Apple has a new opt-in policy that could wipe out advertisers' ability to track you around the internet.
The “Trump-made-me-do-it” defence is already looking like a longshot. Facing damning evidence in the deadly Capitol siege last month — including social media posts flaunting their actions — rioters are arguing in court they were following then-President Donald Trump's instructions on Jan. 6. But the legal strategy has already been shot down by at least one judge and experts believe the argument is not likely to get anyone off the hook for the insurrection where five people died, including a police officer. “This purported defence, if recognized, would undermine the rule of law because then, just like a king or a dictator, the president could dictate what’s illegal and what isn’t in this country," U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell said recently in ordering pretrial detention of William Chrestman, a suspected member of the Kansas City-area chapter of the Proud Boys. “And that is not how we operate here.” Chrestman’s attorneys argued in court papers that Trump gave the mob “explicit permission and encouragement” to do what they did, providing those who obeyed him with “a viable defence against criminal liability.” “It is an astounding thing to imagine storming the United States Capitol with sticks and flags and bear spray, arrayed against armed and highly trained law enforcement. Only someone who thought they had an official endorsement would even attempt such a thing. And a Proud Boy who had been paying attention would very much believe he did,” Chrestman’s lawyers wrote. Trump was acquitted of inciting the insurrection during his second impeachment trial, where Democrats made some of the same arguments defence attorneys are making in criminal court. Some Republican lawmakers have said the better place for the accusations against Trump is in court, too. Meanwhile, prosecutors have brought charges against more than 250 people so far in the attack, including conspiracy, assault, civil disorder and obstruction of an official proceeding. Authorities have suggested that rare sedition charges could be coming against some. Hundreds of Trump supporters were photographed and videotaped storming the Capitol and scores posted selfies inside the building on social media, so they can’t exactly argue in court they weren’t there. Blaming Trump may be the best defence they have. “What’s the better argument when you’re on videotape prancing around the Capitol with a coat rack in your hand?” said Sam Shamansky, who’s representing Dustin Thompson, an Ohio man accused of stealing a coat rack during the riot. Shamansky said his client would never have been at the Capitol on Jan. 6 if Trump hadn’t “summoned him there.” Trump, he added, engaged in a “devious yet effective plot to brainwash” supporters into believing the election was stolen, putting them in the position where they “felt the the need to defend their country at the request of the commander in chief.” “I think it fits perfectly,” he said of the defence. “The more nuanced question is: Who is going to buy it? What kind of jury panel do you need to understand that?” While experts say blaming Trump may not get their clients off the hook, it may help at sentencing when they ask the judge for leniency. “It could likely be considered a mitigating factor that this person genuinely believed they were simply following the instructions of the leader of the United States,” said Barbara McQuade, a former U.S. attorney in Michigan who's now a professor at the University of Michigan Law School. It could also bolster any potential cases against the former president, experts say. “That defence is dead on arrival,” said Bradley Simon, a New York City white-collar criminal defence attorney and former federal prosecutor. “But I do think that these statements by defendants saying that they were led on by Trump causes a problem for him if the Justice Department or the attorney general in D.C. were to start looking at charges against him for incitement of the insurrection.” While the legal bar is high for prosecuting Trump in the Capitol siege, the former president is already facing a lawsuit from Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson that accuses him of conspiring with extremist groups to prevent Congress from certifying the election results. And more lawsuits could come. Trump spread baseless claims about the election for weeks and addressed thousands of supporters at a rally near the White House before the Capitol riot, telling them that they had gathered in Washington "to save our democracy." Later, Trump said, “I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard.” A lawyer for Jacob Chansley, the shirtless man who wore face paint and a hat with horns inside the Capitol, attached a highlighted transcript of the Trump's speech before the riot to a court filing seeking Chansley's release from custody. The defence lawyer, Albert Watkins, said the federal government is sending a “disturbingly chilling message” that Americans will be prosecuted “if they do that which the President asks them to do.” Defence lawyers have employed other strategies without better success. In one case, the judge called a defence attorney’s portrayal of the riots as mere trespassing or civil disobedience both “unpersuasive and detached from reality.” In another, a judge rejected a man’s claim that he was “duped” into joining the anti-government Oath Keepers group and participating in the attack on the Capitol. Other defendants linked to militant groups also have tried to shift blame to Trump in seeking their pretrial release from jail. An attorney for Jessica Watkins said the Oath Keepers member believed local militias would be called into action if Trump invoked the Insurrection Act to stay in office. Watkins disavowed the Oath Keepers during a court hearing on Friday, saying she has been “appalled” by fellow members of the far-right militia. “However misguided, her intentions were not in any way related to an intention to overthrow the government, but to support what she believed to be the lawful government,” her lawyer wrote. Meanwhile, a lawyer for Dominic Pezzola, another suspected Proud Boy, said he “acted out of the delusional belief that he was a ‘patriot’ protecting his country." Defence attorney Jonathan Zucker described Pezzola as “one of millions of Americans who were misled by the President's deception.” “Many of those who heeded his call will be spending substantial portions if not the remainder of their lives in prison as a consequence," he wrote. “Meanwhile Donald Trump resumes his life of luxury and privilege." Michael Kunzelman And Alanna Durkin Richer, The Associated Press
(Souta Calling Last - image credit) If you've driven down any of the highways in southern Alberta, you've likely passed by a Blackfoot historical site, such as an eagle catch, without even knowing it. But Souta Calling Last hopes to change that. Calling Last, who is from both the Kainai and Southern Piikani First Nation, runs an educational, non-profit organization called Indigenous Vision. She has spent the past four years designing an interactive map depicting hundreds of Blackfoot historical and sacred sites in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Montana, Idaho and Wyoming. The Blackfoot Confederacy includes the Siksika, Kainai and Piikani Nations, representing more than 23,000 members in Alberta and another 19,000 in Montana. "The amount of history we have, we cannot walk around with our heads down, shoulders slumped, because it's just so expansive and so beautiful and so powerful," said Calling Last. Calling Last says she sees a lot of potential uses for this map project, including teaching, city planning, environmental assessments and ecotourism. She plans to launch a mobile app that would ping a user as they neared a historical site, and then provide an audio and/or video recording about the place with the story behind it, and in some cases, directions to get there. For example, she says, history buffs could plot out all the Blackfoot battle sites to visit during summer vacation. Calling Last plans to share the full interactive map with tribal leaders, cultural leaders and academics. But she says not all of the sacred sites will be made available to the public. "We walk that fine line of keeping a site sacred and also educating about that site so that it's not at risk from development or getting destroyed or, you know, losing the site." Several teepee rings are clearly visible in this satellite image. Teepee rings, eagle catches Calling Last says the Blackfoot map includes 108 dots, which represent more than 500 sites, some of which date back thousands of years. Calling Last says each of these locations was discovered through conversations with her family, tribal elders and community members, as well as archeological surveys and studies. "I take the source and I look for paralleling stories," said Calling Last. "Usually the way oral stories and history is handed down is each member or area or society is given a portion to remember." She says some items can be spotted in satellite images. In one image, a teepee ring, which is a circle of stones that holds down the canvas of a teepee, appears as a little white shadow. Other sites, such as eagle catches, are harder to spot, she says, because they appear as nothing more than a pile of rocks and sticks and are located high up on the land. She calls one of the two that are plotted on the map "Calling Last Eagle Catch," because it was passed down to her by her family. She says eagle catchers were men or women. She says the catcher would dig a pit to sit in and then cover themselves up with sticks and some type of decoy such as a dead rabbit. She says that when the eagle landed, the catcher would then have to quickly grab the eagle's legs, to either pluck a feather or to harvest the whole animal. She says the process would also include a ceremony. "The impression I got was that it was almost a warrior's job or a coming of age type thing where you were able to go and you were trained," said Calling Last. Satellite images of two Blackfoot Medicine Wheels in Alberta and Wyoming. Calling Last says the map also includes the stories behind the names of locations such as the Crowsnest Pass, historic events, including the first fur traders location, burial grounds, petroglyphs and different band leaders. Lived beyond the reserve Piikani elder Harley Bastien, who worked on the map project, believes the map will help the Blackfoot people reconnect to the expanse of land they once called home before reserves were established. "Some of the youth grew up thinking this is it, so many miles by so many miles is where we always called home, but that's the farthest from the truth," said Bastien, who is president of Indigenous Vision. He also hopes this map will also be used to better educate Canadians about the country's pre-settlement era. "If nothing else, [it will] give them some sort of an education that these aboriginal people didn't just generate and originate from a reserve," Bastien said. He said their homes and highrises were "built probably on the history and the blood and bones of the aboriginal people who lived there." A static map representing roughly 500 Blackfoot historical and sacred sites collected by Souta Calling Last. Calling Last has already worked with other First Nations communities to develop their own historical maps. In one case, it was with respect to mapping missing and murdered Indigenous women. In another, it was mapping the location of traditional pigments used in traditional pottery and painting. She says collecting and mapping these stories and historical data allows First Nations to have sovereignty over their past, and therefore, their future. Calling last has provided a static version of the map to CBC News. She is hoping to launch the app within the year.
