EXPLAINER: Robots and Olympics

 — a potent photo combination

By MALLIKA SEN

BEIJING (AP) — A figure skater framed only by ragged ice gazes up, almost beseechingly. A goaltender sprawls inside a net, defeat written all over his limbs, even with his face obscured.

These Renaissance painting-like images capture the barrage of emotions evoked during Winter Olympics competition. The key behind them? Robots.

The images don’t read “(AP Photo/Robot),” though. Good old-fashioned photography skills and instinct are integral to making them.

The five members of the International Olympic Photo Pool — Reuters, Getty Images, Agence France-Presse, Xinhua and, of course, The Associated Press — all employ robotics to augment their wire offerings.

How do they get it done?

Associated Press photographer David J. Phillip sets up a robotic camera for figure skating ahead of the 2022 Winter Olympics, Saturday, Jan. 22, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

Associated Press photographer Chris Carlson installs a robotic camera on a truss at figure skating ahead of the 2022 Winter Olympics, Saturday, Jan. 22, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

AN EVOLVING PROCESS

The method is scarcely a decade old — no one was using robotics, at least at the Olympics, before the 2012 Summer Games. There were to be no catwalks at the London venues, so heavy rigs wired with clunky microphone cable were deployed. After that experience, the first change on the list: figuring out how to do the whole operation over a network connection.

The main man behind the AP’s mechanics is photographer David J. Phillip. The rigs spend the off-season in Houston, where Phillip is based.

Just before London, Phillip was tasked with devising an underwater camera system — an assignment that mushroomed. He’s a scuba diver and generally interested in tinkering around, having taught himself programming from scratch.

A system born of necessity just keeps getting better, Phillip says, adding that keeping up with the software changes is a “moving target.” The robotics are periodically trotted out for other special events: this week’s Super Bowl, the World Series, even presidential debates.

Planning for each Olympics typically begins a couple years before, but the usual site visit 18 months in advance had to be substituted with pandemic-induced Zoom conference calls and studying schematics. Everything — we’re talking 10 cargo containers here — has to ship two to three months before the Games begin. It took so long getting the rigs back from Tokyo, that by the time they arrived home to Houston in the fall, it was nearly time for them to make the journey back to Asia.

Associated Press photographer Chris Carlson poses for a photo while installing a remote camera on the roof of the National Stadium, known as the Bird's Nest, in Beijing on Jan. 28, 2022. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Associated Press photographer Jeff Roberson's screens display four different robotic camera views while he works at figure skating on Feb. 8, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Associated Press photographer Jeff Roberson triggers robotic cameras at figure skating on Feb. 8, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)


USING THE TECH

Only a handful of AP photographers are trained on how to use the tech. Photographers Chris Carlson and Jeff Roberson — based in Charlotte, North Carolina, and St. Louis, respectively — join Phillip in Houston a week before the equipment is to ship. They help him build the rigs, program them ... and then take them apart, so they can be shipped.

On the other end, only Phillip is there to attend their homecoming, slowly unpacking the containers over the course of a week — a contrast that reflects the protracted preparation and sudden denouement that defines the Olympics for athletes, organizers and media.

While the major camera suppliers have consultants in Beijing’s closed-loop “bubble,” there are no hardware stores along the closed loop. Accordingly, a duplicate of any component that could break got a ticket to the Olympics. The lumbering ones from London even made the trip, just in case. The A-team was intact and all those extra parts were still riding the bench, though, more more than halfway through the Olympics.

Although AP’s Telemetrics rigs are nimbler than most — each weighs about 26 pounds (12 kilograms), standard Sony A1 mirrorless camera included — installation and disassembly the rigs is a matter of pure manual labor. The photographers even need to get certified in heights every two years to do it.

There are four trusses at the Capital Indoor Stadium, home to figure skating and short track speedskating. They’re pre-programmed for certain spots — including above the “Kiss & Cry” station — but are maneuverable, offering glimpses into holding areas otherwise walled off from eye level. At the Bird’s Nest, four static, remote-operated cameras captured the opening ceremony and remain in place for the closing.

Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov, of the Russian Olympic Committee, compete in the team ice dance program during the figure skating competition at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Monday, Feb. 7, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Vanessa James and Eric Radford, of Canada, compete in the pairs team free skate program during the figure skating competition at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Monday, Feb. 7, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

CONTROLLING THE CAMERAS

While a photographer is usually dedicated to piloting the operation over at the Capital Indoor Stadium, the hockey photographers are shooting and firing the remote-operated cameras at the same time. Because those cameras are over the goals, it’s fairly obvious when to fire.

The AP brought fewer remote setups to Beijing than in summer, so the photography staff had to choose the sports where the tech would “pay the most dividends,” Phillip says. There’s at least $100,000 worth of equipment among the rigs. Whatever the cost, he says, “the reward — what we’ve able to do with them — has been worth it 10 times over.”

Full Coverage: Photography

The ability to control the cameras from multiple venues was piloted in in 2016 in Rio. That means that photographers technically don’t have to be on site to make the photos. Roberson shot a pairs skating session from the AP office in the Main Media Center so he could make it to the opening ceremony. But being in the venue is definitely preferred, affording a broader perspective.

At the Capital Indoor Stadium, Roberson is nearly totally screened in — literally. At his station atop the press tribune, there’s a control panel on one monitor with the robotics software. A joystick enables zoom, and photos can be made by clicking a small keypad. A second monitor with Sony software displays the view from each camera and allows him to adjust camera settings like shutter speed and aperture.

He’s watching the multi-view display, ice action and editing photos on his laptop all at the same time — a process that vacillates between being balletic and frenetic.

“It’s like playing a video game, and I’m not good at video games,” Roberson quipped. “This is the hardest thing I’ve ever done.” (The simile is not totally figurative: at one point, another robotics maker wanted $5,000 for a controller, so Phillip figured out how to map it onto an old PlayStation 2 joystick instead.)

China goalkeeper Jieruimi Shimisi (Jeremy Smith) (45) reaches for a goal by United States' Brian O'Neill during a preliminary round men's hockey game at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Thursday, Feb. 10, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Canada's players huddle prior a women's quarterfinal hockey game between Canada and Sweden at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Friday, Feb. 11, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

‘LIKE LEARNING PHOTOGRAPHY AGAIN’

Roberson estimates that four-fifths of the robotics-assisted images are unusable. Sometimes, because athletes are so fast, he has to resort to smashing all the keypad buttons at once, producing many photos of nothing but the dingy, scarred Olympic ice.

Despite the stress, Roberson says he loves it all the same: “When I just started doing this, it was like learning photography again.”

Phillip says there’s one major thing on his wish list as the technology continues to evolve. There’s already spin, tilt and zoom, but he’d like the ability to roll to add a fourth axis.

