It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Monday, February 07, 2022
40 beheaded Roman skeletons with skulls placed between their legs found by archeologists at construction site
Alia Shoaib Sun, February 6, 2022, Decapitated Roman skeletons found in Buckinghamshire, UK.HS2 Archeologists working on Britain's HS2 railway line uncovered a late Roman cemetery.
40 of the skeletons were decapitated, many with their heads between their legs.
The decapitated skeletons could have been criminals or outcasts, archeologists said.
About 40 beheaded skeletons were among 425 bodies found in a late Roman cemetery uncovered by archeologists in southern England.
The team of around 50 archeologists made the discovery during an excavation at Fleet Marston, near Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, on the route of the multi-billion pound high-speed rail link that is currently under construction, HS2 said.
Around 10% of the bodies were decapitated. Many had their heads placed between their legs or next to their feet.
Archeologists said that one interpretation could be that the decapitated skeletons were criminals or outcasts, although decapitation was a "normal, albeit marginal, burial rite" during the late Roman period.
Over the next few years, the researchers will study the exhumed skeletons, offering an opportunity to learn more about Roman civilization's historic lifestyles, diet, and beliefs.
"All human remains uncovered will be treated with dignity, care, and respect and our discoveries will be shared with the community," Helen Wass, head of heritage at HS2 Ltd said.
The team also uncovered over 1,200 coins at the site, along with several lead weights indicating that this was an area of trade and commerce.
Domestic objects including spoons, pins, and brooches were found, as well as gaming dice and bells which suggest gambling and religious activity took place there too.
The Romans ruled Britain from 43AD to 410AD. Archeologists uncovered objects including brooches and dice.HS2
"The excavation is significant in both enabling a clear characterization of this Roman town but also a study of many of its inhabitants," Richard Brown, Senior Project Manager for COPA said.
Fleet Marston is one of more than 100 archaeological sites that have been unearthed since 2018 as the construction of the HS2 line running from London to Birmingham has been developed.
Archeologists have been able to uncover rich details about life in Roman Britain, nearly two thousand years ago, through their excavation work.
MIT researchers create material as strong as steel, light as plastic Michelle Shen, USA TODAY Sun, February 6, 2022
It can be easily manufactured in large quantities, and the use cases range from lightweight coatings for cars and phones to building blocks for massive structures such as bridges, according to Michael Strano, the Carbon P. Dubbs Professor of Chemical Engineering at MIT and the senior author of a new study.
“We don’t usually think of plastics as being something that you could use to support a building, but with this material, you can enable new things,” he said in a statement from MIT. “It has very unusual properties and we’re very excited about that.”
The material is several times stronger than bulletproof glass, and the amount of force needed to break it is twice that of steel, despite the fact that the material has only about one-sixth the density of steel, according to MIT.
The researchers were able to do this by developing a new process to form polymers. Plastics are an example of polymers, along with rubber and glass.
The researchers wanted to see whether they could create a two-dimensional version of a polymer that could remain flat, thus making it lightweight. They tried for decades to create such a material, and the new process they developed was published in peer-reviewed journal Nature last week.
Polymers are essentially chains of individual molecules, called monomers, linked together by chemical bonds. Normally, when polymers are formed, they expand into three-dimensional objects, like how a sheet cake rises as it bakes in an oven. The challenge is if even one monomer begins to rotate, the polymer becomes three-dimensional.
For example, imagine if you wanted to line up children and pack a bunch of them in an auditorium by having them link arms. However, if even one of the children choose to be unruly and shift around, it would be impossible to maintain order.
The key came from building a process that could allow the monomers to link up and grow into a polymer chain without causing any one of the monomers to stray. If you could build several two-dimensional polymers, you could layer them like disks and stack a bunch of them together in a tight space, similar to how you could pack lines of children into an auditorium, if they're well-behaved.
Michelle Shen is a Money & Tech Digital Reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach her @michelle_shen10 on Twitter.
In conservative Russia, liberal teachers are shown the door The sex education blog, aimed at adults, of former biology teacher Olga Shchyogoleva presaged her departure from the job, she says (AFP/Olga MALTSEVA)
Marina KORENEVA with Anna SMOLCHENKO in Moscow
Mon, February 7, 2022, 1:42 AM·4 min read
Biology teacher Olga Shchegoleva had not even finished her first six months at a prestigious school in Saint Petersburg when she came under pressure to quit over a sex education blog.
