (built before modern building codes) are now historic landmarks and cannot be upgraded or changed by the new owners due to permitting restrictions. These buildings were built very close together, without any modern fire mitigation measures and we're located in a part of the island that is surrounded by hundreds of acres of dry grassland and (as you mentioned on Thursday's show) has wild fires EVERY SINGLE SUMMER SEASON!

A few days ago, a hurricane passed to the south of Maui causing sustained 60+ mph winds on the west coast, which toppled power lines in the dry grasslands just outside of town, igniting them. Let me reiterate, this happens every year at this time, but this year the fires just happened to be a little too close to town and the addition of the hurricane force winds blowing in the direction of all the old wooden homes and stores was enough to burn the entire town of Lahaina to the ground almost immediately.

I cannot put into words the udder devistation that these fires caused. The death toll currently stands at roughly a hundred, but they are still searching the rubble and once it's all said and done I expect it to be closer to a thousand. I have many, many friends that lost everything (homes, cars, jobs) and most barely escaped with their lives. The fire happened and spread so fast that there was no time to sound emergency alarms and many people had to leave their cars in the middle of the road and jump into the ocean to avoid being burned alive.

This will inevitably go down as one of the worst natural disasters in US history, but it had way more to do with poor infrastructure, poor city planning, and bad luck than BS climate change.

Love you guys, thanks for all you do, sorry for the long email. I know I didn't donate but maybe a little goat karma for all of us here on Maui, we could sure use it.

Mahalo,

Dustin

https://www.buzzsprout.com/1684819?artist=Tech+Against+Terrorism&client_source=large_player&iframe=true&limit=5&referrer=https://www.buzzsprout.com/1684819.js?artist=Tech+Against+Terrorism&container_id=buzzsprout-large-player-limit-5-artist-tech-against-terrorism&limit=5&player=large#

Hi Adam

An audio lead:

The UN backed ngo Tech Against Terrorism has been around for a while, and I listen to it to keep up with the current affairs in the world of Big Censorship.

This week, they have a show on podcasting and (far right) extremism. It gets as bad as you would expect, however listening to the male interviewee, I get the idea that he might be in fact a No Agenda producer, or a douchebag. I looked up some quotes in the transcript, the audio is clickable from the transcript.

Groet!

JW

https://www.buzzsprout.com/1684819?artist=Tech+Against+Terrorism&client_source=large_player&iframe=true&limit=5&referrer=https://www.buzzsprout.com/1684819.js?artist=Tech+Against+Terrorism&container_id=buzzsprout-large-player-limit-5-artist-tech-against-terrorism&limit=5&player=large#

transcript:

https://share.descript.com/view/jUnZhgFpZlZ

15:06 Damn those RSS feeds and OMG no fediverse!

18:40 jingles autodetection

23:01 steve bannon 'just below radar of bannable text'

25:04 on troll rooms (this exact word is not in the transcript, however i thought i heard him use it)

28:12 The impact of deplatforming is persistent

30:07 idem, better quote

Did you see Nigel Farage this morning on Fox?

He said he was unbanked after having an account for 43 years and no criminal issues.

He said it was political. He said it was because of B Corp.

I hadn't heard of B Corp but apparently, they are behind all the political/social crap that's infected our financial systems.

Link

Hello John and Adam, I'm sorry if this causes any problems, but I've sent this to both of you since Adam is traveling at the moment. I wanted to give you guys some links to help parse out the debacle going on in Ecuador with the elections.

I’ve been on-the-ground in Ecuador for 10 years and still wouldn’t speculate on what’s really happening with the assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio on Wednesday, August 9. But I’d like to share some things that have set off bells for me.

President Lasso has requested FBI assistance in the investigation; they accepted and landed in country the night of Thursday 8/10.

The first rule of assassinry is to assassinate the assassin. Video of the arrest of one of the alleged Colombian suspects on the scene appears to show an unblinking, unmoving suspect (there’s a longer version I can’t relocate)

Video of the suspect being taken to a police station (not a hospital) and being propped up against a wall out of view of cameras

Colombian TV is reporting that the other arrested Colombians had cell phones with super convenient phone calls to unidentified Ecuadorian politicians shortly before the hit

Former diplomat turned journalist Craig Murray has alleged that Villavicencio was a CIA asset that got too ambitious, based on his role in the Assange-Manafort cockup

Who benefits? Jan Topic, millionaire businessman and French Foreign Legion member (veteran of the current Ukraine conflict), has benefitted the most in polls, backed by two more conservative parties and one more centrist party. Moviemiento Construye is the placeholder for their replacement candidate for Villavicencio

Oh yeah, I almost forgot about the Los Lobos conflicting videos -

https://twitter.com/cuna_revolucion/status/1689960781763231744; https://english.elpais.com/international/2023-06-19/jan-topic-the-millionaire-businessman-vying-to-emulate-bukele-in-ecuador-to-the-sound-of-top-gun.html

Gary

Hello John and Adam,

I can’t be the first to report this boots-on-the-ground discovery: Apple Maps now interrupts navigation with an ominous “Extreme heat ahead! Proceed with caution.”

We travelled to Louisiana ten days ago from Missouri and heard this warning four or five times during our trip. The first time, in Arkansas, a roadside sign soon told us it was 85 degrees outside. Kind of disappointing! The next ones were given during 100 degree weather. A little more impressive! Not quite enough to instill climate-change fear in my heart though.

But then we went to the beach. I got burnt to a crisp! A totally new experience for this fair-skinned white girl. Climate change! At midday the sand burned my feet like a metal slide in summer. Climate change! Then human bones washed ashore a few beach houses down (true story). Climate change!

Might want to rethink your stance on climate change and stop bludgeoning us with the collective memories of the sun-scorched summers of our youth;).

Krystle

Highly functioning autistic here. More comfortable with admitting it lately but has been one of my burdens 50+ years. Parents divorced when I was 11. Fourth of six. Found myself outside of adult supervision for formative years. Was ‘lightly’ molested soon after but the way my body reacted was confusing. My body liked it and my mind hated it. This cognitive dissonance made me question my sexuality for over a decade and I became almost asexual as I was scared celibate.

What is the point? If these ghouls had gotten a hold of my vulnerable self, I could have made permanently altering changes during a time of mental instability. I would not have my gorgeous 13 year old daughter nor 8 year old son nor lovely wife.

I am very anti child mutilation. Isn’t a hard stance to take. There may be nuances about feelings and validation but cutting up the kinder and chemical castration is a non starter for me.

Thanks for being a vent to me, Adam. I feel less insignificant because of your replies and it sucks to feel this way but thanks. Hope some of this is useful in your show. Again, total anonymity on this one.

Dude! I was in the same daily meeting with the same General and State Department dude today. The State dude brought another DOS dude to give an overview of the African Coup belt. The guy’s map name was “Coup Map”.

I failed to say “ITM” to the guy as I was a little freaked out that 30 minutes prior, I was just listening to The Best Podcast in the Universe with the same Show Title. Perhaps he is a producer, perhaps y’all’s analysis is just that good!

Regardless , I wish you and yours a great, safe journey across the pond.

Link to Article

Archived Version

Sun, 13 Aug 2023 14:28

Show descriptionsThe SPLC chose to examine 18 shows that are varied in presentation and style. Despite these surface-level differences, all are modeled after ''hot talk'' or ''shock jock'' talk shows. These feature a rotating cast of hosts and guests, as opposed to the single-speaker format typified by other right-wing media, such as conservative radio broadcaster the late Rush Limbaugh's show.

In addition, owing to the small size and insular nature of the community of far-right extremists, hosts often appear on each other's podcasts. Popular guests are occasionally requested to return as guests or even as temporary hosts. The podcasts also sometimes affiliated with cross-promotional ''networks'' that promote related shows through shared discussion boards, centralized funding mechanisms and the like.

The Right Stuff network''The Daily Shoah'' (TDS) began in 2014 with two hosts: former tech sector worker Mike Peinovich, who uses the alias ''Mike Enoch,'' and Jesse Dunstan, who goes by ''Sven,'' ''Seventh Son'' and several other aliases. TDS is the main flagship show for The Right Stuff network. (You can read more about ''The Daily Shoah'' in Part 3 of this report: The Rise and Fall of ''The Daily Shoah.'')

Another one of TRS's most well-known shows, ''Fash the Nation,'' began in 2015 as a racist and antisemitic answer to the mainstream Sunday morning television talk shows, such as ''Face the Nation.'' ''Fash the Nation's'' original hosts used the aliases ''Jazzhands McFeels'' and ''Marcus Halberstram,'' but it has changed hands at times over the years, though new hosts have also tended to come in pairs. The content of the show includes commentary on current news events and guest appearances. The show is part of The Right Stuff's network, although it also maintains its own website.

''The Paranormies Present'' joined TRS's network in mid-2016. It focuses on racist conspiracies and paranormal activity. The antisemitic conspiracy theories that Jewish people control the world and that the United States is operating under a so-called Zionist Occupied Government (ZOG) are some of the many racist and antisemitic falsehoods advanced in the show by its host John Ramondetta, who goes by the moniker ''Johnny Monoxide.''

''Exodus Americanus'' likely began in early 2016, but the first episode SPLC could locate for this dataset is numbered 36 and was aired in October 2016. The hosts of the show use the aliases ''Roscoe Jones'' and ''Walrus Aurelius,'' and there have been several co-hosts through the years. ''Exodus Americanus'' refers to itself as ''The Great American Houseboat.'' Like ''Fash the Nation,'' ''Exodus Americanus'' maintains its own website where it hosts recordings of other shows.

''Third Rail'' premiered in spring of 2017 with an episode titled ''Flight 1488.'' The number 14 refers to the racist creed called ''The 14 Words,'' and 88 is an alphanumeric reference to ''Heil Hitler." Like many of the podcasts on this list, ''Third Rail'' has had a rotating cast over the years, but its core hosts are former journalist Norman ''Trey'' Garrison as ''Spectre'' and ''Borzoi Boskovic.''

Finally, there is ''Strike and Mike,'' which features Joseph Jordan as ''Eric Striker'' and Mike Peinovich. The show introduced itself as ''the biggest brained content on the alt-right'' at its launch in December 2017. Regardless of billing, the show is blatantly racist, misogynist, and antisemitic, with episode titles such as ''Jazzy Jews!'', ''Theory of Semitivity'' and ''Kaplan America, C-ville Whore,'' referring to Roberta Kaplan, lead plaintiff's attorney in the lawsuit against the alleged conspirators who planned the ''Unite the Right'' rally.

Shows on the TRS network share a common website where listeners can listen to old episodes, comment on the episodes, join a discussion forum and pay for premium content through monthly donations.

Identity DixieThe Identity Dixie network features mostly neo-Confederate programming. It began as an offshoot of a TRS forum group called ''TRS Confederates,'' and is smaller and newer than TRS itself. Identity Dixie's flagship show is ''Rebel Yell,'' hosted by Bret Lynn (under the alias ''Musonius Rufus''). The show also features a rotating cast of co-hosts including Eric Field (under the alias ''Mencken's Ghost''), ''Ryan McMahon'' and Russell Barry (under the alias ''Fulwar Skipwith''). ''Rebel Yell'' premiered in January 2016.

''Helicopter Mom'' was a short-lived podcast that ran on the Identity Dixie network in 2017 and 2018. It claimed to focus on ''women's issues.'' Most episodes of ''Helicopter Mom'' were hosted by a woman using the alias ''Julia Evola,'' a play on the Italian fascist theorist and writer Julius Evola, along with her co-hosts ''Rachel,'' ''Evelyn'' and ''Kelly U Gah'' (a play on the fascist interpretation of the Hindu ''Kaliyuga'' or ''Dark Age''). The show promoted a ''trad wife'' lifestyle. Each episode included a recipe segment, a Bible segment and advice on child-rearing and homesteading. While ''Helicopter Mom'' is a term typically applied to overprotective mothers, here it appears to refer to Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet's infamous death flights, in which dissenters were dropped to their deaths from helicopters. The use of the term helicopter rides by the far right, including groups such as the Proud Boys, has become synonymous with using violence against people who are politically liberal or left-leaning. ''Helicopter Mom'' was discontinued in December 2018.

''Good Morning Weimerica'' is another show that airs sporadically on the Identity Dixie network. However, its hosts Tyler Thompson and Patrick Bishop are known for taking frequent, long hiatuses. As a result, they have produced only 54 episodes since the 2017 launch.

Shows affiliated with the Identity Dixie network share a common website featuring download links and links to some social media channels, but they do not appear to share a funding mechanism or have any publicly available discussion boards.

Independent showsThe remaining shows in the data set are either independent or part of much smaller networks.

White nationalist James Edwards launched ''The Political Cesspool'' in 2004, and it is the longest-running show in this dataset. Though Edwards is the show's main host, it has had a large contingent of cohosts and regular guests since its inception. ''The Political Cesspool'' is unique in that it airs on a few terrestrial radio stations in addition to being broadcast on the internet, and the hosts occasionally take live telephone calls from listeners. Still, the show's format is like others in that it features racist and antisemitic commentary by hosts and guests as well as recurring segments.

''Mysterium Fasces'' was a short-lived podcast that ran from 2016 to 2017. Billed as a ''Christian Traditionalist podcast,'' its pseudonymous host ''Florian Geyer'' advocated a blend of esoteric and orthodox religions with fascism. The final regular episode aired in June 2018, and one last episode was released in August 2019.

''Nordic Frontier'' is the English-language outreach podcast of the Swedish neo-Nazi political party the Nordic Resistance Movement, which has produced the show since January 2017. (The Finnish government banned Nordic Resistance Movement in 2017, a few weeks after members of the group's branch in Sweden were sentenced to prison for three bombings in G¶teborg, including one targeting a refugee center. Its members have perpetrated a variety of attacks on activists and others in the countries where NRM is active.) ''Nordic Frontier'' is the only international podcast in this report. It has three regular hosts: Andreas Johansson, Johan Svensson and Michael Hovila, who each represent Sweden, Norway and Finland.

''White Rabbit Radio'' has gone through several iterations as a show. It began on ham radio, then was sporadically distributed as sound files, and finally in 2017 it took shape as a regularly occurring podcast initially called ''This Week in White Genocide.'' That title was dropped after nine episodes, and the show is now called ''White Rabbit Radio.'' Tim Murdock, the show's host who uses the alias ''Horus the Avenger,'' has claimed the title is a nod to Lewis Carroll's ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.'' Murdock has also stated that he believes the white rabbit represents peoples of European descent and their genetic perfection. There is also an associated show called ''End-Game Exotica'' that began in 2011 and requires a paid subscription. In February 2019, Murdock began to distribute ''White Rabbit Radio'' as a livestreamed video series. These video episodes are archived on Bitchute, a YouTube clone that has become a haven for white supremacist content. Murdock has also streamed the show on video-streaming platforms such as DLive.

''GoyTalk'' was started as a weekly video podcast streamed on YouTube by a host using the alias ''Dino Spumoni,'' with co-hosts ''Paddocksperg,'' ''Peezy'' and ''Arnel Schwarzen***a'' (asterisks added). The show ran from May 2018 through December 2019. Many episodes featured special guests. Titles like ''ZOG bless America,'' ''Hoes Mad,'' and a seven-part ''Blacked History Month'' series indicate the show's antisemitic, misogynist and racist content.

''Killstream,'' hosted by Ethan Ralph and a long list of co-hosts and special guests, bills itself as a ''free speech'' comedy show. The show broadcasts up to five nights per week. The show formerly streamed on Youtube, but was banned after news media revealed that the show was profiting from racist content by way of Youtube's ''SuperChats'' feature. The show then moved to video livestreaming service DLive, where Ralph continued to earn considerable donations from fans until he was temporarily banned following the insurrection in the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.

''The Cocktail Hour'' is an audio-only podcast hosted by pseudonymous ''John Q. Publius'' since fall 2018. The show has no co-hosts as of this writing but does feature appearances by various new and returning guests who offer commentary on episodes with titles such as ''The Delusions of Multi-Culturalism'' and ''Infighting and Accelerationism.'' Accelerationism refers to a strand of white supremacist ideology that promotes terrorism as a means for ushering in the collapse of modern society and replacing it with a white ethnostate. ''The Cocktail Hour'' is currently available on numerous podcast syndication services.