Despite that, there’s only one major impediment in the robotics’ way: the Spidercam, a video camera suspending by wires that sags down, following the dancers’ every move like an eager puppy. Sighs Phillip: “It’s always a battle with the Spidercam.”

Dancers perform during the opening ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics, Friday, Feb. 4, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

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New York-based AP journalist Mallika Sen is on assignment at the Beijing Olympics. Follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/mallikavsen.

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More AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/winter-olympics and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Beijing Olympics get political with Taiwan, Uyghur questions

By STEPHEN WADE and GRAHAM DUNBAR

China's He Binghan competes during the men's halfpipe qualification at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Thursday, Feb. 17, 2022, in Zhangjiakou, China. 

(AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)


BEIJING (AP) — For two weeks and more, China’s stance on questions about its politics and policies has been straightforward: It’s the Olympics, and we’re not talking about these things.

That changed Thursday at the Beijing organizing committee’s last regularly scheduled daily news conference, three days before the end of the Games. The persistent and polite refusal to answer such questions gave way to the usual state of affairs at news conferences with Chinese officials — emphatic, calibrated answers about the country’s most sensitive situations.

Taiwan? An indivisible part of China. The Uyghur population of the Xinjiang region? Not being pushed into forced labor. China’s sovereignty? Completely unassailable under international norms.

“What I want to say is that there is only one China in the world,” organizing committee spokeswoman Yan Jiarong said, calling it “a solemn position” for China. She referred to other assertions about China’s treatment of Uyghurs and living conditions in the northwestern region of Xinjiang as “based on lies.”

It was only a matter of time before these topics burst at the seams. The run-up to the Games was overshadowed by a diplomatic boycott led by the United States, which centered on China’s human rights record; China was determined to keep the focus only on sports but is also very committed to vigorously defending its stances publicly.

In the final regularly scheduled briefing before the Games close on Sunday, Yan and IOC spokesman Mark Adams were peppered with questions about Taiwan, Xinjiang, and the safety of Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai.

Following up on a question about Taiwan’s reported attempt to skip the opening ceremony, Yan asked for extra time to address the status of the self-governing island, which China views as its sovereign territory.

She often opened in English but switched to Chinese to make key points, rendered in English by an interpreter.

“Mark, could I just make some supplementary remarks?” Yan said in English. Then, shifting to Chinese: “Taiwan is an indivisible part of China and this is a well recognized international principle and well recognized in the international community. We are always against the idea of politicizing the Olympic Games.”

Adams was immediately questioned by a non-Chinese reporter who suggested that Yan, herself, had “politicized” the Games by raising China’s stance on Taiwan. Adams dodged the question.

“There are views on all sorts of things around the world, but our job is to make sure that the Games take place,” Adams said.

A Games volunteer, a young Chinese graduate student, got a question she did not expect when a reporter asked if she knew who Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai was and, further, did she believe Peng was safe.

Peng, once the world’s top-ranked doubles player, three months ago accused a former high-ranking politician of sexual assault. Peng’s comments were immediately scrubbed from China’s censored internet.

“Well, I am sorry,” the young woman replied. “I don’t really know that.”

One reporter asked Adams directly about the IOC’s position on the reported existence of “concentration camps” in Xinjiang, and whether China was using forced labor there. Adams suggested the question was not “particularly relevant’ to the briefing, and then went on to praise the power of the Olympics to unite people.

Yan again made sure China’s view was heard.

“I think these questions are very much based on lies,” she said. “Some authorities have already disputed this false information. There is a lot of solid evidence. You are very welcome to refer to all that evidence and the facts.”

Yan had a similar response when a reporter asked Adams if IOC uniforms and other IOC garments were produced by Uyghur labor — or from Xinjiang cotton.

“None of the production took place in Xinjiang, nor any of the input of raw materials comes from that region,” Adams said.

Yan added: “I think the so- called forced labor in Xinjiang are lies made up by deliberate groups. And the relevant organizations have provided a large amount of facts to dispute that. And we are against the politicization of sports.”

For the second straight day, details were also sought and not given about a Japanese reporter’s assertion that she was prevented by an organizing committee staffer from asking questions to an Alpine skier from Hong Kong.

China is actively suppressing pro-democracy groups in Hong Kong.

The Olympic Charter ensures athletes’ right to express opinions in venue interview areas. Yan maintained that Beijing organizers would “protect the freedom of speech of all participants.”

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More AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/winter-olympics and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Poulin leads Canada women to Olympic gold in 3-2 win over US
By JOHN WAWROW

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Canada players celebrate with their gold medals after the women's gold medal hockey game at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Thursday, Feb. 17, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

BEIJING (AP) — Marie-Philip Poulin reminded everyone of her Captain Clutch reputation. And Canada regained its place atop the women’s hockey world.

It was only fitting that Poulin delivered at a time her team needed it most by scoring twice, including her third Olympic gold-medal clinching goal, in Canada’s 3-2 win over the defending champion United States at the Beijing Games on Thursday.

After winning gold in her first two Olympics, Poulin learned to appreciate how significant capturing her third was, coming four years after losing it to the Americans at the Pyeongchang Games.

“I just got shivers,” she said.

“That 2018 was very hard, very, very hard. And I think when you take some time to reflect on what you need to do better as a team and personally,” Poulin added. “We did that and I’m very happy that we’re resilient and we’re able to put that back in the past and win that gold today.”

Ann-Renee Desbiens stopped 38 shots and Sarah Nurse had a goal and assist in a game where the Canadians built a 3-0 lead and hung on for the win. Nurse set the single Olympic tournament record with 18 points.

The Canadians finished 7-0 by showcasing a dynamic, deep and relentless offensive attack to capture their fifth Olympic title in seven tournaments, with four coming against the Americans in what has been one of sports’ fiercest and longest-running rivalries.

Canada can now boast holding both the Olympic and world championship titles at the same time, and for the first time since 2012. The win at Beijing comes nearly six months after Poulin’s overtime goal sealed Canada’s 3-2 victory over the U.S. at worlds, which ended the Americans’ run of winning five consecutive tournament titles.

“It was a long haul of silvers and a lot of soul-searching in the program,” said Brianne Jenner, named the tournament MVP for tying a single Olympic record with nine goals. “I think this group didn’t really shy away from it. We were like, ‘Let’s be bold, let’s be brave, let’s go out and see what we can do.’”

Hilary Knight, the Americans’ only consistent threat in the tournament, scored her team-leading sixth goal on a shorthanded rush to cut the deficit to 3-1. Amanda Kessel scored with 13 seconds remaining during a mad scramble in front for a power-play goal and with the U.S. net empty for an extra attacker.

“We can’t get down that many goals. It’s really tough to bounce back,” Knight said. “It’s devastating. It’s heartbreaking. ... It feels like we let our country down.”

Alex Cavallini stopped 18 shots in her fourth tournament start.