In Vladimir Putin's Russia, teachers are being increasingly caught up in the climate of social conservatism.
The 31-year-old Shchegoleva is one of hundreds of educators who recently have been fired or forced to quit over claims of misconduct, in a trend that reflects Russia's growing intolerance and conservatism.
Shchegoleva is the author of a sex education blog that addresses topics from sexual health and consent to birth control and toys.
Even though she writes for adults, several concerned parents complained to the school, which is part of the respected Rimsky-Korsakov conservatory in Russia's former imperial capital.
Shchegoleva said she liked her job -- and her students -- but felt she had no choice but to quit.
"There is this belief that teachers have no life or hobbies outside of work, and that there are some ethical standards -- not officially spelled out anywhere -- that teachers are expected to follow," she told AFP.
The education ministry did not respond to an AFP request to provide any figures, but the chairman of a Russian teachers' union, Yury Varlamov, said courts had delivered more than 2,000 rulings linked to immoral conduct in the last five years. Most cases involved educators, Varlamov estimated.
"The dismissal of teachers for immoral behaviour is increasingly being used by employers against unwelcome workers," he said.
The way the legislation is vaguely worded, experts say, leaves the door open for dismissal over a wide range of activities.
In one prominent case, a teacher from the Siberian city of Omsk -- who also worked as a plus-size model -- was pressured to quit in 2018 after pin-up-style pictures featuring her appeared online.
In 2021, a teacher from the largest Siberian city of Novosibirsk was pushed out after she posted online a racy video in which she was seen stripping down to lingerie and dancing.
The same year, a teacher from Sevastopol in Russia-annexed Crimea publicly complained about her low salary. She was interrogated by members of law enforcement and fired.
Activists say teachers have been fired for their sexual orientation and others removed for their support of the opposition. - Conservative values -
Putin, who enjoys unwavering support from the Orthodox Church, has been promoting increasingly conservative values to rally support from his core constituency.
Amid raging tensions with the world's top democracies, he has sought to present Russia as the antithesis of Western liberal values.
In 2013, Russia passed a controversial law banning the promotion or displays of homosexuality to minors. Activists say the legislation has been used to crack down on gay men and women.
Nikita Tushkanov, a history and social studies teacher from the former Soviet-era gulag settlement of Mikun in northwestern Russia, has never shied away from criticising the authorities.
With a tattoo on his arm and a rebellious streak, the 27-year-old said he had long irritated fellow teachers, many of whom were near or past the pension age.
He made no secret of his disapproval of the aggressive promotion of Orthodox religious education at schools and militarisation of society.
He said some of his colleagues were sometimes racist and criticised how parents were being forced to make contributions for supplies that should be covered by the state.
"Our country is spending billions of rubles to purchase tasers but they cannot buy textbooks for children," Tushkanov told AFP. - 'Keep silent or die' -
When opposition supporters took to the streets in support of jailed Kremlin foe Alexei Navalny last January, Tushkanov staged a one-man rally in Mikun.
"Keep silent or die," read a poster in his hands.
His protest over Navalny's arrest was "the last straw" for the school, he said. He was fired two months later and attempts to challenge his termination in court have been unsuccessful, while he has been unable to find a similar job elsewhere.
When he tried to get a job at one school, the principal received a phone call from prosecutors.
"She was told that if she hires me she will be in trouble," Tushkanov said the principal had told him.
Daniil Ken, head of a teachers' union with ties to Navalny, said pressure on teachers has been growing.
Legislation protects educators, and one of the few ways to get rid of a teacher is to dismiss him or her over immoral conduct, he said.
Ken, who himself lost a teaching job in Saint Petersburg in 2020, said authorities were afraid of outspoken teachers who call for change in society.
"This can threaten the well-being of the powers that be, from a minor bureaucrat to President Putin," Ken told AFP.
Shchegoleva, the biology teacher who now works at a non-government organisation, said the current climate has brought on a sense of stagnation in society.