''McSpencer Group'' is a streaming video series hosted by Richard B. Spencer of the National Policy Institute. The show originally aired on YouTube beginning in March 2019, but it has since been forced off the platform. Spencer has continued to stream on lbry.tv and Entropy, two ''alt-tech'' streaming services. You can read more about Richard Spencer in Part 2 of this series: ''Richard Spencer's Origins in the Podcast Network.''

Finally, ''Full Haus'' advertises itself as a show ''for white fathers, aspiring ones, and the whole biofam.'' Its main host is Matthew Q. Gebert, using the alias ''Coach Finstock,'' who SPLC's publishing arm, Hatewatch, revealed to be a U.S. State Department employee. Co-hosts include Michael McKevitt, using the alias ''Potato Smasher,'' and a man going by ''Sam.''

The importance of podcasts in the extreme rightThe extreme right has depended on its own alternative media networks to promote events, propagate new ideas and network both within and across ideologies. (Indeed, as Part 4 of this series explores, the far right has a long history of using audio and visual technology to broadcast its message of hate, both in the United States and beyond.) Even though far-right extremist leaders welcomed some of the mainstream press' attention to their movement in the early Trump era, insofar as it drew the movement into the limelight, these networks have persisted.

''Having a media platform that is independent of the mainstream is important,'' ''Jazzhand McFeels,'' the pseudonymous host of the TRS-hosted ''Fash the Nation'' podcast, said on a September 2016 episode of the white nationalist show Radio 3Fourteen, hosted by Red Ice TV.

Podcasts have been exploited by far-right extremists in three distinct ways. They represent an important vehicle for radicalization to extremism and recruitment into extremist groups. Podcasts are also a bridge from online to on-the-ground organizing, specifically in the context of the deadly 2017 ''Unite the Right'' rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. Finally, extremists use podcasts to build contacts abroad and introduce their movements to leaders in other countries.

Podcasts as a recruitment toolIn trying to understand the role of the internet and social media in radicalization to extremism, journalists and academics have explored the existence of a ''rabbit hole'' effect '' particularly in consuming video content on YouTube. Here, viewers who start out watching mainstream content are recommended increasingly extreme content. Academic Becca Lewis suggested in her landmark study on YouTube that its recommendation algorithm worked hand-in-glove with what she dubbed an ''alternative influence network.'' While members of this network may have adhered to a range of political ideologies, they nevertheless promoted each other's work by making guest appearances on one another's shows. These appearances, Lewis explained, helped ''influencers with mainstream audiences lend their credibility to openly white nationalist and other extremist content creators.''

Because the podcasters in SPLC's report have been deeply embedded in the white power movement for years, many of their listeners have already gone down this ''rabbit hole'' of radicalization. However, forum posts viewed and analyzed by the SPLC referencing some of the podcasts in this report within the context of users' own self-described radicalization narratives reveal that these shows help guide extremists as they move throughout the movement.

The SPLC examined radicalization narratives from two online communities. The first, Iron March, was a staunchly neo-Nazi forum associated with terroristic white power groups such as the Atomwaffen Division that was active from 2011 to late 2017. Its moderators and members prided themselves on the rigor of their fascist beliefs. As Hatewatch reported in 2019, the rigid, fascistic worldview of Iron March, epitomized by its pseudonymous cofounder, ''Alexander Slavros,'' has helped spawn a series of murders and terror attacks, as well as a slew of plots and attempted attacks. The second, TRS's 504um, now known as Bang, is an online white nationalist community populated largely by fans and paying subscribers of the TRS podcasting network.

Both communities constituted two distinct poles within the white power movement, with Iron March representing its violent, terroristic ambitions and 504um typifying its efforts to build a white ethnostate through the existing political system. For a time, some users retained membership at both sites, while members of each site's core leadership engaged in dialogue on their respective podcasts and occasionally republished one another's work. However, after members of 8chan, a far-right image board popular with white supremacists and far-right conspiracy theorists, outed TRS leader Peinovich as married to a Jewish woman, the two communities fractured. ''Slavros'' and those groups, such as the Atomwaffen Division, that carried on the forum's legacy of violence long after it disappeared from the web in fall 2017, expressed contempt for TRS and other factions of the alt-right. For ''Slavros,'' the alt-right represented ''appeasement'' to the current political order, as he argued in the September 2017 text ''Zero Tolerance.''

On TRS, the radicalization narratives examined in this report were derived from a series of threads '' previously detailed in a 2018 SPLC publication '' on 504um in March 2018, where 74 users explained what drew them to the white power movement. While TRS users' radicalization narratives hinted at two common pathways to a white nationalist worldview '' either through racist and misogynistic trolling culture on such sites as 4chan, or through exposure to more highbrow, pseudo-academic racism '' 63% of users named podcasters and livestreamers as their most important influences. Users also explained that podcasts, including ones in the dataset behind this report, were their mechanism of choice for recruiting and radicalizing others '' a process extremists often refer to as ''redpilling.''

''I have introduced some friends to [''The Political Cesspool''] '... because it has great discussions and topics that are pro White and Pro Christian that many rightwingers can accept,'' the user ''handsomejack'' wrote on 504um on March 28, 2018. Later in the same thread, a user with the handle ''DinoCon'' recommended Red Ice for women entering the movement, in that they offered ''LOTS of content explicitly for ladies.'' The two Red Ice hosts were also frequent guests on the other podcasts in this study, appearing on 19 different episodes of ''The Political Cesspool,'' ''White Rabbit Radio,'' ''Killstream'' and ''Fash the Nation.''

For some users, TRS podcasts provided a source of entertainment that opened them up to a new worldview of hate. For others, the TRS network of podcasts was just a waystation on the path to more radical content, such as that found on Iron March. Some Iron March users claimed to have quit TRS after becoming frustrated with Peinovich and others.

''I found TRS's arguments against so called 'purity spiraling' to be pathetic,'' user ''Helios'' wrote in an Iron March introductory post, dated Feb. 19, 2017. In it, he referenced infighting between the two communities, spurred in part by 8chan's outing of Peinovich as married to a Jewish woman. In this context, the term ''purity spiraling'' appears to refer to the user's frustrations with Peinovich's critiques of Iron March, as well as TRS forum moderators' efforts to weed out users on their platform who were also associated with ''Slavros''' forum. The user continued, noting: ''I had also come to find the IM contributors to TRS to be the most interesting, so when they were banned, I began to drift away from TRS.''

One stepping stone from the world of more politically minded white nationalism to Iron March's hardline fascist ethos, according to Iron March users, was ''Mysterium Fasces,'' a podcast hosted by the pseudonymous ''Florian Geyer.'' Throughout late 2016 and well into 2017, several users referenced ''Mysterium Fasces'' in their introductory posts on Iron March as a source of inspiration for their worldview. The show had its own overlap with TRS as well, in that several episodes had featured TRS affiliate ''Strike and Mike'' co-host Joseph Jordan, under the name ''Eric Striker.''

As early as December 2016, a few months after the first episode of ''Mysterium Fasces'' debuted, Iron March user ''Eristopolese'' credited the show with guiding them to the forum.

''I'd like to thank Florian Geyer for his podcast Mysterium Fasces which is the reason why I'm a full-blown fascist,'' ''Eristopolese'' wrote on Dec. 14, 2016.

Users described ''Mysterium Fasces'' as ''eye-opening'' and ''instrumental'' to their journey. They claimed the show revealed a different side of the fascist movement, exposing them to religion or more rigorous fascist beliefs. ''I was red-pilled mainly through Twitter and the Alt-Right as a whole, and soon started going deeper, e.g., '... listening to the Mysterium Fasces podcast,'' ''FashySpaniard'' wrote on April 4, 2017. Another user, under the name ''John Q. Public,'' wrote on May 10, 2017, that ''Mysterium Fasces'' '' which had long used Eastern Christian chanting as its opening theme '' had inspired them to attend church.

Podcasts and on-the-ground organizingExtremists also used the podcasts referenced in this report to build in-person communities and mobilize their base to attend events. Podcaster Robert Warren Ray, otherwise known as ''Azzmador,'' assisted Daily Stormer editor Andrew Anglin in launching a nationwide series of meetup groups, known as Stormer Book Clubs. (At times, Ray has described himself as the Daily Stormer's ''man on the ground.'') The TRS network had its own version of Stormer Book Clubs, known as ''pool parties,'' which provided an outlet for fans of the network to meet up offline. For planning mass events, these podcast networks and the communities played a formidable role.

Nowhere is this more evident than the case of the deadly August 2017 ''Unite the Right'' rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. Here, podcasting networks were not only crucial in terms of promoting organizing efforts, garnering support from around the movement and attracting attendees, they also provided platforms for organizers to shape the narrative around ''Unite the Right'' in a way that was favorable to the movement after the fact. Indeed, the fact that nearly half of the 22 top cast members identified by SPLC (see Table 1) were at one point named as defendants in Sines v. Kessler, a civil lawsuit against ''Unite the Right'' organizers filed in October 2017, is testament to the intimate relationship between podcasting as a medium and the event itself.

SPLC's analysis of podcast metadata shows that ''Rebel Yell,'' ''The Political Cesspool,'' ''The Daily Shoah,'' ''The Third Rail'' and ''Exodus Americanus'' all promoted ''Unite the Right'' or provided opportunities for organizers to spin the narrative after the conclusion of the violent event. ''The Political Cesspool,'' for instance, hosted seven Charlottesville-themed shows in the months before and after ''Unite the Right.''

''The Daily Shoah'' provided similar before-and-after coverage as well, although one of its hosts, Peinovich, has been dropped from a civil lawsuit filed in late 2017 targeting organizers of the event. In an episode of the show '' originally aired on Aug. 8, 2017, four days before ''Unite the Right'' '' Peinovich discussed his interactions with law enforcement and encouraged listeners who were attending the rally to appear ''peaceful.'' Former Identity Evropa head Elliot Kline '' one of the defendants in the ongoing civil suit against ''Unite the Right'' organizers '' joined the show as a guest, in order to share his own insights in the run-up to the event.

In the immediate aftermath of ''Unite the Right,'' Peinovich and his cohosts spoke with a variety of organizers and key attendees. Richard Spencer, another event organizer, and Kline guest-starred. Former State Department official Matthew Q. Gebert, who was known in white nationalist circles under his moniker ''Coach Finstock,'' joined as well, where he recalled his experience of leading the Northern Virginia ''pool party'' to ''Unite the Right.'' The episode focused largely on shaping the narrative after the event, with Peinovich claiming that the ''shitty set up'' that brought ''Unite the Right'' attendees into contact with antifascists was intentional. He promoted a conspiracy theory that soon became popular among some ''Unite the Right'' supporters as well, which claimed that the police had acted in ''collaboration with counter protesters.'' As for James Fields Jr., who was seen marching with Vanguard America during ''Unite the Right'' and who would later be convicted of murdering antifascist activist Heather Heyer in a car-ramming attack, Peinovich said, ''He should get a medal.''

Other shows sought to rework the narrative around ''Unite the Right'' in a hapless effort to relieve the movement of blame for Heyer's death. On Aug. 13, ''Fash the Nation'' aired an episode that promised to get at ''the real story of what happened in Charlottesville.'' Among the guests were ''Unite the Right'' lead organizer Jason Kessler, who remained unrepentant about his role in the fiasco and went on to plan a sparsely attended ''Unite the Right 2'' anniversary event in Washington, D.C., the following year.

One September 2017 episode of ''Mysterium Fasces'' '' airing just one month after ''Unite the Right'' '' featured three prominent propagandists and organizers speaking candidly about their participation at the event. Within the first five minutes of the episode, Traditionalist Worker Party's Matthew Parrott revealed to co-host Gabriel Sohier Chaput (''Zeiger'') and TRS's Joseph Jordan (''Eric Striker'') that the narrative put forth by organizers and participants '' that the event was about defending the city's Confederate statues from being taken down '' had crumbled long before ''Unite the Right'' took place. Instead, Parrott explained, ''Unite the Right'' was a ''street brawl that we ended up winning.'' Jordan then took Parrott's point one step further, adding that the purpose of the event was to ''dominate the public square'' and ''hold territory.''

In all these cases, the podcasts served a dual purpose. First, they provided a platform for ''Unite the Right'' organizers to address members of the white power movement directly. They used this audio platform to coordinate with their supporters, both before and after the rally. Second, in the aftermath of ''Unite the Right,'' hosts and guests used the freedom granted to them by these independent platforms to establish their own narrative around what happened in Charlottesville and respond to criticisms from politicians, law enforcement, the media and the broader public.

Podcasts as a means of building contacts internationallyFinally, podcasts provide a low-cost, low-risk method for exchanging information and networking internationally. Among the podcasts referenced in this report, ''Nordic Frontier'' is notable for its international case, including several U.S.-based guests such as Matthew Heimbach and Tony Hovater of the now defunct Traditionalist Worker Party. Recently, Jordan and Warren Balogh (''Ahab'') from The Right Stuff network and the National Justice Party have appeared on the show as well.

Other individuals who have appeared on Nordic Frontier but whose groups or shows were not featured in this data set include Jason K¶hne of the YouTube show ''No White Guilt,'' Christopher Cantwell from ''Radical Agenda,'' Patriot Front leader Thomas Rousseau, and neo-Nazi and former Proud Boy Augustus Sol Invictus.

Likewise, the hosts of ''Nordic Frontier'' have appeared on U.S.-based podcasts to discuss their work. For instance, one of the show's hosts, Andreas Johansson, joined former State Department official Matthew Q. Gebert's podcast ''Full Haus'' in June to talk ''white pride worldwide.''

Appearances on international podcasts help propagandists, event organizers and movement leaders exchange information about strategies and tactics. Thomas Ryan Rousseau, the Texas-based leader of the white nationalist group Patriot Front, appeared on ''Nordic Frontier'' in 2019 to discuss his group's approach to holding real-world events in the wake of ''Unite the Right'' in the United States. (Rousseau had attended ''Unite the Right'' with the group Vanguard America, of which he was a prominent member. Vanguard America disintegrated in the wake of the event, in part due to its association with Fields.) He and the ''Nordic Frontier'' host compared ''Unite the Right'' to a September 2017 Nordic Resistance Movement event in Gothenburg, Sweden, and lamented how difficult it had become to hold demonstrations in the face of strong antifascist turnout.

Rousseau then introduced Patriot Front's strategy for holding ''flash'' or unplanned, surprise demonstrations rather than events with permits. Johanssen, the ''Nordic Frontier'' host, complimented Rousseau's approach: ''I think it's really nice, this international cooperation. Your organization seems very stable, you've got good ideas, you've got purpose. You've got good activism. You've got a lot of people that are willing to sacrifice time and energy for the cause.''

Johanssen continued, offering a pointed critique of other U.S.-based white supremacist groups, ''There was some sort of alt-right manifesto, some 25-point program, but I mean, you know, it was just loosely '... there was no organization, there was no activism. It was just podcasts. [laughs] That's what the alt-right was. Just f***ing podcasts and a web site.'' Rousseau agreed, saying, ''Absolutely.''

Another U.S.-based neo-Nazi group that earned Nordic Frontier approval was the Traditionalist Worker Party. TWP co-founder Matthew Heimbach appeared on ''Nordic Frontier'' less than two weeks after he helped organize ''Unite the Right.'' He discussed the training and weaponry TWP members and others used to go after antifascists while framing the event as an overall success for the movement.

''We were able to push them back, push them back, push them back up the streets,'' Heimbach said on the podcast. Later, he added: ''Whenever they would charge us, we would literally just beat them back.''

Heimbach went on to claim that he and TWP members ''followed the law'' because they ''know the state is looking for any excuse to come at [them].'' But, he noted, ''when you have raving communists coming with baseball bats to try and attack you, we would just defeat them.'' The ''Nordic Frontier'' hosts agreed, and the group discussed their negative opinions of law enforcement for the remainder of the segment.

The appeal of audio propaganda to the extreme far right is undeniable. By meticulously cataloging the available data about the audio hate ecosystem, SPLC's research reveals a network of over 800 hosts and guests who collaborated more than 4000 times to record their hopes and plans for creating a white ethnostate, for promoting racist memes, for harassing racial, ethnic and religious minorities, and so on. The creators of these propaganda vehicles may claim to be simply producing copies of edgy ''shock jock''-style entertainment, but this research shows that the podcast network is instead crucial to individual extremists' radicalization narratives, their promotion of violent events and their ability to foster international cooperation between hate groups.