Milan — Alors que le gouvernement souhaite doubler les coupes forestières au Québec d’ici 60 ans, les acériculteurs installés en terres publiques craignent le pire. Déjà, le propriétaire de l’Érablière Lapierre déplore des coupes qui arriveront bientôt à isoler entièrement son site de production de Milan en Estrie, et qui, en plus d’empêcher son expansion, ont déjà causé leur lot de désagréments. Des couloirs qui laissent entrer le vent et qui font tomber les arbres en « dominos », parfois directement sur les tubulures, des ornières à même le sol de l’érablière, des populations d’écureuils qui migrent et endommagent le matériel : toutes des conséquences de récentes coupes orchestrées par le ministère des Forêts, de la Faune et des Parcs, analyse le propriétaire Donald Lapierre, dont trois des cinq sites acéricoles sont situés en terres publiques estriennes. Celui qui produit à Milan depuis 1985 a toujours été témoin de coupes dans les environs, mais les choses se sont mises à s’accélérer à proximité en 2018. En bordure de ce site de 110 000 entailles, La Tribune a pu observer ces fameuses coupes sélectives, de même que les sentiers de débardement dénudés les accompagnant. Parfois la zone de coupe s’arrête à quelques pieds des tubulures, d’autres au dernier arbre entaillé. Plus loin, un secteur qui a déjà fait l’objet d’une demande d’agrandissement de l’érablière est aujourd’hui clairsemé et presque sans érables. « Une érablière, ça grandit tout le temps. J’ai un quota et si jamais j’ai des pertes dans mon érablière, le Ministère aurait pu me louer d’autres entailles. Mais là, ils ont tout enlevé », s’indigne M. Lapierre. « C’est difficile de penser que ce n’est pas fait par exprès », estime Philippe Breton, directeur des ventes pour l’Érablière Lapierre. Couper dans l’érablière Même si l’érablière possède un bail, renouvelable tous les cinq ans, le bois des arbres à l’intérieur de celle-ci est en partie promis à l’exploitation : lorsque le producteur remplace sa tubulure, il se doit de permettre une coupe de jardinage acérico-forestier, qui implique le prélèvement 15 à 25 % des arbres sur place. « Sauf que la prescription de l’ingénieur est faite pour revenir dans 20 ans. L’arbre pourrait être bon à entailler 15 ans encore ! » dit M. Breton. C’est ainsi que l’érablière a perdu 2000 entailles à l’automne 2019, dans le cadre d’un projet-pilote visant à étudier les possibilités de prélèvement à travers une production acéricole. Et cette opération, quand elle est réalisée par une forestière, aurait de grands impacts. « Pour quelqu’un qui ramasse le bois tous les 20 ans, ça n’a pas d’importance. Mais pour nous, des ornières de quatre pieds de profond, quand vient le temps d’aller entailler, de retirer des entailles ou juste de courir les fuites, c’est très difficile de naviguer le territoire », déplore M. Breton, qui n’hésite pas à parler de « favoritisme », considérant les contraintes environnementales auxquelles les acériculteurs doivent se plier de leur côté. L’équipe est néanmoins consciente que les coupes visent également une régénération de la forêt et des érables, « mais c’est environ 60 à 70 ans entre la petite tige et l’arbre qu’on peut entailler, commente M. Lapierre. Moi je n’aurai pas ça. Mes enfants n’auront pas ça. » Place à l’amélioration La Table de gestion intégrée des ressources naturelles et du territoire de l’Estrie (TGIRT) est bien au fait des préoccupations d’Érablière Lapierre, et s’est même rendue sur place en 2019. La coordinatrice de la table, l’ingénieure forestière Manon Ayotte, affirme que les coupes du secteur sont planifiées et réalisées dans les règles. « Mais il y a toujours place à amélioration. Par exemple avec la problématique des écureuils, on n’a aucune idée si c’est causé par les coupes adjacentes. C’est possible qu’elles aient des effets qu’on ne connaisse pas ou qu’on ne prévoit pas. C’est important de faire de la rétroaction. » Les coupes planifiées par des aménagistes du MFFP doivent passer par la TGIRT, puis par des consultations publiques avant d’être mises en branle. « On s’en va là où les travaux sont dus pour être faits, là où on ne veut pas laisser mourir les arbres et où on a une maturité pour intervenir, avance Mme Ayotte. L’idée n’est pas nécessairement d’aller accoter l’érablière. Par contre, ce n’est pas nécessairement une problématique de le faire. Au contraire, dépendamment des traitements, ça peut susciter une entrée de lumière et favoriser la régénération et le développement de la couronne de l’arbre qui va être à proximité. » L’ingénieure forestière rappelle également que de s’installer en forêt publique implique l’harmonisation de différents usages... publics. « Il ne faut pas se cacher que les acériculteurs ont investi dans des installations en terres publiques en espérant pouvoir compter sur des agrandissements. Est-ce que l’erreur découle de là ? Est-ce qu’au départ, les investissements auraient dû se faire uniquement avec ce qui était alloué au niveau des entailles pour éviter les sentiments de droits acquis sur les peuplements ? C’est sûr qu’ils sont déçus si jamais ils se sont fait des projets de génération en génération. C’est un des inconvénients de s’installer en terres publiques. Il y a des avantages financiers très intéressants, mais ça vient avec certaines contraintes. » Celle-ci tient également à apporter des nuances quant à la dégradation du terrain causée par les machineries sur le site. « Le secteur où il y a eu de l’orniérage, ça a été mentionné que c’était trop humide et que ça nécessitait des travaux d’hiver. Il y a eu un refus du producteur. C’était trop contraignant pour remettre les tubes et ça mettait la production en retard », mentionne-t-elle. Le MFFP maintient de son côté que « la planification des activités de récolte forestière doit (et tient) compte des autres usages de la forêt et les autres utilisations de la forêt doivent aussi tenir compte des activités récoltes, sans primauté d’une activité sur les autres ». Jasmine Rondeau, Initiative de journalisme local, La Tribune