"There is an impression that it is not possible to develop, move forward, be more modern, more loyal, more understanding and accepting," she said.
mak-as/jbr/cdw
Embattled rappers fight to speak out in troubled DR Congo Heritier Baraka Munyampfura, with Seros Muyisa in Beni Mon, February 7, 2022 The walls of Idengo's recording studio in Beni are decorated with portraits of Patrice Lumumba and Laurent-Desire Kabila
(AFP/Seros MUYISA)
"I don't sing to avenge my family, but because other innocent people who know nothing about politics continue to die," says imprisoned Congolese rapper Idengo.
"I wanted to change the country with my music -- it will help me to create a new Congo," he adds.
Idengo -- real name Delphin Katembo -- is the only surviving member of a family of five devastated by conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, and exemplifies the challenges faced by dissenting artists as the bloodshed knows no end.
A military tribunal in December convicted Idengo and fellow rapper Muyisa Nzanzu Makasi over song lyrics deemed dangerous and detrimental to President Felix Tshisekedi and the DR Congo's army.
Tshisekedi placed the eastern provinces of North Kivu and Ituri under a "state of siege" last May, aiming to intensify a military offensive against rebels, with soldiers replacing civil servants in key positions.
But the measures have not stemmed the killings, stoking anger among the local population and driving the two rappers' emotionally and politically charged music.
The men, who hail from North Kivu, spoke with AFP from their prison in the provincial capital Goma where they are awaiting an appeal hearing. - 'Tired of their promises' -
Idengo, now 25, had a precocious passion for politically conscious rapping.
He says he was only around 10 years old when he produced his first song, "Droits de l'Homme (Human Rights), and gave his first concert at 14 in his hometown of Beni.
He was first imprisoned for his songs in 2019 and ended up behind bars again early last year for the track "Politicien Escroc" (Cheating Politician).
Another single, "Effacer le Tableau" (Wipe the Slate Clean), prompted his latest arrest in October and led to his 10-year jail term on accusations of urging people to kill soldiers, police officers and UN peacekeepers.
A YouTube music video shows Idengo dressed in torn fatigues, pretending to lop off heads with a bush cutter.
"They sacrifice us for money, we're tired of their promises," he sings, alternating between French and Swahili.
Idengo's lawyers argued in court that psychological trauma explained the explosive lyrics.
His friend Bienvenu Sondu says Idengo's mother was killed in 2013 or 2014 and his father was killed "sometime later".
"Several other" relatives were "massacred" by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebel group, he says, adding that Idengo's brothers are dead.
The ADF is the fiercest among dozens of armed groups operating in the mineral-rich east of the DRC.
- 'Awaken consciences' -
Muyisa, for his part, never got to know his father following the massacres, living with his mother and failing to finish university studies in IT management.
Younger sister Wivine remembers how he started singing at their local Catholic church when still in primary school.
"He loves peace, so he began searching for peace," she says.
Muyisa, 29, recounts starting music -- "the revolution" -- in 2020.
"If things change tomorrow, I'll move on to something else. But what's happening here pushes me to make my voice heard," he says.
"Bob Marley used to say music can change anything. I don't want to be a saviour, a hero, but I'm trying to awaken consciences."
Muyisa received a two-year prison sentence for insulting the head of state.
Speaking at his trial with Idengo, Muyisa said "nothing" had changed despite Tshisekedi's promises to put an end to the killings.
"That's why I say that the people in government are louts, idiots. But I didn't insult the president, I reminded him of his work," he insists.
- 'Shameful' -
Portraits of Patrice Lumumba, independent DR Congo's first prime minister who was assassinated in 1961, and of Laurent-Desire Kabila, the president who met the same fate in 2001, adorn the walls outside Idengo's recording studio in Beni.
"His conviction is shameful. The Grand Nord population is behind him!" Cesar Mutukufu Mukombozi, a 30-year-old fan, told AFP near the recording studio.
Inside, three young musicians work with a synthesiser, aiming to create new songs to show that the fight for freedom continues.
"Everything he sings about is reality. They want us to die en masse without speaking out," said 19-year-old student Francine Soki.
"He's innocent! It's a farce," said one of them, known as "Barareddy Zero".
Idengo hoped to host a concert in prison to honour his heroes Lumumba and Kabila.