United States poses after receiving their silver medals after being defeated by Canada in women's gold medal hockey game at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Thursday, Feb. 17, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

The Americans, who have two Olympic golds, settled for their fourth silver medal, with all losses coming against Canada.

Poulin gained her nickname by scoring decisive goals in big games and especially against the Americans. She scored both goals in Canada’s 2-0 gold-medal win over the U.S. at the 2010 Vancouver Games. Four years later at Sochi, Poulin scored in overtime to seal the gold versus the Americans again.

On Thursday, Poulin staked the Canadians to a 2-0 lead with 4:34 left in the first period, and then made it 3-0 off an odd-man rush 9:08 into the second period. Nurse drove up the right wing and fed Jenner, whose slapper was stopped by Cavallini. The rebound caromed to Poulin, who immediately fired a shot from the left of the net and banked it in off Cavallini’s skate.

“Woo, I don’t know. I don’t know what’s happening,” Poulin said of her knack for clutch goals. “There’s some angel there or something.”

And yet, Poulin had her anxious moments before she could celebrate. She was in the penalty box for tripping when Kessel scored in the closing seconds — but only after Desbiens stopped the first five shots she faced during the power play.

Fitting for Poulin was standing next to Desbiens in the medal line and having the honor of draping the gold around the goalie’s neck.

“She showed up in those big moments,” Poulin said of Desbiens, who quit hockey after 2018 before being coaxed into rejoining the team. “She kept us in the game and to be honest, being able to give (the medal) to her, it was very special.”

No problem, Desbiens said, noting she had an inkling the game was over while glancing at the clock and seeing only 13 seconds left after Kessel scored.

“I said, ‘Oh, we got this,’” Desbiens said.

Though Knight’s goal provided the Americans life, they were unable to cash in on their chances in the third period. Alex Carpenter had two chances five minutes in, only to have her one-timer from the left circle hit the crossbar, and then getting stopped by Desbiens on a partial breakaway.

Kessel lamented how her goal came far too late.

“We hold ourselves to a high standard, and personally myself, I think my line we wanted to score more goals,” she said. “We knew that we were counted on to probably score earlier and get one or two for our team.”

The U.S. didn’t have enough defense to contain the Canadians’ aggressive forechecking attack, nor the offense to match them, especially without top center Brianna Decker, who broke her left leg in the tournament opener.

The Americans finished seventh out of 10 teams in scoring efficiency with just 30 goals on a tournament-leading 374 shots.

It’s been a long and bumpy road back for the Canadians, who were forced to reinvent themselves in three years under coach Troy Ryan. The low point followed Canada settling for bronze at the 2019 world championships, which marked the first time in tournament history the country failed to reach the title game.

At Beijing, the Canadians out-classed the field by outscoring opponents by a combined margin of 57-10, including a 4-2 win over the U.S. in group play last week.

“Just being able to prove ourselves again and being able to fight adversity and come back on top,” Rebecca Johnston said. “It’s great to know that this team has gone through a lot and we’re able to pull out a win.”

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More AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/winter-olympics and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Online harassment, real harm: Fixing the web’s biggest bug

By DAVID KLEPPER

Tina Meier, founder of the Megan Meier Foundation, poses for a photo in the foundation's office Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2021, in St. Charles, Mo. Meier's daughter, Megan, committed suicide in 2007 at the age of 13 after being harassed by a "friend" on MySpace who later turned out to be the mother of a classmate who was using the fake account to bully the unsuspecting teen. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

LONG READ

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — It should have been a time of celebration: Brittan Heller would soon graduate from college and head to one of the nation’s top law programs.

But when a classmate with unrequited feelings for Heller wasn’t admitted to that same school, he turned his rage on her. He wrote a manifesto titled “A Stupid B---h to Attend Yale Law School” and posted it on a site popular with anonymous trolls. The man urged them to do their worst.

Soon strangers were making derogatory, sexualized comments and posting her pictures online. They made threats. Posted her personal information. At one point, FBI agents escorted Heller to class for her protection.

“People say, ‘Oh, just log off. Don’t read it. Turn off the computer,’” said Heller, who turned her personal experience from 15 years ago into a legal specialty as a leading expert on online harassment. “This the 21st century, and people have a right to use the internet for work, for pleasure or to express themselves. Telling people not to read the comments is no longer enough. We don’t talk enough about this problem, and we need to.”

Online harassment has become such a familiar part of the internet that it can be hard to imagine the web without it. From teen cyberbullying to authoritarian governments silencing dissent, online toxicity is a fact of life for everyone, with women, teens and religious and racial minorities the most likely to be targeted

And there is evidence the problem is getting worse.

In 2014, 15% of Americans said they had faced severe or significant online abuse, defined as stalking, physical threats, sustained harassment or sexual harassment. In 2021 the number was 25%, according to studies by the Pew Charitable Trusts.

Health care workers, journalists, teachers, police and government workers have all reported increases in online harassment in recent years, as the pandemic and political polarization led many people to release their anger and fear online.

Nearly three in four female journalists reported receiving threats or other forms of online harassment, according to a survey by UNESCO and the International Center for Journalists that polled more than 700 journalists in more than 100 countries. One in five of those said the harassment escalated to offline abuse or even assault.

The growth of the internet has also expanded the ways that people can be targeted beyond merely email to social media posts, direct messages, texts and streaming video. And with the rise of smartphones and cheap, ubiquitous internet, harassment can now be a 24-7 problem for victims.

“We’ve made so many strides — there’s more awareness now — but it’s easy to get frustrated and to feel like we’ve gotten nowhere,” said Tina Meier, who started a foundation to teach kids and parents about online harassment after her daughter’s suicide in 2006.

Thirteen-year-old Megan Meier had been bullied by someone she met online who she thought was a teenage boy named Josh. The two had flirted until the person suddenly turned against Megan. “Everybody hates you,” “Josh” wrote. “The world would be a better place without you.”

Police later determined that “Josh” was actually an adult woman, the mother of one of Megan’s classmates.

While polls show all types of people are susceptible to online harassment, extensive research has shown that women and people of color are far more likely to be targeted. That’s also true for people with disabilities, people who belong to religious minorities and members of the LGBTQ community.

Women are more likely than men to say online harassment is a serious problem, Pew found. They’re also more likely to report being the victims of online sexual harassment and more serious abuse such as threats of physical harm.

The difference is so great that many men may not understand the severity of the demeaning language, sexualized insults and unwanted attention that women frequently face online. A coordinated harassment campaign against female video game designers that began in 2014, known as Gamergate, became so pervasive — including threats of rape, torture and murder — that some women hired security or went into hiding.

Online harassment has also been used globally to attack journalists, dissidents and others in the public arena.

Political consultant Maria Cardona began receiving nasty emails and direct messages once she began presenting her opinions on national news shows. She’s noticed that many of her critics seem focused on the idea that an outspoken Latina woman could be considered an authority on politics.