(Joe Raedle/Getty Images - image credit) Windsor resident Nancy McDonald says accessing the COVID-19 vaccine has already come with a few barriers, including figuring out the online registration and planning transportation to the site. Starting Monday, the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit (WECHU) said the WFCU Centre, located at 8787 McHugh St. in east Windsor, will be the first vaccine clinic to offer shots to seniors 80 and older. The other clinic will open March 8 at Nature Fresh Farms Recreation Centre in Leamington. Registration has already begun, with some 7,000 people signing up within the past day, according to WECHU. Eighty-four-year-old McDonald was one of those who signed up — but she had to get someone to help register her online. Yet, now she worries how she'll get to the site when it's her time. As the region moves to vaccinate the next priority group, questions are arising about accessibility. Concerns being raised show that it needs to be thought of broadly not just in terms of physical access to a building. When dealing with a vulnerable population who likely have mobility and financial issues, details like clinic hours, online access and fluency, location and transportation need to be addressed amid the rush to get vaccines in arms. "I was very concerned because I'm basically in the downtown area ... I'm a non-driver so to get to either place I would have to have a ride or some type of transportation," says McDonald, who lives across from Windsor's Jackson Park. She usually takes public transit to get around, but hasn't done so due to the pandemic, so her only other option is to rely on someone to bring her. For people like herself, she says the centre's hours of operation, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., aren't the best. The WFCU Centre opens March 1 for vaccinations for those 80 and older and Leamington's Nature Fresh Farms Recreation Centre will open March 8. "If it's someone that needed a ride and their family were working people couldn't they have evening [hours], say 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. for a couple hours to get people there that didn't have a ride?" she said. She says she wishes there was a clinic in walking distance of where she lives. But she's not the only one concerned about getting to the site. On Friday, the health unit said it has already received some concerns from community members who have mobility issues. "This isn't going to be for everyone at this point that is over 80," WECHU CEO Theresa Marentette said. "It is a limited supply of vaccine and it may not be the best option for everyone ... We continue to try to work internally to see what other options are available to our seniors over 80." More sites, transportation options could help Windsor-Essex Council on Aging director Deana Johnson said mobility is always a challenge for older adults. But, "what's the alternative?" she said. "It would be nice if we were able to have several sites east, west, central, where people could indeed get vaccinated," she said. "If I'm a senior and I live downtown, I got to go all the way to the east end [and] that becomes very difficult." At the same time she says she can only imagine that planning the vaccine rollout is a "logistical nightmare." Here's a snapshot from Workforce Windsor-Essex's demographic map that shows regions with high number of seniors between the ages of 80 and 84. This data is from Statistic Canada's 2016 census. The WFCU centre, though far from the city's west-end senior population, is a "fairly reasonable" site for people to access. She said the space has a senior centre in it and is known to the community. Multiple sites, she said, might not be possible given the limited number of large spaces with parking in the city and the ability to properly store the vaccines in different locations. But at the least, more transportation options could be made available to the community, she said, adding that maybe that includes volunteer drivers or a bus to pick up groups of people. Accessibility of the sites Physician at the University of Windsor and director at Student Health Services Matt Scholl says the sites are accessible and geographically make sense. "Logistically speaking both sites are great as far as accessibility for that population, wheelchair accessible main floor, plenty of area for social distancing, following all public health protocols that are in place and there's also an area basically for these individuals to remain for 15 to 30 minutes to make sure that there's no vaccine reactions," he said. Workforce Windsor-Essex has a demographic map showing where seniors in the region live, based on 2016 census data from Statistics Canada. According to the map, the clinics seem to be located in areas where the majority of those who are 80 and older are living. Theresa Marentette, CEO Windsor Essex County Health Unit, says the health unit is working on other options for seniors to get the vaccine for those who are not able to access a clinic. Some more appointment details, according to information on the health unit's website, note that people are allowed to bring assistive devices as needed, including a scooter or wheelchair. As well, the health unit says there will be wheelchairs on site for people to use. A support person is also allowed if required, though the only example listed on the website is an interpreter. In an email to CBC News, the health unit said this also includes other support personnel and formal documentation is not required. It added that translation services will also be available at the clinic. Beyond the physical space and appointment itself, the health unit has also set up phone lines for people to register as not everyone has access to technology. Are mobile clinics a possibility? The health unit said Thursday that it still is working out the details on accessing people in the community who are 80 and older and have difficulties leaving their home. "We will continue to work on other strategies for access that will likely involve our teams and others that we're partnering with moving into areas where there are populations of seniors living so we'll work on that as well," said Marentette. "There will be other strategies that we'll have to keep considering as we get more vaccines and be able to transport the vaccine safely." Mobile clinics have been suggested in other regions of the province, with cities like Hamilton looking at pop-up clinics, mobile bus clinics, rolling or drive-thru clinics. Rolling clinics would help people who cannot leave their homes, and are living in small numbers. A bus would drop off vaccinators at a site, and circle back to pick them up. The third option is a mobile bus, which would drive to various areas and operate as a clinic.