But the prison director refused, fearing the event would help detainees escape.
hbm-smu/at/imm/gd
Livelihoods lost as climate disaster woes mount in Kenya Raphael AMBASU, with Hillary ORINDE in Nairobi Mon, February 7, 2022,
Marsabit has been the scene of a prolonged drought
(AFP/Tony KARUMBA)
Nomadic livestock herders in East Africa's drylands have learnt to cope with the vagaries of weather over decades
(AFP/Tony KARUMBA)
Poor rainfall in the last quarter of 2021 followed a devastating locust invasion a year earlier (AFP/Tony KARUMBA)
Experts say extreme weather events are happening with increased frequency and intensity due to climate change
(AFP/Tony KARUMBA)
Dabaso Galgalo is now used to the smell and grisly spectacle of rotting flesh festering in the scorching heat as Kenya reels from a spate of climate disasters.
Surrounded by barren scrubland littered with withered carcasses of sheep and goats, the 56-year-old pastoralist is struggling to keep his beloved animals, and himself, alive.
What was left of his herd after a months-long dry spell was decimated by once-in-a-generation floods that hit northern Kenya, the latest in a series of unforgiving climate shocks lashing the region.
"We recently had heavy rains and strong winds that ended up killing livestock that had gathered at this water point," he told AFP, outside a settlement called 'kambi ya nyoka' (snake camp) in Marsabit.
The semi-arid region has been the scene of a prolonged drought. Then, when the rains finally came, the deluge pushed communities, who rely exclusively on livestock for their survival, to the edge of disaster.
"This is a very huge loss because we have lost lots of resources following this tragedy," said Galgalo.
"If one had 500 goats (earlier), they have between five and 20 goats left."
Nomadic livestock herders in East Africa's drylands have learnt to cope with the vagaries of weather over decades, driving their relentless search for water and pasture in some of the world's most inhospitable terrain.
But their resilience is being severely tested by climate change.
- Fight for resources -
Poor rainfall in the last quarter of 2021 -- the third consecutive failed rainy season -- followed a devastating locust invasion a year earlier, with animals now too weak to produce milk or too skinny to be sold.
There are growing fears that as the situation worsens, tensions among communities could sharpen as they compete for access to meagre resources.
Marsabit is particularly vulnerable because of a perennial conflict between the Borana and Gabra pastoralist communities.
President Uhuru Kenyatta declared the drought a natural disaster last September, with 2.1 million people -- four percent of Kenya's population -- already grappling with hunger, according to government figures.
The government said last week that 23 of the country's 47 counties faced "food and water stress" while the meteorological department has warned of a potential increase in "human-to-human and human-to-wildlife conflicts".
The authorities have invested 450 million shillings ($3.9 million, 3.4 million euros) to buy 11,250 cattle and 3,200 goats from farmers in the worst-hit counties.
The UN's Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) on Monday called for "aggressive" efforts to address the situation, warning it was concerned about "the realities on the ground."
"We must stay committed to doing things differently," FAO Deputy General Beth Bechdol told a press conference in Nairobi before embarking on a trip to the drought-hit north.
"We have seen too many efforts that have taken too many years, that have been repeated and tried over and over again with often times the same disappointing outcomes." - Africa hardest-hit -
East Africa endured a harrowing drought in 2017 which also brought neighbouring Somalia to the brink of famine.
In 2011, two successive failed rainy seasons in 12 months led to the driest year since 1951 in arid regions of Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Uganda.
With conflicts raging in Ethiopia and Somalia, aid agencies are struggling to assess the true extent of the current crisis.
Experts say extreme weather events are happening with increased frequency and intensity due to climate change -- with Africa, which contributes the least to global warming, bearing the brunt.
For Galgalo, the race is on to save his remaining animals and protect his only source of income.
But he is losing hope.
"They are suffering from pneumonia and are still dying," he said.
ho/amu/yad
Humanitarian Crisis Feared As Cyclone Kills 20 In Madagascar
Cyclone Batsirai swept out of Madagascar on Monday after killing 20 people, displacing 55,000 and devastating the drought-hit island's agricultural heartland, leading the UN to warn of a worsening humanitarian crisis.
Madagascar was already reeling from a tropical storm which killed 55 people weeks earlier, and the latest extreme weather event came as South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said the continent is "bearing both the brunt and the cost" of global warming.
