U.S. Bans All Cotton and Tomatoes From Xinjiang Region of China

The ban will increase not lessen the burden of farmers and workers, it will increase their burden but GOP will feel sanctimonious and will make believe that the policy is a good one.

The sweeping ban, which was based on concerns about forced labor in the region, could compel companies to reorganize their multinational supply chains.

Outcry over COVID-19 food parcels for UK children prompts U-turn | Europe| News and current affairs from around the continent | DW | 13.01.2021 (Ten days of food – not!)

UK food parcel “We were gobsmacked,” Mizz, who didn’t want to give her full name, told DW. “I grew up poor, and I know poor. I can make a meal out of thin air — but not with this,” the 41-year-old said. Mizz said her parcel was meant to provide lunch for her 12-year-old for 10 days: one loaf of bread, half a cucumber, one pepper, a few potatoes, a block of cheese, a pack of butter, four pieces of fruit, a chocolate bar and some salty snacks. Source: Outcry over COVID-19 food parcels for UK children prompts U-turn | Europe| News and current affairs from around the continent | DW | 13.01.2021

Ken Paxton is only state attorney general in the U.S. who didn’t sign letters condemning Capitol insurrection

He should be impeached
Attorney General Ken Paxton spoke at the Texas Federation of Republican Women Convention in Dallas on Oct. 19, 2017.

Paxton’s critics said they are not surprised the attorney general, among a number of Republicans and Trump supporters who have falsely claimed the election was stolen by Democrats, did not sign on to the letters.

Credit: Laura Buckman/The Texas Tribune

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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is the only state attorney general in the United States who did not sign on to one of two letters sent this week condemning the violent insurrection of the U.S. Capitol mounted last week by supporters of President Donald Trump.

Paxton has individually condemned the violence on television and social media while falsely claiming the pro-Trump mob that invaded the Capitol was infiltrated by liberal antifa activists. There has been no evidence that antifa activists participated in the Jan. 6 attack that left five people dead and was intended to disrupt the certification of the presidential election results.

Attorneys general from 46 states — in addition to those representing Washington D.C. and three U.S. territories — signed a letter Tuesday sent to Acting U.S. Attorney General Jeffrey A. Rosen condemning the attack. Only Paxton and the Republican attorneys general from Louisiana, Indiana and Montana did not sign the letter.

“The events of January 6 represent a direct, physical challenge to the rule of law and our democratic republic itself,” the attorneys general wrote in the letter, sent by the National Association of Attorneys General. “As Americans, and those charged with enforcing the law, we must come together to condemn lawless violence, making clear that such actions will not be allowed to go unchecked.”

By Wednesday, those three holdouts sent Rosen their own letter, which Paxton also did not sign.

In addition to condemning the violent mob, the three attorneys general urged their colleagues to “stand together against all political violence,” calling out antifa activists.

Asked why he did not sign either letter of condemnation, Paxton said through a spokesperson that he “already addressed this issue multiple times” and pointed to recent tweets and a Fox News interview in which he disavowed the mob and “absolutely” said its violent actors should be prosecuted.

“A certain, small percentage of those people crossed the line, and when you … cross the line, and you start harming other people’s property, and you start harming people, you should be held accountable,” Paxton said in the Jan. 7 interview with Fox Business.

Paxton signed on to a Jan. 6 statement from the Republican Attorneys General Association condemning the violence, saying “I call on protesters in our state and our nation’s Capital to practice their constitutional right in a peaceful manner. I stand for election integrity and the democratic process. I will not tolerate violence and civil disorder.”

Paxton’s critics said they are not surprised the attorney general, among a number of Republicans and Trump supporters who have falsely claimed the election was stolen by Democrats, did not sign on to the letters. The morning of the attack, Paxton, a co-chair of the Lawyers for Trump coalition, urged Trump supporters to continue fighting President-elect Joe Biden’s victory.

“After inciting the violence we saw last week and wasting Texas taxpayer dollars on baseless lawsuits that never see any results, Paxton is an embarrassment to this state and a traitor to this country,” said Abhi Rahman, a spokesman for the Texas Democratic Party.

On Wednesday, Paxton’s office was also hit with the loss of one of its top staffers.

Solicitor General Kyle Hawkins is leaving the agency, the Associated Press reported Wednesday. The exit comes in the wake of a scandal at the agency, and also Paxton’s controversial lawsuit at the U.S. Supreme Court seeking to overturn the election results, which Hawkins — the agency’s appellate expert — did not sign onto. Hawkins has not answered questions about his decision to leave or why his name did not appear on the case.

Emma Platoff contributed to this report.

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Dollar General to pay workers to get COVID-19 vaccine in retail first

smart move

By Jonathan Roeder | Bloomberg

Dollar General Corp. is offering workers extra pay to encourage them to get vaccinated against COVID-19 as quickly as possible.

Hourly employees will get the equivalent of four hours of pay after getting the vaccine, while salaried workers will receive “additional store labor hours to accommodate their time away from the store,” the discount retailer said in a statement. It also will provide assistance to its distribution and transportation teams.

The announcement offers an early look at how retailers will deal with getting millions of frontline workers the vaccine — an urgent issue from both a safety and operational standpoint, as well as an unprecedented logistical undertaking. About 10 million people have received the first dose of a COVID vaccine since immunizations started in December, according to Bloomberg’s vaccine tracker.

Dollar General shares fell less than 1% at 9:40 a.m. in New York.

The company, which said it doesn’t want workers to have to choose between receiving the vaccine and other needs like child care and travel time, noted that it’s encouraging, not requiring, employees get vaccinated.

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Japan to ban non-resident foreigners after finding new COVID-19 variant – UPI.com (Reverting to ultra-nationalism over a mostly internal problem and not using science first)

Japan plans to suspend entry of all non-resident foreigners and deport foreign residents if they violate quarantine regulations. Source: Japan to ban non-resident foreigners after finding new COVID-19 variant – UPI.com