One typical message read: “I hope you get raped and have your throat slit.”

“They want to shut us up, they want to scare us, they want to intimidate us,” said Cardona, who now keeps her office locked after someone showed up to accost her in person.

Anonymity can make it easier to be cruel without fear of offline repercussions. It’s a phenomenon called the online disinhibition effect, and it’s one reason why trolls feel comfortable saying things they would never say to someone in person.

As part of a 2009 settlement of Heller’s lawsuit against her harassers, she asked to meet them face to face. One was a 17-year-old boy who had posted that he’d like to gouge Heller’s eyes out and have sex with her corpse.

“They all essentially said the same thing: that they didn’t realize their actions were impacting a person in that way, that they didn’t realize there was a person on the other side of the screen,” Heller recalled. “And they all said, ‘I am so sorry.’”

California enacted the nation’s first law against cyberbullying in 1999, and most states have since followed suit. Enforcement can be difficult, however, as the lines between harassment and free speech can be blurry. Police and prosecutors often lack sufficient training or resources.

Tech companies say they are getting better at identifying and stopping harassment. For example, Instagram, which is owned by Facebook parent company Meta, made several changes designed to reduce harassment, including putting warning labels on potentially abusive language and making it easier to block or report harassers.

Yet those moves haven’t been enough. Internal Facebook documents leaked by former employee Frances Haugen show that executives are aware of the potential for their products to be used to harass people. One internal study cited 13.5% of teen girls saying Instagram exacerbates suicidal thoughts and 17% saying it worsens eating disorders.

“Online harassment is a problem for everybody, but I think it’s especially problematic for kids,” said Natalie Bazarova, a professor at Cornell University who studies social media.

She said a multifaceted approach is required to address the problem: legislation to require minimum safeguards from tech companies, technical innovations and extensive educational efforts such as simulations that teach teens to spot cyberbullying and use social media safely.

Technical solutions include automated systems that flag posts for signs of harassing language — all-capital letters, repetitive phrases, certain key words — or instituting a short delay before users can respond to posts, giving them a chance to cool off.

Now in its “awkward adolescence,” the internet is not the first invention to change how humans communicate, Heller said.

“People said similar things about the telegraph, the telephone and the television — that they were somehow going to ruin society,” she said. “They were all regulated about 25 years into their life cycle. Those regulations didn’t kill the telephone, the television or the radio.”

Mexico’s avocados face fallout from violence, deforestation AND US RACIST TRADE RULES

By MARK STEVENSON

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A worker selects avocados at a packing plant in Uruapan, Mexico, Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2022. Mexico has acknowledged that the U.S. government has suspended all imports of Mexican avocados after a U.S. plant safety inspector in Mexico received a threat. (AP Photo/Armando Solis)

LONG READ 

MEXICO CITY (AP) — With clever Super Bowl ads, an irresistible fruit and apparently insatiable appetite from U.S. consumers, Mexico’s avocado producers have so far been able to separate avocados from the conflictive landscape that produces them — at least until a threat to a U.S. agricultural inspector essentially shut down their exports last week.

But as producers continue to suffer extortion from organized crime, and loggers continue to chop down pine forests to clear land for avocado orchards, another threat looms: Campaigns for greener competition and perhaps even a boycott.

Most advocates for more sustainable avocados stop short of calling for an outright boycott.

– US suspends Mexican avocado imports on eve of Super Bowl

– Mexico says conspiracy behind avocado ban; US cites violence

“They (avocados) are a very large portion of either their country or regional economy and, you know, banning them entirely would not be advantageous” for already struggling local farmers, said Gareth Elliott, a New Jersey restaurant manager who runs the Facebook page “Blood Avocados.” “But if there were more environmental studies and they were grown in a responsible manner, we could solve this together.

So far, the association of Mexican avocado producers and packers has taken little action to solve the problems, nor has its U.S. promotional arm, Avocados from Mexico, even as growers in Mexico report having to pay thousands of dollars in protection payments to drug gangs for each acre of orchard.

Those who don’t pay are threatened with having their families kidnapped, murdered and returned in pieces.

The producers’ associations have bought multimillion-dollar Super Bowl commercials, but they have never bothered to come up with a serious certification program to assure consumers the avocado they buy has not involved protection money to drug cartels — the same cartels flooding the United States with deadly fentanyl pills counterfeited to look like Xanax, Adderall or Oxycodone.

Nor have they come up with a plan to certify that the avocado sold at a U.S. supermarket wasn’t planted on illegally logged mountainsides that used to hold pine forests, threatening local water supplies.

Neither group responded to requests for comment on the issue. Mexico’s president has suggested the suspension of avocado imports was part of a conspiracy against his country.

That kind of certification and information program is what many activists want.

“I think it could also help bring up awareness,” said Elliott, who said many people now may not be conscious of the issue. “Bringing it out to the consumer that how they purchase things speaks a lot louder to American policy or even global policy, than sometimes protests will.”

But Elliott’s reluctance to boycott might vanish if illegal logging and planting of avocados reaches into the core of the monarch butterfly reserves in the western state of Michoacan.

So far planters have only ni bbled around the buffer zones of the mountaintop pine forests where the butterflies spend the winter before heading back to the United States and Canada. At present, the mountaintops are too cold and too high for avocados, but with climate change that, as everything else, may change.

“The Monarch butterflies … they don’t have another option to hibernate elsewhere,” Gareth said. “I don’t think the Americans are going to want to say goodbye to monarch butterflies.

“I think that would be the likely be the line they’ll draw, or at least they’ll say, ‘I’ll have more expensive avocados.’”

Chef J.P. McMahon, who runs the Aniar, Cava and Tartare restaurants in Ireland, has already started advocating avoiding avocados.

Avocados are “perceived as something healthy, and the contrast to what it is actually doing” to the environment and society, “you couldn’t get further, it’s poles apart, it’s absolutely not,” McMahon said.

McMahon has tried to promote more sustainable, locally produced guacamole recipes based on kale or mashed-up sunchokes. It has been an uphill struggle: He has received angry messages from growers in Mexico saying they need the income and diners and chefs who want avocados at brunch. “Still, I hold to my guns,” he said.

“The environmental disaster, the deforestation caused, to feed the avo-on-toast craze made me feel so disgusted that I decided to stop eating them altogether,” McMahon wrote in November. “Almost five years later I do miss avocados, but I won’t be part of the exploitation of land and people to satisfy a crave.”

And there are other countries without Mexico’s land disputes, water shortages, drug cartel extortion, sensitive species and illegal logging problems that might try to supplant Mexico’s now-dominant 80% share of U.S. imports by offering more sustainable avocados. Peru, Colombia and Chile all have their own problems, but drug cartel extortion of growers isn’t one of them.