As technology continues to change, the podcast network is also evolving, with many of the shows already adding video-based and game-based elements to their programs. And just as far-right extremists transformed the podcast ecosystem from a low-cost way of producing propaganda and into a moneymaking enterprise, so too SPLC has observed the video livestreaming landscape also quickly becoming monetized.

*****A note on the methodologyThe social network is visualized using the Gephi Force Atlas layout algorithm, which pulls highly-connected nodes closer to one another, and closer to the center of the diagram.

In assembling this data set, the Southern Poverty Law Center prioritized data collection for 18 shows that could help demonstrate variety in show demographics, thematic focus, platform availability and format (radio, podcast, streaming video).

Return to the TechWatch landing page

Link to Article

Archived Version

Sun, 13 Aug 2023 14:03

The message "Can't find the server" or "This site can't be reached" pops up when visiting Team Halo's website. And when trying to reach all three of Team Halo's previous email addresses, the email delivery subsystem returns with: "Address not found."

Team Halo was a social media influencer campaign formed as part of the United Nations Verified initiative and the Vaccine Confidence Project, and its members had targeted health care workers for what they called the spreading of "disinformation" about COVID-19.

On X, previously known as Twitter, doctors Peter McCullough and Mary Talley Bowden were quick to rejoice over what appears to be the demise of Team Halo.

Related Stories

"Remember 'Team Halo'... the CDC-funded group of young, hip propagandists who attacked me and others who questioned the COVID shots? POOF!" Dr. Bowden posted on X with a screenshot of the now-defunct website.

"Yes, we also help expose this malevolent group of young hackers on Courageous Discourse. Hopefully, they are gone for good," Dr. McCullough responded to Dr. Bowden's post.

Dr. Bowden is a Stanford-educated ear, nose, and throat doctor who was suspended from Houston Methodist after her comments promoting ivermectin and questioning the vaccines caught the attention of Team Halo members Dr. Zachary Rubin, a pediatrician, and Christina Kim, an oncology nurse practitioner.

"That doc is problematic," Dr. Rubin wrote on TikTok. Ms. Kim followed with, "Wow. That 'doctor' should have her license revoked."

Dr. McCullough is one of America's most published cardiologists, but that didn't save him from being a regular target of Dr. Johnathan Laxton, an assistant professor of medicine and guide and a Team Halo member, who posts under the name "dr. jon.l" on TikTok.

In a video posted on Oct. 7, 2022, Dr. Laxton celebrated Twitter's suspension of Dr. McCullough's account and what he saw as the possible future suspension of Dr. McCullough's medical certification.

"Good luck Peter with your ABIM certification'--you're going to need it!" ABIM stands for the American Board of Internal Medicine and is the medical board that certifies internists and sub-specialists.

Dr. Peter McCullough in New York on Dec. 24, 2021. (Jack Wang/The Epoch Times)Prominent doctors weren't the only ones to feel the effects of social media campaigns against them. And often, the social media campaigns trying to silence health care workers questioning the official COVID-19 narrative bled over into the real world.

Such was the case of registered nurse Nicole Sirotek, who was the target of Team Halo members Tyler Kuhk, a nurse practitioner who posts under the handle @thatsassynp, and "Jess," a registered nurse who doesn't list her real name on TikTok or X, but posts under @jesss2019. Ms. Sirotek is the founder of American Frontline Nurses, an advocacy organization for patients and healthcare workers, which has over 26,000 nurse members. The organization routinely helps minority communities, and those with income levels below the poverty line.

In June 2022, Mr. Kuhk and "Jess" called on their followers to demand that the Nevada state board of nursing remove Ms. Sirotek from the Practice Act Committee and discipline nurses for spreading "disinformation." The videos received thousands of "loves" and comments.

At the same time, Ms. Sirotek started receiving death threats against herself and her children and was forced to file a police report and a cease-and-desist against Mr. Kuhk.

Ms. Sirotek, like Drs. McCullough and Bowden, is happy to see Team Halo disappear but told The Epoch Times, "Just because Team Halo was disbanded doesn't mean that those influencers are gone."

Team Halo Goes DarkTeam Halo's website was up and running on July 27 , but no activity has occurred since then, according to internet archives. However, its social media profiles on TikTok, X, and Facebook haven't been active since Jan. 18, when the group posted "5 Facts about #Covid19 vaccines and pregnancy with #TeamHalo Guide Anita Raja."

"They left the social media up, but my assumption is that whoever runs the social media is different than the person that pays for the website and manages the website," Ms. Sirotek said. "That they can just disband after they've destroyed so many people's lives is crazy."

In addition to her own harassment, Ms. Sirotek said she's spoken to countless nurses who've been targeted by Team Halo members, and had complaints filed against them with their state medical boards.

''I mean, they can just file all of these anonymous complaints and you're just stuck having to figure it out legally, and you get buried in debt because they fight you with lawfare,'' Ms. Sirotek said.

Nicole Sirotek (Courtesy of Nicole Sirotek)According to the domain information website who.is, Google hosts Team Halo's website, but it's on a "client hold," and transfer is prohibited. "Client hold" means the domain is not active on the Domain Name System, and the uncommon status is "usually enacted during legal disputes, non-payment, or when your domain is subject to deletion," according to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers.

Team Halo's website was first registered on Oct. 16, 2020, and expires on October 16 of this year, but the name of the registrant and administrative contact information is "redacted for privacy." However, before its website went dark, Team Halo listed Purpose Europe as the website's owner.

Purpose Europe is a social impact agency that works with the world's leading philanthropies, companies, and nonprofits to "create campaigning labs and new initiatives that can shift policies and change public narratives when it matters most." On its website, Purpose Europe calls Team Halo a "cutting-edge global program of trusted messenger networks across 10 countries" made up of social media influencers and supported by the media. Purpose Europe's Team Halo link leads to the now-defunct website.

On LinkedIn, Team Halo lists its primary headquarters as New York, New York. Still, an Entity Name search on New York's Department of State Division of Corporations for "Team Halo" returns zero results.

The Vaccine Confidence Project at the University of London's School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, which Team Halo was previously partnered with, receives funding from the pharmaceutical companies Johnson & Johnson, GlaxoSmithKline, Merck, and the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations, according to its website.

The link to Team Halo on the Vaccine Confidence Project's website now leads to the defunct website.

The Vaccine Confidence Project, Purpose Europe, and London's School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine didn't respond to The Epoch Times request for comment on what happened to Team Halo.

Influencers StillPart of what may have led to Team Halo's demise is that the narrative surrounding vaccines and their safety and efficacy fell apart, Ms. Sirotek said. "When even CNN and Fox News, legacy media, admits there's some truth to what we've been saying, they can't claim the same stupid nonsense.

"Nobody is listening to them anymore. They have absolutely no validation and no authority anymore."

Dr. McCullough agreed and told The Epoch Times, "America and the world are looking to top-tier physicians with hundreds of publications and an understanding from the very beginning that SARS-CoV-2 was treatable and the vaccines were not conceptually sound having been shown to be unsafe and ineffective.

"Project Halo and its former members could help by shedding more light on how censorship and promotion of the government's false narrative worked from the inside and why it should never come into formation again."

The logos of Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, and Snapchat on mobile devices in a combination of 2017''2022 photos. (AP Photo)Ms. Sirotek said that while previous members can't continue claiming to be part of Team Halo and receive special algorithm treatment from platforms like TikTok, they can still act as vigilantes on social media. She added that many of Team Halo's ex-members are working as healthcare professionals with a deep bias against those who chose to remain unvaccinated for COVID-19.

Additionally, Ms. Sirotek pointed out that many ex-Team Halo members, like Mr. Kuhk and Dr. Laxton, are part of other social media influencer groups like Shots Heard Round the World, and they will continue to push the vaccine narrative.

In response to Dr. McCullough's post celebrating the demise of Team Halo, Dr. Laxton posted on X, "Hi Peter! I'm not going anywhere and will continue to provide sceince(sic)-based critiques and debunks of your vaccine claims and supplements until the end of time. I hope that helps!"

Link to Article

Archived Version

Sun, 13 Aug 2023 13:58

Go to maui r/maui r/maui Welcome to /r/Maui

Members Online

' by [deleted]

What your not hearing from our local government

Sorry, this post was deleted by the person who originally posted it.

Link to Article

Archived Version

Sun, 13 Aug 2023 13:33

U.S. | Warning Sirens Never Sounded on Maui, State Official Says https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/12/us/warning-sirens-never-sounded-maui.htmlNone of the 80 warning sirens placed around the island were activated in response to the devastating Lahaina fire, a spokesman for Hawaii's emergency management agency confirmed.

A Hawaii public safety warning siren. Credit... Caleb Jones/Associated Press Published Aug. 12, 2023 Updated Aug. 13, 2023, 3:50 a.m. ET None of the 80 warning sirens placed around Maui were activated by the island or the state's emergency management agencies in response to the devastating Lahaina fire, a spokesman confirmed on Saturday.

Hawaii boasts what it describes as the largest system of outdoor public safety warning sirens in the world, alarms that blare in cases of danger. Residents who survived the fire have wondered aloud why no one activated the sirens, which emit noises at a higher decibel level than a loud rock concert and can be heard from more than half a mile away.

The Hawaii Emergency Management Agency's spokesman, Adam Weintraub, confirmed on Saturday that the sirens were not activated, and he stressed that the sirens alone would not have been a sign to evacuate, but for residents to seek more information.

Mr. Weintraub said other alert systems were activated '-- including alerts that were sent to cellphones and through radio and television stations '-- but the power was out for much of the day in Lahaina on Tuesday, and many residents said they never got any warnings.

Mr. Weintraub said the agency would be cooperating with the state attorney general's review of the response to the fires.

Maui's fire chief, Bradford Ventura, said earlier this week that once the Lahaina fire flared up on Tuesday afternoon, fueled by powerful winds, the agency did not have enough time to alert emergency management officials to send out evacuation orders.

Robin Ritchie, who has lived in the Lahaina area for about 40 years, said that two of her friends were saved from the encroaching fire only because they heard smoke detectors going off in their homes.

''The emergency sirens are tested once a month, but they weren't sounded for some unknown reason to announce these fires,'' Ms. Ritchie said. ''That makes me feel very angry because the lack of warning has definitely caused death.''

Serge Kovaleski is an investigative reporter on the National Desk. He joined The Times in 2006, and was part of the team awarded the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News for the coverage of the Eliot Spitzer prostitution scandal. More about Serge F. Kovaleski

Link to Article

Archived Version

Sun, 13 Aug 2023 11:55

Removing Paywall

Link to Article

Archived Version

Sun, 13 Aug 2023 11:05

Removing Paywall

Link to Article

Archived Version

Sun, 13 Aug 2023 10:48

Rubisco plant protein is known for its high nutritional value. It contains high amounts of Essential Amino Acids, and is rich in vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and micronutrients.

Rubisco proteins can be extracted from almost all green crops. At Rubisco Foods we extract them from water lentils, which is the term used for lemna or duckweed, and alfalfa (lucerne) cultivated under controlled and food-grade conditions.

Link to Article

Archived Version

Sun, 13 Aug 2023 10:47

Key enzyme of the photosynthesis involved in carbon fixation

Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase, commonly known by the abbreviations RuBisCo, rubisco,[1] RuBPCase,[2] or RuBPco,[3] is an enzyme (EC 4.1.1.39) involved in light-independent (or "dark") part of photosynthesis, including the carbon fixation by which atmospheric carbon dioxide is converted by plants and other photosynthetic organisms to energy-rich molecules such as glucose. It emerged approximately four billion years ago in primordial metabolism prior to the presence of oxygen on earth.[4] It is probably the most abundant enzyme on Earth. In chemical terms, it catalyzes the carboxylation of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate (also known as RuBP).[5][6][7]

Alternative carbon fixation pathways [ edit ] RuBisCO is important biologically because it catalyzes the primary chemical reaction by which inorganic carbon enters the biosphere. While many autotrophic bacteria and archaea fix carbon via the reductive acetyl CoA pathway, the 3-hydroxypropionate cycle, or the reverse Krebs cycle, these pathways are relatively small contributors to global carbon fixation compared to that catalyzed by RuBisCO. Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase, unlike RuBisCO, only temporarily fixes carbon. Reflecting its importance, RuBisCO is the most abundant protein in leaves, accounting for 50% of soluble leaf protein in C3 plants (20''30% of total leaf nitrogen) and 30% of soluble leaf protein in C4 plants (5''9% of total leaf nitrogen).[7] Given its important role in the biosphere, the genetic engineering of RuBisCO in crops is of continuing interest (see below).

Structure [ edit ] Active site of RuBisCO of Galdieria sulphuraria with CO2: Residues involved in both the active site and stabilizing CO2 for enzyme catalysis are shown in color and labeled. Distances of the hydrogen bonding interactions are shown in angstroms. Mg2+ ion (green sphere) is shown coordinated to CO2, and is followed by three water molecules (red spheres). All other residues are placed in grayscale.Location of the rbcL gene in the chloroplast genome of Arabidopsis thaliana (positions ca. 55-56.4 kb). rbcL is one of the 21 protein-coding genes involved in photosynthesis (green boxes).In plants, algae, cyanobacteria, and phototrophic and chemoautotrophic Pseudomonadota (formerly proteobacteria), the enzyme usually consists of two types of protein subunit, called the large chain (L, about 55,000 Da) and the small chain (S, about 13,000 Da). The large-chain gene (rbcL) is encoded by the chloroplast DNA in plants.[8] There are typically several related small-chain genes in the nucleus of plant cells, and the small chains are imported to the stromal compartment of chloroplasts from the cytosol by crossing the outer chloroplast membrane.[6][9] The enzymatically active substrate (ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate) binding sites are located in the large chains that form dimers in which amino acids from each large chain contribute to the binding sites. A total of eight large chains (= four dimers) and eight small chains assemble into a larger complex of about 540,000 Da.[10] In some Pseudomonadota and dinoflagellates, enzymes consisting of only large subunits have been found.[a]

Magnesium ions ( Mg2+ ) are needed for enzymatic activity. Correct positioning of Mg2+ in the active site of the enzyme involves addition of an "activating" carbon dioxide molecule (CO2) to a lysine in the active site (forming a carbamate).[12] Mg2+ operates by driving deprotonation of the Lys210 residue, causing the Lys residue to rotate by 120 degrees to the trans conformer, decreasing the distance between the nitrogen of Lys and the carbon of CO2. The close proximity allows for the formation of a covalent bond, resulting in the carbamate.[13] Mg2+ is first enabled to bind to the active site by the rotation of His335 to an alternate conformation. Mg2+ is then coordinated by the His residues of the active site (His300, His302, His335), and is partially neutralized by the coordination of three water molecules and their conversion to ''OH.[13] This coordination results in an unstable complex, but produces a favorable environment for the binding of Mg2+ . Formation of the carbamate is favored by an alkaline pH. The pH and the concentration of magnesium ions in the fluid compartment (in plants, the stroma of the chloroplast) increases in the light. The role of changing pH and magnesium ion levels in the regulation of RuBisCO enzyme activity is discussed below. Once the carbamate is formed, His335 finalizes the activation by returning to its initial position through thermal fluctuation.[13]