At his wits end with the province and in fear for his most vulnerable people, David Chartrand, president of the Manitoba Metis Federation, is approaching COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers in the hopes of purchasing doses directly. "I’m sending a letter out to every one of them pleading with them to consider allowing me to buy direct, that my people are going to die and likely probably going to continue to suffer mental anguish and everything else that comes with it," Chartrand said. In British Columbia, Métis and other Indigenous people are eligible to get their shots sooner and at 15 years younger than the rest of the population, meaning they can get their shot at 65 when 80-year-old residents are being called. Dr. Daniele Behn Smith, the deputy provincial health officer for Indigenous Health, said they’ve been working hard to make Métis people "feel seen" during the vaccination process. Alberta is taking a similar approach and the Métis Nation Saskatchewan is working with the provincial government to work out a vaccine rollout. Here, in Manitoba, the age differential is 20 years — when eligibility for the vaccine is at 95 for the general population, it is 75 for First Nations. That does not include Métis. When asked by The Brandon Sun for the rationale for Manitoba not engaging with Métis in similar ways, when the conditions, vulnerabilities and disproportionate effect in the Métis population are the same, if not worse, than First Nations, Dr. Joss Reimer spoke about data. "Our initial decisions were based on the epidemiology and the data that we had in front of us. The data was very clear that our First Nations, the First Nations people in Manitoba, were experiencing worse health outcomes and at younger ages," said Reimer, medical lead for the vaccine implementation task force. She said the province does not have the same access to data when it comes to the Métis population in Manitoba. When asked if the task force would consider the same age differential for Métis, Reimer said nothing is off the table. "If we have data to demonstrate that something is essential to provide the best possible care for Manitobans, we absolutely move in that direction. Right now, we don’t have that data to depend on. But that’s something that we’re trying to work on together," she said. Chartrand said that’s false. He said the federation has been making efforts to resolve the matter since the summer, to no avail. Further, he says the government is in possession of a four-year study that clearly shows the health vulnerabilities of Métis. "We started asking, why are you not signing one (data sharing agreement) with us? They just basically said, well, we’ll get back to you. And nobody had an answer. We had nowhere to turn. Everybody we turned to said, we’ll get back to you. We’ll get back to you. I can go through emails and letters and meeting minutes. They’re all gonna give you the same response, we’ll get back to you," said Chartrand. "Nobody ever gets back to you. No reason whatsoever. Not to say, it’s complicated. Not to say, can’t be done. Not to say, we don’t have any data in our own health system." Chartrand said the federation has plenty of data it can provide. "We could provide you with ours, and give you a really good surface view of where we’re stating our position and even the health state of our people. We can share that with you. We have sufficient data that any statistician would have been embracing and kissing you for it, because it would (be) such a valuable tool of information. They still wouldn’t work with us. They never provided an answer why," he said. When Pine Creek First Nation, which is between the Métis villages of Camperville and Duck Bay, saw two cases of COVID-19 in January, Chief Karen Baston put the area on lockdown. Chartrand told his people to stay put for two weeks. "We delivered hampers to every house whether they were First Nation, whether they were Métis, whether they were not Indigenous. We took hampers to every house. We told them, don’t go out and shop. Stay locked up for two weeks, and we’ll bring more supplies. Whatever you need, contact us. We delivered to 275 houses," Chartrand said. "Those are some big families. Some are $400 hampers some $150 hampers for a smaller family." Currently, the federation is delivering 40,000 pounds of fish through its partnership with Freshwater Fish. These actions are possible with financial help from the federal government. Chartrand said, while there have been COVID-19 cases and death in the Métis population, so far the federation’s pandemic action plan has been minimizing spread. There have been no outbreaks in Métis communities. The federation even recently set up its own testing site for its citizens, to collect its own data. Acquiring vaccines independently is the next step. – with files from the Canadian Press Michèle LeTourneau, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Brandon Sun
WASHINGTON — A conference dedicated to the future of the conservative movement turned into an ode to Donald Trump as speakers declared their fealty to the former president and attendees posed for selfies with a golden statue of his likeness. As the Republican Party grapples with deep divisions over the extent to which it should embrace Trump after losing the White House and both chambers of Congress, those gathered at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference on Friday made clear they are not ready to move on from the former president — or from his baseless charges that the November election was rigged against him. “Donald J. Trump ain’t going anywhere,” said Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, one of several potential 2024 presidential contenders who spoke at the event, being held this year in Orlando to bypass COVID-19 restrictions. Trump on Sunday will be making his first post-presidential appearance at the conference, and aides say he will use the speech to reassert his power. The program underscored the split raging within the GOP, as many establishment voices argue the party must move on from Trump to win back the suburban voters who abandoned them in November, putting President Joe Biden in the White House. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell and others worry Trump will undermine the party’s political future if he and his conspiracy theories continue to dominate Republican politics. But at the conference, speakers continued to fan disinformation and conspiracy theories about the 2020 election, with panels dedicated to amplifying false claims of mass voter fraud that have been dismissed by the courts, state election officials and Trump’s own administration. Indeed, Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., another potential 2024 hopeful, drew among the loudest applause and a standing ovation when he bragged about challenging the election certification on Jan. 6 despite the storming of the Capitol building by Trump supporters trying to halt the process. “I thought it was an important stand to take," he said. Others argued the party would lose if it turned its back on Trump and alienated the working-class voters drawn to his populist message. “We cannot — we will not — go back to the days of the failed Republican establishment of yesteryear,” said Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who outlined a new Trumpian GOP agenda focused on restrictive immigration policies, opposition to China and limiting military engagement. “We will not win the future by trying to go back to where the Republican Party used to be,” echoed Florida Sen. Rick Scott, who chairs the fundraising committee tasked with electing Republicans to the Senate. “If we do, we will lose the working base that President Trump so animated. We’re going to lose elections across the country, and ultimately we’re going to lose our nation." Scott is dismissing pressure on him to “mediate between warring factions on the right” or “mediate the war of words between the party leaders." He has refused to take sides in the bitter ongoing fight between Trump and McConnell, who blamed Trump for inciting the deadly Capitol riot but ultimately voted to acquit him at his impeachment trial earlier this month. “I’m not going to mediate anything," he said, criticizing those who “prefer to fan the flames of a civil war on our side” as “foolish” and “ridiculous." But in speeches throughout the day, the GOP turmoil was front and centre. Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., lit into Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, the No. 3 House Republican, who has faced tremendous backlash for her vote to impeach Trump for inciting the Capitol riot. And as the program was wrapping up, Trump issued a statement endorsing Max Miller, a former staffer who has now launched a campaign challenging Ohio Rep. Anthony Gonzalez, another Republican who voted in favour of impeachment. Kimberly Guilfoyle, a former Fox News Channel host and Trump Jr.'s girlfriend, offered a pointed message to those who stand in opposition to the former president, who will not arrive at the conference until Sunday but was present in spirit in the form of a large golden statue erected in a merchandise show booth, where attendees could pose for pictures with it. “We bid a farewell to the weak-kneed, the spineless and the cowards that are posing in D.C. pretending that they’re working for the people,” she said. “Let’s send them a pink slip straight from CPAC.” Trump Jr., who labeled the conference “TPAC” in honour of his father, hyped the return of his father and the “Make America Great Again” platform to the spotlight. “I imagine it will not be what we call a ‘low-energy’ speech," he said. “And I assure you that it will solidify Donald Trump and all of your feelings about the MAGA movement as the future of the Republican Party.” Jill Colvin, The Associated Press
