'Beyond Outrageous': Big Pharma Using Loophole to Get Taxpayers to Fund Billions in Fines for Fueling Opioid Crisis

"The tax code is so rigged for the rich that even when they kill people they get a tax break."

by

Kenny Stancil, staff writer

 Published on Friday, February 12, 2021 

by

Common Dreams

"While tens of millions of Americans are experiencing extreme economic hardship and dealing with intermittent and often inadequate governmental support for unemployment, food, housing, and small business continuity," said Robert Weissman of Public Citizen on February 12, 2021, "Johnson & Johnson, McKesson, Cardinal Health, and Amerisource-Bergen are laughing all the way to bank." (Photo: Mark Ralston/AFP via Getty Images)

Four pharmaceutical corporations that agreed to pay a combined $26 billion to settle lawsuits resulting from a deadly opioid crisis they helped create reportedly plan to recoup a portion of those costs by deducting roughly $4.6 billion of the payouts from their taxes—sparking intense condemnation.

Big Pharma is attempting to make the public cover some of the fines related to lawsuits filed by dozens of state and local governments highlighting the culpability of opioid manufacturers and distributors in the deaths of an estimated 70,000 people per year.

As Public Citizen president Robert Weissman put it in a statement released Friday, "The drug companies are settling with taxpayers (local government entities) and then demanding that taxpayers pay part of the cost (via a federal tax subsidy)."

The Washington Post, which analyzed regulatory filings, reported Friday that "as details of the blockbuster settlement were still being worked out, pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson and the 'big three' drug distributors—McKesson, AmerisourceBergen, and Cardinal Health—all updated their financial projections to include large tax benefits stemming from the expected deal."

Settle and deny guilt for fueling a deadly opioid epidemic? There’s a billion-dollar tax write off for that, drug companies claim. Great sleuthing by @dmac1 & @kevinschaul https://t.co/ACCGOfwAFz

— Aaron C. Davis (@byaaroncdavis) February 12, 2021

Weissman called it "beyond outrageous for the drug makers and distributors to take a tax deduction for their settlement of city and county claims relating to the drug companies' alleged role in creating and worsening the opioid addiction epidemic."

"Making this scheme even more infuriating," he added, "is that the opioid manufacturer and distributor companies are preparing to claim billions in tax subsidies via a Covid-19 relief provision."

According to the Post, "U.S. tax laws generally restrict companies from deducting the cost of legal settlements from their taxes, with one major exception: Damages paid to victims as restitution for the misdeeds can usually be deducted."

The newspaper noted that "Congress has placed stricter limits on such deductions in recent years, and some tax experts say the Internal Revenue Service could challenge the companies' attempts to deduct opioid settlement costs."

But the ploy might work, as The Week noted, thanks to the CARES Act, which "opened up billions of dollars in tax breaks to companies regardless of pandemic suffering."

The Post provided an example of how one of the companies may exploit the loophole: "Dublin, Ohio-based drug distributor Cardinal Health said earlier this month it planned to collect a $974 million cash refund because it claimed its opioid-related legal costs as a 'net operating loss carryback'—a tax provision Congress included in last year's coronavirus bailout package as a way of helping companies struggling during the pandemic."

Four drug companies that fueled the opioid epidemic paid $26 billion in legal settlements.

Yet they are getting $4.6 billion of it back through tax write-offs.

The tax code is so rigged for the rich that even when they kill people they get a tax break.https://t.co/KwMQdubrxF

— Dan Price (@DanPriceSeattle) February 12, 2021

"Whether the payments will be deductible may hinge on specific word choices in the final terms of the settlement," the newspaper reported. "Though recent changes to the tax code have attempted to close loopholes that permit companies to deduct taxes when they have committed wrongdoing, many companies now push to make sure their settlements include a 'restitution' payment for victims—the 'magic word' that often qualifies them for deductions."

"Greg McNeil, whose son became addicted to opioids and died from an overdose... said $26 billion is only a small fraction of the epidemic's financial toll and argue[d] the proposal doesn't include what many family members of opioid victims want the most: an admission of guilt," the Post added.

Not only do "all four firms disavow any wrongdoing or legal responsibility," the Post noted, but there is now a chance that Big Pharma could make the public foot part of the bill for its corporate malpractice—in the midst of the devastating coronavirus pandemic.

"While tens of millions of Americans are experiencing extreme economic hardship and dealing with intermittent and often inadequate governmental support for unemployment, food, housing, and small business continuity," Weissman said, "Johnson & Johnson, McKesson, Cardinal Health, and Amerisource-Bergen are laughing all the way to bank."