RuBisCO large chain,catalytic domainSymbolRuBisCO_largePfamPF00016InterProIPR000685PROSITEPDOC00142SCOP23rub / SCOPe / SUPFAMCDDcd08148Pfam structures / ECOD PDBRCSB PDB; PDBe; PDBjPDBsumstructure summaryPDB 1aa1 '‹, 1aus '‹, 1bwv '‹, 1bxn '‹, 1ej7 '‹, 1geh '‹, 1gk8 '‹, 1ir1 '‹, 1ir2 '‹, 1iwa '‹, 1rba '‹, 1rbl '‹, 1rbo '‹, 1rco '‹, 1rcx '‹, 1rld '‹, 1rsc '‹, 1rus '‹, 1rxo '‹, 1svd '‹, 1tel '‹, 1upm '‹, 1upp '‹, 1uw9 '‹, 1uwa '‹, 1uzd '‹, 1uzh '‹, 1wdd '‹, 1ykw '‹, 2cwx '‹, 2cxe '‹, 2d69 '‹, 2qyg '‹, 2rus '‹, 2v63 '‹, 2v67 '‹, 2v68 '‹, 2v69 '‹, 2v6a '‹, 3rub '‹, 4rub '‹, 5rub '‹, 8ruc '‹, 9rub '‹RuBisCO, N-terminal domainSymbolRuBisCO_large_NPfamPF02788InterProIPR017444SCOP23rub / SCOPe / SUPFAMPfam structures / ECOD PDBRCSB PDB; PDBe; PDBjPDBsumstructure summaryPDB 1aa1 '‹, 1aus '‹, 1bwv '‹, 1bxn '‹, 1ej7 '‹, 1geh '‹, 1gk8 '‹, 1ir1 '‹, 1ir2 '‹, 1iwa '‹, 1rba '‹, 1rbl '‹, 1rbo '‹, 1rco '‹, 1rcx '‹, 1rld '‹, 1rsc '‹, 1rus '‹, 1rxo '‹, 1svd '‹, 1tel '‹, 1upm '‹, 1upp '‹, 1uw9 '‹, 1uwa '‹, 1uzd '‹, 1uzh '‹, 1wdd '‹, 1ykw '‹, 2cwx '‹, 2cxe '‹, 2d69 '‹, 2qyg '‹, 2rus '‹, 2v63 '‹, 2v67 '‹, 2v68 '‹, 2v69 '‹, 2v6a '‹, 3rub '‹, 4rub '‹, 5rub '‹, 8ruc '‹, 9rub '‹RuBisCO, small chainSymbolRuBisCO_smallPfamPF00101InterProIPR000894SCOP23rub / SCOPe / SUPFAMCDDcd03527Pfam structures / ECOD PDBRCSB PDB; PDBe; PDBjPDBsumstructure summaryPDB 1aa1 '‹, 1aus '‹, 1bwv '‹, 1bxn '‹, 1ej7 '‹, 1gk8 '‹, 1ir1 '‹, 1ir2 '‹, 1iwa '‹, 1rbl '‹, 1rbo '‹, 1rco '‹, 1rcx '‹, 1rlc '‹, 1rld '‹, 1rsc '‹, 1rxo '‹, 1svd '‹, 1upm '‹, 1upp '‹, 1uw9 '‹, 1uwa '‹, 1uzd '‹, 1uzh '‹, 1wdd '‹, 2v63 '‹, 2v67 '‹, 2v68 '‹, 2v69 '‹, 2v6a '‹, 3rub '‹, 4rub '‹, 8ruc '‹Enzymatic activity [ edit ] Two main reactions of RuBisCo: CO2 fixation and oxygenation.RuBisCO is one of many enzymes in the Calvin cycle. When Rubisco facilitates the attack of CO2 at the C2 carbon of RuBP and subsequent bond cleavage between the C3 and C2 carbon, 2 molecules of glycerate-3-phosphate are formed. The conversion involves these steps: enolisation, carboxylation, hydration, C-C bond cleavage, and protonation.[14][15][16]

Substrates [ edit ] Substrates for RuBisCO are ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate and carbon dioxide (distinct from the "activating" carbon dioxide). RuBisCO also catalyses a reaction of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate and molecular oxygen (O2) instead of carbon dioxide (CO2).[17]Discriminating between the substrates CO2 and O2 is attributed to the differing interactions of the substrate's quadrupole moments and a high electrostatic field gradient.[13] This gradient is established by the dimer form of the minimally active RuBisCO, which with its two components provides a combination of oppositely charged domains required for the enzyme's interaction with O2 and CO2. These conditions help explain the low turnover rate found in RuBisCO: In order to increase the strength of the electric field necessary for sufficient interaction with the substrates' quadrupole moments, the C- and N- terminal segments of the enzyme must be closed off, allowing the active site to be isolated from the solvent and lowering the dielectric constant.[18] This isolation has a significant entropic cost, and results in the poor turnover rate.

Binding RuBP [ edit ] Carbamylation of the ε-amino group of Lys210 is stabilized by coordination with the Mg2+ .[19] This reaction involves binding of the carboxylate termini of Asp203 and Glu204 to the Mg2+ ion. The substrate RuBP binds Mg2+ displacing two of the three aquo ligands.[14][20][21]

Enolisation [ edit ] Enolisation of RuBP is the conversion of the keto tautomer of RuBP to an enediol(ate). Enolisation is initiated by deprotonation at C3. The enzyme base in this step has been debated,[20][22] but the steric constraints observed in crystal structures have made Lys210 the most likely candidate.[14] Specifically, the carbamate oxygen on Lys210 that is not coordinated with the Mg ion deprotonates the C3 carbon of RuBP to form a 2,3-enediolate.[20][21]

Carboxylation [ edit ] A 3D image of the active site of spinach RuBisCO complexed with the inhibitor 2-carboxyarabinitol-1,5-bisphosphate, CO2, and Mg2+ . (PDB: 1IR1; Ligand View [CAP]501:A)Carboxylation of the 2,3-enediolate results in the intermediate 3-keto-2-carboxyarabinitol-1,5-bisphosphate and Lys334 is positioned to facilitate the addition of the CO2 substrate as it replaces the third Mg2+ -coordinated water molecule and add directly to the enediol. No Michaelis complex is formed in this process.[14][22] Hydration of this ketone results in an additional hydroxy group on C3, forming a gem-diol intermediate.[20][23] Carboxylation and hydration have been proposed as either a single concerted step[20] or as two sequential steps.[23] Concerted mechanism is supported by the proximity of the water molecule to C3 of RuBP in multiple crystal structures. Within the spinach structure, other residues are well placed to aid in the hydration step as they are within hydrogen bonding distance of the water molecule.[14]

C-C bond cleavage [ edit ] The gem-diol intermediate cleaves at the C2-C3 bond to form one molecule of glycerate-3-phosphate and a negatively charged carboxylate.[14] Stereo specific protonation of C2 of this carbanion results in another molecule of glycerate-3-phosphate. This step is thought to be facilitated by Lys175 or potentially the carbamylated Lys210.[14]

Products [ edit ] When carbon dioxide is the substrate, the product of the carboxylase reaction is an unstable six-carbon phosphorylated intermediate known as 3-keto-2-carboxyarabinitol-1,5-bisphosphate, which decays rapidly into two molecules of glycerate-3-phosphate. This product, also known as 3-phosphoglycerate, can be used to produce larger molecules such as glucose.

When molecular oxygen is the substrate, the products of the oxygenase reaction are phosphoglycolate and 3-phosphoglycerate. Phosphoglycolate is recycled through a sequence of reactions called photorespiration, which involves enzymes and cytochromes located in the mitochondria and peroxisomes (this is a case of metabolite repair). In this process, two molecules of phosphoglycolate are converted to one molecule of carbon dioxide and one molecule of 3-phosphoglycerate, which can reenter the Calvin cycle. Some of the phosphoglycolate entering this pathway can be retained by plants to produce other molecules such as glycine. At ambient levels of carbon dioxide and oxygen, the ratio of the reactions is about 4 to 1, which results in a net carbon dioxide fixation of only 3.5. Thus, the inability of the enzyme to prevent the reaction with oxygen greatly reduces the photosynthetic capacity of many plants. Some plants, many algae, and photosynthetic bacteria have overcome this limitation by devising means to increase the concentration of carbon dioxide around the enzyme, including C4 carbon fixation, crassulacean acid metabolism, and the use of pyrenoid.

Rubisco side activities can lead to useless or inhibitory by-products. Important inhibitory by-products include xylulose 1,5-bisphosphate and glycero-2,3-pentodiulose 1,5-bisphosphate, both caused by "misfires" halfway in the enolisation-carboxylation reaction. In higher plants, this process causes RuBisCO self-inhibition, which can be triggered by saturating CO2 and RuBP concentrations and solved by Rubisco activase (see below).[24]

Rate of enzymatic activity [ edit ] Overview of the Calvin cycle and carbon fixation.Some enzymes can carry out thousands of chemical reactions each second. However, RuBisCO is slow, fixing only 3-10 carbon dioxide molecules each second per molecule of enzyme.[25] The reaction catalyzed by RuBisCO is, thus, the primary rate-limiting factor of the Calvin cycle during the day. Nevertheless, under most conditions, and when light is not otherwise limiting photosynthesis, the speed of RuBisCO responds positively to increasing carbon dioxide concentration.

RuBisCO is usually only active during the day, as ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate is not regenerated in the dark. This is due to the regulation of several other enzymes in the Calvin cycle. In addition, the activity of RuBisCO is coordinated with that of the other enzymes of the Calvin cycle in several other ways:

By ions [ edit ] Upon illumination of the chloroplasts, the pH of the stroma rises from 7.0 to 8.0 because of the proton (hydrogen ion, H+ ) gradient created across the thylakoid membrane. The movement of protons into thylakoids is driven by light and is fundamental to ATP synthesis in chloroplasts (Further reading: Photosynthetic reaction centre; Light-dependent reactions). To balance ion potential across the membrane, magnesium ions ( Mg2+ ) move out of the thylakoids in response, increasing the concentration of magnesium in the stroma of the chloroplasts. RuBisCO has a high optimal pH (can be >9.0, depending on the magnesium ion concentration) and, thus, becomes "activated" by the introduction of carbon dioxide and magnesium to the active sites as described above.

By RuBisCO activase [ edit ] In plants and some algae, another enzyme, RuBisCO activase (Rca, GO:0046863, P10896 ), is required to allow the rapid formation of the critical carbamate in the active site of RuBisCO.[26][27] This is required because ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate (RuBP) binds more strongly to the active sites of RuBisCO when excess carbamate is present, preventing processes from moving forward. In the light, RuBisCO activase promotes the release of the inhibitory (or '-- in some views '-- storage) RuBP from the catalytic sites of RuBisCO. Activase is also required in some plants (e.g., tobacco and many beans) because, in darkness, RuBisCO is inhibited (or protected from hydrolysis) by a competitive inhibitor synthesized by these plants, a substrate analog 2-carboxy-D-arabitinol 1-phosphate (CA1P).[28] CA1P binds tightly to the active site of carbamylated RuBisCO and inhibits catalytic activity to an even greater extent. CA1P has also been shown to keep RuBisCO in a conformation that is protected from proteolysis.[29] In the light, RuBisCO activase also promotes the release of CA1P from the catalytic sites. After the CA1P is released from RuBisCO, it is rapidly converted to a non-inhibitory form by a light-activated CA1P-phosphatase. Even without these strong inhibitors, once every several hundred reactions, the normal reactions with carbon dioxide or oxygen are not completed; other inhibitory substrate analogs are still formed in the active site. Once again, RuBisCO activase can promote the release of these analogs from the catalytic sites and maintain the enzyme in a catalytically active form. However, at high temperatures, RuBisCO activase aggregates and can no longer activate RuBisCO. This contributes to the decreased carboxylating capacity observed during heat stress.[30][31]

By activase [ edit ] The removal of the inhibitory RuBP, CA1P, and the other inhibitory substrate analogs by activase requires the consumption of ATP. This reaction is inhibited by the presence of ADP, and, thus, activase activity depends on the ratio of these compounds in the chloroplast stroma. Furthermore, in most plants, the sensitivity of activase to the ratio of ATP/ADP is modified by the stromal reduction/oxidation (redox) state through another small regulatory protein, thioredoxin. In this manner, the activity of activase and the activation state of RuBisCO can be modulated in response to light intensity and, thus, the rate of formation of the ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate substrate.[32]

By phosphate [ edit ] In cyanobacteria, inorganic phosphate (Pi) also participates in the co-ordinated regulation of photosynthesis: Pi binds to the RuBisCO active site and to another site on the large chain where it can influence transitions between activated and less active conformations of the enzyme. In this way, activation of bacterial RuBisCO might be particularly sensitive to Pi levels, which might cause it to act in a similar way to how RuBisCO activase functions in higher plants.[33]

By carbon dioxide [ edit ] Since carbon dioxide and oxygen compete at the active site of RuBisCO, carbon fixation by RuBisCO can be enhanced by increasing the carbon dioxide level in the compartment containing RuBisCO (chloroplast stroma). Several times during the evolution of plants, mechanisms have evolved for increasing the level of carbon dioxide in the stroma (see C4 carbon fixation). The use of oxygen as a substrate appears to be a puzzling process, since it seems to throw away captured energy. However, it may be a mechanism for preventing carbohydrate overload during periods of high light flux. This weakness in the enzyme is the cause of photorespiration, such that healthy leaves in bright light may have zero net carbon fixation when the ratio of O2 to CO2 available to RuBisCO shifts too far towards oxygen. This phenomenon is primarily temperature-dependent: high temperatures can decrease the concentration of CO2 dissolved in the moisture of leaf tissues. This phenomenon is also related to water stress: since plant leaves are evaporatively cooled, limited water causes high leaf temperatures. C4 plants use the enzyme PEP carboxylase initially, which has a higher affinity for CO2. The process first makes a 4-carbon intermediate compound, hence the name C4 plants, which is shuttled into a site of C3 photosynthesis then decarboxylated, releasing CO2 to boost the concentration of CO2.

Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) plants keep their stomata closed during the day, which conserves water but prevents the light-independent reactions (a.k.a. the Calvin Cycle) from taking place, since these reactions require CO2 to pass by gas exchange through these openings. Evaporation through the upper side of a leaf is prevented by a layer of wax.

Genetic engineering [ edit ] Since RuBisCO is often rate-limiting for photosynthesis in plants, it may be possible to improve photosynthetic efficiency by modifying RuBisCO genes in plants to increase catalytic activity and/or decrease oxygenation rates.[34][35][36][37] This could improve sequestration of CO2 and be a strategy to increase crop yields.[38] Approaches under investigation include transferring RuBisCO genes from one organism into another organism, engineering Rubisco activase from thermophilic cyanobacteria into temperature sensitive plants, increasing the level of expression of RuBisCO subunits, expressing RuBisCO small chains from the chloroplast DNA, and altering RuBisCO genes to increase specificity for carbon dioxide or otherwise increase the rate of carbon fixation.[39][40]

Mutagenesis in plants [ edit ] In general, site-directed mutagenesis of RuBisCO has been mostly unsuccessful,[38] though mutated forms of the protein have been achieved in tobacco plants with subunit C4 species,[41] and a RuBisCO with more C4-like kinetic characteristics have been attained in rice via nuclear transformation.[42] Robust and reliable engineering for yield of RuBisCO and other enzymes in the C3 cycle was shown to be possible,[43] and it was first achieved in 2019 through a synthetic biology approach.[37]

One avenue is to introduce RuBisCO variants with naturally high specificity values such as the ones from the red alga Galdieria partita into plants. This may improve the photosynthetic efficiency of crop plants, although possible negative impacts have yet to be studied.[44] Advances in this area include the replacement of the tobacco enzyme with that of the purple photosynthetic bacterium Rhodospirillum rubrum.[45] In 2014, two transplastomic tobacco lines with functional RuBisCO from the cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus PCC7942 (Se7942) were created by replacing the RuBisCO with the large and small subunit genes of the Se7942 enzyme, in combination with either the corresponding Se7942 assembly chaperone, RbcX, or an internal carboxysomal protein, CcmM35. Both mutants had increased CO2 fixation rates when measured as carbon molecules per RuBisCO. However, the mutant plants grew more slowly than wild-type.[46]

A recent theory explores the trade-off between the relative specificity (i.e., ability to favour CO2 fixation over O2 incorporation, which leads to the energy-wasteful process of photorespiration) and the rate at which product is formed. The authors conclude that RuBisCO may actually have evolved to reach a point of 'near-perfection' in many plants (with widely varying substrate availabilities and environmental conditions), reaching a compromise between specificity and reaction rate.[47] It has been also suggested that the oxygenase reaction of RuBisCO prevents CO2 depletion near its active sites and provides the maintenance of the chloroplast redox state.[48]

Since photosynthesis is the single most effective natural regulator of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere,[49] a biochemical model of RuBisCO reaction is used as the core module of climate change models. Thus, a correct model of this reaction is essential to the basic understanding of the relations and interactions of environmental models.