“Colombian exporters see the United States as a market with great potential,” said Juliana Villegas, vice president of exports for the trade promotion agency ProColombia. “There are some enormous opportunities and advantages for avocado production in Colombia.”

“We are in the privileged position, given our agricultural land” Villegas said. “It is very large. Right now we have millions of acres available without deforestation. I think that is an advantage we have to seize on.”

Any sustained ban on avocado exports might actually benefit the Mexican families who can no longer afford the fruit because of international demand.

But the loss of income would be devastating for Mexican farmers, who — like those in most countries in Latin America — have spent almost five centuries looking for a miracle crop that would pull them out of poverty.

Sugar, rubber, bananas, natural dyes, coffee, cacao — the stuff of which chocolate is made — all came and went, but never really fulfilled that promise. Either they were only practical on large plantations with slave labor, or they could be grown more cheaply elsewhere or plant diseases and synthetic substitutes spelled disaster for the crops.

For Mexico, the avocado has been that miracle crop for almost 25 years. A farmer with only a few acres of avocado trees can send his children to college, or buy a new pickup truck to get his product to market and avoid middlemen, something no other crop has been able to offer.

But it’s not consumers in the United States who are on the front lines: Many lonely, threatened activists in Mexican villages are fighting illegal logging and the expansion of avocado orchards on former forest land.

Activist Guillermo Saucedo tried to institute farmers’ patrols to detect illegal logging and unauthorized avocado orchards in Villa Madero, Michoacan, last year. He got as many as 60 or 70 people to participate in the patrols, starting in May. But on Dec. 6, Saucedo was kidnapped, beaten and threatened by drug cartel gunmen who either protect or invest in avocado orchards.

This week, Saucedo said he detected a huge water retention pond of the kind dug by avocado growers in a hamlet near Villa Madero, but he doesn’t believe the government will stop them.

“The National Guard don’t do anything,” Saucedo said. “The only thing that can stop them is the people themselves, by protesting.”

PRISON NATION  USA
Senate launches group to examine embattled US prison system

By MICHAEL BALSAMO and MICHAEL R. SISAK

 Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., takes a question from a reporter during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Sept. 28, 2021. The U.S. Senate is launching a bipartisan working group of lawmakers to scrutinize conditions within the federal Bureau of Prisons in the wake of Associated Press reporting that uncovered widespread corruption and abuse in federal prisons across the U.S. The working group is led by Sen. Jon Ossoff, a Democrat from Georgia and Sen. Mike Braun, an Indiana Republican. 

(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Senate is launching a bipartisan working group of lawmakers to scrutinize conditions within the Bureau of Prisons following reporting by The Associated Press that uncovered widespread corruption and abuse in federal prisons.

The working group, being led by Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., and Sen. Mike Braun, R-Ind., is aimed at developing policies and proposals to strengthen oversight of the beleaguered federal prison system and improve communication between the Bureau of Prisons and Congress.

The group plans to examine the conditions of incarceration inside America’s 122 federal prisons, protect human rights and promote transparency. The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., also will be part of the group.

The federal prison system, a hotbed of corruption and misconduct, has been plagued by myriad crises in recent years, including widespread criminal activity among employees, systemic sexual abuse at a federal women’s prison in California, critically low staffing levels that have hampered responses to emergencies, the rapid spread of COVID-19, a failed response to the pandemic and dozens of escapes. And late last month, two inmates were killed in a gang clash at a federal penitentiary in Texas, prompting a nationwide lockdown.

In early January, the embattled federal prisons director, Michael Carvajal, announced he was resigning amid growing criticism over his leadership of the bureau. The Justice Department is searching for a new director — even posting advertisements on LinkedIn — but hasn’t found a replacement yet.

“America’s prisons and jails are horrifically dysfunctional and too often places where brutality and criminality are prevalent,” Ossoff said in a statement to the AP on Thursday. “The Senate Bipartisan Prison Policy Working Group will identify and advance solutions.”

Ossoff, Braun and several other lawmakers, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, have introduced legislation to require the director of the Bureau of Prisons to be confirmed by the Senate, as is the case with nearly every other major federal agency.

In a statement, Durbin said the working group was “essential to helping us achieve our goal of creating safer conditions for those at correctional facilities.” He said the trio was “committed to working on a bipartisan basis to improve conditions and safety, strengthen transparency and communications, and reduce recidivism in our federal prison system.”

The Senate passed legislation that Ossoff had introduced to require federal prisons to repair and upgrade security systems, including broken surveillance cameras. Failing security cameras in federal prisons have allowed inmates to escape undetected and were the center of the investigation when wealthy financier Jeffrey Epstein, who was awaiting trial on charges he sexually abused girls as young as 14, killed himself behind bars in 2019.

___

Sisak reported from New York. Follow Balsamo at twitter.com/mikebalsamo1 and Sisak at twitter.com/mikesisak. Send confidential tips by visiting https://www.ap.org/tips/.

WAR IS RAPE
Sexual assault reports increase at US military academies 

THEY ARE STILL PATRIARCHICAL

THIS IS MY RIFLE, THIS IS MY GUN, 

ONE IS FOR KILLING, ONE IS FOR FUN

By LOLITA C. BALDOR

A Cadet listens during a commencement ceremony for the Class of 2020 on the parade field, at the United States Military Academy in West Point, N.Y., June 13, 2020. U.S. officials say reported sexual assaults at the U.S. military academies increased sharply during the 2020-2021 school year, as students returned to in-person classes amid the ongoing pandemic. The increase continues what officials believe is an upward trend at the academies, despite an influx of new sexual assault prevention and treatment programs.(AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Reported sexual assaults at the U.S. military academies increased sharply during the 2020-21 school year, as students returned to in-person classes during the coronavirus pandemic.

The increase continues what officials believe is an upward trend at the academies, despite an influx of new sexual assault prevention and treatment programs.

Comparing the totals over the past three years, however, is tricky. The number of reports dropped at all the academies during the pandemic-shortened 2019-20 school year, when in-person classes were canceled and students were sent home in the spring to finish the semester online.

Although there were fewer reports that year than the previous year, one senior defense official said that based on trends the total likely would have shown an increase if students had not left early. In addition, the number of reported assaults in 2020-21 was also higher than the pre-pandemic school year of 2018-19.

According to the Pentagon report released Thursday, the overall jump in cases was driven by increases at the Air Force Academy and the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. There were 131 assaults reported by cadets or midshipmen in 2020-21, compared with 88 the previous year and 122 a year earlier.

Of the 131, cadets at the Air Force Academy in Colorado reported 52 assaults, compared with 46 at West Point in New York and 33 at the U.S. Naval Academy in Maryland.

During a visit to West Point earlier this month, Army Secretary Christine Wormuth met with academy leaders, staff members and cadets and talked about the sexual assault problem. She said they talked about the so-called Trust Program, which is led by cadets and helps train them to address sexual assault and harassment and encourage intervention when they see questionable behavior.