Our work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License. Feel free to republish and share widely.

 

'Sociopathic': New Reporting, GOP Lawmaker Account Suggest Trump Sided With Violent Mob During Capitol Attack

"Trump wanted those storming the Capitol to keep him in power. There is no ifs or buts about it," said Rep. Ilhan Omar.

by

Jake Johnson, staff writer

Published on

Saturday, February 13, 2021

by

Common Dreams

Trump insurrectionists attack police storm the Capitol building on January 6, 2021. (Photo: Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)

As a violent mob of his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol Building last month, then-President Donald Trump rejected pleas from Republican House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy—one of his top GOP allies—to call off the assault and remarked, "Well, Kevin, I guess these people are more upset about the election than you are."

Reported by CNN late Friday and publicly confirmed by a Republican lawmaker who voted to impeach Trump last month, the details of the former president's comments during a phone call with McCarthy while the Capitol was under attack on January 6 came after Trump's attorneys presented their falsehood-riddled case against conviction on the fourth day of the Senate impeachment trial, with a verdict expected as early as Saturday.

"Trump is guilty. Some people will vote to acquit him anyway, but that doesn't change the fact that he's guilty."
—Judd Legum, Popular Information

Trump's attorneys contended that the former president wanted the demonstrators who marched to the Capitol just after his now-infamous speech to peacefully protest, but observers said CNN's reporting makes that argument even less credible than it was Friday afternoon.

"The CNN scoop blows up two Trump defenses: That he wanted rioters to be peaceful (LOL), and that he wielded into action to contain the damage," tweeted the Washington Post's Greg Sargent. Trump did not publicly comment on the attack until hours after it began, releasing a video praising the insurrectionists and urging them to go home.

Judd Legum, author of the Popular Information newsletter, argued that the CNN report "should really end any doubt about whether Trump is guilty."

"Trump is guilty," Legum wrote. "Some people will vote to acquit him anyway, but that doesn't change the fact that he's guilty."

Shortly following the publication of CNN's story, Republican Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washington—one of the 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump last month—confirmed the news outlet's reporting on the call in a statement posted to Twitter.

"When McCarthy finally reached the president on January 6 and asked him to publicly and forcefully call off the riot, the president initially repeated the falsehood that it was antifa that had breached the Capitol," Herrera Beutler said. "McCarthy refuted that and told the president that these were Trump supporters. That's when, according to McCarthy, the president said, 'Well, Kevin, I guess these people are more upset about the election than you are.'"

Addressing the former president's aides and former Vice President Mike Pence, Herrera Beutler added, "If you have something to add here, now would be the time."

In a segment on CNN's reporting Friday night, MSNBC's Chris Hayes said if the account of Trump's comments is true, "that's sociopathic."

"That's a quote for a movie villain—not the president of the United States," said Hayes.

“If that is true, that is sociopathic. That is a quote for a movie villain—not the President of the United States,” says @chrislhayes discussing the new reporting on Trump’s phone call with Kevin McCarthy during the January 6th riot. pic.twitter.com/TRvu6QwOpk

— All In with Chris Hayes (@allinwithchris) February 13, 2021

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), the Congressional Progressive Caucus whip, said the CNN reporting further confirms that "Trump wanted those storming the Capitol to keep him in power."

"There is no ifs or buts about it," Omar added.

THE FIGHT CONTINUES
George Floyd: Malcolm X’s visionary speech in Africa

By Jeune Afrique
Posted on Tuesday, 2 June 2020 
  

Malcolm X as he speaks at a news conference at the Hotel Theresa in Harlem, 

New York on May 21, 1964 (AP Photo/FILE)


In 1964, during the Organization of African Unity (OAU) summit in Cairo, Malcolm X tried to make his "African brothers and sisters" aware of the discrimination experienced by African-Americans. A speech that foreshadowed the African emotion felt 56 years later around the George Floyd affair in the United States.

https://www.theafricareport.com/29231/george-floyd-african-authors-sans-frontieres-in-solidarity-with-african-americans/


The President of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat has spoken out against the murder of George Floyd, a 46-year-old African-American father of two children, who died from suffocation following an incident where a white policeman in the American city of Minneapolis placed his knee on Floyd’s neck for over seven minutes.

Mahamat strongly condemned the “murder that took place (…) at the hands of law enforcement officers” and offered “his deepest condolences to the family of the deceased and to all his relatives.”