(Submitted by Jeremias Tecu - image credit) Jeremías Tecú hid from the Guatemalan militia between the roots of a massive inup tree with his mother and younger siblings every night for more than two weeks. The year was 1981 and Tecú was 11 years old. He and his family were trying to survive a massacre during a civil war that would leave more than 200,000 Indigenous Mayans dead. Massacres by the Guatemalan regime in the early 1980s destroyed 626 villages, including Ceiba, Tecú's village. From the tree roots during the violence, Tecú could make out the silhouettes of other people hiding, just as he was. "That tree was, every single night for about 15 days, our shelter," the Fredericton resident said of the 180-foot tall inup, the Mayan symbol for life. Years later, after dedicating his life to speaking out against corruption and Indigenous murders in Guatemala, Tecú was kidnapped and tortured in 1999. He escaped to neighbouring Mexico in 2000 and was granted refugee status in Canada, where he arrived 19 years ago with his wife and kids. In collaboration with Moncton-based therapist Eve Mills Allen, Tecú's life story has been told in a book that launched this month: In the Arms of Inup: The extraordinary story of a Guatemalan survivor and his quest for healing from trauma. The roots of an inup or ceiba tree in Puerto Rico. The massacre The background to Tecú's story begins in the 1950s, when Guatemala's land was owned by a few rich families. Through protests, the country's working class demanded equality. But after some of the land was redistributed to peasants, many of them Indigenous Mayan people, a civil war began. The terror that ensued lasted about 36 years, from 1960 to 1996, and throughout those years, the government murdered more than 10 per cent of the Mayan population, reducing it from over 50 per cent of Guatemala's population to about 40 per cent. The government labelled the Indigenous Mayans communists to try to justify the slaughter, although the Mayans were protesting for land that was theirs. Tecú's aunt and uncle were among the Mayan casualties. After their murder, Tecú's home was set on fire and, along with his mother and siblings, he left his village and walked for 45 days until he reached Guatemala City. The book cover for In the Arms of Inup Tecú's fear of being massacred stayed with him for years, until he landed in Fredericton in 2002. And after that, a new kind of fear settled over him. Tecú, who now works as a settlement worker, suffered from untreated post-traumatic stress disorder, often working long hours or drinking to forget the mass-slaughter he witnessed as a boy. "I would go into a liquor store, for example, to buy a six pack," he said. "That's how I got at least one hour of sleep." "You can be in paradise but the memory is there. They come back to your mind." Eight years ago, a lifeline materialized in front of Tecú, in the form of paper and pencil and a therapist eager to listen. How they met In 2013, Mills Allen facilitated a writing group at the Multicultural Association of Fredericton. Nine people showed up, including Tecú. Mills Allen told the participants how therapeutic writing their own stories could be. "He came up to me and said, 'I need to tell my story. Would you write it?'" After sharing some of his story with Mills Allen, she decided she would take on the challenge. "I guess I just knew it's a story that needed to be told but I was a little nervous of whether I could take on that task." For eight years, Mills Allen and Tecú met in coffee shops, in parks, in their own homes. Writing the book was a long process because reliving experiences often became overwhelming for Tecú. "Many times, I was sobbing along with him," said Mills Allen. But receiving a hard copy of the book this week made it all worth it, said Tecú. Central American immigrants on the run on Jan. 20, 2020. Poverty and murder in Guatemala linked to government corruption have led thousands to leave their country for the United States. Storytelling therapy According to Mills Allen, writing helps victims take control of their own stories and emotions. "It helps organize what's all jumbled up, coming at you from all sides of your life." It gives victims the chance to find a beginning, a middle and an end to their experiences, said Mills Allen, as it did for Tecú. "He gained a little control, feeling out of control. And you can reframe the way things happen. That makes you see your own resilience." Tecú hopes his book inspires survivors of trauma with PTSD to seek help. "To anyone who suffered torture, I want to tell them that life is beautiful. But in order to see it, you must look for support." His book is now on sale on the HARP Publishing website.
(Submitted by David Voelker - image credit) Forty-three years ago, Dave Voelker spent two days walking 48 kilometres across a frozen Lake Erie. On Feb. 25, 1978, Voelker left Cleveland, Ohio by himself and was set on reaching Colchester, Ont. in the next 48 hours. On his back he carried all that he would need, including a tent, walkie talkie, and a tripod with a camera. "I knew it was frozen across I had to give it a shot, I'm a bit of an adventure junkie," Voelker told CBC Radio's Afternoon Drive host Chris dela Torre. He said the temperature that year had been below freezing for at least a month and to be certain the water was frozen through, he checked in with the coast guard. A frozen Lake Erie as photographed by Voelker. When he first started crossing he said he saw some ice fishers, but there eventually came a point of "absolutely nothing at all." LISTEN: Dave Voelker talks about what the journey across was like with host Chris dela Torre "I was in my element," he said. "I'm a bit of a loner to begin with and being in the middle of a frozen Great Lake is the ultimate alone time, you're just left alone on your thoughts and I just reflected on what I was doing." He said he wasn't really scared, but the adventure didn't come without its challenges. At one point he could tell an ice breaker had gone through the lake and it caused the ice to bunch up in odd places. He also had to check a compass to make sure he was headed in the right direction. Eventually he made it to the other side and said a family witnessed his arrival. They then invited him in for dinner. Voelker pitched up a tent one day into his hike across the lake. Upon arriving in Colchester, he said he was relieved because he was so tired. Afterwards he says he ended up hitchhiking back home and passed through Windsor to do so. Some people still don't believe that Voelker crossed the lake, but he says he hopes the photos are enough. "Even if people don't believe it I know that I did it," he said.
Milan — La tension monte entre les secteurs du bois et du sirop d’érable. À qui et comment la société québécoise doit-elle prêter sa forêt ? Pour le président de l’Ordre des ingénieurs forestiers du Québec, François Laliberté, la discussion récemment enclenchée s’impose. « Les deux sont des activités importantes de notre patrimoine forestier collectif et les deux ont un fort potentiel de développement, analyse-t-il. Dans les deux cas, on en voudrait plus. Mais la forêt est limitée. On est condamnés à faire des compromis de part et d’autre, parce qu’on veut quand même une diversité d’activités. Il faut également comprendre que ces deux activités-là ne sont pas totalement incompatibles, mais l’une a un impact sur l’autre. » Par exemple, le bois provenant d’un érable entaillé perd de la valeur. « À l’inverse, lorsqu’on fait de la récolte de bois, même des coupes partielles, momentanément, on perd un certain nombre d’entailles », dit-il, précisant que surtout les arbres en fin de vie sont ciblés par les ingénieurs forestiers. Actuellement, 18 % des érablières du Québec se retrouvent en terre publiques. Inquiets de voir le potentiel acéricole exclu de la nouvelle Statégie nationale de production de bois, dévoilée en décembre par le ministère des Forêts, de la Faune et des Parcs (MFFP) et qui vise à doubler les coupes forestières d’ici 2080, les Producteurs et productrices acéricoles du