Batsirai made landfall on the Indian Ocean island's east on Saturday evening bringing heavy rain and winds of 165 kilometres (102 miles) per hour, after drenching the French island of La Reunion.
Jean Benoit Manhes, a representative of UN children's agency UNICEF in the country, told AFP on Monday that "Batsirai left Madagascar this morning at 7 am (0400 GMT) heading out into the Mozambique Channel."
Madagascar's disaster management agency said that Batsirai had left 20 people dead and forced 55,000 from their homes.
Madagascar's disaster management agency said that Cyclone Batsirai had left 20 people dead and forced 55,000 from their homes Photo: AFP / RIJASOLO
UNICEF warned that many of the victims were likely to be children, which make up more than 50 percent of the country's population.
The cyclone first hit a sparsely populated agricultural area in the country's east on Saturday, before later weakening. The eastern city of Mananjary was "completely destroyed," a resident named Faby said.
Batsirai then moved west inland, causing flooding that ravaged rice fields in the country's central "breadbasket," UNICEF said.
The rising waters from the cyclone caused bodies to emerge from a cemetery in the island's east Photo: AFP / Laure Verneau
"The impact of the cyclone does not end today, it will last for several months, particularly the impact on agriculture," Manhes said.
"The roofs of several schools and health centres were blown off" in the affected areas, UNICEF said.
Batsirai spared the capital Antanarivo and the island's main port Tamatave, which led to a lower death toll than had been initially feared by the authorities and aid organisations, who had warned that nearly 600,000 people could be affected and 140,000 displaced.
Some 77 percent of Madagascar's population live below the poverty line and the latest blow comes during a severe drought in the south which has plunged more than a million people into acute malnutrition, some facing famine.
The cyclone partly destroyed the main road linking the island's north and south, "which will make it difficult to provide access and reinforcements to villages, including in drought-hit areas," Manhes said.
"Madagascar is in a constant humanitarian crisis," he added.
Some 10,000 people on La Reunion were left without electricity on Sunday, three days after Batsirai passed through the island, injuring 12 people on its path.
Tropical Storm Ana affected at least 131,000 people across Madagascar in late January, with most of the 55 deaths coming in Antananarivo. Ana also hit Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe, causing dozens of deaths.
"Despite not being responsible for causing climate change, it is Africans who are bearing both the brunt and the cost," he said.
Sudan security forces fire tear gas at anti-coup protestors
Sudanese anti-coup protesters take part in a demonstration in al-Diyum neighbourhood of the capital Khartoum on February 7, 2022. (AFP)
AFP, Khartoum Published: 07 February ,2022
Sudanese security forces fired tear gas Monday at thousands of demonstrators calling for civilian rule and justice for protesters killed since last year’s coup, witnesses and an AFP correspondent said.
The tear gas was fired as demonstrators were heading toward the presidential palace in the capital Khartoum, in the latest rally against the October coup led by army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the correspondent said.
Mass protests have been regular in Sudan since the coup which derailed the country’s rocky transition to civilian rule following the 2019 ouster of autocratic president Omar al-Bashir.
At least 79 people have been killed and hundreds wounded in the crackdown on anti-coup demonstrations, according to an independent group of medics.
Monday’s protests took place despite heavy security presence in Khartoum and its neighboring cities of Omdurman and Khartoum North.
It came only two days after thousands of pro-military demonstrators rallied against recent UN talks that aimed to help Sudan resolve the political crisis since the coup.
On Monday, anti-coup protesters in the city of Wad Madani, south of Khartoum, were seen waving the Sudanese flags and carrying posters of people killed in the crackdown.
“No, no to military rule” and “blood for blood,” they chanted, according to witnesses.
Hundreds also gathered in the Red Sea city of Port Sudan, residents there said.
In Khartoum, some protesters also called for the dissolution of the powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces commanded by Burhan’s deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, an AFP correspondent said.
“The Janjaweed should be dissolved,” the protesters chanted, in reference to the RSF which grew out of the Janjaweed militias accused by rights groups of atrocities in Darfur.
Sudan, which was already in the grip of a dire economic crisis before the coup, has seen vital foreign aid cut as part of the international community’s condemnation of the takeover.