1/3:Je condamne fermement le meurtre de #GeorgeFloyd, survenu aux #EtatsUnis aux mains d'agents des forces de l'ordre. Je présente mes plus sincères condoléances à la famille du défunt ainsi qu’à tous ses proches. https://t.co/9SxU2r0zy2

— Moussa Faki Mahamat (@AUC_MoussaFaki) May 29, 2020



In the same text, the Chadian recalled that in 1964, the Organization of African Unity – the forerunner of the AU – had adopted a resolution against racial discrimination in South Africa, Rhodesia and the United States.


South Africa is like a vicious wolf, openly hostile to black humanity. But America is cunning like a fox, friendly and smiling on the surface, but even more vicious and deadly than the wolf.

With regard to the United States, the OAU then recalled that “the existence of discriminatory practices is a matter of deep concern to OAU Member States”, urging “the government authorities of the United States of America to intensify their efforts to ensure the total elimination of all forms of discrimination based on race, colour or ethnic origin.”
Summit attended by Malcolm X

During this summit in July 1964, Malcolm X, the emblematic leader in the struggle for the rights and dignity of African Americans, was invited as an observer to make a poignant pan-African plea on the discrimination that African Americans were then suffering on the other side of the Atlantic.

A radical and visionary speech that Jeune Afrique is sharing today:

Excellencies,

Africa Insight
Wake up to the essential with the Editor's picks.
Sign up
Also receive offers from The Africa Report
Also receive offers from The Africa Report's partners

The Organization of African American Unity sent me to attend this historic African Summit Conference as an observer to represent the interests of the 22 million African-Americans whose human rights are violated daily by the racism of the American imperialists.

READ MORE United Nations on racism and marginalisation against people of African descent

The Organization of African American Unity was created by a cross-section of the African-American community in America and is modelled, both in letter and spirit, on the Organization of African Unity.  

Malcolm X holds up a paper for the crowd to see during a Black Muslim rally in New York City on Aug. 6, 1963. (AP Photo)

Just as the Organization of African Unity has called on all African leaders to overcome their differences and unite around the same goals, for the common good of all Africans, the Organization of African Unity has called on African-American leaders in America to overcome their differences and find common ground through which they can work together, for the common good of African-Americans.

Because these 22 million African-Americans now reside in America, not by choice, but only by a cruel accident of our history, we firmly believe that African problems are our problems and that our problems are African problems.

We also believe that, as heads of independent African states, you are the shepherds of all the African peoples around the world, whether they are still on Mother Earth or whether they have been dispersed overseas.

Some African leaders at this conference have suggested that they have enough problems to be concerned about the African-American issue.

With all due respect for these positions, which I respect, I must remind you all that a good shepherd will leave 99 sheep at home that are safe to go rescue the one who is lost and who has fallen into the clutches of the imperialist wolf.
Vicious police dogs

In America, we are your long-lost brothers and sisters. And if I’m here, it’s only to remind you that our problems are your problems. As African-Americans wake up today, we find ourselves in a strange land that has rejected us. And, like the prodigal son, we turn to our older brothers for help. We pray that our pleas will not fall on deaf ears.


We have been forcibly removed and shackled from the mother continent, and for more than 300 years now in our new land, America, we have been subjected to the most inhumane forms of physical and psychological torture.

Over the past decade, the world has seen our men, women and children attacked and bitten by vicious police dogs, brutally beaten with police batons, or sprayed with high-pressure water jets that ripped off our clothes and the flesh of our members, throwing us down the drain like garbage.

READ MORE China-Africa: ‘Enough is enough’, as #BlackChina anger spreads

All of these atrocities were inflicted on us by the US government authorities, through its own police force, for no other reason than to claim the recognition and respect accorded to other human beings living in America. The US government is unable or unwilling to protect the lives and property of your 22 million African-American brothers and sisters.

We are helpless, at the mercy of American racists who murder us at will, for no other reason than the fact that we are black and of African descent.

Last week, an unarmed African-American educator was murdered in cold blood in Georgia; a few days earlier, three civil rights workers mysteriously disappeared, perhaps also murdered, simply because they were educating our fellow Mississippians in Mississippi about the importance of the vote and their political rights.

Our problems are your problems.

We have lived for over 300 years in this American den of racist wolves, in constant fear of losing our lives or being torn to pieces. Recently, three Kenyan students mistaken for black Americans were brutally beaten by the New York police. Shortly afterwards, two Ugandan diplomats were also beaten by the same police, who had mistaken them for African-Americans.

If Africans are treated like that when they are just visiting America, imagine the multiple sufferings that your brothers and sisters who live on this earth endure.