“West Point is working hard to increase cadets’ trust in their reporting system while at the same time preventing events from happening in the first place,” Wormuth said, adding that West Point has increased resources for victims “to ensure the academy handles each case with care.”

Victims at the academies are encouraged to report assaults, and at times students will come forward to talk about unwanted sexual contact that happened in the years before they started school there. If those episodes of unwanted sexual contact are included, as well as those involving students but reported by individuals outside the schools, the total sexual assault reports for 2020-21 is 161. That also is an increase over the pre-pandemic year, when there were 148.

The latest increase comes as Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and other leaders struggle to curb sexual assaults across the military, amid escalating criticism from Capitol Hill. Lawmaker are demanding better prevention efforts and more aggressive prosecutions.

Austin and others have acknowledged that while they continue to study what works and what doesn’t, they haven’t yet found the answers.

Nate Galbreath, acting director of the Pentagon’s sexual assault prevention office, said the department is encouraged that students are more willing to come forward and report assaults, allowing victims to get help and perpetrators to be held accountable. But the leaders across the military said they are also very concerned that the trends are going in the wrong direction, and Galbreath said that while there is an unprecedented attention on the problem right now, there is “still much more work to be done.”

Galbreath acknowledged that prevention efforts have been underway for years, but he said programs that may have worked in the past do not necessarily work now. He said the department is using scientific studies to narrow down what programs actually are successful.

Officials also say it is difficult to determine what impact the pandemic may have had. Students returned to the academies in the fall of 2020 but faced widespread restrictions, random COVID-19 testing and a mix of online and in-person classes. In many cases bars, restaurants and other businesses around the campuses may have been closed or less accessible.

A planned anonymous survey of the students, which often can provide greater insight into the problem, was not conducted in 2020 due to the pandemic. The survey normally is done every two years, and officials believe it provides a more accurate picture of assaults, harassment and unwanted sexual contact. A survey will be conducted this spring, Galbreath said.

New leaked data shows most donors to 'Adopt-a-Trucker' GiveSendGo page were Canadian

OTTAWA — A new data leak shows that about 60 per cent of donors to an "Adopt-a-Trucker" page on the online fundraising platform GiveSendGo were Canadian and 37 per cent were American

.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

About US$540,000 was raised on the page to support anti-vaccine mandate protesters in Ottawa and throughout Canada, according to data on donations made up to Feb. 10.

The new tranche of data was obtained by transparency group Distributed Denial of Secrets, which has previously provided the media with leaked information from right-wing organizations.

The analysis shows that more than 7,400 donors contributed an average of about US$72.29 for a total of US$540,166.58.

It was released on Tuesday following an earlier leak from the "Freedom Convoy 2022" page on Christian crowdfunding website GiveSendGo, which raised US$8.4 million.

That earlier leak showed that 56 per cent of donors to that page came from the United States and 39 per cent from Canada.

GiveSendGo said in tweet late Tuesday that it was attacked by "malicious actors" and was aggressively pursuing action for what it called a cybercrime.

The company said the attack came on Sunday evening but it would not be deterred. It said it shut down the site at the time of the intrusion to prevent "further illegal actions against our site" and had conducted further security audits before being able to bring it back online.

"We are in a battle. We didn't expect it to be easy. This has not caused us to be afraid. Instead, it's made it even more evident that we cannot back down," said the statement, which expressed thanks for the "continued support, prayers and the countless emails letting us know you are standing with us."

GiveSendGo did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Canadian Press.

Many of the donors in the latest leak expressed boisterous solidarity with the protesters in a comment section next to their donations.

"Sending trillions of angels to guide and protect all of the brilliant and brave truckers and supporters of freedom! This is such an amazing movement. Keep the joy and love in your hearts! It's working! The world is waking up and the tide is shifting! Bravo Canada!!!" wrote one U.S.-based donor.

A Canadian contributor cheered the protesters on, but also encouraged them to "back off protests" in provinces where premiers have announced a clear end to vaccine mandates. "Let the other provinces see that the protesters are listening. If the premiers don't follow (through) on (their) word, then protest again."

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Monday that the government was invoking the Emergencies Act in attempt to end the protests against vaccine mandates and other COVID-19 restrictions that continue to snarl Ottawa.

The measures include giving power to banks to suspend or freeze the accounts of those supporting the blockades and force crowdfunding platforms and cryptocurrencies to follow anti-money laundering and terrorist financing laws.

The protesters had originally used the website GoFundMe to raise more than $10 million before the website shut them down for breaching its terms of service and calling the protest an "occupation."

That prompted the protesters to turn to other websites such as a GiveSendGo, which has been hit by data breaches.

Last week, the Ontario government successfully petitioned a court to freeze access to millions of dollars donated through GiveSendGo to the convoy protesting COVID-19 restrictions in Ottawa and at several border crossings.

The province obtained an order from the province's Superior Court of Justice that prohibits anyone from distributing donations made through the website's "Freedom Convoy 2022" and "Adopt-a-Trucker" campaign pages.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 16, 2022.

Mike Blanchfield and Jordan Press, The Canadian Press

How American cash for Canada protests could sway US politics

By RICHARD LARDNER, MICHELLE R. SMITH and ALI SWENSON

A man wearing an American flag walks by police guarding the Canadian parliament building from demonstrators protesting the country's COVID-19 restrictions, Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2022, in Ottawa, Ontario. The protests in Canada that have blocked border crossings with the U.S. and gnarled trade have been promoted, cheered and funded by American anti-vaccine groups, right-wing activists and conservative elected officials. (AP Photo/Robert Bumsted)


WASHINGTON (AP) — The Canadians who have disrupted travel and trade with the U.S. and occupied downtown Ottawa for nearly three weeks have been cheered and funded by American right-wing activists and conservative politicians who also oppose vaccine mandates and the country’s liberal leader.

Yet whatever impact the protests have on Canadian society and the government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, experts say the outside support is really aimed at energizing conservative politics in the U.S. Midterm elections are looming, and some Republicans think standing with the protesters up north will galvanize fund-raising and voter turnout at home, these experts say.

“The kind of narratives that the truckers and the trucker convoy are focusing on are going to be really important issues for the (U.S.) elections coming ahead,” said Samantha Bradshaw, a postdoctoral fellow at the Digital Civil Society Lab at Stanford University. “And so using this protest as an opportunity to galvanize their own supporters and other groups, I think it’s very much an opportunity for them.”

Police poured into downtown Ottawa on Thursday, and work crews erected fences around Parliament, in what protesters feared was a prelude to a crackdown.

About 44 percent of the nearly $10 million in contributions to support the protesters originated from U.S. donors, according to an Associated Press analysis of leaked donor files. U.S. Republican elected officials, including Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, have praised the protesters calling them “heroes” and “patriots.”