The United States, which suspended $700 million in assistance to Sudan after the coup, has warned that a continued crackdown by the authorities would have “consequences.”
Sudanese authorities have repeatedly denied using live ammunition against demonstrators, reporting scores of security officers have been wounded and a police general was stabbed to death.
On Monday, the Sudanese Professionals Association, which called for anti-coup protests, said the latest demonstrations were “a message to the dictatorship that authority lies with the people.”
MYOB
U.S. Republicans vow to probe GoFundMe decision halting Ottawa trucker donations
Some U.S. Republicans on Saturday vowed to investigate GoFundMe's decision to take down a page accepting donations in support of protesting truck drivers in Ottawa, although GoFundMe early Saturday already said it would simply refund all donations.
The Freedom Convoy 2022 began as a movement against a Canadian vaccine requirement for cross-border truckers, but has turned into a rallying point against public health measures in Canada. It has also gained increasing support among U.S. Republicans, including former president Donald Trump.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said on Saturday it was fraud for GoFundMe to "commandeer" $10 million in donations sent to the Freedom Convoy in support of the truck drivers and said he would work with his state's attorney general, Ashley Moody, to investigate. "(T)hese donors should be given a refund."
But hours before DeSantis posted his statement on Twitter, GoFundMe said in a tweet that it had revised its original plan on how to handle funds already donated to support the truckdriver protest, saying that all donations would be refunded.
"This refund will happen automatically — you do not need to submit a request. Donors can expect to see refunds within 7-10 business days," GoFundMe said in its tweet.
GoFundMe took down the Freedom Convoy 2022 fundraiser page on Friday, saying it violated its terms of service. At the time it said donors would have two weeks to request a refund, with any remaining funds distributed to "credible and established charities."
West Virginia and Louisiana attorneys general were among those who called on constituents to let them know if they had been a donor.
"My office will be looking into whether or not #GoFundMe violated our state law. If you are a Louisiana donor to the #FreedomConvoy, please contact my #ConsumerProtection Section!" Jeff Landry, attorney general in Louisiana, said on Twitter on Saturday.
GoFundMe did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.
Protesters have shut down downtown Ottawa for eight days now, with some participants waving Confederate or Nazi flags and some saying they wanted to dissolve Canada's government. To the increasing fury of residents, Ottawa police have largely stood by and watched as some protesters smashed windows, threatened reporters and health-care workers, and abused racial minorities.
Toronto and other cities braced for disruptions on Saturday as protests spread from Ottawa, raising fears of clashes with counter-protesters.
Donald Trump Jr., the eldest son of the former president, on Twitter late Friday called for all Republican attorneys general to look into GoFundMe's move.
Canada
People are severing friendships over convoy protest, with some saying it shows 'true colours'
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Friendships vulnerable when 'core values' at issue,
Protesters gather near speeches during a demonstration in the downtown core on Feb. 1, 2022 in Ottawa. The convoy protest has added a new strain on relationships, prompting some with opposing views to sever ties. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)
Langley, B.C., contractor Damian Conn says he can "agree to disagree" with friends who are opposed to vaccinations or believe in conspiracy theories and still maintain a relationship.
But when he realized he had friends who support the convoy protest in Ottawa — which is now entering its second week of demonstrations, snarling the nation's capital, to call for an end to vaccine mandates and other public health measures related to COVID-19 — those relationships ended.
He'd known some of those friends since high school.
"It seems like this convoy has brought out everybody's true colours with people you never would have thought had that certain close-minded train of thought," he said.
"I think I've unfriended, like, 100 people — and that includes some family," he said. " I won't even talk to them anymore."
Over the course of the pandemic, there have been a number of stories of how disagreements over vaccination have ended friendships and relationships, and ripped families apart.
Last September, a Harris Poll survey conducted in the U.S. found that a combined 33 per cent of vaccinated respondents had in some way "cut ties or ended relationships" with at least some unvaccinated people in their lives.
WATCH | The 'worst display of Nazi propaganda in this country' happening at convoy protest, advocate says:
Canadian Anti-Hate Network chair Bernie Farber, who is the son of Holocaust survivors, says people can have opposing views when it comes to health care, but Ottawa's protest convoy was taken over by 'extremists with an agenda.' 4:48
Beverley Fehr, a University of Winnipeg psychology professor who specializes in interpersonal relationships, said research indicates that political differences are not often "make-or-break" issues in friendships.