Our problem is your problem.

No matter how much independence Africans gain on the mother continent, if you do not wear the traditional dress of the country you come from all the time when you visit America, you could be mistaken for one of us and suffer the same mutilations that we go through on a daily basis.

Malcolm X addresses a rally in Harlem in New York City on June 29, 1963. 

(AP Photo)

Your problems will never be fully solved until ours are solved. You will never be fully respected until we, too, are respected. You will never be recognised as free human beings until we, too, are recognised and treated as free human beings.

Our problem is your problem.

It is neither a black problem nor a specifically American problem. It is a global problem, a problem that involves all of humanity. It is not a civil rights problem, but a human rights problem.
America, worse than apartheid South Africa

We pray that our African brothers have not freed themselves from European colonialism only to be defeated and dominated. Do not let racism be whitewashed by American “dollarism”.

America is worse than [apartheid] South Africa because not only is it racist, it is also deceitful and hypocritical. South Africa preaches segregation while at the same time practising it. At least they practice what they preach. America, on the other hand, preaches integration while practicing segregation. It preaches one thing while deceptively practicing the opposite.

READ MORE Achille Mbembe on how to restore the humanity stolen by racism

South Africa is like a vicious wolf, openly hostile to black humanity. But America is cunning like a fox, friendly and smiling on the surface, but even more vicious and deadly than the wolf.

This wolf and this fox are both enemies of mankind; both are hunters; both humiliate and maim their victims; both have the same goals; both differ only in their methods.

READ MORE Will Africa manage to speak with a single voice on the Libya crisis?

If South Africa is guilty of violating the human rights of Africans here on Mother Earth, then America is guilty of more serious violations against the 22 million African Americans living on its soil. And if South African racism is not a domestic issue, then American racism should not be a domestic issue either.

We implore the independent African states to help us bring our problem to the United Nations on the grounds that the United States government is morally incapable of protecting the lives and property of African Americans. On the grounds also that the deterioration of our situation is clearly becoming a threat to world peace.

Out of frustration and despair, our young people have reached the point of no return. It is no longer time for us to be patient and turn the other cheek. We assert our right to self-defence, by whatever means necessary, and we reserve the right to retaliate against our racist oppressors, no matter how great the odds, in the face of adversity.

We are well aware that our future efforts to confront violence with violence – an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth – could create a racial conflict in America that could easily degenerate into a violent, global, and bloody war.

In the interest of world peace and security, we therefore implore the leaders of independent African states to propose an immediate investigation into the situation of African Americans under the auspices of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights.

A final word, my beloved brothers, on the occasion of this African summit: “No one knows the master better than his servant. We have been servants in America for more than 300 years. We have a deep knowledge of this man who calls himself ‘Uncle Sam.’ Therefore, you must heed our warning. Do not escape European colonialism to become even more enslaved to a deceptive and friendly American dollar.

May Allah’s blessings of health and wisdom be upon you all.

Malcolm X

Artificial Intelligence 'could let 

humans talk to animals' in  real-life Dr Dolittle

So much effort has gone into teaching systems such as Siri and Alexa to understand us that using AI to decode animal communication could be a logical next step.

Talking to animals, in the way Dr Dolittle did, might seem more like appropriate subject matter for a family film than serious scientific research.

But Professor Michael Bronstein at Imperial College London says that Artificial Intelligence could provide the key to unlocking completely alien languages – such as the complex songs of whales.

Bronstein is already working on an AI chatbot that could decipher sperm whales’ unique language even though it has no points of reference with any human communication.

He does concede, though, that the first conversations between humans and whales may be “only be a rough approximation of the true depth and meaning of what they’re saying” because our lives and reference points are so completely different.

Sperm whales are able to communicate with others of their kind over huge distances 

(Image: Getty Images)

Nevertheless, Professor Bronstein heads a team at the Cetacean Translation Initiative – or CETI – which has been set up in the hope of one day decoding the secret language of sperm whale communication.

In a paper published in Scientific Reports in 2019, the team documented some encouraging first steps.

It might be a bit more complicated then Dr Doolittle

They made thousands of recordings of whale communication which, after analysis, enabled them to make detailed predictions about which specific whale was likely to “speak” next.

But they still had no idea what the mighty beasts were actually saying.

Professor Michael Bronstein believes we could train an AI to interpret the songs of whales 

(Image: TWIITER)

It’s not even clear if animals have a language in the same way that humans do – making any attempt at translation doomed to failure.