Fox News host Sean Hannity told two protest organizers on his show on Wednesday that “you do have a lot of support from your friends in America. That I can tell you.” He added: “We have a movement in America that’s starting very soon.”

Trudeau and other senior Canadian officials have been sharply critical of the financial support coming from other countries.

“What this country is facing is a largely foreign-funded, targeted and coordinated attack on critical infrastructure and our democratic institutions,” Bill Blair, Canada’s minister of public safety and emergency preparedness, said earlier this week.

Ian Reifowitz, professor of historical studies at the State University of New York, called the protests a “gift” for Republicans in the U.S., and he predicted they’ll use the populist appeal of the demonstrations to raise money ahead of the midterm elections in November.

“They constantly need fresh outrages,” said Reifowitz, the author of “The Tribalization of Politics: How Rush Limbaugh’s Race-Baiting Rhetoric on the Obama Presidency Paved the Way for Trump.”

“It’s a terrific (issue) eight or nine months before the election for them,” he said. “It allows you to bank money, bank volunteers and energize the base, which is what you want to do.”

Demonstrators in Ottawa have been regularly supplied with fuel and food, and the area around Parliament Hill has at times resembled a spectacular carnival with bouncy castles, gyms, a playground and a concert stage with DJs.

GiveSendGo, a website used to collect donations for the Canadian protests, has collected at least $9.58 million dollars, including $4.2 million, or 44%, that originated in the United States, according to a database of donor information posted online by DDoSecrets, a non-profit group.

The Canadian government has been working to block protesters’ access to these funds, however, and it is not clear how much of the money has ultimately gotten through.

Millions of dollars raised through another crowdfunding site, GoFundMe, were blocked after Canadian officials raised objections with the company, which determined that the effort violated its terms of service around unlawful activity.

The GiveSendGo database analyzed by AP showed more than 109,000 donations through Friday night to campaigns in support of the protests, with a little under 62,000 coming from the U.S.

The GiveSendGo data listed several Americans as giving thousands or tens of thousands of dollars to the protest, with the largest single donation of $90,000 coming from a person who identified himself as Thomas M. Siebel.

Siebel, the billionaire founder of software company Siebel Systems, did not respond to messages sent to an email associated with a foundation he runs and to his LinkedIn account.

A representative from the Siebel Scholars Foundation, who signed her name only as Jennifer, did not respond to questions about whether he had donated the money. But she said Siebel has a record of supporting several causes, including efforts to “protect individual liberty.”

“These are personal initiatives and have nothing to do with the companies with which he is associated,” she wrote.

Siebel has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to Republican candidates and organizations over the last 20 years, according to Federal Election Commission records, including a $400,000 contribution in 2019 to a GOP fundraising committee called “Take Back the House 2020.”

The GiveSendGo Freedom Convoy campaign was created on Jan. 27 by Tamara Lich. She previously belonged to the far-right Maverick Party, which calls for western Canada to become independent.

The Canadian government moved earlier this week to cut off funding for the protesters by broadening the scope of the country’s anti-money laundering and terrorist financing rules to cover crowdfunding platforms like GiveSendGo.

“We are making these changes because we know that these platforms are being used to support illegal blockades and illegal activity, which is damaging the Canadian economy,” said Canadian Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland.

Perhaps more important than the financial support is the cheerleading the Canadian protesters have received from prominent American conservative politicians and pundits, like Hannity, who see kindred spirits in their northern neighbors opposing vaccine mandates.

On the same day Lich created the GiveSendGo campaign, retired Army Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn shared a video of the convoy in a post on the messaging app Telegram.

“These truckers are fighting back against the nonsense and tyranny, especially coming from the Canadian government,” wrote Flynn, the former head of the Defense Intelligence Agency who served briefly as former President Donald Trump’s national security adviser.

A few days later, Flynn urged people to donate to the Canadian protesters. Earlier this week, he twice posted the message “#TrudeauTheCoward” on Telegram, referring to the prime minister who leads Canada’s Liberal Party.

Fox News hosts regularly laud the protests, and Trump weighed in with a broadside at Trudeau, calling him a “far left lunatic” who has “destroyed Canada with insane COVID mandates.” Cruz called the truckers “heroes” and “patriots,” and Greene said she cannot wait to see a convoy protest in Washington.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said he hopes truckers come to America and “clog up cities” in an interview last week with the Daily Signal, a news website of the conservative Heritage Foundation.

Far-right and anti-vaccine activists, inspired by the Canadian actions, are now planning American versions of the protests against COVID-19 mandates and restrictions modeled on the Canadian demonstrations.

The protests in Canada have also created a moneymaking opportunity for some, including a chain of “New England for Trump” stores, which were selling merchandise inspired by the demonstrators. A mesh-back “Freedom Convoy 2022” trucker hat goes for $25. —-

Swenson reported from New York, and Smith reported from Providence, Rhode Island. Associated Press writers Amanda Seitz in Washington, Larry Fenn in New York, Frank Bajak in Boston and Camille Fassett in Oakland, California, contributed to this report.

Fox News panel erupts after Geraldo calls out right-wing media for 'inciting' Canadian trucker convoys

Brad Reed
February 16, 2022


Fox News' Geraldo Rivera caused a stir on Wednesday when he called out right-wing media for the "incitement" of anti-vax trucker convoys in Canada, which he argued had made lives miserable for ordinary Canadians.

During a debate about the convoys, Rivera's cohosts claimed that the truckers were broadly supported by the Canadian public despite multiple polls showing them to be wildly unpopular.

"You know what is not popular in Canada is this 'Freedom Convoy,'" Rivera argued. "What about the freedom of the homeowners to live in peace? What about the freedom of the shopkeepers to do business? What about the freedom of the autoworkers to get parts?"

In fact, the polls show Rivera is right.

A recent Angus Reid Institute poll showed "more than two-thirds strongly oppose the protesters' approach and behavior"; a Leger poll showed "nearly two-thirds think the protesters are a selfish minority"; a recent Ipsos poll showed 59 percent agreed with the description of the protesters as "anti-vaxxers and bigots"; and a Maru Public Opinion poll showed 56 percent of respondents saying they don't agree with the protests in "any way, shape or form."

Rivera then went on to slam right-wing media for pushing the protests even though they were backfiring in the court of public opinion.

"It is conservative media that has gone from support to incitement," Rivera charged.

"Incitement!" replied an indignant Greg Gutfeld. "Are you saying we're inciting them?!"

Greg Gutfeld claims the Freedom Convoy "is actually being welcomed" by Canadians.\n\nGeraldo: "It is conservative media that has gone from support to incitement."\n\nGutfeld: "Are you saying we're inciting it?!"\n\nGeraldo then points to polls showing large opposition to the protests.pic.twitter.com/no3ytMWZbm— Justin Baragona (@Justin Baragona) 1645049744

REVEALED: Trump-loving Texas CEO who loaned former president his plane sent $20K to 'Freedom Convoy'

John Wright
February 16, 2022

Benjamin Pogue (Facebook)

A Trump-loving Texas construction company CEO — whose father received a pardon from the former president — has been among the top donors to the Canadian "freedom convoy" on the fundraising site GiveSendGo, according to reports.