Expression in bacterial hosts [ edit ] There currently are very few effective methods for expressing functional plant Rubisco in bacterial hosts for genetic manipulation studies. This is largely due to Rubisco's requirement of complex cellular machinery for its biogenesis and metabolic maintenance including the nuclear-encoded RbcS subunits, which are typically imported into chloroplasts as unfolded proteins.[50][51] Furthermore, sufficient expression and interaction with Rubisco activase are major challenges as well.[39] One successful method for expression of Rubisco in E. coli involves the co-expression of multiple chloroplast chaperones, though this has only been shown for Arabidopsis thaliana Rubisco.[52]

Depletion in proteomic studies [ edit ] Due to its high abundance in plants (generally 40% of the total protein content), RuBisCO often impedes analysis of important signaling proteins such as transcription factors, kinases, and regulatory proteins found in lower abundance (10-100 molecules per cell) within plants.[53] For example, using mass spectrometry on plant protein mixtures would result in multiple intense RuBisCO subunit peaks that interfere and hide those of other proteins.

Recently, one efficient method for precipitating out RuBisCO involves the usage of protamine sulfate solution.[54] Other existing methods for depleting RuBisCO and studying lower abundance proteins include fractionation techniques with calcium and phytate,[55] gel electrophoresis with polyethylene glycol,[56][57] affinity chromatography,[58][59] and aggregation using DTT,[60] though these methods are more time-consuming and less efficient when compared to protamine sulfate precipitation.[53]

Evolution of RuBisCO [ edit ] Phylogenetic studies [ edit ] The chloroplast gene rbcL, which codes for the large subunit of RuBisCO has been widely used as an appropriate locus for analysis of phylogenetics in plant taxonomy.[61]

Origin [ edit ] This section

is missing information about explanation of the large-only oligomeric forms up to (L

2)

5; explanation of what the small subunit probably does (improve CO2/O2 discrimination); maybe a

{{external image}} pointing to the MotM and Erb 2018 pics.

Please expand the section to include this information. Further details may exist on the talk page.

( March 2022 ) Non-carbon-fixing proteins similar to RuBisCO, termed RuBisCO-like proteins (RLPs), are also found in the wild in organisms as common as Bacillus subtilis. This bacterium has a rbcL-like protein with a 2,3-diketo-5-methylthiopentyl-1-phosphate enolase function, part of the methionine salvage pathway.[62] Later identifications found functionally divergent examples dispersed all over bacteria and archaea, as well as transitionary enzymes performing both RLP-type enolase and RuBisCO functions. It is now believed that the current RuBisCO evolved from a dimeric RLP ancestor, acquiring its carboxylase function first before further oligomerizing and then recruiting the small subunit to form the familiar modern enzyme.[15] The small subunit probably first evolved in anaerobic and thermophilic organisms, where it enabled RuBisCO to catalyze its reaction at higher temperatures.[63] In addition to its effect on stabilizing catalysis, it enabled the evolution of higher specificities for CO2 over O2 by modulating the effect that substitutions within RuBisCO have on enzymatic function. Substitutions that do not have an effect without the small subunit suddenly become beneficial when it is bound. Furthermore, the small subunit enabled the accumulation of substitutions that are only tolerated in its presence. Accumulation of such substitutions leads to a strict dependence on the small subunit, which is observed in extant Rubiscos that bind a small subunit.

C4 [ edit ] With the mass convergent evolution of the C4-fixation pathway in a diversity of plant lineages, ancestral C3-type RuBisCO evolved to have faster turnover of CO2 in exchange for lower specificity as a result of the greater localization of CO2 from the mesophyll cells into the bundle sheath cells.[64] This was achieved through enhancement of conformational flexibility of the ''open-closed'' transition in the Calvin cycle. Laboratory-based phylogenetic studies have shown that this evolution was constrained by the trade-off between stability and activity brought about by the series of necessary mutations for C4 RuBisCO.[65] Moreover, in order to sustain the destabilizing mutations, the evolution to C4 RuBisCO was preceded by a period in which mutations granted the enzyme increased stability, establishing a buffer to sustain and maintain the mutations required for C4 RuBisCO. To assist with this buffering process, the newly-evolved enzyme was found to have further developed a series of stabilizing mutations. While RuBisCO has always been accumulating new mutations, most of these mutations that have survived have not had significant effects on protein stability. The destabilizing C4 mutations on RuBisCO has been sustained by environmental pressures such as low CO2 concentrations, requiring a sacrifice of stability for new adaptive functions.[65]

History of the term [ edit ] The term "RuBisCO" was coined humorously in 1979, by David Eisenberg at a seminar honouring the retirement of the early, prominent RuBisCO researcher, Sam Wildman, and also alluded to the snack food trade name "Nabisco" in reference to Wildman's attempts to create an edible protein supplement from tobacco leaves.[66][67]

The capitalization of the name has been long debated. It can be capitalized for each letter of the full name (Ribulose-1,5 bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase), but it has also been argued that is should all be in lower case (rubisco), similar to other terms like scuba or laser.[1]

See also [ edit ] References [ edit ] ^ a b Sharkey TD (May 2019). "Discovery of the canonical Calvin-Benson cycle". Photosynthesis Research. 140 (2): 235''252. doi:10.1007/s11120-018-0600-2. OSTI 1607740. PMID 30374727. S2CID 53092349. ^ Nivison, Helen; Stocking, C. (1983). "Ribulose Bisphosphate Carboxylase Synthesis in Barley Leaves". Plant Physiology. 73 (4): 906''911. doi:10.1104/pp.73.4.906. PMC 1066578 . PMID 16663341. ^ M¤chler, Felix; N¶sberger, Josef (1988). "Bicarbonate Inhibits Ribulose-1,5-Bisphosphate Carboxylase". Plant Physiology. 88 (2): 462''465. doi:10.1104/pp.88.2.462. PMC 1055600 . PMID 16666327. ^ Back to the future of photosynthesis: Resurrecting billon-year-old enzymes reveals how photosynthesis adapted to the rise of oxygen., News from the Max Planck Society, October 13, 2022 ^ Cooper GM (2000). "10.The Chloroplast Genome". The Cell: A Molecular Approach (2nd ed.). Washington, D.C: ASM Press. ISBN 978-0-87893-106-4. , one of the subunits of ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase (rubisco) is encoded by chloroplast DNA. Rubisco is the critical enzyme that catalyzes the addition of CO2 to ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate during the Calvin cycle. It is also thought to be the single most abundant protein on Earth, so it is noteworthy that one of its subunits is encoded by the chloroplast genome. ^ a b Dhingra A, Portis AR, Daniell H (April 2004). "Enhanced translation of a chloroplast-expressed RbcS gene restores small subunit levels and photosynthesis in nuclear RbcS antisense plants". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 101 (16): 6315''6320. Bibcode:2004PNAS..101.6315D. doi:10.1073/pnas.0400981101 . PMC 395966 . PMID 15067115. (Rubisco) is the most prevalent enzyme on this planet, accounting for 30''50% of total soluble protein in the chloroplast; ^ a b Feller U, Anders I, Mae T (2008). "Rubiscolytics: fate of Rubisco after its enzymatic function in a cell is terminated". Journal of Experimental Botany. 59 (7): 1615''1624. doi:10.1093/jxb/erm242. PMID 17975207. ^ Vitlin Gruber A, Feiz L (2018). "Rubisco Assembly in the Chloroplast". Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences. 5: 24. doi:10.3389/fmolb.2018.00024 . PMC 5859369 . PMID 29594130. ^ Arabidopsis thaliana has four RuBisCO small chain genes. Yoon M, Putterill JJ, Ross GS, Laing WA (April 2001). "Determination of the relative expression levels of rubisco small subunit genes in Arabidopsis by rapid amplification of cDNA ends". Analytical Biochemistry. 291 (2): 237''244. doi:10.1006/abio.2001.5042. PMID 11401297. ^ Stryer L, Berg JM, Tymoczko JL (2002). "Chapter 20: The Calvin Cycle and the Pentose Phosphate Pathway". Biochemistry (5th ed.). San Francisco: W.H. Freeman. ISBN 978-0-7167-3051-4. Figure 20.3. Structure of Rubisco.] (Color-coded ribbon diagram) ^ Goodsell D (November 2000). "Rubisco". Molecule of the Month. RCSB PDB (Research Collaboratory for Structural Bioinformatics PDB). doi:10.2210/rcsb_pdb/mom_2000_11. ^ Lodish H, Berk A, Zipursky SL, Matsudaira P, Baltimore D, Darnell JE (2000). "Molecular Cell Biology" (4th ed.). New York: W. H. Freeman & Co. Figure 16-48 shows a structural model of the active site, including the involvement of magnesium. ^ a b c d Stec B (November 2012). "Structural mechanism of RuBisCO activation by carbamylation of the active site lysine". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 109 (46): 18785''18790. Bibcode:2012PNAS..10918785S. doi:10.1073/pnas.1210754109 . PMC 3503183 . PMID 23112176. ^ a b c d e f g Andersson I (May 2008). "Catalysis and regulation in Rubisco". Journal of Experimental Botany. 59 (7): 1555''1568. doi:10.1093/jxb/ern091 . PMID 18417482. ^ a b Erb TJ, Zarzycki J (February 2018). "A short history of RubisCO: the rise and fall (?) of Nature's predominant CO2 fixing enzyme". Current Opinion in Biotechnology. 49: 100''107. doi:10.1016/j.copbio.2017.07.017 . PMC 7610757 . PMID 28843191. ^ Lundqvist T, Schneider G (July 1991). "Crystal structure of activated ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase complexed with its substrate, ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate". The Journal of Biological Chemistry. 266 (19): 12604''12611. doi:10.1016/S0021-9258(18)98942-8 . PMID 1905726. ^ Goodsell D (November 2000). "Rubisco". Molecule of the Month. RCSB PDB (Research Collaboratory for Structural Bioinformatics PDB). doi:10.2210/rcsb_pdb/mom_2000_11. ^ Satagopan S, Spreitzer RJ (July 2008). "Plant-like substitutions in the large-subunit carboxy terminus of Chlamydomonas Rubisco increase CO2/O2 specificity". BMC Plant Biology. 8: 85. doi:10.1186/1471-2229-8-85. PMC 2527014 . PMID 18664299. ^ Lorimer GH, Miziorko HM (November 1980). "Carbamate formation on the epsilon-amino group of a lysyl residue as the basis for the activation of ribulosebisphosphate carboxylase by CO2 and Mg2+". Biochemistry. 19 (23): 5321''5328. doi:10.1021/bi00564a027. PMID 6778504. ^ a b c d e Cleland WW, Andrews TJ, Gutteridge S, Hartman FC, Lorimer GH (April 1998). "Mechanism of Rubisco: The Carbamate as General Base". Chemical Reviews. 98 (2): 549''562. doi:10.1021/cr970010r. PMID 11848907. ^ a b Andersson I, Knight S, Schneider G, Lindqvist Y, Lundqvist T, Br¤nd(C)n CI, Lorimer GH (1989). "Crystal structure of the active site of ribulose-bisphosphate carboxylase". Nature. 337 (6204): 229''234. Bibcode:1989Natur.337..229A. doi:10.1038/337229a0. S2CID 4370073. ^ a b Hartman FC, Harpel MR (1994). "Structure, function, regulation, and assembly of D-ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase". Annual Review of Biochemistry. 63: 197''234. doi:10.1146/annurev.bi.63.070194.001213. PMID 7979237. ^ a b Taylor TC, Andersson I (January 1997). "The structure of the complex between rubisco and its natural substrate ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate". Journal of Molecular Biology. 265 (4): 432''444. doi:10.1006/jmbi.1996.0738. PMID 9034362. ^ Pearce FG (November 2006). "Catalytic by-product formation and ligand binding by ribulose bisphosphate carboxylases from different phylogenies". The Biochemical Journal. 399 (3): 525''534. doi:10.1042/BJ20060430. PMC 1615894 . PMID 16822231. ^ Ellis RJ (January 2010). "Biochemistry: Tackling unintelligent design". Nature. 463 (7278): 164''165. Bibcode:2010Natur.463..164E. doi:10.1038/463164a. PMID 20075906. S2CID 205052478. ^ Portis AR (2003). "Rubisco activase - Rubisco's catalytic chaperone". Photosynthesis Research. 75 (1): 11''27. doi:10.1023/A:1022458108678. PMID 16245090. S2CID 2632. ^ Jin SH, Jiang DA, Li XQ, Sun JW (August 2004). "Characteristics of photosynthesis in rice plants transformed with an antisense Rubisco activase gene". Journal of Zhejiang University Science. 5 (8): 897''899. doi:10.1631/jzus.2004.0897. PMID 15236471. S2CID 1496584. ^ Andralojc PJ, Dawson GW, Parry MA, Keys AJ (December 1994). "Incorporation of carbon from photosynthetic products into 2-carboxyarabinitol-1-phosphate and 2-carboxyarabinitol". The Biochemical Journal. 304 (3): 781''786. doi:10.1042/bj3040781. PMC 1137402 . PMID 7818481. ^ Khan S, Andralojc PJ, Lea PJ, Parry MA (December 1999). "2'-carboxy-D-arabitinol 1-phosphate protects ribulose 1, 5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase against proteolytic breakdown". European Journal of Biochemistry. 266 (3): 840''847. doi:10.1046/j.1432-1327.1999.00913.x . PMID 10583377. ^ Salvucci ME, Osteryoung KW, Crafts-Brandner SJ, Vierling E (November 2001). "Exceptional sensitivity of Rubisco activase to thermal denaturation in vitro and in vivo". Plant Physiology. 127 (3): 1053''1064. doi:10.1104/pp.010357. PMC 129275 . PMID 11706186. ^ Crafts-Brandner SJ, Salvucci ME (November 2000). "Rubisco activase constrains the photosynthetic potential of leaves at high temperature and CO2". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 97 (24): 13430''13435. Bibcode:2000PNAS...9713430C. doi:10.1073/pnas.230451497 . PMC 27241 . PMID 11069297. ^ Zhang N, Kallis RP, Ewy RG, Portis AR (March 2002). "Light modulation of Rubisco in Arabidopsis requires a capacity for redox regulation of the larger Rubisco activase isoform". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 99 (5): 3330''3334. Bibcode:2002PNAS...99.3330Z. doi:10.1073/pnas.042529999 . PMC 122518 . PMID 11854454. ^ Marcus Y, Gurevitz M (October 2000). "Activation of cyanobacterial RuBP-carboxylase/oxygenase is facilitated by inorganic phosphate via two independent mechanisms". European Journal of Biochemistry. 267 (19): 5995''6003. doi:10.1046/j.1432-1327.2000.01674.x . PMID 10998060. ^ Spreitzer RJ, Salvucci ME (2002). "Rubisco: structure, regulatory interactions, and possibilities for a better enzyme". Annual Review of Plant Biology. 53: 449''475. doi:10.1146/annurev.arplant.53.100301.135233. PMID 12221984. S2CID 9387705. ^ Timmer J (7 December 2017). "We may now be able to engineer the most important lousy enzyme on the planet". Ars Technica . Retrieved 5 January 2019 . ^ Timmer J (3 January 2019). "Fixing photosynthesis by engineering it to recycle a toxic mistake". Ars Technica . Retrieved 5 January 2019 . ^ a b South PF, Cavanagh AP, Liu HW, Ort DR (January 2019). "Synthetic glycolate metabolism pathways stimulate crop growth and productivity in the field". Science. 363 (6422): eaat9077. doi:10.1126/science.aat9077 . PMC 7745124 . PMID 30606819. ^ a b Furbank RT, Quick WP, Sirault XR (2015). "Improving photosynthesis and yield potential in cereal crops by targeted genetic manipulation: Prospects, progress and challenges". Field Crops Research. 182: 19''29. doi:10.1016/j.fcr.2015.04.009 . ^ a b Parry MA, Andralojc PJ, Mitchell RA, Madgwick PJ, Keys AJ (May 2003). "Manipulation of Rubisco: the amount, activity, function and regulation". Journal of Experimental Botany. 54 (386): 1321''1333. doi:10.1093/jxb/erg141 . PMID 12709478. ^ Ogbaga CC, Stepien P, Athar HU, Ashraf M (June 2018). "Engineering Rubisco activase from thermophilic cyanobacteria into high-temperature sensitive plants". Critical Reviews in Biotechnology. 38 (4): 559''572. doi:10.1080/07388551.2017.1378998. PMID 28937283. S2CID 4191791. ^ Whitney SM, Sharwood RE, Orr D, White SJ, Alonso H, Galm(C)s J (August 2011). "Isoleucine 309 acts as a C4 catalytic switch that increases ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (rubisco) carboxylation rate in Flaveria". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 108 (35): 14688''14693. Bibcode:2011PNAS..10814688W. doi:10.1073/pnas.1109503108 . PMC 3167554 . PMID 21849620. ^ Ishikawa C, Hatanaka T, Misoo S, Miyake C, Fukayama H (July 2011). "Functional incorporation of sorghum small subunit increases the catalytic turnover rate of Rubisco in transgenic rice". Plant Physiology. 156 (3): 1603''1611. doi:10.1104/pp.111.177030. PMC 3135941 . PMID 21562335. ^ Stracquadanio G, Umeton R, Papini A, Lio P, Nicosia G (2010). "Analysis and Optimization of C3 Photosynthetic Carbon Metabolism". 2010 IEEE International Conference on BioInformatics and BioEngineering. Philadelphia, PA, USA: IEEE. pp. 44''51. doi:10.1109/BIBE.2010.17. hdl:1721.1/101094 . ISBN 978-1-4244-7494-3. S2CID 5568464. ^ Whitney SM, Andrews TJ (December 2001). "Plastome-encoded bacterial ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RubisCO) supports photosynthesis and growth in tobacco". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 98 (25): 14738''14743. Bibcode:2001PNAS...9814738W. doi:10.1073/pnas.261417298 . PMC 64751 . PMID 11724961. ^ John Andrews T, Whitney SM (June 2003). "Manipulating ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase in the chloroplasts of higher plants". Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics. 414 (2): 159''169. doi:10.1016/S0003-9861(03)00100-0. PMID 12781767. ^ Lin MT, Occhialini A, Andralojc PJ, Parry MA, Hanson MR (September 2014). "A faster Rubisco with potential to increase photosynthesis in crops". Nature. 513 (7519): 547''550. Bibcode:2014Natur.513..547L. doi:10.1038/nature13776. PMC 4176977 . PMID 25231869. ^ Tcherkez GG, Farquhar GD, Andrews TJ (May 2006). "Despite slow catalysis and confused substrate specificity, all ribulose bisphosphate carboxylases may be nearly perfectly optimized". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 103 (19): 7246''7251. Bibcode:2006PNAS..103.7246T. doi:10.1073/pnas.0600605103 . PMC 1464328 . PMID 16641091. ^ Igamberdiev AU (2015). "Control of Rubisco function via homeostatic equilibration of CO2 supply". Frontiers in Plant Science. 6: 106. doi:10.3389/fpls.2015.00106 . PMC 4341507 . PMID 25767475. ^ Igamberdiev AU, Lea PJ (February 2006). "Land plants equilibrate O2 and CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere". Photosynthesis Research. 87 (2): 177''194. doi:10.1007/s11120-005-8388-2. PMID 16432665. S2CID 10709679. ^ Bracher A, Whitney SM, Hartl FU, Hayer-Hartl M (April 2017). "Biogenesis and Metabolic Maintenance of Rubisco". Annual Review of Plant Biology. 68: 29''60. doi:10.1146/annurev-arplant-043015-111633. PMID 28125284. ^ Sjuts I, Soll J, B¶lter B (2017). "Import of Soluble Proteins into Chloroplasts and Potential Regulatory Mechanisms". Frontiers in Plant Science. 8: 168. doi:10.3389/fpls.2017.00168 . PMC 5296341 . PMID 28228773. ^ Aigner H, Wilson RH, Bracher A, Calisse L, Bhat JY, Hartl FU, Hayer-Hartl M (December 2017). "Plant RuBisCo assembly in E. coli with five chloroplast chaperones including BSD2". Science. 358 (6368): 1272''1278. Bibcode:2017Sci...358.1272A. doi:10.1126/science.aap9221 . PMID 29217567. ^ a b Heazlewood J (2012). Proteomic applications in biology. New York: InTech Manhattan. ISBN 978-953-307-613-3. ^ Gupta R, Kim ST (2015). "Depletion of RuBisCO protein using the protamine sulfate precipitation method". Proteomic Profiling. Methods in Molecular Biology. Vol. 1295. New York, NY: Humana Press. pp. 225''33. doi:10.1007/978-1-4939-2550-6_17. ISBN 978-1-4939-2549-0. PMID 25820725. ^ Krishnan HB, Natarajan SS (December 2009). "A rapid method for depletion of Rubisco from soybean (Glycine max) leaf for proteomic analysis of lower abundance proteins". Phytochemistry. 70 (17''18): 1958''1964. Bibcode:2009PChem..70.1958K. doi:10.1016/j.phytochem.2009.08.020. PMID 19766275. ^ Kim ST, Cho KS, Jang YS, Kang KY (June 2001). "Two-dimensional electrophoretic analysis of rice proteins by polyethylene glycol fractionation for protein arrays". Electrophoresis. 22 (10): 2103''2109. doi:10.1002/1522-2683(200106)22:10<2103::aid-elps2103>3.0.co;2-w. PMID 11465512. S2CID 38878805. ^ Xi J, Wang X, Li S, Zhou X, Yue L, Fan J, Hao D (November 2006). "Polyethylene glycol fractionation improved detection of low-abundant proteins by two-dimensional electrophoresis analysis of plant proteome". Phytochemistry. 67 (21): 2341''2348. Bibcode:2006PChem..67.2341X. doi:10.1016/j.phytochem.2006.08.005. PMID 16973185. ^ Cellar NA, Kuppannan K, Langhorst ML, Ni W, Xu P, Young SA (January 2008). "Cross species applicability of abundant protein depletion columns for ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase". Journal of Chromatography. B, Analytical Technologies in the Biomedical and Life Sciences. 861 (1): 29''39. doi:10.1016/j.jchromb.2007.11.024. PMID 18063427. ^ Agrawal GK, Jwa NS, Rakwal R (February 2009). "Rice proteomics: ending phase I and the beginning of phase II". Proteomics. 9 (4): 935''963. doi:10.1002/pmic.200800594. PMID 19212951. S2CID 2455432. ^ Cho JH, Hwang H, Cho MH, Kwon YK, Jeon JS, Bhoo SH, Hahn TR (July 2008). "The effect of DTT in protein preparations for proteomic analysis: Removal of a highly abundant plant enzyme, ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase". Journal of Plant Biology. 51 (4): 297''301. doi:10.1007/BF03036130. ISSN 1226-9239. S2CID 23636617. ^ Chase MW, Soltis DE, Olmstead RG, Morgan D, Les DH, Mishler BD, et al. (1993). "Phylogenetics of Seed Plants: An Analysis of Nucleotide Sequences from the Plastid Gene rbcL" (PDF) . Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden. 80 (3): 528''580. doi:10.2307/2399846. hdl:1969.1/179875 . JSTOR 2399846. ^ Ashida H, Saito Y, Nakano T, Tandeau de Marsac N, Sekowska A, Danchin A, Yokota A (19 June 2007). "RuBisCO-like proteins as the enolase enzyme in the methionine salvage pathway: functional and evolutionary relationships between RuBisCO-like proteins and photosynthetic RuBisCO". Journal of Experimental Botany. 59 (7): 1543''1554. doi:10.1093/jxb/ern104 . PMID 18403380. ^ Schulz, L; Guo, Z; Zarzycki, J; Steinchen, W; Schuller, JM; Heimerl, T; Prinz, S; Mueller-Cajar, O; Erb, TJ; Hochberg, GKA (2022-10-14). "Evolution of increased complexity and specificity at the dawn of form I Rubiscos". Science. 378 (6616): 155''160. Bibcode:2022Sci...378..155S. doi:10.1126/science.abq1416. PMID 36227987. S2CID 252897276. ^ Sage RF, Sage TL, Kocacinar F (2012). "Photorespiration and the evolution of C4 photosynthesis". Annual Review of Plant Biology. 63: 19''47. doi:10.1146/annurev-arplant-042811-105511. PMID 22404472. S2CID 24199852. ^ a b Studer RA, Christin PA, Williams MA, Orengo CA (February 2014). "Stability-activity tradeoffs constrain the adaptive evolution of RubisCO". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 111 (6): 2223''2228. Bibcode:2014PNAS..111.2223S. doi:10.1073/pnas.1310811111 . PMC 3926066 . PMID 24469821. ^ Wildman SG (2002). "Along the trail from Fraction I protein to Rubisco (ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase-oxygenase)". Photosynthesis Research. 73 (1''3): 243''250. doi:10.1023/A:1020467601966. PMID 16245127. S2CID 7622999. ^ Portis AR, Parry MA (October 2007). "Discoveries in Rubisco (Ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase): a historical perspective". Photosynthesis Research. 94 (1): 121''143. doi:10.1007/s11120-007-9225-6. PMID 17665149. S2CID 39767233. Figure 3. In this figure, each protein chain in the (LS)2 complex is given its own color for easy identification.Further reading [ edit ] Marcus Y, Altman-Gueta H, Finkler A, Gurevitz M (June 2005). "Mutagenesis at two distinct phosphate-binding sites unravels their differential roles in regulation of Rubisco activation and catalysis". Journal of Bacteriology. 187 (12): 4222''4228. doi:10.1128/JB.187.12.4222-4228.2005. PMC 1151729 . PMID 15937184. Sugawara H, Yamamoto H, Shibata N, Inoue T, Okada S, Miyake C, et al. (May 1999). "Crystal structure of carboxylase reaction-oriented ribulose 1, 5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase from a thermophilic red alga, Galdieria partita". The Journal of Biological Chemistry. 274 (22): 15655''15661. doi:10.1074/jbc.274.22.15655 . PMID 10336462. External links [ edit ] Gerritsen VB (September 2003). "The Plant Kingdom's sloth". Protein Spotlight. Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics (SIB). Rubisco plods along at a mere three molecules per second... To bypass such slothfulness, plants synthesize a gross amount of Rubisco, sometimes up to 50% of their total protein content!