Professor Sophie Scott, a leading expert on the neuroscience of voices and speech, told the Daily Star that while many animals are vocalising all the time, most – for example pigs – “don’t seem to be saying very much.”

“However elephants and dolphins,” she adds, “seem to have huge complexity to their communication.”

Octopuses, too, she says, clearly have complex problem-solving intelligence. “But with no common frame of reference, it’s hard to see what we could find to talk about.”

Professor Scott told the Daily Star that Elephants have their own complex language

 (Image: BBC/Royal Institution/Paul Wilkinson)

Birds, too, she says, could be sharing complex information about themselves as part of the day Dawn Chorus.

She says that the research that Dr Alan McElligott did at the University of Roehampton into communication with goats and other animals shows there’s a lot we can learn from our four-legged friends even without AI.

The problem would be that the lives these creatures lead are so thoroughly alien, it will be a lot harder to learn their language than it was – for example – an explorer meeting a previously un-contacted group of humans.

Dr Alan McElligott undertaken extensive research in the field of animal communication

 (Image: PA)

READ MORE
AI robot dolphins and sharks could change aquariums and theme parks forever

When Europeans first met the people of Polynesia and Australia, after a separation lasting thousands of years, they still ate similar foods, and lived in broadly similar social groups.

The use of AI enables ideas and wider concepts to be interpreted, rather than words and sentences.

We are working with very different tools to American neuroscientist Dr John Lilly, who hoped to use dolphin communication to teach NASA how to talk to aliens.

If, or when, we eventually encounter alien intelligences we will both need AI to interpret for us 

(Image: Getty Images)

In recent years, so much effort has gone into the development of teaching computers to understand human speech – with systems such as Siri and Alexa – that decoding animal communication could be a logical next step.

Professor Bronstein told New Scientist. “I think it’s the right time, with the right data and with the right expertise, to possibly solve this problem.”

Ironically, communicating with actual extra-terrestrial intelligences – who may well have their own AIs that would “speak” to ours – could be an easier challenge than learning to chat with the wide and varied array of intelligences we’ve been sharing the planet with all along.

Canada approves first bitcoin ETF, raising hopes that the US SEC will soon follow

Emily Graffeo Feb. 12, 2021

Bitcoin. KTS Design/Science Photo Library/Getty Images

\

Canada's financial regulator approved the first publicly traded bitcoin ETF in North America.
The Purpose Bitcoin ETF will trade on the Toronto stock exchange.

 
It raises hopes that the US SEC will follow in Canada's footsteps.

Canada's financial regulator approved the first publicly traded bitcoin ETF in North America, according to records published Thursday.

The Purpose Bitcoin ETF will seek to replicate the performance of the price of bitcoin, minus the ETF's fees and expenses, according to a fact sheet posted by Canada-based asset manager Purpose Investments. It will trade on the Toronto stock exchange under the ticket "BTCC."

"The Fund has been created to buy and hold substantially all of its assets in long-term holdings of Bitcoin and seeks to provide holders of ETF Units ("Unitholders") with the opportunity for long-term capital appreciation," the company prospectus reads.

Cidel Trust Company will be the custodian of the ETF while Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss' Gemini Trust Company will be the sub-custodian. Ernst and Young will be the auditor of the ETF.

The ETF announcement raises hopes that the US Securities and Exchange commission could be one step closer to approving a US bitcoin ETF. Several firms have filed and failed to gain approval for a bitcoin ETF in the past, with the SEC typically citing security concerns.

"It's another step towards an ETF being authorized in the US," Sui Chung, CEO of CF Benchmarks told Insider.

While the Canadian bitcoin ETF is a "significant" move forward that demonstrates how regulators in North America have gotten more familiar with the crypto landscape, it's unclear how quickly the US will follow suit, especially given the differences between Canadian and US financial regulations, Chung added.

Despite pushback from the SEC, demand for bitcoin-based investments has soared during bitcoin's 2021 rally. The Grayscale Bitcoin Trust that follows bitcoin has gained 272% in the last

People are boycotting Publix because a member of its founding family gave $300,000 to the Trump rally that led to the January 6 Capitol riots




Irene Jiang Feb. 15, 2021, 10:00 PM

Trump supporters gather outside the U.S. Capitol building following a "Stop the Steal" rally on January 06, 2021 in Washington, DC.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

People are boycotting Publix after heiress Julie Jenkins Fancelli was unmasked as a top donor to the January 6 Trump rally.

Fancelli is not a Publix employee but is set to inherit from the $8.8 billion founding family's fortune.

Fancelli contributed most of the roughly $500,000 total raised for the "Stop the Steal" rally, the WSJ reported.