"But I think what the vaccine issue and now the protests are really bringing to light are issues that are highly tied to our core values," she said.
These values include the idea of not just protecting yourself, but protecting others, she added. They also include feelings about racism, safety and personal choice versus the greater good — values that you hold that are so important, that they can't be compromised.
When friends diverge in ways that really are connecting to their core values, it's very challenging to keep the friendship together, she said.
"If that's a core value for you, then it's hard to meet in the middle."
'Going to have to unfriend you'
Many, like Conn, signalled their opposition to the rally by indicating they would be "unfriending" those who showed support for the controversial rally.
Vonica Flear, who lives in London, Ont., says you can't separate from the extremist element of the protesters.
"If you are going to a rally or a protest ... and you see flags that have swastikas on them, that's a big sign that you are in the wrong place," Flear said.
On Facebook, many users indicated they would be 'unfriending' those who showed support for the controversial convoy rally. (Facebook)
Flear said they were shocked to see that one of their friends from their Nova Scotia hometown posted that he had attended the rally. Flear, who has a master's degree in biology, said they reached out to him, said they would talk about vaccinations, and clear up any misunderstandings or confusing science jargon related to getting a shot.
"But he just replied with something along the lines of 'Canada is a free country' or something like that," Flear said.
"Ithink I just said, 'if you are going to just blindly follow these people without questioning, I'm going to have to unfriend you. I don't want to be associated with white supremacy.' And so I unfriended him."
'Straw that broke the camel's back'
Rachelle Bondy, a property manager in Windsor, Ont., went to Ottawa to support the convoy. Turns out, that was the "straw that broke the camel's back" for a friend she'd known for 14 years, who wound up blocking and deleting her.
"She was very upset with me. Very upset and I wouldn't budge. I wasn't going to change my views," Bondy said.
"I just thought, 'I understand that you do not agree with me, I'm not sitting here calling you names, I'm not calling you racist. I'm not calling you a bad mother. I'm not calling you these things. You're the one who's getting upset about it.'"
Trucks are parked along the sidewalk and on Wellington Street outside the Office of the Prime Minister and Privy Council during a rally against COVID-19 restrictions on Parliament Hill in Ottawa Jan. 30, 2022. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press)
Bondy said it was "really sad" because her friend had known her for so long.
"I cannot believe this is where we've come to. Come to the point where our friendships depend on whether or not they know our medical status and what it is," Bondy said.
Following the weekend rally, Sheila Mills, from Salt Spring Island, B.C., posted on Facebook that anyone who believed the media's negative spin of the protest and accusations of racism should unfriend her.
"Anyone who believes that is not my friend, they don't know me well enough to be considered a friend," Mills said.
"Anyone who is going to label all of those people as racist or supporting white supremacy. I lose respect."
WATCH | Protesters say they won't budge, and tensions are rising:
Ottawa residents have grown more frustrated as protesters outside Parliament Hill refuse to budge and start building a structure. Police have started handing out tickets, but it’s unclear what more they will do. 4:19
Mills said she was very angry when she posted her comments, but has "calmed down" since and that she herself has not unfriended anyone. But she said that after her Facebook post, a few people unfriended her, including a family member.
She said that her support for the convoy, and opposition to vaccine mandates had probably lost her a lot of respect from some local community members.
"We live in a very small town and it's very divided. You're on one side or the other," she said.
While some friendships may be ending over the protest, the protest itself shows no sign of stopping. New protests are planned this weekend in several cities, including Toronto and Quebec City, and several counter-protests are also in the works.
Calgary Baptist Church votes in favour of motion to deny membership for LGBTQ2S+ community members
Mark Villani CTV News Calgary Video Journalist Feb. 3, 2022
The sign in front of the First Baptist Church Calgary on Fourth Street S.W. reads ‘Everyone Welcome,’ but a recent memo sent out to church members outlines future plans to deny membership for those identifying with the LGBTQ2S+ community.