Québec (PPAQ) réclament une mise en suspens des chantiers en terre publique tant qu’ils ne seront pas rassurés. En réponse à cette fameuse stratégie, les PPAQ ont d’ailleurs publié leur propre plan pour l’avenir, qui implique168 M d’entailles en 2080 afin de répondre à la demande croissante de sirop d’érable sur le marché mondial. Ce sont donc 120 M d’entailles qui devront être ajoutées, dont 36 M en terres publiques. « Une bonne partie des grandes érablières sont situées sur des terres publiques, et elles doivent pouvoir grandir, explique Philippe Breton, directeur des ventes chez Érablière Lapierre et administrateur pour l’International Maple Syrup Institute. Ce qui se fait actuellement par le Ministère, c’est de l’aménagement qui est à très, très long terme, alors qu’on pourrait exploiter la forêt publique à court terme en acériculture beaucoup plus facilement et de manière plus rentable. Quand le Ministère fait un plan de doubler la production de bois d’ici 2080, bien nous, ce qu’on voit, c’est doubler le nombre d’érables à entailler potentiellement qui seront coupés. » Couper, c’est régénérer M. Laliberté ne peut pas se prononcer sur la compatibilité des ambitions de chaque côté, mais souligne que l’objectif de production de bois ne sera atteint que si on double la productivité des forêts québécoises. « Dans les érablières, c’est de faire des bons travaux de jardinage qui vont favoriser la régénération et la croissance de façon optimale. On peut comprendre que d’ici 2080, on a le temps de faire une ou deux rotations de cycle de jardinage, et le potentiel sera quand même bon à la fin. Il ne faudrait peut-être pas non plus se priver d’aller chercher une ou deux rotations de bois en attendant qu’elles soient entaillées. Mais il faut savoir quand ça risque d’être entaillé. Ça prend un plan des deux côtés. La stratégie vient de sortir et les plans ne sont pas terminés, mais c’est le bon moment pour se poser la question avec les érablières », avance-t-il, rappelant que le gouvernement décide des coupes, tandis que les PPAQ décident des entailles. Cependant, l’ingénieur admet que les coupes de jardinage acérico-forestier, qui privent les érablières d’entailles à court terme, pourraient être revues. « Ça coûte cher de faire une intervention comme ça dans une érablière. Est-ce qu’on pourrait travailler ça autrement ? La réflexion pourrait se faire. Il faudrait réviser certaines choses, comme les engagements ou les attributions de bois. Ça fait partie des compromis. » De son côté, le MFFP assure que le dialogue se poursuit avec les PPAQ et que « la Stratégie nationale de production de bois n’est pas en contradiction avec le développement de l’acériculture ». Son porte-parole, Sylvain Carrier, ajoute que le Ministère consulte actuellement les TGIRT sur des zones où les activités acéricoles seraient priorisées. « À la suite de cette étape de consultation, le MFFP officialisera des superficies de potentiels acéricoles à prioriser dans l’ensemble des régions où les PPAQ émettront de nouveaux contingents de production acéricole dans les années à venir. » L’Estrie a du mal à s’entendre La coordinatrice de la Table de gestion intégrée des ressources naturelles et du territoire de l’Estrie, Manon Ayotte, se montre inquiète pour la concertation du milieu depuis le début des querelles entourant l’acériculture et la foresterie. Les dernières réunions de la table on fait l’objet d’attaques personnelles et de propos disgracieux, à un point où certains membres ont choisi de ne pas y assister, rapporte-t-elle. « Ça fragilise vraiment l’esprit de collaboration. On a déjà vu des belles choses et des revirements de situations qui ont fait qu’on a trouvé des solutions, mais là, je suis inquiète », dit-elle. Actuellement, le potentiel acéricole en terres publiques estriennes est d’environ 11 800 hectares. On y retrouve 74 permis acéricoles, détenus par 57 personnes ou entreprises. « Pour l’instant, ce qui a été proposé, c’est un partage 50-50. La moitié de la superficie est vouée au développement acéricole, et la moitié voué à l’aménagement forestier. C’est possible que pour les acériculteurs, ce ne soit pas assez, comme pour ceux qui utilisent la ressource du bois qui ont aussi ce sentiment-là. » Jasmine Rondeau, Initiative de journalisme local, La Tribune
(Ben Nelms/CBC - image credit) From their smiles and exuberance, it's hard to tell that 16-year-old students Makylah Williams and Liv Meerkerk have experienced racial microaggressions in the halls of their B.C. high schools. In Makylah's case, those experiences have involved people touching her hair without her permission, something she says is "really disrespectful." For Liv, a high academic achiever from the Sto:lo Nation, it's the assumptions people make about the intelligence of Indigenous students. She recalls how "it was really shocking and surprising to everyone" when they found out her grades. These are just two examples of stories shared by BIPOC students at a recent youth conference held by the Burnaby School District, where youth were encouraged to share their experiences in discussions about racism, and had the opportunity to hear from special guests. 'It makes them tired, it makes them frustrated, it makes them sad, depressed, hurt,' says Beth Applewhite about students dealing with racism on a regular basis. The annual conference helps show attendees they are not alone in their daily experience with racism, says founder Beth Applewhite. "They talked about dealing with the N-word — that came up a lot. They talked about how Indigenous students and Black students, racialized students, often have less power. People seem to have lower expectations for them academically," says Applewhite, vice-principal of equity, diversity and inclusion with the Burnaby School District. "A lot of students talked about how racism has impacted them, like their mental health, that it makes them tired, it makes them frustrated, it makes them sad, depressed, hurt." But from those shared experiences also comes solidarity, she says. "The students expressed a sense of belonging, the sense of seeing themselves in each other and in the room," says Applewhite. Watch: Youth conference participants speak about their experiences The youth conference, which began as a Black Affinity Group at Burnaby's Moscrop Secondary School in 2007, is held during Black History Month, with the theme this year being "lifting Black voices." The conference usually brings in a few hundred students from the Burnaby, Surrey, Vancouver, Maple Ridge and Coquitlam school districts — but this year around 3,000 people, from students to staff, took part virtually. The opening address was made by Jean Augustine, a former Member of Parliament who brought forward the legislation for Black History Month to be officially recognized in Canada 25 years ago. It comes amid increasing awareness of systemic racism and a growing Black Lives Matter movement following anti-racism protests in the wake of the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police in May 2020. Makylah Williams says she was surprised to hear the similarities in experiences BIPOC students shared during the youth conference. For Makylah, the Black Lives Matter movement has actually made her a target of some inappropriate jokes. "I've had students come to me, putting up the block fist and laughing," she said. "I try really hard not to get angry, even though it is frustrating. I try to calm down and be mindful that sometimes people just don't know that they're being mean." 'You see you're not alone, everybody is going through stuff like that, and it shows you that we need to change it.' - Liv Meerkerk, 16 Despite the daily challenges they face, both Makylah and Liv carry an infectious amount of hope for their futures. "In the conference, you see you're not alone, everybody is going through stuff like that, and it shows you that we need to change it. It's a huge problem that needs to be tackled," Liv says. Liv Meerkerk says she felt validated in hearing the experiences of other students. Part of Applewhite's role with the school district is to lead anti-racism education for staff, trustees and educators. While the response to the training has generally been positive, she says some discussions about race and white privilege have been triggering. But she says she keeps in mind that children are going through similar experiences at school. "No one warns our kids when they walk into a classroom… and I know our children's spirits are being ruined daily. We need to keep pushing forward," she says. It's why she keeps doing the work, she says. "I used to hide my anger, get frustrated, but you can't fix something you can't see," Applewhite says. "But when people are forced to look and see how things are, they are much more compassionate and empathetic." For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here. Makylah Williams, left, and Liv Meerkerk, both 16, shared their stories at the youth conference for Black History Month.