Benjamin Pogue of McKinney, Texas, the president and CEO of Pogue Construction, donated more than $385,000 to Trump's re-election campaign in 2020, Business Insider reported Wednesday. Pogue's contributions included providing the former president with the use of Pogue's own private jet, the Associated Press reported.

On Sunday, hackers leaked the names of more than 92,000 people who contributed to the anti-vaxx, anti-government freedom convoy through GiveSendGo, a Christian crowdfunding site, which helped raise $8.7 million for the protest.

“My personal contribution reflected my respect for individuals who were willing to take the time and effort to make their voices heard,” Pogue said in a statement to news media, according to the Dallas Morning News. “It is not an endorsement of any illegal activity. Hopefully, the issue is on its way to a peaceful resolution.”

According to the Morning News, following Pogue's contributions to Trump's campaign in 2020, the former president granted a pardon to his father, Paul Pogue.

Paul Pogue, who founded Pogue Construction Company in 1978, pleaded guilty in 2010 to underpaying taxes by more than $400,000 and was sentenced to three years in prison.

Business Insider noted that the freedom convoy "has been linked to Trump supporters in multiple instances."

"Several news outlets have posted photos of the protest that include hats and signs referencing Trump and the slogan 'Make Canada Great Again,'" the report notes. "Local news reported that during the first week of the protests a man was seen riding through the protesters on horseback, carrying a 'Trump 2024' flag."

Trump himself expressed support for the freedom convoy in a statement, saying the protesters were "doing more to defend American freedom than our own leaders by far."

The leaked data from GiveSendGo showed that more than half of donations came from the U.S.

"Also included in the leaked data were the messages that some donors posted alongside their donations," Vice News reported. "The messages contained over 13,000 references to 'God' or 'Jesus' as well as thousands of references to 'tyranny.' While most of the users’ messages were relatively benign, there are a number of more troubling posts, like this from one user: 'I look forward to the day you tyrants are swinging from a noose.'"

Truckers brace for a possible crackdown in besieged Ottawa

By ROB GILLIES, WILSON RING and ROBERT BUMSTED

1 of 14

Police are followed by yelling protesters as they attempt to hand out a notices to protesters in Ottawa, on Thursday, Feb. 17, 2022. Hundreds of truckers clogging the streets of Canada's capital city in a protest against COVID-19 restrictions are bracing for a possible police crackdown. (Justin Tang /The Canadian Press via AP)

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Police poured into downtown Ottawa on Thursday in what truckers feared was a prelude to a crackdown on their nearly three-week, street-clogging protest against Canada’s COVID-19 restrictions.

Work crews in the capital erected fences outside Parliament, and for the second day in a row, officers handed out leaflets warning the protesters to leave. Busloads of police converged on the area in the morning.

“It’s high time that these illegal and dangerous activities stop,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau declared in Parliament, not far from where the more than 300 trucks were parked.

“They are a threat to our economy and our relationship with trading partners,” he said. “They are a threat to public safety.”

Many of the truckers in the self-styled Freedom Convoy reacted to the warnings with scorn, and those parked in front of Parliament Hill blared their horns in defiance of a court injunction against honking. As of midday, the vast majority appeared to be staying put.

“I’m prepared to sit on my ass and watch them hit me with pepper spray,” said one of their leaders, Pat King. As for the big rigs parked bumper-to-bumper, he said: “There’s no tow trucks in Canada that will touch them.”

Ottawa represented the movement’s last stronghold after weeks of demonstrations and blockades that shut down border crossings into the U.S., inflicted economic damage on both countries and created a political crisis for Trudeau.



The protests have shaken Canada’s reputation for civility and rule-following and inspired similar convoys in France, New Zealand and the Netherlands.

Early this week, the prime minister invoked Canada’s Emergencies Act, empowering law enforcement authorities to declare the blockades illegal, tow away trucks and punish the drivers by arresting them, freezing their bank accounts and suspending their licenses.

On Thursday, Trudeau and some of his top ministers took turns strongly warning the Ottawa protesters to clear out or face the consequences, in an apparent move by the government to avert a clash, or at least show it had gone the extra mile to avoid one.

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said the government had begun freezing truckers’ accounts as threatened. “It is happening. I do have the numbers in front of me,” she said.

Ottawa police likewise distributed flyers on both Wednesday and Thursday urging the truckers to end the siege, and also helpfully placed notices on vehicles informing owners how and where to pick up their trucks if they are towed.

The occupation has infuriated many Ottawa residents.

“We’ve seen people intimidated, harassed and threatened. We’ve seen apartment buildings that have been chained up. We have seen fires set in the corridors. Residents are terrorized,” said Canadian Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino. “And it is absolutely gut-wrenching to see the sense of abandonment and helplessness that they have felt now for weeks.”

The protests around the country by demonstrators in trucks, tractors and motor homes initially focused on Canada’s vaccine requirement for truckers entering the country but soon morphed into a broader attack on COVID-19 precautions and Trudeau’s government.

The biggest, most damaging of the blockades at the border took place at the Ambassador Bridge between Windsor, Ontario, and Detroit. Before authorities arrested dozens of remaining protesters last weekend and lifted the siege, it disrupted the flow of auto parts between the two countries and forced the industry to curtail production.

The final border blockade, in Manitoba, ended peacefully on Wednesday.

The movement has drawn support from right-wing extremists and veterans, some of them armed, and authorities have hesitated to move against them, in part out of fear of violence.

Fox News personalities and U.S. conservatives such as Donald Trump have egged on the protests, and Trudeau complained on Thursday that “roughly half of the funding to the barricaders here is coming from the United States.”

Some security experts said that dispersing the protest in Ottawa could be tricky and dangerous, with the potential for violence, and that a heavy-handed law enforcement response could become propaganda for anti-government extremists.

The trucks were parked shoulder-to-shoulder downtown, some with tires removed to hamper towing. Some were said to be chained together. Police were especially worried about the children among the protesters.

“There is not really a playbook,” said David Carter, a professor at Michigan State University’s School of Criminal Justice and a former police officer. “I know there are police chiefs in the U.S. looking at this and developing strategic plans and partnerships to manage a protest like this if it should occur in their cities.”

As tensions rose on Thursday, Canadian Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair said: “To those who have children with them, this is no place for children. Take them home immediately.”

___

Gillies reported from Toronto. Associated Press writer Andrew Selsky in Salem, Oregon, contributed to this report.

Canadian police vow to clear trucker-led protest blocking Ottawa streets within days