People are calling for a boycott of Publix after the Wall Street Journal unmasked an heiress to the Southern grocery empire as the top donor to the Trump rally that led to the Capitol riots on January 6.

Julie Jenkins Fancelli, an heiress to the Publix founding family's nearly $9 billion fortune, has previously donated millions to Republican causes and candidates. On January 30, the WSJ reported Fancelli as having contributed $300,000 out of the roughly $500,000 total raised for Trump's now-infamous "Stop the Steal" rally.

Publix has a dedicated fanbase, but Fancelli's contribution to the rally was the last straw for many loyal customers, The Guardian reported Monday. On Monday, the hashtag #BoycottPublix was trending on Twitter, with many users expressing outrage and claiming betrayal over Fancelli's donation.

—Bob south florida water man (@WaterDean) February 15, 2021

—Jordan Knash 🌊🌊🌊⚖️#ShutItDown (@JordanKnash) February 15, 2021

—Neri Beats (@NeriBeats) February 15, 2021

Fancelli's donation was facilitated by far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, who himself donated $50,000 to the rally that led to the deaths of five people, the Journal reported.

After the riots, corporations raced to cut ties with former president Trump and to end donations to political candidates that supported Trump's attempt to overturn the election.

After the publication of the WSJ article, Publix rapidly distanced itself from Fancelli in a Twitter statement, and said it did not employ her.
—Publix (@Publix) January 31, 2021

Fancelli is still president of the George Jenkins Foundation, Inc., Publix founder George Jenkins's charity, which is not affiliated with the grocery chain. Since posting the statement on January 30, the Publix Twitter account - which previously posted around once a day - has been uncharacteristically silent.

This isn't the first time Publix has courted controversy over its political donations. It came under fire after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis awarded the chain an exclusive vaccine distribution contract. This followed the Publix PAC donating $100,000 donation to his campaign - a spokeswoman for DeSantis said any implication that the contract was a reward for the donation was "baseless and ridiculous," per the Lakeland Ledger.

Leaders from predominantly Black communities throughout the state also criticized the contract, saying it deprived many Black Floridians of the chance to get vaccinated.

Weird Norfolk: The Magdalen woman who fought the Devil when he came for her soul

Stacia Briggs And Siofra Connor

Published February 13, 2021

Did the Devil visit Mrs Tash at Magdalen in the form of a crow? - Credit: iWitness24/Rosemary Howard

When the Devil came to collect a soul promised to him when its owner was a girl, he hadn’t bargained for a fight: but Norfolk’s Mrs Tash wasn’t prepared to go quietly. There are several accounts of the strong-willed Mrs Tash, including from Fen authority Arthur Randall and folklore expert Enid Porter.

In The Folklore of East Anglia by Porter, written in 1974, the curious tale of Mrs Tash is told – a woman who wasn’t ready when the Devil came calling. She lived in the village of Magdalen, close to Wiggenhall St Mary (which itself has a haunted pipe organ) and gave her soul to Lucifer as a young woman. How or why she made a bargain with the Lord of the Underword is unknown and Ms Porter remarks that despite her deal, she had not “been looked upon as a witch”.

Mrs Tash was buried at the church in Wiggenhall St. Mary Magdalen village sign. - Credit: Ian Burt

The story continues: “A century ago, when she was lying old and ill in bed, the Devil came to claim her.

“One evening, when two neighbours came to visit her, they found the bed empty and no sign of the old women anywhere in the house.

“On the bedroom windowsill, however, were scratches as though something had been hauled across it, and on the ground below were some marks which seemed to indicate that a body and been dragged along for several yards.

“At daybreak next morning, a party of men followed the marks for half a mile to the side of a dyke and there, at the bottom of a pit, they found Mrs Tash lying still alive but stark naked.

‘So old Harry came after her last night,’ said one of the men, ‘and nearly got her, too, by the look of it. You see, he’ll be back again tonight to fetch her away.’”

Hastily covered, the old woman was taken back to her house and put to bed. Neighbours stayed with her as she rested quietly all day – but as night fell, she began to become restless and by the middle of the night, she was agitated. Shouting and flailing her arms, the neighbours were shocked to see a large black bird throw itself at Mrs Tash’s windowpane and they ran terrified from the room, calling for her son to come quickly. When he ran into his mother’s room, her son found that she had died and, on her chest, there was the mark of a three-toed foot or talon etched into her skin.