BERLIN — Germany's Left has picked two women to lead the anti-capitalist party into this fall's national election. A party conference Saturday elected Janine Wissler und Susanne Hennig-Wellsow as co-leaders. Wissler is the Left's parliamentary caucus leader in Hesse state. Hennig-Wellsow is the party's chairwoman in Thuringia, the only German state where the Left leads a government. The succeed Katja Kipping and Bernd Riexinger, who have led the party since 2012. The Left, which is partly rooted in East Germany's governing Socialist Unity Party, received 9.2% of the vote in the 2017 national election. Current polls ahead of the vote on Sept. 26 put its support at 7-8%. The Associated Press
(Kyle Mandeville - image credit) The Northwest Territories' Department of Environment and Natural Resources (ENR) is investigating after complaints of caribou carcasses found along the ice road to the Diavik Diamond Mine. Officers with ENR say they can't disclose the specifics of the investigation but are looking for the public's help to catch the culprits. Adrian Lizotte, wildlife and environment manager for the department in the North Slave region, has been working along the ice road this winter. He says they've received several reports of abandoned wildlife bodies, along with increased activity this year on the north end of Mackay Lake. "Some of the reports are [of] waste of caribou, failure to retrieve an animal, also, hunting in a mobile zone, and harvesting with no license," he said. The department has two check stations that have been established for a few years — one at the south end of Gordon Lake and one on Mackay Lake. With the increase in activity they added a third check station, which will be mobile, with a camper towed behind a pickup truck. Areas with increased activity of harvesting will be focused on, whether inside or outside the mobile zone. An image submitted by a hunter shows a caribou with only some of its organs removed. Illegal meat sales Lizotte says the department is also getting complaints about people trafficking wildlife. The dry meat trade on social media sites like Facebook has been huge and a contributor to over-harvesting. But Lizotte warns against selling the meat to others. "There are no commercial licenses for caribou, so anything that is used for caribou should just be used for personal purposes to feed yourself or your family," Lizotte said. "It's not for sale.… If you are caught trafficking wildlife, it's a $949 fine." There have been reports of caribou bodies being wasted after being hunted. Lizotte says that before going hunting, inexperienced hunters should familiarize themselves about the edible parts of the animal so there isn't any wastage or fines. "The main message is respect. You know, you've got to respect the wildlife, respect the land and the water," he said. "Take what you need to go feed your family."
(Terri Trembath/CBC - image credit) A historic courthouse building in Fort Macleod is soon to get a new lease on life. The nearly 120-year-old building, which is a designated historic property, is featured in both the Oscar-winning film Brokeback Mountain and Emmy Award-winning TV series Fargo. Sue Keenan, the town's chief administrative officer, says they have had a number of offers and are close to a deal. "We've had people come through that want to use it as a personal residence, bed and breakfast, wine — like a wine store, wine cellar, wine tasting," Keenan said. Keenan said they even had one offer to use the old courthouse for a marijuana business. "I thought, how ironic is that," she said. "All the judges must roll over in their graves." The historic courthouse building in Fort Macleod has been up for sale at $225,000 and the town says it is close to a deal that will allow the building to remain in the public eye. Built in 1902, the building served as a courthouse and offices for the North-West Mounted Police. In the late 1970s, the town's administration moved in and maintained occupancy until the building went up for sale two years ago, listed at $225,000. "When you look at what you're going to get for that, it really is a good deal," Keenan said, adding that they want to keep the designated historic property a public space. "The consortium we're dealing with out of Calgary have done a lot of historical buildings in Calgary, so they're familiar with all the hoops they have to jump through, and they're committed to keeping this building public," Keenan said, adding she could not give more details just yet. "I want to make sure when we have an announcement to make to our residents and the province, that the deal is a done deal." Keenan is hoping to make a formal announcement next week. This holding cell in the basement of the Fort Macleod courthouse building is the only one that still has a door. The building has 2,000 square feet of original flooring, beams, a hot water boiler and two heavy vaults. There is historic woodwork framing all the old doors and transom windows. "This is old, old, old," Keenan said as she toured the CBC's Terri Trembath through the building, showing off the original hot water boiler from the early 1900s. The basement, with its sandstone and exposed brick walls, is equipped with holding cells for the courthouse. "It would make a great wine cellar, if you ask me," Keenan said. The old courthouse, designed by architect David Ewart from Ottawa — who also designed the Canadian Mint — has been deemed an historic landmark by both the provincial and federal government. Eventually, the cost of upkeep and the daunting cost of renovations to a heritage building proved too much for the town. As for the new deal, Keenan is optimistic. "I am very confident that they will do this building justice, and the residents of the town of Fort MacLeod will be very pleased with the direction that it's going to head."
(Chantal Dubuc/CBC - image credit) He's a cat with an attitude and familiar to anyone who has visited the NWT SPCA in Yellowknife the last few years. After being fostered three times and spending 1,259 days at the shelter, Harrison the cat has finally found a permanent home. You couldn't walk in the SPCA shelter without seeing "do not touch Harrison" posters or get a verbal warning from staff to keep your distance and give him space. Harrison's a cat with a rough past and was reactive, not giving much warning before he would strike. Shelter staff affectionately called him Dirty Harry for his sometimes mean streak. A softer side It took Eileen Hendry to show that Harry also has a soft side . "I was thinking I was maybe ready for another cat and I was starting to kind of watch what the SPCA had available for pets. And, you know, Harrison kept popping up in the feed and stuff and he's quite well known around town." When she finally met him at the SPCA, they sat quietly together in the cat room and she was able to pet him for about 15 minutes. She talked to the staff about what his needs were and where he was happiest and thought maybe that she could be a good fit. "I was really looking for easier pets," she said with a laugh. "I went actually to meet the other cat [Fritz] that I had originally seen. And after I met [Harrison], I just couldn't stop thinking about him." She ended up bringing both cats home because she wasn't sure if Harrison would ever really be happy with just her for company. "And they did tell me that he really likes other cats," she added. It took four days but Harrison the cat finally jumped on Eileen Hendry's lap after he was in his new home with her. 'He was definitely showing that he was interested in having me for company and getting close to me,' she said. Given up hope Dana Martin who's the NWT SPCA vice-president remembers when Harrison first arrived at the shelter. "Harrison arrived in a crate, a woman from his neighborhood found him and boxed him up into a cat carrier and brought him in. He was very frightened and underweight, very matted, very aggressive. We learned quickly that he was a biter and we needed to be careful with him." He was moody with people but he liked other cats. He would navigate around and be attracted to the cats that were under stress. "He'd sit by them or, you know, in the bottom kennels in the room. He'd go and sit by the cats that were hiding and a little bit stressed." Harrison the cat gets comfortable with his new housemate, Fritz, aka Sir Pounce a lot. The staff had all but given up hope to find Harrison the perfect home. They had accepted that he was going to be their cat at the shelter until Eileen scooped him up. Martin says that in another shelter, Harrison's story might have ended quite differently. Cats with behavioural issues are often the first to be euthanized.The SPCA in Yellowknife is a no-kill shelter and this offered time to build a positive association with people again. "I think he had been here long enough [to] learn from everybody that people are OK again. I think that that allowed him to connect with her. It really is a happy ending for Harrison. And it's a new beginning for him." 'This is forever' Hendry says that after four days of being in his new home, he finally jumped on her lap. "I sat on the couch and he came over and kind of draped himself over my lap. So he was definitely showing that he was interested in having me for company and getting close to me. He just wasn't quite sure how to do it at that time," said Hendry. She says that she's learning his subtle cues when he's moody and knows when to leave him alone. "This is forever," she said. "The day I brought him home, I signed the adoption papers. I didn't say I was just going to foster him or anything. So it is a long-term commitment, and I'm looking forward to having him around for a long time." Hendry even started an Instagram account so the shelter staff who miss him can keep up with Harry's new life with his new buddy Fritz, aka Sir Pounce a lot.