According to the letter sent by Pastor Norm Derkson, the church is thankful for its long-time partnership with the Canadian Baptists of Western Canada (CBWC), but disagrees with other churches that are accepting of those with non-heterosexual lifestyles because it goes against their interpretation of scripture beliefs.
Derkson hopes the 160 member churches of the CBWC will follow suit with this motion.
"The CBWC has voted on a solid position with this matter, affirming and reaffirming a biblical view of marriage and sexuality, and yet these churches have been allowed to continue with practices that are contrary to our collectively stated convictions," the letter reads.
"While the vast majority of churches would not affirm the practice of these few, the number of churches choosing to welcome and affirm these members is growing and as a result the point of tension is on whether the denomination has any right to bring correction on individual churches, in light of our view on church autonomy."
Derksons’ letter goes on to states that First Baptist Calgary Church along with the High River Baptist Church have now advised the CBWC and its executive staff that a motion is needed.
According to the letter sent by Pastor Norm Derkson, the church is thankful for its long-time partnership with the Canadian Baptists of Western Canada (CBWC), but disagrees with other churches that are accepting of those with non-heterosexual lifestyles because it goes against scripture beliefs.
He says the goal is "to provide a procedure for addressing churches 'acting in ways contrary to our assembly ratified positions; one that both provides for hopeful restoration, as well as necessary removal from fellowship in cases where there is no repentance'."
A member of the First Baptist Church Calgary who does not wish to be identified confirmed to CTV News that the church board and members of its congregation voted in favour of recommending the motion at a meeting on Jan. 30.
The motion will be put forward at the 2022 CBWB Assembly this coming May.
CTV News contacted Derkson, who did not respond to calls, texts or emails.
When reporter Mark Villani visited his office Thursday morning, Derkson declined to comment and said he was not welcome to return.
According to the letter sent by Pastor Norm Derkson, the church is thankful for its long-time partnership with the Canadian Baptists of Western Canada (CBWC), but disagrees with other churches that are accepting of those with non-heterosexual lifestyles because it goes against scripture beliefs.
LGBTQ COMMUNITY SPEAKS OUT
Haley Wray grew up with two lesbian mothers in rural Alberta and says this letter from the First Baptist Church feels like a step back in time.
"It’s 2022," Wray said.
"It’s a tough thing, it marks exclusion, there’s no discussion, they’re not looking to learn or connect with anybody in the community, there’s judgement that’s been made and they’re taking the next step."
Fellow advocate and director of Affirming Connections in Calgary Pam Rocker agrees and hopes to strengthen and amplify voices for fully inclusive faith-based practices.
"It shocks me because I always hope that we're progressing or moving forward, and that we're continuing to realize the expansiveness the love of God and the divine have however we define it," Rocker said.
"Our job as citizens together and as people who don't want our friends and neighbors to be hurting, is to say that is not what I believe. I believe in something that's far more graceful and open and loving and that's what I believe Calgary and Canada is all about."
Rocker adds that anyone who has read the letter and has been affected by it should know that they have full supports available to them within the Calgary LGBTQ community.
"I would say that the folks who wrote that letter aren’t understanding how big and how amazing it is that we have all different kinds of people in the world," she said.
"That's a beautiful thing that we don't want to change and it has saved people's lives when we say that things like conversion therapy are not okay. It's actually criminal."
STRIKING A NERVE
The line about ‘repentance’ in the First Baptist Church Calgary letter also struck a nerve with John Pentland who is lead pastor at Hillhurst United Church.
"Repent means that you’re changing your mind, changing your direction, and my understanding and love for the LGBTQ plus community is that it’s not about choice, it’s who they are."
Pentland noted he is reluctant to interfere in other denominations and allow them to have their own policies and understanding, but he still believes the church should be an inclusive place for all.
"Our church has not always had an affirming stance, there was time when we were a community of concern within the United Church, but through looking at scripture and reason and tradition and experience, we realized there are larger decision-making elements.
"We have always been a church that seeks to be opening and welcoming and ever-progressing towards a wider inclusion of all people."
According to the letter sent by Pastor Norm Derkson, the church is thankful for its long-time partnership with the Canadian Baptists of Western Canada (CBWC), but disagrees with other churches that are accepting of those with non-heterosexual lifestyles because it goes against their interpretation of scripture beliefs.