Weird Norfolk’s research has revealed that a Mary Tash died on April 21 1873 – a century before the book was published – and was buried at Wiggenhall St Mary Magdalen. Aged 81, her husband was Henry Tash and her son Timothy and on the 1861 census her occupation was given as ‘farmer’s wife’.

The Devil is often depicted in 19th and 20th century occultist illustrations as a black bird which has the power to transform into the figure of a man while in Europe, many cultures believed that crows made a annual descent to hell to visit Satan. Catholic teachings read that Saint Benedict was praying when he was visited by the Devil disguised as a blackbird but the Saint was not fooled and sent him on his way with the sign of the cross.

Deals with the Devil were a pact between a person and Satan or a lesser demon in which souls were exchanged for diabolical favours such as youth, knowledge, wealth, fame or power. Others made the pact just to recognise the Devil as their master and expected nothing in return despite realising their deal ensured eternal damnation. Quite what, if anything, Mrs Tash gained from her bargain with the Dark One and whether she was the Mrs Tash who is recorded in the village is unknown – other than to the Devil, obviously.

For a daily dose of Weird Norfolk follow our Instagram here or our Facebook group here.

Roman and prehistoric remains found after archaeological dig at huge north Derbyshire new homes development

Developers at a huge new homes site in Derbyshire say they will continue ‘as planned’ after prehistoric to Roman era remains were found beneath the ground.

By Tim Paget
Friday, 12th February 2021, 

Persimmon Homes has secured planning permission to build up to 590 properties on land off Oxcroft Lane, Bolsover, but has been required to organise an archaeological study on site.

Archaeologists discovered evidence of ‘prehistoric to Roman date field systems’ as well as ‘post-medieval agricultural features’, and their findings have been published on Bolsover District Council’s website as part of the planning application.

MORE: Major plans to build 150 homes near Chesterfield could be delayed by archaeological digs

Archaeologists have found Roman and prehistoric remains on the site of a major housing development in Bolsover.

A spokesman for Persimmon Homes Nottingham, said: “As part of our planning consent an archaeological study was undertaken on the land off Marlpit Lane, Bolsover. These types of studies are not unusual on sites which may be of interest.

"The outcome confirmed the presence of probable prehistoric to Roman date field systems as well as exposing post-medieval agricultural features.

“The works are now complete, and all historic data and findings have been accordingly gathered. We are in the early stages of this development and will continue our works as planned.”


Allen Archaeology Ltd was commissioned to undertake an archaeological evaluation by digging trial trenches on land off Marlpit Lane.

"The site lies in an area of archaeological interest, with several prehistoric flint scatters in the vicinity of the site,” the archaeology company said in its report.

"Romano-British occupation has been identified at Sherwood Lodge approximately 400m to the southwest.”

Studies found quantities of prehistoric worked flints and suggests ‘there is some potential for prehistoric activity within the site boundaries’.

“The results of the archaeological evaluation demonstrate that there is a low density distribution of features and deposits of archaeological interest within the targeted area,” the report adds.

Of the 20 trenches excavated, seven were found to contain a small number of ‘linear features’, generally one or two features per trench.

This included pottery ‘of a possible Bronze Age date’ and a piece of possible Roman quern.

Archaeologists concluded: “Overall the evidence suggests that the excavated features represent part of a potentially later prehistoric to Roman agricultural landscape, with the environmental evidence and very low density of finds suggesting the site lies away from any settlement focus.”

Sask. uranium giant ups stake in laser technology to fuel small reactors


Michael Bramadat-Willcock , Local Journalism Initiative Reporter , The Northern Advocate / Battlefords News-Optimist

FEBRUARY 12, 2021 

Silex technology separates isotopes using lasers to produce enriched uranium. Photo courtesy of Silex Systems

The world's largest publicly traded uranium company is betting big on a new laser enrichment technology that it says will help power Canada’s shift to a more eco-friendly future.

Saskatoon-based Cameco Corp. obtained a 49 per cent stake in Global Laser Enrichment LLC (GLE) in a joint acquisition with Australian technology company Silex Systems for General Electric Company subsidiary GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy's shares in the project.


GLE was founded in 2008 as a joint venture between General Energy, Hitachi and Cameco to develop Silex’s technology that separates isotopes using lasers to produce enriched uranium.

The federal government recently announced Canada’s Small Modular Reactor Action Plan as part of its commitment to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) are designed to produce smaller amounts of electricity, between 50 and 300 megawatts, without the emissions usually associated with power generation.

“Nuclear power plays a massive role in the global clean energy equation,” Cameco President and CEO Tim Gitzel said.