Link to Article

Archived Version

Sun, 13 Aug 2023 10:30

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Social and environmental certification of for-profit companies

This article is about a private certification. For the legal designation, see

benefit corporation.

Certified B Corporation logo mark. This B Corp mark can only be used by companies certified by B Lab.In business, B Corporation (also B Lab or B Corp) is a private certification of for-profit companies of their "social and environmental performance". It is distinct from the United States legal designation of a benefit corporation. B Corp certification is conferred by B Lab, a global nonprofit organization with offices in the United States, Europe, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, and a partnership in Latin America with Sistema B. To be granted and to maintain certification, companies must receive a minimum score of 80 from an assessment of "social and environmental performance", integrate B Corp commitments to stakeholders into company governing documents, and pay an annual fee based on annual sales.[1] Companies must re-certify every three years to retain B Corporation status.

As of September 2022[update], there are 5,697 certified B Corporations across 158 industries in 85 countries.[2]

Purpose [ edit ] Example of a B Corp certification labelB Lab certification is a third-party standard requiring companies to meet social sustainability and environmental performance standards, meet accountability standards, and be transparent to the public according to the score they receive on the assessment. B Lab certification applies to the whole company across all product lines and issue areas.

An issue in deciding to be a certified B Corporation would be the administrative and legal costs a corporation will face in changing their business model in accordance to B Labs regulations.[3]

As a matter of law, in Massachusetts or states that recognize B Corporation certification, it doesn't bring any legal significance to its shareholders, stakeholders or to its employees. However, the certification brings a multitude of branding tools to the corporation.[4]

B Corp certification will bring no legal liabilities to a C Corporation or any for-profit business structures apart from its business model structure which should adhere to the B Labs.[4] To add on, many C corporations usually adapt the B Corporation certificate to gain goodwill.[5]

Advantages [ edit ] Similar to other business associations, certified B Corporations and their employees have access to a number of discounts from outside entities and fellow members.[6]Academic contributions of loan forgiveness.[7][8][9]A branding toolNo legal liabilityDisadvantages [ edit ] B Lab certification has no legal status[5] and is lacking in mandatory due diligence mechanisms.[10]In order to obtain and maintain a B Corporation certification, B Lab charges annual administrative and legal fees depending on the revenue generated by the respective companies which could result in a perverse incentive.[11][12]B Lab develops private standards which are non-consensus, and does not reference or adhere to international standards which are voluntary consensus-based. With potential for confusion and fragmentation in the marketplace for social responsibility.[13]B Lab certification is not accredited, the European Commission proposed directive will require mandatory accreditation of verifiers.[14]Private sector Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives (MSIs)[15] may adopt weak or narrow standards that better serve corporate interests than rights holder interests.[16]Distinction from benefit corporation [ edit ] Benefit corporation is a legal status conferred by state law in the US; B Lab certification is issued by a non-profit organization and has no legislative framework.[17]B Lab certification is not needed to obtain benefit corporation status.[17](USA only) Legislation for the passage of benefit corporation legal status has been passed in 35 states, including Delaware, whereas B Lab certification is privately issued by an organization run by people principally from the business community.[18]Certification process [ edit ] The company needs to adhere their corporate legal structure to B-Lab regulation in order to qualify for the certification process.

Online assessment [ edit ] To obtain a B Corporation certification, a company first completes an online assessment. Companies that earn a minimum score of 80 out of 200 points undergo an assessment review process, essentially a conference call verifying the claims made in their assessment. Companies are required to provide supporting documentation before they are certified.

The assessment covers the company's entire operation and measures the positive impact of the company in areas of governance, workers, community, the environment, as well as the product or service the company provides.[19] Socially and environmentally-focused business model points ultimately are accrued in their relevant impact area (governance, workers, community or environment).[20] Depending on a company's industry, geographic location, and number of employees, the online assessment adjusts the weightings of the question categories to increase its relevancy. For instance, companies with more employees will have a heavier weighting in the workers category, and companies in manufacturing will have a heavier weighting in the environment category.

To maintain credibility, the B Corporation certification standard operates under principles that are independent, comprehensive, comparable, dynamic, and transparent.[21] B Lab has an established standards advisory council that can independently make decisions with or without the support of B Lab.[20] As of May 2014, 28 of 30 members were listed by their business affiliation.[22] The council recommends improvements to the B Corp assessment on a biennial basis. There is a 30-day public consultation period before releasing a new version of the B Corporation assessment.[20]

Currently the B Corp Impact Assessment is its sixth version which released in January 2019.[23]

Requirements [ edit ] Certification also requires companies to integrate their stakeholder commitments into the company governing documents. In the United States, the avenue for corporations making the legal amendment to certify will depend on the state in which they are incorporated. Some states, known as "constituency" states, will allow for this change in the articles of incorporation, but other states, known as "non-constituency states", will not; and many states now have the option of adopting the benefit corporation legal structure, which also meets B Lab's requirements for B Corp certification.[24] Beyond the corporate model, other for-profit business entities make an amendment of the company by-laws or governing documents. These include:

The establishment of clear wording to "consider stakeholder interests" in company articles of incorporation or company by-laws.[24]Define "stakeholders" as their employees, the community, the environment, suppliers, customers, as well as existing shareholders.[24][25]No prioritization of one stakeholder over another.[26]Allowing for the company's values to exist under new management, investors, or ownership.[24][27]However, B Lab certification allows the company bylaws to remain secret.

Verification and transparency requirements [ edit ] On completing the assessment, a company is required to meet certain transparency requirements and background checks to become a certified B Corp. These requirements are: an in-depth review of public record of the companies, employees, products and other relative topics and randomised site visits.[28] Companies are required to re-certify every 3 years.

Notable B Corporations [ edit ] Criticism [ edit ] This article's

Criticism or

Controversy section

may compromise the article's neutrality by separating out potentially negative information.

Please integrate the section's contents into the article as a whole, or rewrite the material.