(CBC - image credit) After multiple incidents and complaints from families, the Calgary Board of Education is reminding its staff that uttering, writing or using racial slurs — including when reading aloud — is not permitted in the school division. "Since the school year started, there has been at least three of these complaints that have come to my attention that we've had to address," said CBE chief superintendent Christopher Usih. "Teachers can certainly read content or teach content, but that they don't verbalize the word. In one particular case, for example, it was a use of the N-word in class." It was these complaints that prompted Usih to send all staff a note earlier this week reminding them that the use of racial slurs in any capacity is forbidden. He said this isn't about censorship or removing books from classrooms. "I want these conversations to happen in classrooms. [It's] important for young people to engage in conversations, to learn about their lived experiences, and teaching why the language is inappropriate remains important," he said. "We don't want you to write it all out on the board or to read it all out loud. The vast majority of times those words are not verbalized, so this is not new. What we wanted to do with this message was to really clarify expectations so that if there is any misunderstanding, that teachers know." One CBE teacher, who CBC News has agreed not to name as she fears professional retribution, said the note caught teachers at her school off guard. "It was just like a total blanket statement to all teachers and it was like, very reprimanding [to] me in nature. For something that most of us don't do anyway," she said. Thousands gathered in Calgary's Olympic Plaza on June 6, 2020 for a candlelight vigil in honour of victims of racism and police brutality. The teacher said she feels the note should have been accompanied by a conversation between principals and teachers about why the note was being sent. Instead, she said "nothing has been said." "No one is going to reply to the email because it's from the superintendent. So everyone's afraid for their job," she said. The teacher said CBE teachers also haven't been offered any professional development on best practices when teaching texts with these sorts of words and slurs. "We don't have any discussion and people are afraid now, and I don't know if that's how we should be feeling," the teacher said. Usih said while the note may have seemed sudden, it does provide a number of links to resources for teachers to help them tackle these conversations and topics with students — and he promises more education for teachers is forthcoming. "There's no question that professional learning is going to be important going forward, because that's how teachers can share best practices and we can talk about the fact that these are conversations that we need to have," he said. "These are good teaching moments for young people, but intent does not negate impact. "What we don't want is to place students in situations where they feel uncomfortable and they feel afraid or hurt, because the word that is used in the classroom is one that does not make them feel good about themselves."
Unidentified gunmen stormed the Government Girls Secondary School in the town of Jangebe and took the girls away, say police.View on euronews
India's conglomerate Reliance Industries has partnered with Facebook Inc, Google and fintech player Infibeam to set up a national digital payment network, Economic Times newspaper reported on Saturday, citing unnamed sources. Last year, India's central bank invited companies to forge new umbrella entities (NUEs) to create a payments network that would rival the system operated by the National Payments Council of India (NPCI), as it seeks to reduce concentration risks in the space.
Armenian President Armen Sarkissian refused to fire the head of the country's armed forces on Saturday, intensifying a standoff between Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and the army over what Pashinyan said was an attempted coup to remove him. Pashinyan dismissed Chief of General Staff Onik Gasparyan on Thursday, but his sacking needed the formal approval of the president - who rejected the move as unconstitutional and said the army should be kept out of politics. Hundreds of opposition supporters, who had been rallying in the centre of the capital, Yerevan, welcomed Sarkissian's decision with cheers and applause after it was announced by the president's office.
(Beth Zaiken/Centre for Palaeogenetics via REUTERS - image credit) Yukon paleontologist Grant Zazula admits it — he's jealous. Until recently, Yukon had been the source of the oldest recovered DNA, from a 700,000-year-old horse fossil found a couple of decades ago near Dawson City. Now a team of international researchers say they have recovered and sequenced DNA from the teeth of three mammoths in Russia's extreme north, the oldest specimen being about 1.2 million years old. "So I'm actually a little bit jealous, now that the record now belongs to a Siberian fossil," Zazula said. The upside, he says, is that the new research opens the door to all sorts of possible new discoveries and insights from Yukon's own trove of Ice Age fossils. "It's really going to allow us to be able to look at earlier stages of the Ice Age and look at the, you know, genetics of these different extinct animals going back a million years, maybe even further back in time, as these technologies evolve," he said. "Twenty years ago, when I started getting involved in paleontology, we were still really excited about the novelty of being able to extract any DNA from ancient animals." 'The Yukon is amazingly situated to be able to play major roles and some of these projects,' said Grant Zazula, a paleontogist with the Yukon government. Ancient DNA can help fill in the blanks of how extinct species evolved and adapted — or failed to adapt — over the millennia. Zazula says a lot of information can be teased out of a genome sequence, from what a species looked like to how it interacted with its environment. There are also a lot of mysteries yet to be solved about mammoths in particular, he says, and how the population that crossed the Bering Land Bridge from Siberia into North America relates later mammoth populations. "Most of what we know about the Ice Age is really only the last little bits of the Ice Age," he said. But for earlier periods of the Ice Age — say, a million years ago — Zazula says it's less understood. "Really there's a lot of speculation because we don't have a lot of well-dated records from that time period." The new research suggests that Yukon could play an even bigger role in paleontological research, because the territory is a rich source of ancient fossils. It's not uncommon for Yukon gold miners to stumble across amazing finds preserved deep in the permafrost. "The Yukon is amazingly situated to be able to play major roles in some of these projects," Zazula said. He was already contacted a few months ago by one of the Swedish scientists involved in the Russian mammoth fossil research. "He contacted me saying, 'hey, do you guys have any old mammoths from the Yukon?' And I said, 'well, we have one that's about 700,000 years old,'" Zazula recalled. "So, yeah, hopefully in a few months we can add to this story and talk about how that lineage crossed the Bering Land Bridge for the first time into North America roughly a million years ago."
(Photo: Jay Legere - image credit) It started with a Facebook post back in April 2020. "We will be making a batch of fish sauce and salad dressing for sale," it said. Three hours later ... more than 250 bottles were sold, and Yellowknife's Bullocks Bistro was in business. "This was incredible," said co-owner Joanne Martin. "It reaffirmed that this was a viable product for us," she said. Joanne Martin had no idea when she started selling her salad dressing and fish sauce it would turn into a full scale business. Martin says the salad dressing and fish sauce has always been popular; people would go to the restaurant with their own bottles to fill up. But when COVID-19 hit, people weren't able to get it and they were needing a fix. Once word got out they could get it in local stores, people were pretty much lining up for the stuff. "We've sold so much of it, we can't keep it on the shelves," said Yellowknife Co-op deli manager Megan Marks. Marks says they've sold close to 7,000 bottles … since May. Megan Marks says Bullocks Bistro salad dressing is very popular at the Yellowknife Co-op. They get orders twice a week and they are almost always sold out. "We get a shipment from them twice a week and we get people that come and they send it to family in Newfoundland and Ontario … it's so popular," Marks said. The dressing and sauce are being sold in stores in four communities across the Northwest Territories. Now the restaurant is about to make a big step up in production in hopes of getting their product out to the rest of the world. "By the end of June we realized that we are going to need something bigger … we can't do the restaurant and this as well," said Martin. Joanne Marting says her products are made with love and it will remain that way when they open the processing facility. So they purchased a spot in the Kam Lake area of Yellowknife and construction of a processing facility will begin in May. "We will probably start out with three to six staff [and] we should be able to put out around 6,000 bottles a day." Martin says her sauce and dressing is made with love and expects that selling it as a northern product will be a huge marketing tool for them. If all goes according to plan, the new salad dressing and fish sauce plant will be open in August.