“That role will only increase in a carbon constrained world, particularly with the momentum behind SMR and advanced reactor technologies, a focus on the electrification of transportation systems, and the many other innovations that countries and companies are counting on to help meet their emission reduction targets.”

Canada’s current reactor fleet consists mostly of Deuterium Uranium (CANDU) technology which doesn’t rely on enriched fuel.

The company plans to commercialize this new uranium enrichment process that it says could power SMRs in a more cost-effective way.

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said last summer that nuclear power is a critical part of the solution to climate change and will help rural and remote communities as a new base for the electrical grid.

“We are not going to be able to deal with things like climate change or very broad issues if we are not going to commit to integrating nuclear power into our systems. It has to be part of the solutions. We simply are unable to get the job done without it,” Moe said.

While nuclear power has backing from both federal and provincial governments as a way to shift away from carbon, uranium enrichment is a complex process that accounts for around 30 per cent of the cost of nuclear fuel.

GLE has an agreement with the United States Department of Energy to enrich depleted uranium tails, repurpose legacy waste into uranium, convert products to fuel nuclear reactors and help clean-up enrichment facilities no longer in operation.

Gitzel said in a statement that the new technology could provide a stable source of North American-based uranium enrichment in both Canada and the United States and fast-forward the progress of emerging SMR designs.

The agreement comes with promises to deliver low-enriched uranium (LEU) fuel with better efficiency and flexibility than current enrichment technologies, and to produce the high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) needed as the primary fuel stock for SMRs.

In addition to lowering cost, Silex says the process could also increase supply of nuclear fuel to the new reactors more efficiently.

“This new ownership structure, together with the recently announced U.S. Government approval represents the start of an important new era for GLE and the Silex technology, at a time when nuclear power is coming back into focus as a key source of zero-emissions base load electricity in an emissions constrained world,” Silex CEO and Managing Director Michael Goldsworthy, said.

Moe had signed a memorandum of understanding with the premiers of Ontario and New Brunswick to work together on further developing the nuclear industry last December.

“Cameco is committed to responsibly and sustainably managing our business and increasing our contributions to global climate change solutions,” Gitzel said.

“Our investment in GLE aligns well with these objectives.”

Air Canada to temporarily cut 1,500 jobs, suspend 17 routes

MEANWHILE ASKING THE GOVT TO BAIL THEM OUT

Jon Victor, The Canadian Press

Feb 9, 2021

MONTREAL -- Air Canada will temporarily lay off 1,500 unionized employees and an unspecified number of management staff as it cuts more routes in response to harsher travel restrictions.

Air Canada will temporarily suspend service on 17 routes to the U.S. and other international destinations until at least April 30, the company said Tuesday.

"We are further reducing our transborder and international commercial schedule as a result of COVID-19," a spokesperson for Air Canada said. "Affected customers with bookings will be contacted with options, including alternate routings."

The route suspensions in the U.S. include flights to New York, Boston, Washington, D.C., Seattle, Denver and Fort Myers, Air Canada said. The earliest flight suspensions to the U.S. will go into effect Feb. 14.

Air Canada is also suspending flights to Bogota from Montreal, London and Tokyo from Vancouver, and Bogota, Dublin and Sao Paulo from Toronto, among other routes, the company said.



Flights from Toronto to Tel Aviv will continue to be suspended, and flights from Toronto to Dubai and Hong Kong will have their startups postponed.

The layoffs and route cuts come as Canada rolls out stricter measures to reduce international travel, including mandatory hotel quarantines for new entrants.

Wesley Lesosky, president of the Air Canada Component of CUPE, which represents flight attendants at Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge, blamed the cuts on the government's new travel restrictions and said Ottawa wasn't doing enough to help the airline sector weather the pandemic.

"We appreciate the need for measures to prevent the spread of new variants of COVID-19 in Canada," Lesosky said. "But restrictions have to be accompanied by solutions."

At the end of January, Canadian airlines agreed to suspend all flights to Mexico and the Caribbean until April 30, at the request of the federal government.

Last week, Air Canada said it planned to temporarily halt operations at Air Canada Rouge, which primarily operates the company's flights to Mexico and the Caribbean. The service cuts involved temporary layoffs of around 80 employees.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has continued to crack down on international travel, saying Tuesday that as of Feb. 15, anyone entering Canada through a land border will have to show proof of a negative COVID-19 test.

A previous requirement for international travellers to show negative test results, which went into effect on Jan. 7, applied only to air travel. Airlines said they saw an immediate drop in bookings once the requirement was implemented, leading to another round of route cuts and layoffs by Canadian carriers in January.