( January 2023 ) B Lab has been criticized for framing private sector led multistakeholder governance as a substitute for public sector regulation.[43] Many B Corps have run into issues and controversies, leading many to question the worth of corporation. For example, in 2021, BrewDog, a Fully Certified B Corp, was accused by former staff as having a "rotten culture".[44] In 2022, 30 Certified B Corps joined together, with certification watchdog, Fair World Project, to petition against Nespresso's Certification as a B Corp,[45] considering only 28% of their aluminium capsules end are recycled.[46] With B Corp accepting corporations with single use products and effectively putting these private sector companies into the category of a good corporate citizen has resulted in accusations of greenwashing.[47][48][49]

B Corporation has also been criticized for not being the "force for radical change" required to tackle the world's pressing problems.[50] It has been suggested that B Corporation is a cash generating machine which is a perverse incentive. The fact that B Corp standards are not legally enforceable, and that none of a companies' governing bodies and leadership are liable for damages if a company fails to meet them has also been flagged as a problem.[51]

International adoption [ edit ] In February 2022, there were over 4,673 certified B Corporations across 155 industries in 78 countries, including Canada (78 companies), Australia, South Africa, and Afghanistan.[2] The most active community outside of the United States is Sistema B.[52] Since 2012, Sistema B has been the adaptation of the B Corps movement in Latin America, including in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay and Colombia.[53] This non-profit adapts proprietary certifications and evaluation metrics and modifies both to the context of each country. B Lab also assists Sistema B in incorporating a benefit corporation distinction into local legal systems.[54]

See also [ edit ] List of Benefit corporationsLow-profit limited liability companyCorporate governanceCorporate social responsibilityMultistakeholder governanceSocial purpose corporationSustainable businessReferences [ edit ] ^ "Certification | Certified B Corporation". bcorporation.net . Retrieved 2020-08-31 . ^ a b "B Corporation: Welcome". B Lab . Retrieved 28 June 2019 . ^ Gerner-Beuerle, Carsten; Schillig, Michael (2019-04-29), "Legal and Theoretical Foundations of the Business Corporation", Comparative Company Law, Oxford University Press, pp. 3''84, doi:10.1093/oso/9780199572205.003.0001, ISBN 978-0-19-957220-5 ^ a b "Benefit Corporations Have Arrived in Massachusetts". bostonbar.org . Retrieved 2020-04-13 . ^ a b "Benefit Corporations & Certified B Corps". Benefit Corporation. Archived from the original on 2020-05-11 . Retrieved 2020-04-13 . ^ "Save Money and Access Services". B Lab . Retrieved September 11, 2013 . ^ "Loan Assistance Program '-- Overview". Columbia Business School. 21 November 2012 . Retrieved January 8, 2014 . ^ "Loan Assistance Program '' Detailed Summary" (PDF) . New York University Stern School of Business . Retrieved January 8, 2014 . ^ "Loan Forgiveness Program". Yale School of Management. 31 May 2013 . Retrieved January 8, 2014 . ^ Woods, Cindy S (2016). "The Implications of the B Corp Movement in the Business and Human Rights Context". Notre Dame Journal of International & Comparative Law. 6 (1). ^ Ginsburg, Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner-Aaron B (8 March 2018). "Making a Difference (and a Profit): Advantages and Disadvantages of Forming or Converting into a "B" Entit". www.lexology.com . Retrieved 2020-04-11 . ^ Bagley, Constance E. (21 February 2017). The entrepreneur's guide to law and strategy. Dauchy, Craig E., 1949- (Fifth ed.). Boston, MA. ISBN 978-1-285-42849-9. OCLC 953710378. {{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) ^ International standards and private standards. International Organization for Standardization. 2010. ISBN 978-92-67-10518-5. ^ "Proposal for a Directive on Green Claims". environment.ec.europa.eu/. European Commission. ^ "About Our Standards". bcorporation.net. B Corporation. ^ Not Fit-for-Purpose The Grand Experiment of Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives in Corporate Accountability, Human Rights and Global Governance. San Francisco: Institute for Multi-Stakeholder Initiative Integrity: MSI Integrity. July 2020. ^ a b "What Are B Corps". B Lab. Archived from the original on 17 May 2014 . Retrieved 16 May 2014 . ^ Schwartz, Ariel (July 23, 2013). "Delaware Just Made It A Whole Lot Easier For Socially Responsible Companies To Exist". Fast Company & Inc. Retrieved September 11, 2013 . ^ Network for Business Innovation and Sustainability (October 2012). B Corporations, Benefit Corporations and Social Purpose Corporations: Launching a New Era of Impact-Driven Companies (PDF) . NBIS. p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-02-23 . Retrieved 2013-08-26 . ^ a b c "GIIRS Governance". B Lab. Archived from the original on September 30, 2012 . Retrieved September 11, 2013 . ^ "AB 361 Assembly Bill - BILL ANALYSIS". California State Assembly . Retrieved January 8, 2014 . ^ "Standards Advisory Council". B Lab . Retrieved September 11, 2013 . ^ "Corporate Social Responsibility Comes In Many Flavors, Some Not So Tasty". NonProfit Times Publishing Group. ^ a b c d "Corporation Legal Roadmap". B Lab . Retrieved September 11, 2013 . ^ See Boatright (2006) and Johnstone and Lionais (2004). ^ "OLR Backgrounder: Social Enterprise and the Benefit Corporation". State of Connecticut, Office of Legislative Research. ^ See Lencioni (July 2002). ^ "Certification Requirements | Certified B Corporation". bcorporation.eu . Retrieved 2020-04-13 . ^ "Allbirds, Inc. - Certified B Corporation - B Lab Global". www.bcorporation.net . Retrieved 2022-01-16 . ^ "Ben & Jerry's Joins the Growing B Corporation Movement". www.businesswire.com. 2012-10-22 . Retrieved 2021-08-20 . ^ "Coursera Receives B Corp Certification". blog.coursera.org. 2021-02-02 . Retrieved 2022-04-10 . ^ a b c "B Corps Grow Up (SSIR)". ssir.org . Retrieved 2021-08-20 . ^ "Ecosia GmbH - Certified B Corporation - B Lab Global". www.bcorporation.net. ^ "Ethique has been named the most environmentally responsible company in New Zealand". MINDFOOD | Style . Retrieved 2021-08-20 . ^ "GoodPop - Certified B Corporation - B Lab Global". www.bcorporation.net. ^ "Our Story". Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams. ^ Gazette, Dennis Huspeni The. "Meow Wolf Denver set to astonish: A 'trippy' wonderland of art, culture, food". Colorado Springs Gazette . Retrieved 2022-04-05 . ^ "Nespresso achieves B Corp certification" (Press release). Vevey, Switzerland. 2022-04-26 . Retrieved 2022-04-26 . ^ Mackey, Zoe. "The B Corp Revolution: How Companies like Patagonia Are Driving Positive Social Change". ideas.bkconnection.com . Retrieved 2021-08-20 . ^ "Rudenetworks Srl Societ Benefit". BCorporation.net . Retrieved 17 May 2022 . ^ "Greenvest becomes a Certified B Corporation | Vermont Business Magazine". vermontbiz.com . Retrieved 2021-08-20 . ^ Prance-Miles, Louise (2019-09-27). "The Body Shop achieves B Corp certification". Global Cosmetics News . Retrieved 2021-08-20 . ^ "B Corp certification won't guarantee companies really care for people, planet and profit | The Conversation". theconversation.com . Retrieved 2021-09-05 . ^ "Former BrewDog staff accuse craft beer firm of culture of fear". The Guardian . Retrieved 2021-09-05 . ^ "The B Corp Standard is at Risk". fairworldproject.org . Retrieved 2022-07-05 . ^ "Nespresso: Known for Human Rights Violations, Now B Corp Certified". fairworldproject.org. Fair World Project. ^ "B Corp Greenwashing: How Ethical & Reliable Is Their Certification?". sustainablejungle.com. Sustainable Jungle. ^ "B Corp gold standard may just encourage green-washing, critics claim". www.thetimes. The Times. ^ David, Philippine (2020). "How is the B Corp Movement influencing the future of Capitalism? An analysis of the motivations and the factors impacting the B Corp certification and decertification". dial.uclouvain.be. Louvain School of Management. p. 38. ^ "Purpose over profit: are B-Corps the future of sustainable business?". Reuters . Retrieved 2021-09-09 . ^ O'Regan, Michael. "B Corp certification won't guarantee companies really care for people, planet and profit". The Conversation . Retrieved 2022-06-15 . ^ Wilburn, Kathleen; Wilburn, Ralph (2014). "The double bottom line: Profit and social benefit". Business Horizons. 57: 11''20. doi:10.1016/j.bushor.2013.10.001. ^ Camacho, Manuel Antonio (August 15, 2012). "In Just a Few Months, Sistema B (AKA: B Corp) Finds Fertile Ground for Social Enterprises in Latin America". NextBillion.net . Retrieved September 11, 2013 . ^ Ip, Melissa (September 26, 2012). "B Lab and Sistema B Partner to take B Corps Global". Social Enterprise Buzz. Archived from the original on 28 June 2017 . Retrieved September 11, 2013 . Further reading [ edit ] Andr(C), Rae (2012). "Assessing the Accountability of the Benefit Corporation: Will This New Gray Sector Organization Enhance Corporate Social Responsibility?". Journal of Business Ethics. 110 (1): 133''150. doi:10.1007/s10551-012-1254-1. S2CID 154440582. Boatright, John R. (2006). "What's Wrong'--and What's Right'--with Stakeholder Management" (PDF) . Journal of Private Enterprise. 21 (2): 106''130. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-08-24 . Retrieved 2013-08-26 . Davis, Kevin E.; Fisher, Angelina; Kingsbury, Benedict; Merry, Sally Engle, eds. (2012). Governance by Indicators: Global Power through Classification and Rankings. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-965824-4. Deskins, Michael R. (2011). "Benefit Corporation Legislation, Version 1.0'--A Breakthrough in Stakeholder Rights?". Lewis and Clark Law Review. 15: 1047. Giridharadas, Anand (2018). Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World. Knopf. ISBN 978-0451493248. Johnstone, Harvey; Lionais, Doug (2004). "Depleted communities and community business entrepreneurship: revaluing space through place". Entrepreneurship & Regional Development. 16 (3): 217''233. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.472.7844 . doi:10.1080/0898562042000197117. S2CID 40006011. Lacovara, Christopher (2011). "Strange Creatures: A Hybrid Approach to Fiduciary Duty in Benefit Corporations". Columbia Business Law Review: 815''880. *Lencioni, Patrick M. (July 2002). "Make Your Values Mean Something" (PDF) . Harvard Business Review. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-03-09. Reiser, Dana Brakman (2011). "Benefit Corporations'--A Sustainable Form of Organization?". Wake Forest Law Review. 46: 591. Archived from the original on 2014-04-24. External links [ edit ] Official website Benefit Corporation Information Center

Link to Article

Archived Version

Sun, 13 Aug 2023 08:19

PINE, a new front for a New England neo-Nazi street gang, checking out the damage of recent flooding.

When a historic storm rolled through central Vermont last month, drowning its capital Montpelier and its surrounding communities in waist-high flood waters, one group of men saw a moment of opportunity.

The men, who called themselves PINE '-- The People's Initiative of New England'-- responded to the aftermath to assist clean-up efforts, clear debris from the streets and homes, and pass out bottled water.

PINE describes itself as a ''grassroots effort founded to advocate for and advance the interests of New Englanders,'' which sounds innocuous enough'--and that's by design. But PINE is a new front for the neo-Nazi street gang NSC-131 , which formed in 2019 and has chapters across New England. While NSC-131 brazenly touts Nazi symbols and throws up Hitler salutes during public appearances, PINE is intended as a softer, more socially acceptable mask. The goal of this is for NSC-131 to broaden their appeal, especially to those who agree with their messaging but may not want to publicly affiliate with an explicitly neo-Nazi organization.

In a recently released manifesto, first reported by Rolling Stone , PINE calls for New England to secede from the U.S. and establish a white ethnostate. And they think they can do that by drumming up local support, through ''activism and community outreach.''

Hence: their flood relief efforts.

Extremists around the world typically seek to exploit moments of instability or chaos for their own gain, and that's particularly true in the aftermath of natural disasters.

Weak or muddled government responses to hurricanes, flooding or wildfires have previously created windows of opportunity for extremists to position themselves as reliable, trusted sources of aid'--and show government agencies to be useless in a moment of crisis.

And, by ingratiating themselves in impacted communities, extremists are able to reach into a larger pool of prospective recruits.

This is a trend that experts say they expect to see more of in the coming years. As the effects of climate change grow more severe, communities that have been destabilized by natural disasters may increasingly find themselves leaning on wolves in sheeps clothing'-- extremists dressed up as good samaritans.

A paper published last year by the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism explored the various ways that extremists and terrorists exploit climate change and disasters for their own gain. One example they offer is how, in the aftermath of a disaster, those actors take advantage of perceptions that the government has been ineffective in their response and use them to foster ''radicalization narratives of alienation and abandonment.'' They also then try to ''fill in this gap by responding to the challenges posed by climate change to enhance their local authority.''

Militias like the Oath Keepers have historically pounced on any opportunity they can to expose weaknesses in federal agencies like FEMA (which is a go-to source of anti-government conspiracy theories). Members of the group, including their founder Stewart Rhodes, who was recently convicted of seditious conspiracy for his role in the Jan. 6 riot, responded to calls for volunteers in the aftermath of Category 4 Hurricane Harvey in 2017.

A recent joint report by Grist and HuffPost looked at Oath Keepers and other militias' exploitation of climate disasters over the years. Oath Keepers also traveled to Florida and Puerto Rico in 2017 following hurricanes, and returned to Florida the following year after Hurricane Michael. Oath Keeper leadership also urged their members to travel to Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee in 2021, after a string of catastrophic tornadoes moved through the region, according to Grist/Huffpost.

Armed extremists, galvanized by conspiracy theories about ''antifa,'' set up roadblocks in 2020 and interrogated people fleeing wildfires in Oregon. And last year, an anti-government group called Echo Company of the California State Militia's 2nd Regiment showed up with military-style trucks and fatigues to provide hot breakfasts to people who'd been evacuated from their homes due to the Oak Fire near Mariposa County. Along with breakfast, members of the militia passed out business cards with QR codes and directions of how to join their organization, NBC reported .

As for PINE'--they shared images of their ''activism'' on their Gab and Telegram channels, making sure to note that they also distributed their propaganda in the process. ''Montpelier is a short distance from me,'' responded one person. ''VT is so far left I too often assume there are no like minded people. Good to see this.''

Get the latest from VICE News in your inbox. Sign up right here.

By signing up, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy & to receive electronic communications from Vice Media Group, which may include marketing promotions, advertisements and sponsored content.

Link to Article

Archived Version

Sat, 12 Aug 2023 21:52

This week, we're investigating the use of podcasts by extremist actors, a growing and concerning trend, which, over the last decade or so, has seen extremists leveraging this medium to spread their ideology, recruit followers and network with like minded individuals.

Our expert guests expose how extremist groups and networks on the far-right have created an alternative media ecosystem that is reinforcing and normalising hateful ideologies, fringe ideas, and conspiratorial narratives. We also discuss how the ease of creating and distributing audio content has allowed these actors to regularly produce content that reaches a global audience and the challenges in moderating this content.

Join Anne Craanen as she speaks to Dr Megan Squire, Deputy Director for Data Analytics and OSINT (open source intelligence) at the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), and Bj¸rn Ihler, co-founder and CEO of Glitterpill and Director of the Khalifa Ihler Institute, a global peacebuilding foundation.

You can read a transcript of this episode here.

If you want to find out more about Tech Against Terrorism and our work, visit techagainstterrorism.org or follow us on Twitter @techvsterrorism, where you can find resources on this topic.

Link to Article

Archived Version

Sat, 12 Aug 2023 14:17

The ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike has been about the fight for better pay and job security. While principal actors and writers are seeking contracts that prevent AI from interfering with their careers, movie extras are next.

NPR reported that Alexandria Rubalcaba worked as a background actor for Disney Plus's WandaVision for four weeks before the production crew asked her to report to a tractor trailer. She and dozens of other movie extras stepped in front of a series of cameras on metal rigs behind glasses, performing various facial expressions. The production crew scanned their faces and bodies for 15 minutes in preparation to create digital replicas. Little did Rubalcaba know how or if her digital avatar would be used on screen. No matter what happens, she apparently won't get paid for it.

This background actor, making $187 a day, said that no one ever gave her permission to become a digital avatar. ''What if I don't want to be on MarioVision, or SarahVision?'' said Rubalcaba. ''I fear that AI is eventually going to weed out movie extras. They won't have any use for us anymore.'' Disney declined to comment.

A union negotiator has made claims that studios have offered to give these background actors one day's pay once scanned. Five background actors interviewed by NPR expressed their shock when told by studios to endure body scans. But with the actors forced to sign non-disclosure agreements, they felt they had to go along with it in fear of unemployment by anyone else in the business. With the amount saved on meals, costuming, and an actor's paycheck, AI could be the new future for movie extras.

Succession's Brian Cox has said AI is ''the worst aspect'' of the actors' dispute, though SAG-AFTRA is not necessarily saying no to the usage of AI. Union officials said they found benefits for actors being in two shoots simultaneously or taking on another project. Nonetheless, union officials are still fighting to ensure that background actors receive adequate compensation for the use of their faces. The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers said they'll offer ''fair compensation'' and only use an actor's AI with their permission.

The problem that still persists is what consent means. Studios are seemingly asking movie extras just once for digital body scan permission after hiring them. However, union officials prefer that background actors receive permission each time. Film extras may not have on-camera speaking roles, but they're using their voices now to express these career-changing Hollywood methods.

Link to Article

Archived Version

Sat, 12 Aug 2023 11:45

Something isn't loading properly. Please check back later.

Prosecutor: FTX founder committed 'one of the biggest financial frauds' in US history

Top business news 16 videos

Prosecutor: FTX founder committed 'one of the biggest financial frauds' in US history

02:41 Now playing

- Source: CNN Why San Francisco is frustrated with Twitter's new, giant 'X' sign

01:58 Now playing

- Source: CNN A 1980's Bette Midler case could decide the fate of AI in music

04:47 Now playing

- Source: CNN Business He says he lived below the poverty line while working on hit show. Hear his reaction to CEO's strike comments

01:29 Now playing

- Source: CNN Kid Rock declared a Bud Light boycott. Here's what CNN saw at his bar

03:24 Now playing

- Source: CNN Debris from Elon Musk's SpaceX launch scattered, raising environmental concerns

05:16 Now playing

- Source: CNN Consumers have 'five times' more clothes than they did in the 80s. This is the impact

03:09 Now playing

- Source: CNN The US has an empty office building problem. Here's what landlords are doing about it

03:20 Now playing

- Source: CNN Why there's a new bull market despite recession fears

01:44 Now playing

- Source: CNN Video: See Apple's new $3,499 mixed reality headset

00:59 Now playing

- Source: CNN Gun shop owner explains decision to close his business

01:10 Now playing

- Source: CNN Target facing backlash following removal of merchandise ahead of Pride Month

01:50 Now playing

- Source: CNN 'Jeopardy!' fans in uproar after a single letter ends nine-day winning streak

01:03 Now playing

- Source: CNN This is how much Netflix is charging to share your password

01:59 Now playing

- Source: CNN See Adobe's new art tool that gives images life-like effects

00:40 Now playing

- Source: CNN See fake image of an 'explosion' near the Pentagon that caused confusion

02:41 Now playing

- Source: CNN New York CNN '--

A federal judge revoked bail for FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried, citing probable cause that the accused crypto fraudster attempted to tamper with witnesses.

Bankman-Fried was remanded, at least temporarily, to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, while the parties sort out details of how he will review discovery materials ahead of a trial scheduled for October.

Following the ruling, US marshals handcuffed Bankman-Fried and escorted him out of the courtroom.

Bankman-Fried's lawyers immediately filed a notice of appeal on Friday.

Prosecutors sought to revoke bail after what they described as a series of violations by Bankman-Fried, including contacting potential witnesses against him, using a virtual private network to subvert monitoring and speaking with a reporter about former FTX executive Caroline Ellison.

Ellison, who is also Bankman-Fried's ex-girlfriend, is one of several former business partners who has taken a plea deal and plans to testify against him.

Judge Kaplan on Friday sided with prosecutors' claim that Bankman-Fried was ''covering his tracks'' when he allegedly leaked Ellison's personal documents to the New York Times by allowing a reporter to review them in-person. Kaplan added that leaking an ex-girlfriend's intimate writings would only be done ''to hurt, discredit and frighten the subject of the material.''

Bankman-Fried's attorneys argued that he has a right to defend his reputation in the press. They also stressed that the complexity of his defense, which involves hundreds of thousands of documents, requires Bankman-Fried to have regular access to a computer and the internet.

His lawyers had also agreed to a gag order that would limit Bankman-Fried's contact with individuals outside of the case. But Kaplan said Friday that a gag order wouldn't be sufficient, given Bankman-Fried's history of toeing of the line.

Bankman-Fried, 31 years old, has pleaded not guilty to multiple conspiracy and fraud charges. His trial date is set for October.

Since his arrest in December, he has repeatedly broken with standard legal advice when it comes to speaking to the media. He has blogged, tweeted and appeared on live interviews to broadcast his version of FTX's downfall. In his telling, he admits to making mistakes as CEO but says he never knowingly committed fraud.

Prosecutors have characterized Bankman-Fried as the mastermind of one of the biggest financial frauds in US history. He is accused of stealing deposits from his cryptocurrency exchange FTX to finance risky bets at his crypto hedge fund, Alameda Research; funnel contributions to American politicians; and underwrite a luxury lifestyle for himself and his employees in the Bahamas.

Before its collapse, FTX was one of the largest crypto-trading platforms in the world, backed by A-list celebrities and featured in Super Bowl commercials. But the company came unglued in the span of a week last November as concerns about its financial ties to Bankman-Fried's crypto hedge fund, Alameda Research, spurred investors and customers to yank their funds. The company filed for bankruptcy and quickly became the center of the federal fraud investigation.

'-- CNN's Kara Scannell contributed to this article.

Link to Article

Archived Version

Sat, 12 Aug 2023 00:52

"According to Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization, 98% of all Hawaiian fires are started by people, of which 75% are due to carelessness."

By James Steele

Figure 1 '' Created by Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization

The massive destruction and loss of life in Lahaina, Hawaii due to the recent wildfire has evoked tremendous compassion and concern from around the world for the people of Lahaina. I can't comprehend the intense pain now being felt by the people who have lost loved ones, lost homes, and lost all their belongings. So how can such a tragedy be prevented from ever happening again?

First, according to meteorologist Cliff Mass, Hawaii is one of the most fire-prone states in the U.S. (see Figure 1 for some historical fires)

Lightning is rare on Maui. Fewer than thirty thunderstorms rattle across the Hawaiian Islands each year, and most occur during January and February. Accordingly, there have been no reports of an August lightning strike, so it seems doubtful this tragic fire was started naturally.

According to Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization, 98% of all Hawaiian fires are started by people, of which 75% are due to carelessness. Thus, a Smokey-the-Bear type campaign that only ''you can prevent forest fires'' would help raise people's consciousness, especially newcomers. As retirees flock to Hawaii seeking the health benefits of a warmer climate, the population has tripled since 1980, which only increases the probability of a careless fire being started.

If started by an electrical spark, efforts to secure a vulnerable electrical grid is required. Sadly, the remaining fires have been suspiciously ignited by arsonists, and arson is nearly impossible to prevent.

However, there are other precautions that Hawaiians can take to prevent the rapid spread of fire that caught so many people in Lahaina by surprise. Dr. Clay Trauernicht, a professor of natural resources and environmental management at the University of Hawaii, notes wildfires have quadrupled in Hawaii in recent decades. We agree with his assessment that unmanaged, nonnative grasslands that have flourished in Hawaii after decades of declining agriculture have provided the fuel for more rapidly spreading and extensive wildfires.

As Maui's pineapple and sugar cane plantations were abandoned, they became dominated by invasive annual grasses that flourish in disturbed soils. Fire experts categorize such small diameter grasses as 1-hour lag fuels, meaning that within half a day of dry weather, these grasses become highly flammable, allowing fires to rapidly spread in even moderate winds. Annual grasses typically die during the dry seasons. Maui's rainless period typically lasts from about May 25 to July 15.

Furthermore, Lahaina is situated on the leeward side of Maui's mountains. These highlands wring out the moisture carried by the trade winds, with only 15'' of rain falling in Lahaina compared to 300'' on the mountains to the east. Thus, Lahaina's surrounding grassland vegetation is primed each summer to rapidly burn once ignited.

Figure 2 Precipitation Departure NOAA '' Courtesy Cliff Mass

Counterintuitively, wet seasons create higher fire danger by increasing the abundance of dead grasses for the dry season. Spring of 2023 was cooler and wetter than normal (Figure 2), leading to high grass fuel load.

In contrast, dry seasons have little impact, as the dead invasive grasses become highly flammable quickly every season. Thus, the only protective measure for Lahaina's future requires managing the grasslands as well as creating firebreaks that suppress a grass fire's rapid invasion into the town.

Firebreaks protecting the whole town are especially important. If a grassfire reaches just one house in a densely packed neighborhood, such as much of Lahaina, that one house will radiate enough heat to ignite its neighboring house, which then sets off a cascading conflagration that can destroy a whole town.

The CO2 Coalition's scientists caution against adopting useless remedies such as that proposed by the national director the Green New Deal Network, who demanded that ''President Biden declare a climate emergency and activate politicians to take further climate action.'' The Maui fire would have devastated Lahaina in a colder or warmer climate. It would have would have devastated Lahaina in high or low CO2 concentrations. The key is managing the dead grasses that become flammable in just hours. Climate change was irrelevant. Declaring a climate emergency to reduce fossil fuels is a useless remedy that only misdirects funds that will be needed to better manage a fire-prone landscape.

James Steele is a biologist, author and former director San Francisco State University's Sierra Nevada Field Campus. He is a proud member of the CO2 Coalition.

Link to Article

Archived Version

Fri, 11 Aug 2023 13:42

Doctors are free to prescribe ivermectin to treat COVID-19, a lawyer representing the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said this week.

''FDA explicitly recognizes that doctors do have the authority to prescribe ivermectin to treat COVID,'' Ashley Cheung Honold, a Department of Justice lawyer representing the FDA, said during oral arguments on Aug. 8 in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit.

The government is defending the FDA's repeated exhortations to people to not take ivermectin for COVID-19, including a post that said ''Stop it.''

The case was brought by three doctors who allege the FDA unlawfully interfered with their practice of medicine with the statements. A federal judge dismissed the case in 2022, prompting an appeal.

''The fundamental issue in this case is straightforward. After the FDA approves the human drug for sale, does it then have the authority to interfere with how that drug is used within the doctor-patient relationship? The answer is no,'' Jared Kelson, representing the doctors, told the appeals court.

The FDA on Aug. 21, 2021, wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter: ''You are not a horse. You are not a cow. Seriously, y'all. Stop it.'' The post, which linked to an FDA page that says people shouldn't use ivermectin to prevent or treat COVID-19, went viral.

In other statements, the FDA said that ivermectin ''isn't authorized or approved to treat COVID-19'' and ''Q: Should I take ivermectin to prevent or treat COVID-19? A: No.''

Command or Not''FDA made these statements in response to multiple reports of consumers being hospitalized, after self medicating with ivermectin intended for horses, which is available for purchase over the counter without the need for prescription,'' Ms. Honold said.

A version of the drug for animals is available, but ivermectin is approved by the FDA for human use against diseases caused by parasites.

Ms. Honold said that the FDA didn't purport to require anyone to do anything or to prohibit anyone from doing anything.

''What about when it said, 'No, stop it'?'' Circuit Judge Jennifer Walker Elrod, on the panel that is hearing the appeal, asked. ''Why isn't that a command? If you were in English class, they would say that was a command.''

Ms. Honold described the statements as ''merely quips.''

''Can you answer the question, please? Is that a command, 'Stop it'?'' Judge Elrod asked.

''In some contexts, those words could be construed as a command,'' Ms. Honold said. ''But in this context, where FDA was simply using these words in the context of a quippy tweet meant to share its informational article, those statements do not rise to the level of a command.''

The statements ''don't prohibit doctors from prescribing ivermectin to treat COVID or for any other purpose'' Ms. Honold said. She noted that the FDA, along with the statements, said that people should consult their health care providers about COVID-19 treatments and that they could take medicine if it was prescribed by the provider.

''FDA is clearly acknowledging that doctors have the authority to prescribe human ivermectin to treat COVID. So they are not interfering with the authority of doctors to prescribe drugs or to practice medicine,'' she said.

Judge Elrod is on the panel with Circuit Judges Edith Brown Clement and Don Willett. All three were appointed under President Donald Trump.

Federal LawThe plaintiffs are Drs. Paul Marik, Mary Bowden, and Robert Apter. They say they were professionally harmed by the FDA's statements, including being terminated over efforts to prescribe ivermectin to patients.

Dr. Marik has noted that a number of studies support using ivermectin against COVID-19, as the FDA itself has acknowledged. Some other studies show little to no effect.

Federal law enables the FDA to provide information, such as reports of adverse reactions to drugs, but not medical advice, Mr. Kelson said.

''This is something the FDA has never been able to do. And it's a bright line,'' he told the court, adding later: ''The clearest examples of where they have gone over the line are when they say things like, 'You are not a horse, you are not a cow. Seriously, y'all. Stop it.'''

Judges indicated they agree that the FDA lacks the power to give medical advice; Judge Clement said, ''You're not authorized to give medical advice.''

But Ms. Honold said the government ''isn't conceding that in this case.''

She also argued that Congress has empowered the FDA to protect public health and make sure regulated products are safe and effective, giving it the ''inherent authority to further its mission by communicating information to the public about safe uses of drugs.''

A ruling in favor of the doctors would prevent the FDA from reporting on consumers suffering after cooking chicken with NyQuil or that opioid addiction is a problem, she claimed.

Mr. Kelson said that wasn't accurate. ''It's when they step beyond that [and] start telling people how they should or should not be using approved drugs,'' he said.

Ms. Honold also said that the courts can't hold agencies accountable when they provide false or misleading information: ''The FDA is politically accountable, just like all other executive agencies.''

Link to Article

Archived Version

Sun, 13 Aug 2023 12:26

Link to Article

Archived Version

Sun, 13 Aug 2023 11:05

Link to Article

Archived Version

Sun, 13 Aug 2023 09:32

Disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried has had his bail revoked and he has been immediately remanded to custody of the U.S. Marshals.

Judge Lewis A. Kaplan made the ruling to send Bankman-Fried to jail during a hearing Friday in U.S. District Court in New York City. Bankman-Fried's attorneys shortly filed a notice of appeal of the judge's decision to revoke his bail.

Bankman-Fried will be housed at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn while he awaits trial, a source told ABC News.

Federal prosecutors argued in a recent court filing that Bankman-Fried deserves to have his bail revoked and to be detained before he is tried for fraud and conspiracy charges stemming from the collapse of FTX.

Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried arrives for a bail hearing at Manhattan Federal Court on Aug. 11, 2023, in New York City.

Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

Prosecutors balked at Bankman-Fried sharing with The New York Times excerpts from the personal documents of Caroline Ellison, Bankman-Fried's former girlfriend, who led his Alameda Research hedge fund and who has pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate.

Bankman-Fried considered those private writings of Ellison "detrimental to her" and accused him of sharing them with the newspaper "in order to affect the public's perception of her," prosecutors said.

Prosecutors accused Bankman-Fried of witness tampering.

"The record here establishes that the defendant went beyond benignly exercising a constitutional right to speak to the press -- he took covert steps intended to improperly discredit a trial witness and taint the jury pool," prosecutors said. "[T]he Government seeks the only appropriate relief consistent with the defendant's escalating evasions of his bail conditions: that bail be revoked and the defendant be detained pending trial."

The 31-year-old was initially released in December 2022 on a $250 million personal recognizance bond signed by his parents and secured by their Palo Alto, California, home. A prosecutor called it the largest pretrial bond ever.

Bankman-Fried pleaded not guilty to 13 charges, including fraud, conspiracy and bribery, after federal prosecutors said he misappropriated billions of dollars from FTX before it went bankrupt. Prosecutors allege he used the money to cover losses at his hedge fund, Alameda Research, to buy lavish real estate and to make political donations.

A campaign finance charge against him was dropped after officials in the Bahamas, where Bankman-Fried was arrested, said they had not agreed to extradite him based on that count.

In a letter to the judge this week, however, prosecutors said they intend to file a superseding indictment next week that will seek to incorporate Bankman-Fried's alleged campaign finance scheme into seven other existing charges.

The trial is scheduled for October.

Ellison pleaded guilty in December to two counts of wire fraud, two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering, according to court documents.

Link to Article

Archived Version

Sat, 12 Aug 2023 14:07

Link to Article

Archived Version

Sat, 12 Aug 2023 14:05

Link to Article

Archived Version

Sat, 12 Aug 2023 14:01

Link to Article

Archived Version

Sat, 12 Aug 2023 13:58

Link to Article

Archived Version

Sat, 12 Aug 2023 13:57

Link to Article

Archived Version

Sat, 12 Aug 2023 13:56